mind boggling: '63 Ford Galaxie on eBay - Mahopac, NY

Shill bidding. That's the only explanation for the current bid price. Even if all the numbers match.





http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Galaxi...a38c285b:g:QG8AAOSwa-dWoq~-&item=281916745819

 

I have been boggled! Another great car in fine condition too far away.

 

I can sort of understand the bidding on this one. Numbers-matching (they have the engine and trans); 427 / 4-speed. Once restored, it's probably a $80,000 car.

 

Marshall, I was going to write this before I saw your post:

"If anyone buys a pristine '63 Ford Galaxie Q-code convertible (with VIN 3U65Q190004) at a Mecum auction a couple of years from now for $105,000 they might be interested in knowing the state that the car was in in 2016. (Of course, the pics will be long gone by then.)"

I might've been guilty of over-estimating the price of the restored car by about $25k.

On the other hand, it's car #4 of the '63s. Which might be worth something. Not a lot, but something.

 

this is a really rare car. If the FoMoCo cognoscenti can identify this and have the means to restore it, those bids may not be shills. Makes me wonder if it is a 1 of 1.

 

I'm still boggled. I decided if I can't do minor work on a vehicle and drive it right away I don't need it.
I'm trying to decide if this is a driver.

 

Dang, that's rough. But, it's one very rare Ford muscle car, with its original drivetrain. If someone has a convertible parts car to build from and a lot of initiative and talent, this could be a high dollar car. I don't think it's shill bidding. I just think there are at least 2 people out there that want this rare car bad enough.

 

That is crusty as all get out.
My favorite line from the ad is "This car will need a full restoration"
Ya think?

It's completely nuts that this car is even being considered for a restoration due to the state that it is currently in.
However, I can completely believe that it will be sold, and that it will be restored.

I have seen craziness like this first hand.

The shop that is doing my Father-in-law's 59 Fairlane Galaxie is doing a Superbird. I would say it was in comparable shape to this Galaxie. They're almost done putting it back together.

Speaking of Wing cars, did anyone see that article on MSN a month or so ago about that Daytona/Superbird (can't remember which)? It looked like it had rolled down a hill and then came to rest in a bog and then sat there for 30 years before someone pulled it out.
Crazy money was going for that car too. I think the assumption is, the finished product will net more than the cost of the restoration.

And in a less-crazy instance, My father-in-law bought a far less crusty R Code Mach 1 last year. It's got a TON of rust and is getting major metal replacement. But, in the end, the finished product will only go up in value as time goes on.

I would say this particular car has more rarity than either the Wing car or the Mach 1. It may not have as high or as widespread desirability as the wing car and Mach 1, but will still command huge prices if restored to a high standard.

 

I don't mean to get all philosophical here, but if a car (such as this one) is restored and only the frame and drive train - and maybe a few miscellaneous parts here and there and a fender or two - then is it really a car from 1963? Or is it a reproduction? And would you want to buy one?

I've seen some unfinished early Mustang restorations for sale that make Frankenstein's monster look pretty by comparison. Once they're painted, who knows what they looked like unfinished?

 

Will this car really be the car on the data plate? Sure it has the data plate, the basic running gear, maybe the frame, but seeing what's left it is not really car
3U65o190004. Still someone will buy it and tell everyone how nice it is.
It can not be called an original, a barn find, or a simple restoration. It will be a car built in 2016 using NOS parts, nice used parts, and custom made parts.
Even that original engine and tranny will need a full rebuild.
Below is all you will have and will this even be legal re-rivited to a nicer 1963 Ford?
I suppose if a person has deep pockets and must have a rare vehicle this can be it. Odds are it'll never be driven cross country or to a distant car show.

 

I agree with these sentiments.

People will go to great lengths to build an "original" car that has had most of it's pieces replaced, and usually there are potential buyers lining up to buy it.

I keep going back to the Daytona/Superbird because they seem to be in the news of late. I saw another article a while back about the Daytona that broke the 200 MPH barrier. It was later rebodied with as a 71 (IIRC) Charger and raced on the NASCAR circuit and then retired to small time circle track duty. The owner had the car, rough as heck and gutted in 71 guise, but also owned the nose cone and wing from the original car. It is now being restored with a complete "Donor" body. The chassis is original and so are the nose cone and rear wing, but the rest is donor car, NOS and likely repop. But, it will be billed as "The first car to go 200MPH"

I guess it would more accurately be called "The first chassis to go 200 MPH" because the remainder of the original car was scrapped.

in the end, it's all in the eye of the beholder and it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

 

I fully understand what you are saying, but Legally the VIN is part of the frame, and if it retains the Original Power train componants it is still considered numbers matching. It gets fuzzier with Unibody cars as the VIN is part of the Body (no real frame)

But how different is it from a restoration that replaces the entire Body 1 piece at a time? I have seen resotations were only the fire wall was original to the car. And one was a SD 73 Formula Firebird that was done very well and sold for almost $100,000 at BJ a few years ago. They made less than 50 SD Formula's, Most SD engines went into Trans Am's.

And for Ford Guys this is the a very rare and desireable car. I saw A 1963 Super Duty 421 Tempest in Similar condition sell for over $200,000, granted it was one of 12 Documented Cars built for Drag racing only, And it had racing history. It was actually sitting in a field about an hour away from my house, and I passed on it for $6000 about 10 years before it sold for big money DUH!!!!!!!!

 

The real question and actually understandable, why was this car left so long to rot?
Answering my own quesion, most likely to the former owner it was just an old worn out Ford.
It's mind boggling and it don't take much to boggle mine!

 

I was actually thinking that myself when I first saw it. Makes you wonder.

It could be a whole list of things, but I think that regardless of the reason it is kind of shocking to think that it was left to deteriorate like that. It would have been a whole lot easier to restore if it had been better taken care of in the interim.

I wonder if perhaps the owner had no idea about it's rarity.

 

In 1965 I once bought a 1964 dark blue Galaxie convertible, engine unknown now, from our local Ford dealer only blocks from home. I've written this before. Since it was late the salesman told me to come back after work the next evening.
Got home and the car sat in my driveway. I felt great but confused!
Ended up son-in-law bought it the next afternoon and the other salesman knew nothing about my deal.
I lived and got over it. I ended up buying a very low mileage 1965 Mustang 2X2 fastback and an old 1950 Harley from another dealer.
So what happened to the mint 64 Ford Galaxie? Same thing happened to all brother-in-law's cars........... He drove the heck out of it, wrecked it, and scrapped it.
That could have been one of those rare Fords too.
He also had a beautiful Studebaker Golden Hawk with gauges like an airplane. Probably a rare car. Scraped after tearing it up.
All cars are not driven by little ole lady school teachers and most people have no idea what a used car may be worth.
I'm still boggled.