Ford enthusiasts in 1965 may have been more interested in Mustangs and Fairlanes, but the 1965 FORD 427 GALAXIE surprised a lot of Ponycar and Musclecar owners on the street and strip!
1965 was a year of firsts and incredible accomplishments for Ford on racing circuits worldwide. No other American carmaker – and few European manufacturers – even came close to Ford’s seemingly unstoppable assault. Ford cars and engines prove to be unbeatable on the world’s toughest proving grounds: Daytona, Indianapolis, Nurburgring, Pomona, Riverside, Sebring, Targa Florio.
Henry Ford II was most impressed when Ford was presented with the 1965 Alec Ulmann Cup for the second year in a row. The silver bowl is presented annually to the American manufacturer whose engines earn the highest number of points in four of the world’s toughest and longest road races – Le Mans, Nurburgring, Sebring and Targa Florio.
Ford completely restyled and re-engineered the full-size 1965 FORD 427 GALAXIE with new sheet metal and chassis and suspension updates. These could be ordered with 410 horsepower single four-barrel and 425 horsepower dual four-barrel 427 engines. Coil springs were used fore and aft for the first time, which improved ride qualities. Along with all the obvious changes, Ford also invested in upgrading interior soundproofing. Testing showed that the new Galaxie was actually quieter than a Rolls-Royce and that became one of the new car’s key marketing themes.
Early production (up to January 1965) 427 Galaxies were powered with carryover 1964 model big-block engines. The later production 1965 FORD 427 GALAXIE came with new side-oiler big-block fitted with a forged steel crank, high-rpm valve train with lightweight hollow-stem valves, and heads with machined combustion chambers. This was the block used for the 427 SOHC race engine. However, advertised horsepower ratings remained the same.
Even though the 1965 FORD 427 GALAXIE had a 119-inch wheelbase and was a big car, it offered surprisingly good performance on the street. Some of my old CARS Magazine test notes show that a 427/425 Galaxie with four-speed and 3.50 limited-slip (Detroit Locker) rear (factory Equa-Lok could not be ordered on 427 cars) could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in the low-5s. On the drag strip it was not unusual to run the quarter in the 15.0s at around 95 mph. When equipped with headers, ignition tuning and sticky cheater slicks, a 427/425 Galaxie could clock high-14s.
For more information about the 1965 Ford Galaxie, please visit https://over-drive-magazine.com/2024/08/22/1965-ford-full-size-cars-fact-sheet/
Check out details of the Ford FE-Series big-block engine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/02/14/the-ford-fe-series-v-8/