Tag: Galaxie

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What’s Your Dream Car?

When I was a kid I spent lots of time doodling. I never got good at art but I sure practiced a lot. I still have a bunch of my later high school and college notebooks for some reason. When I found them recently I came across a whole bunch of my untalented artwork. I drew lots of skulls, flames, band logos (embarrassing) and yes even some cars.

In 1994 I saw my first 1963 ½ Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback. I was in awe, and in love. What the hell was this spaceship?!? This was nothing like any car that I knew at the time. We were in Nebraska at a car audio competition and this car was decked out. J. Bacon was the owner, and a stranger to me at the time.

This post brought to you by Motornation! Click the image above to go to the site and subscribe to see unlimited streaming hot rod, kustom car and motorcycle videos all for only $6.99 a month! I have my own channel there that you should check out and watch nonstop!
This post brought to you by Motornation! Click the image above to go to the site and subscribe to see unlimited streaming hot rod, kustom car and motorcycle videos all for only $6.99 a month! I have my own channel there that you should check out and watch nonstop!

Continue reading “What’s Your Dream Car?”

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CPPS Podcast Episode 21: All By Myself

1951 Ford 0004

The day I bought my 1951 Ford.  This week on Chrome Pipes & Pinstripes Podcast Royboy does his 3rd solo show. A rundown of the drags in Joplin, and updates on both of the Royboy rides! Continue reading “CPPS Podcast Episode 21: All By Myself”

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Car Feature: Kevin’s 1964 Galaxie 500

The very first time that I remember seeing a Galaxie was before my classic car obsession started. At that time I was just in a cars in general mode with an emphasis on car stereos. So while attending a show in Omaha, NE I saw a car that was completely alien to me, I mean it really looked like a UFO to my ignorant eyes, but I loved it. That car was a 1963 Galaxie 500 Sports Roof (1963 1/2 Galaxie 500) and it ignited a love affair that burns through to today.

Continue reading “Car Feature: Kevin’s 1964 Galaxie 500”

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Tech: Ryno Built Saves My Ride

I’ve known for awhile that the transmission cross-member that was in my 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 was hanging too low. It was dragging too much and on big bumps on the highway it would slam the pavement, no bueno. So when I was talking to my buddy Ryno at Ryno Built about it he said to come down to his shop in the Joplin area and he’d get a new one fabbed up.

When we got the car up on the lift it was obvious that things were more dire than I thought. The existing cross-member had completely broken into two pieces. One more big bump could have lost it completely, that could lead to any manner of catastrophic consequences. I’ve seen driveshafts come out and nearly slam into the car I was in behind the drive shaft’s prior vehicle. A couple of inches difference and that drive shaft would have come through the windshield. I cannot imagine if my car broke and caused something like that to happen. Best case scenario the failure would leave me stranded on the side of the road, worst case scenario could be deadly. Just another note to encourage you to make sure your ride is mechanically sound not just for your safety but for the safety of those around you.

Here
Here’s what we found when we got the car up on the lift. one side of the transmission cross-member had completely broken. 10 ga. welded to ½” plate and 0 penetration on the welds. That’s not rust on the floor pan that’s trans fluid. Another issue I have to fix.
Lucky for me I didn
Lucky for me I didn’t take one more trip with the car the way it was. 1 side of the existing transmission cross-member was completely separated.
Ryno plasma cutting the existing transmission crossmember off of the frame. The AOD is much longer than the Cruis-o-matic so using the factory frame mounts would have made the mount larger and harder to build.
Ryno plasma cutting the existing transmission cross-member off of the frame. The AOD is much longer than the Cruis-o-matic so using the factory frame mounts would have made the mount larger and harder to build.
Ryno getting rid of the remnants of the old crossmember.
Ryno getting rid of the remnants of the old cross-member.

Then it was time to grind off the remainder of the old mount.
Then it was time to grind off the remainder of the old mount.

Not quite done getting rid of the old one, almost done.
Not quite done getting rid of the old one, almost done.
Ryno cutting some tubing that we thought we needed before a later re-design when I changed my mind.
Ryno cutting some tubing that we thought we needed before a later re-design when I changed my mind.
Welding in the new crossmember.
Welding in the new cross-member.
At each end of the crossmember Ryno added 3/16" plate gussets under the crossmember. Here he
At each end of the cross-member Ryno added 3/16″ plate gussets under the cross-member. Here he’s adding some holes at my request to make it look cooler.
Before a coat of paint you can see the driver
Before a coat of paint you can see the driver’s side of the mount. The parking brake cable is attached to a tab that we added. We used a rectangle tubing to provide as much clearance under the cross-member as possible. There is room for a 2 ½” Dia. exhaust pipe to fit and still not hang below the frame.
The passenger side is pretty much the same without the parking brake cable mount. Here you can see the factory mount waaaay up forward on the frame.
The passenger side is pretty much the same without the parking brake cable mount. Here you can see the factory mount waaaay up forward on the frame.
The fluid everywhere is killing me, sorry about that. Here
The fluid everywhere is killing me, I have to figure out the leak and clean up the mess. Here’s the new cross-member and the new mount that we installed. The existing exhaust needs replaced soon so buy some photos so I can afford it!

If you need custom fabrication done for your ride, get ahold of Ryno Built and he can get your car on the road again!

See you at a show,

Royboy

 

New Knit Winter Hats now in stock,

100% made in the USA and embroidered with the rb logo.

Photo Jan 16, 6 41 06 PM

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Royboy Feature Videos

A couple of years ago I came up with the idea to do car features in video form. For some of you that have been following for awhile, you’ve seen these before. For the new folks take a few minutes and hopefully enjoy!

The concept is simple, get the car owner on camera telling the story of the ride. Unfortunately it is a time consuming process and time is what I don’t have much of. So…. there are 2 to date. I am planning on releasing a 3rd one next week (a year after I meant to release it). And hopefully more will follow. Feature videos are the perfect way to capture your memories of your favorite ride to remember for the rest of your life and pass on to future generations.

Video 1 If you can’t see the video click here.

Video 2 if you can’t see the video click here.


If you’d like to inquire about having a Feature Video created for your ride, use the contact form here to get a hold of me.

 

 

See you at a show.
Royboy

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Tech: Upgrade Your Audio

Okay folks, this is a complete experiment. This is a repost of an article that I did for the Galaxie Club of America Gazette a few years back. If you want more tech articles like this comment below or contact me here to let me know!

Upgrade Your Audio

A few years ago I decided to replace the horribly installed speakers in the rear deck of my Galaxie. The person who’d put them in had used pennies for washers among other sins of installation plus the speakers weren’t all that good. It was time to install some new ones and get rid of the ugly aftermarket speaker grills that were perched on the rear deck. Now I must say this, I am no pro installer, you’ll notice that when you see how straight my cuts are…

Car Show

As you can see in Picture 1, a previous owner had decided to cut out the factory rear deck wood and vinyl to install a pair of 6×9 speakers. I have to say I HATE to see speaker grills in the rear deck area of a car, 9 times out of 10 they are ugly and out of place.  The older (maybe factory) center 6×9 grill is pretty ugly as well, so let’s fix that! The goal for this part of the install was to see if I could put these speakers in without leaving any permanent changes to the car.

In Picture 2 you can see the factory rear deck metal, I have removed the rear seat bottom and back so that I could remove the upholstery that covers the rear deck. I won’t go into detail on how to get the panel out since each model of car is different. Lucky for me, Ford left 4 large openings plus the center 6×9 mount. Since stereo sound works best in the car when you have the most separation between left and right speakers, I am going to install the rear speakers in the far outside openings.

Picture 3 & 4 shows a tool that I have had for years…. And I have no idea what it’s called. It’s an adjustable curve that you can pick up at Hobby Lobby. I use it to copy complex shapes in the car. Here you can see it wrapped around the inside of one of the openings in the rear deck of the Galaxie. Simply fit the curve to the shape you desire to copy, then lay it on a piece of 1/8th masonite and trace the shape. This tool comes in very handy when making cardboard templates for patch panels when doing body work as well.

My idea to build the mounts was to use the small ledge in each opening to my advantage. I built a 1/8th masonite plate that fit into the indented part of the metal, then put another masonite plate under the rear deck and used small bolts to cinch the two pieces together tightly to hold them in place in the rear deck. The speakers will be mounted into the bottom panels. Picture 5 shows the rough shape of the panels with holes for the speaker in each panel. I have also drilled holes for the bolts in the panels at this point. The panel in front is the one that goes on top of the rear deck metal, the square-ish one behind goes below the metal and gets the speaker mounted to it. Next I painted them black so that the wood would not show through the final upholstery. I also used speed nuts to attach the speakers to the bottom panel so that I could remove the speakers from the panel without having to unbolt the panels from the rear deck.

Picture 6 shows the rough fitting. Everything is assembled and loose in the rear deck for adjustment. It should be noted at this point that if you have holes in the upholstery panel over any of the center 3 openings that you should cover the openings so that the sound waves that come from the rear side of the speakers do not come through into the passenger compartment. The rear side of the speaker produces a sound wave that will partially cancel out the sound from the front side so this is very important. I will be building a subwoofer setup that will fill these openings so it is not an issue in my case. Since the subwoofer setup will not be ready until down the road I covered the backside of the speakers with foam baskets to keep the back wave contained.

Picture 7 shows the finished project. The beginning idea of getting rid of the ugly holes and speaker grill and ending up with a clean looking rear deck has been accomplished.

The speakers sound much better and have been providing years of enjoyment now.

See you at a show,

Royboy

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Event Coverage: SKOOPS Annual Sock Hop and Cruz-In Car Show

Sunday morning I was talking with a friend of mine on facebook and he mentioned that he was about to head out to a show just 40 miles down the road from me. I didn’t feel like sitting home all day so I hopped in the car and headed south to Hesston, KS (about 30 miles north of Wichita). What I found was a nice small town show covering some of the downtown area of Hesston featuring cars of all types from all over the region.

 

You don’t see a Pantera all that often.

I have another shot or two of this, I’ll save for later though 🙂

Here’s one  you don’t see every day.

 

See you at a show,

Royboy

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Royboy Feature Videos

It’s been awhile since I’ve released a new video. I have the footage shot for 2 more but I’m waiting to time their release with those vehicles feature articles in magazines. Until then and for the new people here are the first two.

Episode 1 is all about the car that is featured in the Limited Edition Poster #1. Episode 1:Jack Marinelli tells the story behind his historic hot rod. A 29 Model A on 32 frame with a 46 drivetrain, this hot rod was build in the mid 50’s and sits today almost exactly the way it did then. This car is no enclosed trailer princess that sits in a museum, it is driven, and driven like it’s stolen. Music by Pushrod www.pushrodengage.com This episode sponsored by www.straykatkustoms.com

Episode 1:Jack Marinelli tells the story behind his historic hot rod. A 29 Model A on 32 frame with a 46 drivetrain, this hot rod was build in the mid 50's and sits today almost exactly the way it did then. This car is no enclosed trailer princess that sits in a museum, it is driven, and driven like it's stolen. Music by Pushrod www.pushrodengage.com This episode sponsored by www.straykatkustoms.com

Episode 2: Jeff Myers (owner of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS) takes us for a ride in his Custom 63 Galaxie and tells the story of the car and it’s build. Music by The Rumblejetts www.rumblejetts.com
Episode 2:Jeff Myers (owner of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS) takes us for a ride in his Custom 63 Galaxie and tells the story of the car and it's build. Music by The Rumblejetts www.rumblejetts.com/

More videos on the way as the vehicles near their publication dates! Stay tuned and I’ll see you at a show!

Travis

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The Domino Effect pt. 1

Somewhere around 2010 I decided it was time to get the AC in my 1963 Galaxie 500 charged up for the summer. $100 later it was ice cold and working like a dream, I was a happy camper. A month after that I flick the switch and wait for the refreshing cool air… it never got cool. I was not a happy camper. What could I really expect? The 1963 AC system to be still fully functional? My expectations were high apparently. The compressor was leaking out of both ends, badly. So I decided that one of these days I’d get a new compressor and the system would be good to go again.

Somewhere around that same time I noticed that on any reasonably hot day, as soon as you got under 30 mph, the temp gauge would just climb. A new bigger badder, 6 blade agressive fan and a partial should were added to the car along with a new radiator cap after the old one blew a seal. It helped, a bit, the car was still running hot in stop and go traffic and it was still slowly creeping up at low speeds. A trip to a friend’s garage revealed that the radiator was only cooling 5 degrees from inlet to outlet, it was apparently partially plugged. So last September I ordered up a Speedway Universal Ford Aluminum Radiator…. and it sat in my living room until I had time to tackle the job of replacing the old one.

But the domino that started this chain of events was neither of these. On the way home from Jeff Myers’ Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS I noticed that the generator light was on. A couple of quick checks told me the generator was not doing it’s job. Since I had plans on installing a nice sound system in the Galaxie eventually I decided to upgrade to a Tuff Stuff 1 wire alternator.

So about a month before my planned trip to the Lonestar Roundup I took the car out to my Dad’s heated garage for what we both envisioned as a weekend long job. You know what happened next. The Domino Effect took hold. While test fitting the radiator, we figured out that this universal radiator was nice, but it just didn’t fit. The bottom connection on the radiator was exactly where the power steering pump pulley was wanting to be. Sure it could be cut and rewelded and such but there just isn’t time for someone like me to learn how to TIG weld. A friend or two offered to help but they live an hour trip away and there just hasn’t been time to get it done. Add to that a new Champion Radiator is fairly inexpensive and a direct replacement to the original and it was time to order a new one.

Okay, so I’ll set this radiator aside for a future project and get a Champion direct drop in radiator, no problem this is going to go fine. It was just about the time we said that when Dad noticed the shaft of the power steering pump looked a bit odd. It was shiny right in front of the front bearing. He grabbed the pulley and gave it a little push, it wobbled…badly.

The power steering pump which was 3 or so years old was shot. After some online research I see a lot of people complaining that even after a rebuild this style of pump could fail fairly quickly. Many suggested upgrading to the venerable Saginaw pump… yup a GM part on my Ford, heresy. The alternator is also a GM 1 wire! Right about here the domino effect starts picking up steam.

The saginaw pump won’t work with the factory power steering pump bracket. The alternator requires new brackets as well. These brackets are built for a 65 or newer water pump… I have a 63. Okay so while I’m at it, a new high flow water pump will be ordered too. If I’m going to do this, it’s going to be done right and once. A little digging on the website of the company that builds the brackets shows that they also sell one for a sanderson style AC compressor for the Ford FE. Well since I’m doing it, I’m gonna do the damn thing all the way, ordered that bracket too and a new Sanderson AC compressor after a conference with a mechanic friend that assured me that it would work with the rest of my system.

Dad elbow deep in my Galaxie, thanks for your help Pop!

So all of the parts were ordered, all the brackets were ordered, it was sit and wait for the Santa in the brown truck to bring all the goodies to my door. Everything showed up and it was time to head back to the garage to start putting this thing back together.

Next up comes the fun part!

That’s it for the lead up, tomorrow the tale of how it all went together.

See you at a show,

Travis

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New Kustom Paint, Old Kustom Flavor

I’ve had my 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 since 2004. When she first entered my life she looked like a 70’s cruiser. Stock body, dark tinted windows (80’s probably), Cragar S/S wheels and some fairly large raised white letter tires.

Continue reading “New Kustom Paint, Old Kustom Flavor”

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Royboy Features Episode 2 Jeff Myers’ 63 Galaxie

I’ve been blessed to meet some great folks in my travels around the midwest attending car shows from Austin to Chicago. So about a year back I decided that I wanted to feature some of the great people and their vehicles in a way that photographs alone couldn’t do. So in August the first video was released of Yblock292’s 29 Roadster. A bit behind schedule here is the 2nd video, this time of Finkd (Jeff Myers) beautiful mild custom 63 Ford Galaxie.

Jeff has become a great friend and was nice enough to take me and the camera for a ride to explain all about the car. I hope you enjoy it!

Jeff’s Arkansas City, KS based shop Premier Body & Paint is a H.A.M.B. Alliance Vendor so if you need some work done, make sure to join and let him know you’re a member! Music in this one was provided by my buddies The Rumblejetts, make sure to support them as well.

See you at a show,

Travis