Sometime in 1962
This is a picture of my grandfather and his car, "The Black Job", shortly after he bought it in 1962. I was only 4 years old at the time, but the story I heard was that after he retired he was looking for a new car. He went to a Ford dealer and they had this car on the lot... a black 1962 Ford Galaxie 500XL with red interior, and he had to have it. It had a 352 engine, but he really wanted a 390. He compromised by having them put 390 emblems on the car. He loved this car and always called it "The Black Job".
The car was an integral part of his life. From his Chihuahua dog, Buff, who would get up in the back window whenever he said "Up in the back, Buff!", to honking whenever he passed the barbar shop where he got his hair cut, just to make the barber stop what he was doing to look. My grandfather was bald and said that for as little hair that he had, the barber charged too much, so he would honk to get a few more seconds of the barber's time. He also thought it would be funny if the barber screwed up someone's haircut if he was startled by the horn honk. My grandfather had a great sense of humor and he really loved that car. Sometimes when he was visiting, he would walk over to the front door, look out and say, "Whose beautiful black job is that out there?". I was 18 when he passed away, so I have a ton of memories of him and this car when I was growing up.
I've had the car for about 38 years or so. In May of 2003 I started a frame off restoration. The purpose of this site is to keep anyone who is interested up to date on the progress, and also to possibly help anyone else who may be restoring a 1962 Ford Galaxie. If anyone would like to contact me regarding 1962 Galaxies or for any other reason, I can be reached at dave@62ford.com.
