Ford Snuck A 427 Big Block Into A '60s Daily Driver Street Car

The 1960s and early 1970s saw the birth of the American muscle car. Vehicles like the Dodge Charger, Ford Torino, Chevy Chevelle, and dozens of others became immortal icons in automotive history during this time. The Ford Galaxie, given its tenure as a big and relatively luxurious sedan, coupe, and wagon, however, is not always thought of as a muscle car.

Yet that might be an unfair sentiment. The Galaxie was raced in NASCAR extensively, with legends like the Allison brothers, Donny and Bobby, racing the model in the late 1960s. In fact, that racing connection was one of the main reasons why the Ford Galaxie was available with a 427 cubic-inch eight-barrel carburetor V8.

In fact, this same 427 saw Ford-powered victories in not only countless victories in American racings series like NASCAR, but also victories in Le Mans (the movie "Ford v. Ferrari" might ring a bell).  But even before all of that racing, the 427 was first given to a Galaxie all the way back in 1963 as an optional extra. It would take a few years for monsters like the Chrysler 426 Hemi to make it into regular production cars. 

The 1963 Ford Galaxie saw a heavy redesign based on comfort and luxury, borrowing parts from the Thunderbird coupe. In brochures from the time, Ford claimed it spent $10 million to improve the ride and handling of the Galaxie to give it a much more plush and compliant ride. It was still, in classic 1960s full-size car fashion, as big as a boat. 

To complement the extra handling prowess, the Galaxie was available with the aforementioned 427 V8. Marketing slogans from the time referred to the 427-powered Galaxie as a "Super Torque Ford" and heavily leaned into the Thunderbird comparisons. The 427 was a huge step up (literally) from the base model's 223 cubic-inch inline-6 and the Galaxie XL's 289 cubic-inch V8.

For 1963, the 427 was available with the coupe, sedan, and convertible Galaxies, but not available in the wagon, although you could still get a 390 cubic-inch V8 in one of those. In the Galaxie, that big block 427 made 425 horsepower gross; while there's not an exact conversion between gross horsepower and the more modern net horsepower, it's safe to say that it was a lot then and it would still be a lot now. Funnily enough, if you optioned get the 427, you did not get power steering.