Ford galaxie sunliner 1962
Posted by ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 15 comments
My grandmothers first and only car is a ford galaxie sunliner, unfortunately after she passed it sat untouched for over a decade, we are looking to get it restored we want to maybe hear how much people think it would take to restore it? (We know nothing about cars but we would love to have her drive again) - she would need a full paint job, interiors pretty clean and in “good” condition we aren't sure about under the hood
EC_CO@reddit
Whatever prices you're quoted, figure another third on top of that. Doing a restoration is not cheap these days. Paint costs have gone through the roof over the last decade, good show quality paint job these days are 15 to 20 grand. A daily driver paint job is still going to cost you 5 to 10 grand. Getting into parts, that's a whole nother mess in itself as a lot of the parts are not reproduced so you're going to have to restore what's already on that vehicle (and finding what's missing) which takes a lot of time and effort. I've spent the last decade restoring a 1970 barracuda, the first year and a half was literally tearing it down, every single nut and bolt. and the time since then has been accumulating parts and restoring what was on the vehicle.
You can very quickly rack up 25 to 40 Grand in costs. Engine/trans/rear end rebuild. Paint. Trim restoration. Interior upholstery and all the trim+ electric bits.
ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit (OP)
I’m ready for the long haul 😅
EC_CO@reddit
It's exciting at first, then it sucks for a while but you keep plugging along with small victories here and there, as you get towards the end you start getting a lot more excited again. unless you've given up by that point, this is where you start seeing a lot of projects pop up on eBay that have been started, languished because the owner got bored, frustrated or lacking funds to keep going.
If you want to do this yourself, get a lot of plastic baggies and as you start removing parts, make sure that you are labeling everything, putting all your nuts and bolts into label bags with tons of photos and even better a video showing where the various things came off and how they'll go back together. Restore your items as you're pulling them off, this way it doesn't get too overwhelming and you don't end up with a whole pile of parts that need to be restored at once. You're going to have a lot of Rusty nuts and bolts, pick up a good rust remover product like Evaporust and start soaking those items and cleaning those up, again with everything labeled separately so that things don't get mixed up.
Join a couple of dedicated forums for this vehicle, the knowledge, help and used parts resources will be absolutely invaluable during this endeavor. Get a good idea for what parts are going to be hard to find so that you can start scouring for them now.
ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit (OP)
This is all great advice thank you so much!!
EC_CO@reddit
If you plan on doing this yourself, have some fun with it by posting up YouTube videos of the work that you're doing. This serves a couple of purposes, first and foremost is that you'll have a video record of what's being removed and where things go so that when you go to put it back together you'll have a hardcore reference. Secondly, you may be able to make a few extra bucks off of it as well too by monetizing the channel and maybe getting a little back afterwards. Third, it's a nice historical record for future owners or family members. Good luck, it looks like a really awesome project
Express_Ad_772@reddit
This is cool. most of these are badly rusted out especially convt. Looks like most of the trim is there. This car has great bones. This done right would be a stunning . It is a very long and extremely expensive journey. Enjoy
ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit (OP)
Thank you! Im so glad it’s not in worse condition I’m hopeful
JCDU@reddit
Very cool - is it gonna record a hit record?
IYKYK
ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit (OP)
HAHA
JCDU@reddit
I'm just jealous, I'd do almost anything for one of these or a Bluesmobile but being in the UK I may as well wish for a unicorn that farts gold coins.
ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit (OP)
never say never im rooting for your car find
UnknownCubicle@reddit
That is very, very cool. Under the hood you have a Ford big block "FE" engine. I'd bet it's a 390 cubic inch, but it could be a 352. It's greasy, but if you can pull the spark plugs out and rotate it with a ratchet or breaker bar, I bet it will run after you pull the distributor and prime the oil system. I would recommend making some quality of life upgrades like replacing the distributor breaker points with electronic ignition, getting a disc brake kit and a new brake master cylinder, etc.
If all else fails, an imperfect driver is 100x more inspiring than yard art awaiting perfection. As David Freiberger says, "Don't get it right; just get it running."
Best of luck! It's a beauty!
ikeabirdnumbertwo@reddit (OP)
I agree! Thank you so much I’ll pass this information over to my family :)
Boilermakingdude@reddit
The just get it running and driving at a shop, depending on work needed, could be 500$ + tires, or could be $5000.
As for paint, if you want the body fixed as well, factor for 10-15k easily.
If you bring it to a resto shop, figure around 40k
Boilermakingdude@reddit
The just get it running and driving at a shop, depending on work needed, could be 500$ + tires, or could be $5000.
As for paint, if you want the body fixed as well, factor for 10-15k easily.
If you bring it to a resto shop, figure around 40k