Matt's Ford Galaxie
From seeing Matt's Galaxie at a number of shows, including our Chill & Grill and Cars & Coffee, we just knew we had to get him to bring it to the detailers academy for a Build Talk chat. The car has a perfect patina, a killer original interior and all the right quirks you would desire in an old skool American car. Along with an interesting history, to boot.
The exterior shows a wonderful history in its aged paint. The patina and hand-painted lettering really ties the aesthetic of the car together. Then there's the wheels; a subtle quirk added to the original steels with a little banded magic, accompanied by those big period-correct balloon tyres.
The interior is everything you would want or need in an old American car. The leather is perfectly aged, and the dash has all the quirks and hidden touches you could dream of... every time you look at the interior you discover something new.
Finally, the engine, the perfect, subtle-yet-loud V8 cruiser with an itch for speed. And have you seen how it looks?! Check out these images; new on the inside old on the outside...
WHAT GOT YOU INTO CARS?
"My old man; he owns a garage called Rickys, over in Harlow, and from a young age I used to go down there and tinker with my Dad. I'm still very much into cars now; even though it's financially crippled me," he says laughing.
HISTORY OF THE CAR?
"I bought it off a guy in Leicester who buys and sells cars, previous to that it was sat for 30 years in North Carolina. I liked it, thought it was a bit of me, so I bought it and have been driving it ever since."
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE CAR?
"So far, it's had two engine rebuilds, a gearbox rebuild, I blew a diff up and had that rebuilt and just general maintenance like springs, shocks and bushes. Which is all expected when you buy a car of that age... it might be fine one day, but the next something really simple might go on it. "Following the second engine rebuild, it's now running about 240bhp which is fun, but it takes about 3 minutes to stop so going fast isn't my thing in that car. "I had the original steels banded, so it's 8.5j in the front and 9.5j to the rear."
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
"The current wheels are 14-inch and I think I will probably get 15s next so I can do a disk conversion all round to get rid of the factory drum brakes. A manual box will follow, so I can get rid of that horrible auto box."
DREAM CAR?
"Either a 964 or 993 Porsche. Hopefully, both!"
TOP 5 AF PRODUCTS?
"Avalanche, because it's easy to use and gets the job done." "Lather just because it's a go-to product for me." "Crystal glass cleaner, because it's really good at getting the windows looking amazing." "Satin is a must for getting those meaty tyres looking clean." "Finally, Finale because it's a great finishing product."
Massive thanks to Matt for bringing in his stunning Galaxie down to the academy and for telling us some more about the car!