1961 Ford Galaxie Sunliner Convertible Big Block - Black - Florida Car

Summary: This is a super straight Georgia/Florida 1961 Ford big block Galaxie Sunliner Convertible with many updated mechanicals and a rather complete parts package. It comes to you as it looked when it returned from body and paint, ready to complete, or to receive a color change to suit your goals before reassembly. If you've ever had to restore a Midwestern or Northern car, then be prepared to weep when you see the impressive condition of these inner panels, rockers, quarters and doors -- even after 55 years and without any clean up. I'll start the auction at $0.99 and let her go to the person who wants her. This is a great project that does not require rust repair.

This is a no reserve auction to sell this car this week. I will take you on a tour below.

Note: There are links to photo galleries at the bottom of this listing with about 100 photos in extra large detail. Please check-out those images so you can understand exactly the value of this total package.

Backstory: We needed a rust free southern Sunliner to rebody an important and completely original Dearborn car. But by the time we found a suitable car, bought it and got the car up here, the plan had changed and the Dearborn car moved on without a rebody. That left this Atlanta built Florida car without a mission. So the car sat in our heated storage for ten years waiting to be completed. People who looked under the cover would ask to buy it, but we felt we needed to complete it because it was already so close. With nothing driving its completion, it simply languished under a cover waiting to be finished. However, now that I've lost my partners and we are no longer doing restorations, it will go to the next person at whatever price this auction brings. I am committed to sell it as is, even though our reassembly of this car would significantly increase its market value. This is a reluctant parting of the ways in the case of this car. It has so much potential and so much of it is already right.

What we have done: The car had been stripped down to body panels while on frame with most mechanical and paint work completed. It was then partially reassembled. The project had apparently stalled before final reassembly. After we purchased the car in northern Florida (2006) it came to Detroit and got climate controlled storage and some additional brake and fuel system work. We installed the correct 1961 instrument panel, steering and seats in the car so we could easily move it around. It has maybe driven one mile since leaving Florida. Now this car, and a load of supplies, are available for you to complete or combine with your less pristine project car.

Original Specs: This car was shipped as a 1961 Ford Galaxie Sunliner Convertible (76B) X-Code FE big block painted a Montecarlo Red (J) exterior wrapping a Red Morocco (95) vinyl interior with a white top. It also was delivered with electric wipers, heater/defroster, tinted glass, power steering and a Cruise-O-Matic transmission (4) with 3.00:1 (6) axle ratio.It was built in Atlanta (A) Georgia and scheduled for May 19, 1961 (19E). It spent most of its life in Georgia and northern Florida. I purchased it in Florida in 2006 (see body data tag and Florida title which are also in the photo section).

Overall Condition: It always puts a grin on my face when I climb under one of these southern cars, or look inside the panels to see a clean wheelhouse, body seams, window track mounts or drain tracks. This car is not detailed or even clean inside the panels or underneath, but it has good integrity most anywhere you look. A good cleaning would do it wonders. The paint is a low-gloss slightly gold-flake green-black color that looks black at any distance. If that sounds like I am having a hard time describing exactly what this color is, then you've got that right. It's also hard to photograph a color this dark that hasn't been fully wet sanded and buffed out but you will see the green and the gold hue in various images below.. The guy doing this paint job had a rather unique show-car-like vision that I can't easily decode. See if maybe you can. Mechanically it is in good shape with much recently retouched. Frame is fantastically clean, suspension solid appearing and floors and structural metal typical southern solid. Drivetrain is in the car and the front clip mostly reassembled and aligned.

Reassembly Content: I have packaged most of the items you need to assemble this car. I say most not all, because I tried to build you a set of everything that came with it and at least one of everything needed for a Sunliner. But I'm not going to say it is "everything," because I hate it when people point to a photo of a pile of parts with a car and say it's "all there." In this case it is darn close minus some fastener and rubber kits. I might not have torn this one down but I've had four of these, so I generally know what goes back on this car. When in doubt you might get two or three or five of something because who else am I going to give that stuff to? Also the disassembled parts are filthy from being stored in the paint prep area during the body work. You will notice gray primer dust and sanding debris in photos of almost anything off the car. That might reflect poor workshop management, but it doesn't worry me too much. It just means there is more work to do before coming back together. So you will need to do some cleaning and polishing and selecting of the best component in some cases. But that's a a fun problem to have -- then sell the rest. When in doubt review the pictures below. As for the remaining parts, I will include as many as I can and document them photographically.

Metal Repairs: You can see from the under body catalog (below) that all the panels are there and accounted for. As for metal repairs I saw, there is a film on the trunk floor under the paint. It's probably to fill the common Galaxie trunk floor pinholes that arise over the gas tank. This is so common in Galaxies that it doesn't bother me. If the paint on the trunk floor wasn't lifting I wouldn't have known this had been done. (more on that elsewhere). That's how subtle it is. The other place I saw a small repair was right at the toe of the drivers foot-well under the mounting point for the gas pedal where the pedal pivot screws would normally pierce the floor. This is pretty common in convertibles that had wet carpets at some point. But let's remember that if I need to be that picky to find faults in a 55 year old convertible body then you are in pretty good shape. Many would call this car rust-free, but if you look hard enough there's always something in a car that has been living out in the real world most of its life. In the pictures I've tried to document it all for you. Inner panels are filthy but beautiful in my eyes. As far as visible body problems, it has a couple of dents on the drivers side from less than ideal treatment in storage. Whether that was here or before I don't know, but overall the panels are super straight and flat. I will include cans of the paint components that came with the car so you can try and decode how this finish was created if necessary to touch it up.

Paint: Clearly much of the body/paint was done by a professional. The outer panels are super flat and straight and smooth. Looking down the sides the fit and finish is consistent. If you like this color I would consider wet sanding to see whether the colors come up in a way you like. The interior and highlight trim items were done in a brighter green tint. They also have a consistent finish and appear to have been wrapped for transport from a paintshop. So again, I would say professional work. However, the gold and speckle paint in the trunk and on the highlights on the trunk lid underside seem to be an amateur afterthought added on top of the professional body and paint work. The adhesion for this paint is not good. I could actually lift off the gold paint from the trunk floor with my fingers. Personally that's a good thing because the gold highlights would come back off if this were my project. Luckily that mess is in the trunk, so you can correct this with just a trip through an Eastwood catalog and some elbow grease and get better results. Get yourself back to a clean paint-able surface in the the trunk, unlike what this guy did, and go your own way -- and you could be done. That would be my approach if all you want to erase is the gold.

Likewise, if you don't like this color, then this car is in a great position for you to make a new color choice before you begin to add back the rubber and such. You are not very far from a prep-for-paint cycle again, to get to your favorite hue, and then to start reassembly. This is a great project for people who hate rust or bodywork but love to add value with their tools and time. This car is a good investment that will result in a valuable end product instead of repairing a sinkhole of cash that will never be right after spending more than you will spend for this straight car in total. I've owned both kinds. This is also a good deal for anyone who wants a Sunliner in a hard to find color, because you can now repaint this one without going backwards as you would on a completed car where you're paying for paint and detail you don't even want. For example, if you are someone like me who knows you will never find that Chesapeake blue convertible if you don't make one yourself.

Interior: Many of the interior painted parts are still wrapped from when they came back from the painter. I opened up a couple and you will see some freshly painted parts with a greenish hue and dust in photos. Those in paper and green plastic are unopened and remain as they came to me. I have put the seats, steering and instruments back in it so it can drive around. Dare I say that the blue seats are nicer than the stock Ford vinyl seats, but a bit aged and dirty. In order to have something that goes with a goldflake/green cast semi-gloss black you will need custom covers or maybe the factory black will work. Also I am including a couple more sets of inner door and quarter trim panels from other 61 and 62 cars that you can use or recover. I'm not planning on doing any more 61 Fords so these are better in your hands than mine. Current steering wheel and gauges are now correct, heater box is still under the dash and was never removed during paint, the one in the pictures is for spare parts. I will include many duplicate items in here for spares. There is one bag in the interior trim picture that contains the monster share of bezels, clip, scripts and knobs. Look for it in the photos. You should be pretty close to a full set. A complete set was my intent, but I didn't go part by part and reassemble the interior for you, so you know how that goes. If you end up missing something just ask. Getting you going is my priority.

Top and Top Mechanism: The top looks complete and I have fasteners in bags to complete it. Note the hockey stick tacking strips, clamping and chrome strips; as well as snaps and boot and all kinds of stuff to get you started. The top mechanical assembly moves freely and is not corroded. Like all the other take-offs on this car they were left in place during body work or left nearby because although they are not rusty they are filthy with gray primer dust and other paint-shop trash. Everything will need a good wash down to determine if you want to do any more restoration work on it or do simple polishing. Don't trust the pictures for surface condition. I mean that in a good way. This stuff is filthy but it doesn't look abused. Fabric mounting points were cut around when the bulk of fabric was removed from the top so you should get some extra tuning hints for fastening and adjusting your new top. If you buy your top from the right vendor they will provide tack strips and pads and all that in the bundle. The top cylinders, pump and hoses look to be there in the car. Look for them in the pictures. The rest of the items removed for paint are in their own section photo, except for the minor hardware, which is in bags. Again you should be pretty close in this category.

Mechanically most of the work was completed before we got it. Underhood, everything seems to have gotten some attention. Engine looks correct, sounds happy, is strong, clean and dry as if refreshed; even though the manifolds and many other things are aged in appearance and not painted. Cruise-o-matics and Ford PS are pretty tough but their seals leak. The fact that this engine, PS and transmission are not dripping after more than ten years over tan epoxy floors tells me that they were probably refreshed at some point, not just cleaned and/or repainted. Upper a-arm pins and other bushings also look too fresh to be original in my opinion. The typical and correct nine inch is solid and not leaking. It also got a fluid change and new vent tube this past year.

Brakes, Wheels & Tires: The brake system was serviced last year. I replaced the wheel cylinders, hardware, some lines, master cylinder and host of other hydraulic stuff in order to move our stored cars to non-glycol brake fluids. You can still see the red-oxide from when we finished blasting and painting the brake backing plates and shoes before reassembling the system. So that system should need very little to be done if you want stock brakes. The mounted steel wheels are clearly not FoMoCo. They are after-market wheels set up for moon caps. The tires have held air for more than ten years. They will certainly get you through this project, probably without needing to touch them. I do have a set of 61 Thunderbird disc brake wheels I can give you if you ask for them. They are FoMoCo and look correct, but are a bit bigger and have the shoulder inside to clear a caliper if you go to disc brakes. I think they are a superior choice to the original drum brake 14 inch wheels if you are not going for a concourse car or want to use the stock 14 inch wheel covers. Just tell me you want a set before you come to pick up your car so I can pull and load them.

Fuel System: It works, it doesn't leak, it isn't clogged, the rubber joints are fresh, lines seem solid, no parade of rust clogging up a fuel filter. Not much to say. Which is good and not entirely common on my Galaxies. This should be good as is. I'm not worried about the fuel system,

Completeness: On this car that is the only real question I can't answer, besides, what was the painter's creative vision. The car looks to be complete but disassembled. However, I have enough experience with restoration to say that's never entirely the case. And their bag-and-tag technique was not quite as thorough as mine. But I have included everything I can find and many duplicates for you to use to assess for best condition or to trade with others for what included parts might not be acceptable to you. All the big expensive chrome and stainless pieces should be there -- and most every little piece. I did not find an unbroken trunk Galaxie script or trunk lock cover. And I've included hundreds of the fasteners, clips trim and dash pieces that came with the car and should go back on as planned. I've tried to lay the significant pieces out for you rather than show you tubes of wrapped stock. See below. I will pack up all of this and somehow get it in the car for you to take home. For once, I won't offer you any sheet metal in my bundle because I don't think you need a single piece for this car. And I've given you extras of pieces of the things I can spare. EXCEPTION: There is one exception. I cannot find the painted filler piece that goes under the grill and fills to the front bumper, so I've had to include one from another car that is not quite as nice as the rest of this car. But that should be it.

Running Condition: I did carefully bring it up to spinning and then later running. Everything was fine. It got a tune up with full ignition parts and of course all fluids and filters swapped. Then I updated some of this again a year ago when revising the brakes. The car is not leaking and it should idle well for the videos. All four corners have rebuilt brakes with new hardware, the brakes might grab a little because I tend to keep them too tightly adjusted for a car that sits so much. Tires are old. This car should easily drive onto and off of a transporter or anywhere else you are willing to drive a naked car with a running big block in it. That is if I don't fill it to the brim with extra 61 parts I find. I think I have the stock exhaust for this car if you want it but it's not packed inside the car right now because it takes up too much space for the value.

Door Jams, Glass and Window Frames: The doors, jams and window frames look pretty good to me. I think only one window frame had visible corrosion. The windows are filthy from being in the doors during most of the paint process. Looking in the door channels, cowl and vent sections I saw nothing of interest in there except beautiful old dust on solid surfaces. The windshield is tinted. The rubber windshield seal still good. The large missing top chrome trim is included - see photos. I think I have all the interior chrome and stainless glass trim laid out for you to see as well. The glass is coated with a film and splatter from not being covered throughout all of body and paint prep. Again, I offer more of the same assessment. It looks complete but appears dirty. Vinyl for top and rear plastic window of course is no longer here. You will be getting a new top and rear window to match your color anyway. Rear window lifts are out but in the pictures. A few miscellaneous door parts that were loose in the doors were removed and appear in the part section pictures also. Check out the inner door and rear quarter window channel pictures. Very fun.

Rubber Seals: Luckily all the trim and rubber was removed prior to body work and paint. So the car is ready for a rubber kit after you get the paint how YOU like it. The few pieces that have been reinstalled look new.

Trunk and Hood: These are super clean if I remember correctly. The metal is so right on this car that I didn't pay much attention to them.

Frame and Underbody Panels: Generally gorgeous but not perfect. Check them out in the pictures. The inner and outer rockers are beautiful and so much more. Look at the photos, don't take my word for it. It's worth the time.

Fenders, Rockers and Quarter Panels: Two dents on the left side. You better bump them instead of filling them because this metal is too nice for filling. See pictures. Remember this car was purchased to rebody another. So metal condition was the primary factor in its original purchase. Frame is equally nice.

OTHER

For whom is this car perfect?

If you like cars painted semi-gloss black with a green hue and gold flake

If you want a non-standard or rare color Sunliner convertible, then this car is ready for a color change right now.

If you wanted a Southern car without rust, where you can add value and complete it with hand tools and your sweat equity.

If you have a rather nice but rusty 60-62 convertible, coupe or sedan that you would like to cannibalize or rebody as a legit big block convertible to achieve a higher value combination than the two separately.

Why am I selling it? This year both of my restoration partners passed away, and this not only left me with quite a bit of stuff to deal with it, but it also helped me decide not to spend my time rebuilding cars and relics anymore. That means that the items I am bringing to sale this year were not generally purchased to be sold, but were for us. And I also want to point out that this is a no reserve auction because my goal is to sell my cars quickly and efficiently for close to market value. This car will sell this week to someone who will enjoy it. This is a great project for someone who hates body work but love wrenching or has another car that is otherwise never going to be right without a fresh body. So please take a close look and bid or pass it along. This car deserves a good home and to finally be completed.

Title: I personally own this car. I can sign it over upon presentation of cash or after proof of payment plus appropriate delay.

Warranty: Clearly there is none. This car is for someone who knows what he or she is doing. I've tried to describe it based on what I can see and what I have so far touched, but I am not omniscient. When in doubt trust the pictures. Use your best judgment or send someone to confirm the facts. Then have some fun figuring it all out.

Transport: Even though you are not going to be able to turn the key and drive away. It should start and drive onto a transport. This car needs careful re-assembly before committing it to the road. It is also residing on 20 year old tires. So unless you are filming an episode for the Hot Rod Roadkill team, plan on safe transport to your preferred location to dig in and have fun. I'll ship it wherever you want it, once the wire transfer has been cleared by my bank. it is also full of parts. I'd rather not ship it that way. We might need to do a better job repacking those if you plan to ship it long distance unattended. We can deal with that later.

Buy it Now Price: I am including a buy-it-now price because my experience tells me that 80% the of the questions I will get are "If you sold it now what is your buy it now price?" So now I have one. But the auction will determine the final price and I'm starting at the very bottom.

Inspection: If you need a third party inspection, please send your inspector before the auction completes. I will do my best to provide better photos than any inspector, however, so we can all feel comfortable with the value and condition. I don't want my opinion to be the only one. That's what the 100 detail photos are for.

Payment: I expect that you can pay for it if you win. I need to move on to the next car so please help me to wrap-up this transaction by providing for quick payment. I will make second chance offers if necessary to get this thing to move-on-out if the winning bidder is a flake. So keep in touch even if you lose.

That's about it. When in doubt review the photos or ask questions. Enjoy. Thank You. Stephen.
For those who cannot view the photos in the repository below, please email me and I will post them using other gallery tools for your review.

http://museum-services.com/sun/body/body_album.html

http://museum-services.com/sun/underbody/underbody_album.html

http://museum-services.com/sun/interior/interior_album.html

http://museum-services.com/sun/enginebay/engine_album.html

http://museum-services.com/sun/includes/includes_album.html