For 1965, the Ford full-sized cars got their biggest makeover since 1949. This color film nicely details the important changes.
Ford’s full-sized passenger cars received complete overhaul for 1965, sporting a fresh new styling theme with vertical headlamps for the exterior and a completely redesigned chassis underneath. Now there were coil spings on all four corners, with a trailing-arm system at the rear to replace the parallel leaf springs used since 1949.
Meanwhile, the carefully engineered perimeter frame featured four large torque boxes, one at each corner, to catch road shocks and noise and isolate them from the newly stiffened body shell. In the nicely preserved color film below, there are clear technical illustrations of these important changes, supporting the claim that here was “the newest Ford in 15 years.”
Car Life magazine so impressed that it tested the ’65 Ford twice: a Galaxy LTD in December of 1964 and a Galaxie 500XL with the hairy 427 CID V8 in February ’65. (See our feature on the ’65 LTD here.) In ride, handling, and overall quietness, the new package was a complete departure from the past, the editors reported. The LTD, they declared, was “quite unlike any Ford that has come before.”
The new chassis and stiff, isolated body for 1965 gave the automaker at 1 American Road a new-found confidence. Enough confidence, in fact, to launch its famous marketing campaign that year declaring that its full-sized car was now “quieter than a Rolls-Royce.” Video below.
I remember when “reversible” keys were a new innovation. It was absolutely life-changing!
I wished they did it with house keys!
In the opening shot – it’s just a fleeting second – it looks like the Galaxie is perched on top of an extremely short butte.
Compare with the extremely tall butte Chevy used in its famous ’64 ad (“Chevrolet… stands… alone”) https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/video-chevrolet-atop-castle-rock-1964/
Surely some kind of inside joke for the dealers, eh?
Ford really set the mark high for the competition in 65. This design stayed fresh up until about 69 when it started getting bloated. If I had room in the stable I wouldn’t mind having a 65-66 Galaxie 500XL with a 390 or 427, bucket seats and 4 speed.
And those reversible keys….everyone should have copied that idea! Easier in the dark to open a locked door with no fumbling with the key orientation!
Another benefit of the new ’65 platform was the front suspension design which ended up setting the benchmark in NASCAR through the 1980s. That’s why a ’66 Galaxie front end was grafted into a ’67 Fairlane when Ford Racing Teams transitioned to intermediates.
A truly great generation of Fords!!! As a kid, I was disappointed with the 1969s when they debuted, because they lost the distinctive qualities of the 1965-68 generation.
Still I wished then the 1968 continued with the vertical headlights like what the 1968 Plymouth Fury and 1968 Cadillac did.
But homever, the basic 1965-66 Galaxie body was made in Brazil until 1983 (the 4-door sedan was the only version available in Brazil) and they used the old 272 and 292 Ford Y-block in the earlier years.
https://www.classicchevy.com/pit-stop-blog/ford-galaxie-boys-brazil/