The forgotten 1960 Fords

mercman from oz

mercman from oz

Well-known member
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You don't see many 1960 Fords these days. This model was never sold in Australia, but over the years, a few have found their way here. When released, it has been stated that they were a fraction wider than some States allowed, which meant that they couldn't be sold in some States until this problem was sorted out. Style wise, they were one year ahead of Chevrolet by eliminating the "dog-leg" windscreen pillar. This model also saw Ford do away with the round taillights, but they would revert back to round taillights again in 1961. This survivor 1960 Ford Galaxie Sedan was for sale at Del Mar this year. It is a pity that more of this model are not seen, as they are quite a nice looking car, although many will disagree with me?
 
That rear 3/4 view shows Ford's lame attempt to copy '59 Chevy tail fins. I thought they were ugly in 1960 and still do. But, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Just my opinion.
 
With the roof trim it looks like a 4 dr Starliner. I've got a '60 Starliner I'll never part with. Had a '60 Sunliner when I was a kid. Love '60 fords. Like 40 Deluxe says, you either love 'em or hate 'em. Nobody seems in the middle on them.
 
If you go back and look at the numbers, we had a recession ending in 1958, a Fed rate increase in 1959, and another recession in 1960. Economy didn't recover till 1962. Car sales for all makes reflect that. So the small numbers of 60's fords had to compete with the 61's and 62's at the bottom of the used market. By then, an old 61 Starliner or Thunderbird wasn't a lot more than a 1960, and a lot better looking. Go to all all Chevy show and the lack of 59 and 60 chevy's also reflect this. Add in the lack of performance of the early 332 and 352 FE's (I know there were some exceptions, but they were rare) and a couple years newer with a 390 made more sense. Like the Edsel, some of it was the luck of the draw on the economy.

At the end of the useful life, that's the difference between being saved and being crushed.
 
To me, the real prize for a '60 Ford would be the Custom 300 2 door sedan with the 352/360 HP special high perf engine. Or a Sunliner/Starliner with the same engine.

Sal
 
Wouldn't you hate to be caught driving this ugly thing in public ???

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Click on pic to Enlarge. ;)
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Yes, Sal. An acquaintance has a 60, 61, and 62, all original numbers matching cars. I really don't remember the particulars, but they are all the high performance (and I think tri power) FE's. Pretty rare, and not overly restored. Keeping with "period correct" the Stanley thermos in the trunk is normally full of gin martinis.
 
miker98038 said:
Yes, Sal. An acquaintance has a 60, 61, and 62, all original numbers matching cars. I really don't remember the particulars, but they are all the high performance (and I think tri power) FE's. Pretty rare, and not overly restored. Keeping with "period correct" the Stanley thermos in the trunk is normally full of gin martinis.
Click to expand...
For those of us thick between the ears, please explain numbers matching on a Ford.
 
willowbilly3 said:
For those of us thick between the ears, please explain numbers matching on a Ford.
Click to expand...
While it's true that Ford didn't put matching serial numbers on major drivetrain parts like some other manufacturers... there are specific casting numbers on many of those parts, along with date codes. These numbers and codes do allow you to determine the year the part was (first) used and in most/some cases, the date the part was made.
With the date code from the ID plate of the car, if the casting and date codes of the misc cast parts fall within a period of 30 to 60 days before the car was built, and the part was originally available on that model, those parts are generally considered to be 'matching'.

Also... most serial number/data plates have code letters & numbers for the 'as built' options in the drivetrain in addition to exterior & interior colors and maybe some other options.
If the car and it's driveline parts, options, etc. appear as listed on it's data plate the car can be said to be 'numbers matching'.

Here are several links to help determine what may be 'matching'. Most apply to the late 50's cars (found them in relation to the car I'm working on) but if you need info about newer/other cars just do an internet search for it.

http://www.fordification.com/tech/partnumbers_overview.htm

http://www.fordification.com/tech/datecodes.htm

http://www.y-block.info/castings.html

http://ford-y-block.com/technical.htm

https://thecvaonline.com/howtos/DataPlateDecoder.pdf

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_serialno_49-59VINdecode-1.htm

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_serialnumber-patentplate_49-59partA.htm

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_serialnumber-patentplate_49-59partB.htm

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Yes, I used the term incorrectly. I should have said "well documented". dmsfrr did a better job of explaining that than I could have. Among other things, he's got all the dealer info when the cars were ordered and or delivered.
 
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For you 1960 Ford Fans, here is another beauty, a 1960 Ford Country Sedan. While not many of this model are seen these days, they are definitely not forgotten. Enjoy.
 
I wasn't a big fan of the early 60's Fords but I do think the 60 is a way better looking car than the 59. The 60 Edsel IMO was much better looking than the Ford.
Today, the 60 Ford is a much nicer looking car than the crap that comes off all the assembly lines now.
1960Edsel1jg.jpg


1960Edsel2jg.jpg
 
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