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Ford Muscle Cars of 1966
And the Beat Goes On
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Not wanting to upset the applecart of success enjoyed in 1965, Ford wisely decided to make
major changes in only two of the five individual 1966 series, which now included 49 different
models. These changes resulted in higher sales figures for the full-size Ford line-up; a gigantic
jump in sales for the all new Fairlane models; lower emphasis on the Falcon line, which was
completely restyled for 1966; and continued astronomical sales for the fabulously successful
Mustang models.
The federal government had begun mandating emissions controls on 1963 models, but it was in
1966 that “Big Brother” really began meddling in the automotive industry. As a result of federal
requirements, standard equipment on all new 1966 models included front and rear seatbelts,
windshield washers, back-up lights, padded instrument panels and sun visors, four-way
emergency flashers, and outside rear view mirrors on the driver’s side. These features improved
the safety factor built into the cars and, unfortunately, are about the last time the government
used any common sense in its mandating of safety features.
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Galaxies
On the NASCAR trail, the big Galaxies only competed for half the season, and withdrew
completely when NASCAR once again banned the SOHC 427-powered cars, insisting they weren’
t true production cars. Ford appealed the decision but the fact that Chrysler had introduced the
Street Hemi at the beginning of 1966, served to strengthen NASCAR’s case. The sanctioning
body finally gave in to Ford, but with the stipulation that the SOHC cars would be penalized one
pound per cubic inch, requiring a weight of 4,427 pounds for an SOHC-powered Galaxie, as
opposed to 4,000 pounds for the competition. Obviously, this blatant discrimination was too much
for Ford officials to swallow, and their withdrawal from 1966 NASCAR competition began. When
Ford did return to racing in late 1966, it was not with the big Galaxies, but with the all-new 427-
powered Fairlanes and Comets. With very few exceptions, 1966 was the last year the big
Galaxies would see duty on the stock car tracks.
If the performance factor for the 1966 full-size Fords was being lessened on the track, it was far
from over on the streets. Air conditioning and more power-robbing options were becoming more
popular by 1966, and it was determined an engine larger than the 390 was needed for “general
usage.” The mighty 427s were still around (in both four-barrel and dual four-barrel configurations
once again) but they were about as far from a “general usage” engines as possible.
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With the increasing popularity
of air conditioning, production
of the beautiful convertible
models began decreasing,
with just 27,454 Galaxie 500s
and only 6,360 XLs produced
in 1966.
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Using proven components, Ford developed the new Thunderbird 7-Litre 428ci V-8 engine. This
is where things get confusing, as the new 428 actually had a calculated displacement of 427
cubic inches! Not coincidentally, seven liters (427 cubic inches) was the displacement limit
imposed by NASCAR. The “427” had an actual calculated displacement of 425 cubic inch, but
Oldsmobile already had a “425” in its stables, and Ford certainly didn’t want to play second fiddle
to Oldsmobile. In an era when displacement and high output, real or implied, was everything,
Ford decided to take it to the limit, and called the 425-cubic-inch racing engine a “427.” Just to
keep the public from becoming as confused you are now, Ford decided to call the new engine a
“428,” and emphasize the fact that it was available in any full-size Ford or Thunderbird, with
either manual or automatic transmission in Fords, unlike the 427, which was not available in
station wagons or Thunderbirds. Ford may not have consciously wanted you to confuse the 427
and 428 engines but it didn’t want to make it too clear which was which, either. As a result, the
427 was called the “7 Litre Cobra High Performance V-8,” and the 428 was referred to officially
as the “Thunderbird 7 Litre four-barrel V-8.” Clear as mud, right? That’s just what Ford wanted!
As in 1963 with the Galaxie Sportroof, Ford wanted a model to showcase the new 428 engine,
and the Galaxie 500 “7 Litre” models were created. Basically a Galaxie 500XL hardtop or
convertible loaded with options as standard equipment, the 7 Litres were nearly $500 more
expensive than an identically equipped XL and, as a result, were not terribly successful, with only
11,073 being sold.
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The Galaxie 500 7-Litre was
Ford’s final attempt at building
a full-size performance model.
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The entire full-size Ford line-up bore a striking resemblance to the previous year, even though
nearly every body line had been changed. Where the 1965 models featured razor sharp lines,
the 1966 carried more rounded lines. By using the 1965 basic body shell with new quarter-panel
skins, front fenders and grille, a new character had been created. Obviously, a great deal of
tooling costs had been saved for 1966, with nearly every part of certain 1966 models being
interchangeable with the 1965 counterpart, especially in the station wagons. The important
exception is the two-door hardtop, with the only interchangeable parts being the hoods, doors,
windshields and front side windows. Every other body panel had been changed enough to render
interchanging impossible.
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The 7-Litre models shared interior components
with the XL, with the addition of the simulated
woodgrain steering wheel used in Fairlane and
Mustang GT models. This particular interior is
in one of just two 427 7-Litre convertibles, and
includes every option available with the 427
engine.
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Ranking near the top of the Ford lineup, the
7-Litres shared the die-cast grille with the
XL, LTD, and Country Squire models. The
7-Litres also featured a unique body-side
pinstripe, available in red, white, or black.
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An all-new grille was featured up front, and included two sets of three thin, horizontal bars
between two, heavy, horizontal bars. The two individual horizontal grille sets were separated by a
space that included the parking lights/turn signals at each end of the grille. The rear wheel well
had been opened up to fully expose the rear wheel, and was the only major change from the
1965 side profile on all cars but the two-door hardtop. On the hardtop models, the rear of the top
featured a slightly concave contoured rear window, which flowed into the trunk lid, as opposed to
the abrupt top/body intersection on the 1965 models. At the rear, the rectangular tail light
assemblies used on the 1965 models had been replaced with a square assembly on the new
models. Unlike 1965, all 1966 models used the same taillights.
All full-size Fords continued to use the same chassis as in 1965, and featured a 119-inch
wheelbase and overall length of 210 inches, with weights from 3,333 pounds for a six-cylinder
equipped Custom two-door sedan, up to 4,062 pounds for a V-8-equipped, nine-passenger
four-door Country Squire station wagon.
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Quality and quietness remained the main advertising focal points for 1966, and even the base
Custom series featured such niceties as color-keyed nylon and rayon carpeting, chrome
windshield and rear window moldings, armrests on all doors with ashtrays in the rear, chrome
horn ring on the color-keyed steering wheel, an ashtray with cigarette lighter in the instrument
panel, a foot-operated parking brake and the suspended accelerator pedal, first introduced in
1965.
The Custom 500 remained the upper model of the base Custom series and included all the
standard Custom features, plus a single chrome strip, which ran along the body side. The red,
white and blue Ford crest was positioned at the front of this chrome strip. Also included in the
Custom 500 line-up was a rear deck molding across the back of the trunk lid, including the
“FORD” name, in chrome block letters surrounded by black, chrome drip rail moldings, and the
model identification on the back of the quarter-panel, with “CUSTOM” in script and “500” in block
letters on a black block. Custom 500 interiors were slightly upgraded and included two-tone door
panels with a small horizontal chrome strip just above the armrests.
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The Galaxie 500 was the base trim level of the intermediate Galaxie line-up and included all the
Custom 500 standard features plus a chrome hood ornament with “floating” Ford crest, a ribbed
rocker panel molding with black stripes, bright (Ford’s designation for polished aluminum or
stainless steel) wheel well openings, bright side window moldings, and two bright strips across the
back of the trunk lid, with FORD, in block letters, located between the two strips. Inside, Galaxie
500s featured the addition of a self-regulating electric clock, ashtray and glove box light, paddle
type door handles located in larger arm rests with bright inserts, woodgrain inserts in the lower
instrument cluster pod, a textured appliqué on the lower portion of the instrument panel, a
Galaxie 500 plaque on the glove box door, and bright front seat back and side shields. Seating
surfaces were upholstered in “Olympia” broadcloth or vinyl materials. An interesting feature only
used on the hardtop and convertibles was the interior rear view mirror, which was bonded to the
windshield instead of being suspended from the upper windshield trim panel. Convertibles
featured only the vinyl interiors.
As in the past few years, the Galaxie 500XL was the sporty version of the Galaxie 500 line-up,
and included all the standard features of the Galaxie 500s plus a special die cast grille, full wheel
covers, a chrome spear on either side of the XL medallion on the back of the trunk, a full length
hood ornament, a large ornament resembling an elongated star on the front of the front fender,
rear quarter-panel molding that duplicated the rocker panel molding, and Galaxie 500XL
designations on the quarter-panel. The interior featured redesigned front bucket seats with vinyl
upholstery material and full-length console, which included a storage compartment and floor
mounted shifter; more elaborate door panels, including a bright insert with a woodgrained
emblem in the center of the insert; courtesy/warning lights in the lower portion of the doors; bright
trim on the foot pedals; full-length woodgrained appliqué on the lower portion of the instrument
panel; and the XL designation on the glove box door. XL models featured the 200-
horsepower289 2V Challenger V-8 as standard equipment.
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The Galaxie 500 7 Litre was chosen to be the series flagship for Ford’s new 428ci V-8 engine,
and included all the equipment standard on XL models, in addition to the C-6 Dual Range
automatic transmission, wheel covers that simulated “mag” wheels, and “7 Litre” emblems on the
driver’s side of the upper grille section, on the front of the front fenders, in the center of the trunk
lid, and on the glove box cover. Also, all 7 Litres featured front disc brakes, an nonsilenced,
open-element air cleaner and a special low-restriction dual exhaust system that featured two
glass packed mufflers and two glass packed resonators. The top-loader four-speed manual
transmission was a no-cost option for those buyers who liked to row, and the 427 was the only
engine option. Reportedly, only 38 7 Litres were sold with the 427 engine (only two were
convertibles), and approximately 20 percent received the four-speed transmission. All 7 Litres
utilized a 9 3/8-inch ring gear in the differential, in both open and Equa-Loc configurations. Due
to the relatively high prices of 7 Litre models, only 8,807 hardtops and 2,368 convertibles were
manufactured in 1966.
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The open-element air cleaner
assembly is the only difference in
the 428 used in 7-Litre models and
those used in all other full-size
Fords. In the much lighter Custom
2-dr body, this engine proved to be
a very lively performer, especially
when equipped with the 4-speed
manual transmission.
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Previous | Next
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This has been a sample page from
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Super '60s Fords - The Inside Story of the
Most Powerful Fords Ever Built
by John Smith
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In the ‘50s, Detroit built cars with style in mind . . . but as the
‘60s arrived, a younger group of car buyers had another
thing in mind: Performance! Ford Motor Company met that
demand with some of the fastest and most powerful cars on
the street. In this book, John Smith covers the entire Ford
performance story in the ‘60s, -- and not just Mustangs and
Cobras, but Galaxies, Torinos, Falcons, Fairlanes, Shelbys,
Mavericks, and every other Ford that got extra horsepower
stuffed under its hood in this fast-moving decade. Models are
covered year by year, from the Supercharged T-birds of
1957 to the last gasp of the muscle car era in 1973, and
everything in between. Performance engines and stats are
listed for each year, and an informative appendix includes
information on deciphering VIN tags and parts codes.
With 200 black and white and more than 100 outstanding
color photos, this book has the images and information that
Ford fans want on their favorite performance models, from
supercharged Y-blocks to Boss 429s.
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Click below to view sample
pages from each chapter.
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Chap. 1 -1957 The Foundation
Chap. 2 -1958 352 Big Block
Chap. 3 -1959 High Style
Chap. 4 -1960 New Ideas
Chap. 5 -1961 Back to Tradition
Chap. 6 -1962 Legends
Chap. 7 -1963 Fast Backs
Chap. 8 -1964 The First Mustang
Chap. 9 -1965 Big Changes
Chap. 10 -1966 Beat Goes On
Chap. 11 -1967 Changing Guard
Chap. 12 -1968 428 Cobra Jet
Chap. 13 -1969 Boss 302 & 429
Chap. 14 -1970 429CJ & SCJ
Chap. 15 -1971 Last of Breed
Chap. 16 -1972 - 73 End of Era
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This is without a doubt one of the best books about
Ford muscle cars ever written!
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Soft bound
8-1/2 x 11
160+ pages
200 b/w photos
100+ color photos
Item #SA25
Price: $22.95
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Click here to buy now!
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This is a book any Ford enthusiast will enjoy to read over and over.
Read the sample pages to learn more.
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Ford Galaxie & LTD Gold Portfolio 1960-1976
Ford's large cars have always proved popular. 1965 was the
year of the restyle, but the mosts important fact was the 427
engine. The Galaxie 500XL was for those who wanted a
sports car and the LTD was built for luxury. By the early
seventies the big cars were still grabbing a large part of Ford's
sales. This book is a collection of contemporary road and
comparison tests, specification and technical data, driver's
reports, long-term tests and new model introduction articles.
Models covered include Starliner, Town Sedan, 500, 500XL,
Fastback, Convertible, LTD, LTD 428, LTD 429, LTD 390,
Ford XL, Brougham, Wagon, Landau, LTD Town Car.
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Price:
$
29.95
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Ford Torino Performance Portfolio 1968-1974
This book is a collection of road and comparison tests,
performance data, full specifications, model introductions
articles, historical information and restoration advice. The 34
articles in this book are sourced from Car and Driver, Car Craft,
Car Life, Cars, Circle Track, Classic American, Ford Motor
Company, Motor Trend, and others. Articles include: 'Ram Air
Cobra restoration', 'A tale of two Torinos, NASCAR Torino
verses Torino Cobra Jet 428, The Brute from Ford's Snake Pit
- Cobra Jet 429, Ford's Torino GT - 351, and many more.
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Price:
$
22.95
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Ford Thunderbird Performance Portfolio 1964-1976
The Ford Thunderbird was continually changing and
reinvented over the years to meet the ever changing needs
of the American public. This book contains a collection of
road and comparison tests, model introduction articles,
performance data, consumer analysis reports, touring reviews,
design and specification data, technical study and history for
the 1964 to 1976 Thunderbird including convertible, Sedan,
and Landau. This is a great book and one that any
Thunderbird owner or enthusiast will love. Softbound, 8 x
10.5-inches, 140 pages and over 250 b/w photos.
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Price:
$
22.95
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Payment, Shipping & Sales
Tax: Iowa
residents must pay 7% sales tax. Items usually ship
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business day of receipt of payment! Standard shipping is a flat rate of
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