Welcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie.
Last week in Found Off The Street we saw a 1978 Chevrolet Corvette that has been sitting by the side of the road for a while not being driven. This week's 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie sees the road on a regular basis in nice weather. A little bit rusty and far from perfect, this old Ford is a great 50s driver that somehow survived better than most of its kind
Fords were totally restyled for 1959. This particular car is an example of the first time the Galaxie name appeared on a Ford. The Galaxie was introduced midyear in 1959 as a sub model featuring a roofline that mimicked the Thunderbird's. The Galaxie became the top of the line model when introduced and was, according to Ford, "Thunderbird styling in a six passenger car".
Underneath the hood of this particular car is the 292 V8 which produced 200 horsepower in 1959. Combined with an automatic transmission the old Ford is a joy to drive, as I discovered the other day. The owner of this FOTS 1959 Ford was kind enough to toss me the keys and let me take the old car out for a cruise.
Driving the Ford down the road it was easy to tell that the car had been cared about by most people who owned it. The cars existence in mostly original condition is enough of a testament to this, but it's also devoid of most of the squeaks and rattles you expect to hear in old cars. No power steering meant the car was a little harder to navigate then a new one, but years of driving similar manual steering 50s car meant I was unfazed by the challenge.
There isn't a lot of history known about the car, so the explanation of why this old Ford managed to survive when so many others didn't will remain a mystery. Even though it has a little rust here and there, the car probably hasn't seen many salty New England roads in the past, nor will it in the future. My drive in the Ford was likely one of the last before the car goes into winter hibernation. Like so many other old cars it will wait out the elements from the comfort of a garage, guaranteeing that it will see the finer side of Massachusetts weather for many years to come.