Why This Car Is Special

We have a rare 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Convertible here at Skyway Classics that came with the famous 7-Litre 428 cubic inch engine and is only one of 2,368 7-Litre Convertibles produced in 1966, and maybe one of only an estimated 200 with factory air conditioning and power windows.

Plus, this 1966 Galaxie is one-year model as the 1967 7-Litre was a package on the XL model.

Ours is verified by the Trim Tag as being an original 1966 7-Litre Galaxie 500 XL with the codes #63 for 2-Door Convertible XL and code #Q as the 8-Cylinder 428 Cubic Inch (4V) engine.

Mechanical

The 7-Litre Ford 428 cubic inch engine in our Galaxie 500 XL has the 7-Litre tags on it that refers to the first iteration of the legendary 428 FE-series engine, formally introduced in late 1965 for the new model year and now offered in this sport-oriented vehicle package.

The car here is one of 2,368 7-Litre convertibles produced during that 1966 model run, but only an estimated 200 of those were equipped with factory air conditioning and power windows like this example.

Under the hood is the 428 cubic inch engine with 345 horsepower that has a massive factory 462 lb-ft torque rating and is backed by the C6 Cruise-O-Matic transmission.

It has all the correct factory appointments on it such as the Q code 428 engine with the block and intake painted in Ford Blue, the exclusive 428 displacement decaled chrome open element air cleaner sitting atop the 4-barrel carb, chrome valve covers, factory cast iron exhaust manifolds sending spent gasses back thru the dual exhaust system to the chrome tips at the rear, and the XL 500 7-Litre came with power front disc brakes as standard, and it has power steering and air conditioning well.

The engine sits in an engine compartment that is every bit as clean as it is spacious, surrounded by fresh hoses and properly routed wiring and looks as new as it did when it was built.

Those power brakes will provide fade-resistant stops as it cruises on its chrome aftermarket mag wheels riding on era correct looking red line tires.

Interior

Inside we find a stunning factory correct red and black twin front bucket seat interior with seat belts with a matching back seat that passengers can easily climb in and out of.

It includes Center console and T-bar shifter, the woodgrain steering wheel, the dash area with all the factory gauges sitting in the dash with a touch of woodgrain, power windows, air conditioning, clock, the original radio, black carpeting, and Ford floor mats.

The trunk area in back is just as spacious as you would expect and is in great shape with a correct trunk mat, spare tire and wheel, jack, boot cover for the top, and an aftermarket player.

Exterior

The 1966 Ford Galaxie XL 500 was totally redesigned and represented a fairly broad leap from the models it replaced, with upright, chiseled styling, stacked headlamps and squared-off features and ours shines great with its black paint job.

Ours feature the special 7-Litre trim and badging, chromed-rib rocker moldings that extend to the back bumper, body-line red pinstripes, a big and bold squared off front end looks incredibly menacing coming down the road with the stacked headlights on each side, and a black convertible top that that truly makes this car look the part of luxury muscle car.

Conclusion

The rare 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 XL 7-Litre Convertible we have here at Skyway Classics is a classic muscle car convertible that is very hard to find anywhere. We got it as it just came out of a collection.

In period advertising, Ford stated, “You'll have to decide whether it's a cool hot car or a hot cool car.” The way we look at it, we think this one-year-only 7-Litre stunner is both.

So, give us a call at 941-254-6608.