Drag Racing History – Mickey Thompson’s 427 HEMI Galaxy 500

April 8th, 2021

For some of us, this video will be a journey back to a very different time in racing and hot rod history. It was a time before computers and easily obtainable fuel injection. It was a time when cars not only looked different – they smelled and felt different, too. Cars were big and heavy and 1,000hp seemed like the stuff of fantasy. NASCAR Cup cars only ran about 700hp on a good day. Nevertheless, there is something magical about an old car created for the sole purpose of going from A to B as fast as possible. That’s what we’re looking at today.

The car is a 1963.5 Ford Fairlane Galaxy 500. It was the flagship of Ford during this era. This car was owned (as you can tell by the paint job) by racer and performance parts distributor Mickey Thompson (1928-1988). Like the previous owner, the old Galaxy is an important part of automotive performance history. It’s from a time when automakers built special models designed for track use. These special models were as rare as they were expensive.

The center piece of this vehicle was under the hood. It is a 427 cubic-inch engine with Mickey Thompson HEMI cylinder heads. The cross-ram intake manifold and twin four-barrel carburetor setup, which was innovative for its time, seems odd in light of today’s computerized fuel delivery systems. As the professionals at BC Auto Machine fire this beast up, I can almost smell the odor of new metal and gasoline. What a car. Enjoy a look at Mickey’s Long Beach Express.

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