Looks good !  You mentioned rust but the before photo of the trunk doesn't look that bad to me, it seems you've dealt well with the issue.  Here in Erie if you open the trunk of a '65 anything that's from around here you're lookin' at the ground , so it's a matter of perspective.

Plus 1 to all the above.  When my engine's cold my in line pressure gauge bounces between 7 and 3 psi with every stroke of the pump.  At that rate my carb has never had issues, your 428 should run fine there.  12 PSI sounds like an early GM TBI pressure, I'd stick with mechanical 'till you get it sorted out since you already have the parts.

I would support keeping this section of the forum as it is.  Drew is correct that this type of input needs a home or it could land anywhere.  Personally I was not affected by the negative post against Survival, I've got the 447 stroker kit on order right now.  I spoke with Barry and believe he'll deliver what he promised.

Bottom line is I did my research, I reviewed the costs and my opportunities and I made my choice.  I believe I made the right one and seeing the negative input from one bad experience doesn't affect me.

Hope I didn't miss it but gotta ask, is the vibration most noticeable under load, at cruising speed or all the time?  That info could help sort this out.  As stated above, the more detailed description you can give the better.

Hello all, I do believe Wes is right about filling a void.  My name is Len Zielinski, I'm 57 going on 18 (or so I've been told .  I would be the first to agree that life can get in the way of fun, reading the other intro's shows a common thread.  Grew up on a farm, learned to build what I needed there.  My first car was a '64 Fairlane model kit manufactured by AMT which I quickly optioned out as far as the plastic would take me.  I brush painted it with half-dried Testor's green, made a God-awful mess of it.  Pretty sure I literally cried, at least my older brother said I did.

My first real car was a '69 390 LTD, beat the snot out of it but never broke it.  I then went over to the dark side.  Had a string of Chevys, a 70 SS 396 Chevelle, a '57 coupe, '56 210 post and a '61 Impala Conv.  Shortly after I got the '61 life moved in on me and set up shop.  I worked days, built engines and painted cars in my garage nights.  Ever since I was 20 I've driven Ford trucks because I could convince everyone they were practical.  My favorite was my '74 F250 390 4 x 4 4 speed.  Rolled that over and rebuilt it too.  If you hit a tree just right while rolling the hood will crush down across the core support and hold your FE in place even if you've ripped out both motor mounts.  As a bonus, if the truck lands on it's right side the back glass is long gone and you can just walk right out

I bought the '57 Custom Tudor I sold through this forum from Texas through my brother in 2005.  Figured I'd do like I always did, build my own.  I got nowhere as I found out I had less time than before (5 grandkids will slow ya down a might ).  It was my brother who reminded me about what I really wanted, the '64 Fairlane without a hand brushed paint job and a 427 between the trimmed shock towers.  I set out to find one to build and found my '64 Galaxie instead.  Always liked the '64's and it reminded me of one I saw in a wheels up photo in Hot-Rod once a few years back.  Seeing the FE under the hood sealed it, I was going back to where I belonged all along, rod knock and all.

My wife sideswiped the car in our driveway last September, did $3,600 to her Escape.  The Galaxie only needs some left front fender work and a piece of stainless trim which I've already purchased.  I advised her that since I have to pull the fender I might as well contact Barry at Survival Motorsports to pick up a few critical components to address that pesky knock .

That brings me to date, I enjoy the forum and the expertise of the contributors is evident.  Look for me to chime in when I have something to say and to ask advice when I need it.  I intend to end up with a 447 thumper, can't think of an engine (or even another car for street fun) that I'd rather have.  Sorry this is so wordy, guess that's just me.

 

I'd go a big plus one on switching to the Autolite plugs no matter what else you do.  I tried a set of Bosch in my '06 F150 and they seemed OK for a few months.  I picked up an occasional miss, thought it was the wires.  A friend told me to dump the plugs and go with Autolites, turned out he was right.  I've had them in for a good year now with no issues.

Thanks for the feedback all, and for the reminder that this forum can and does move a little slower sometimes (as stated, good thing).  I signed on about a year ago because of the approach of the members.

My curiosity about the trans I've got started this along with my desire not to dump another grand plus into something I don't have to have right now as my focus is on the build.  I'm having trouble tracing the trans to it's original application, I only know it's late 70's and the previous owner can't help.  I don't have it apart yet so input shaft length is unknown also, I was not aware that this could be an issue.  Clearly something I can evaluate though, along with bell housing length.  I'll need to get the specs for comparison to see what I've got.

From all of the input below I have to believe it'll hold up for awhile if I don't hammer too hard on it and have correct compatible pieces.  Right now the main concern is that when I peddle the car at about 3,000 RPM in high I get a buzz, that's the reason for my bell question.  I think the trans itself is OK but that component matching by the builder was poorly done.  I appreciate being armed with the info.

When the budget allows I'm upgrading, but for now I'll make this work (or come home on the hook).  Count on a few more questions down the road.- Len

Talked with Barry at Survival today and pulled the trigger on a .040" over stroker kit for my 390.  I figure to be around the 500/525 mark on HP and TQ.  I don't see any violent abuse in my Galaxie's future but I do like to put me some fun.  Street duty is the purpose behind the car.

I'm running what David Kee refers to as a top loader "impostor", a 3 spd w/overdrive from '77 or '78.  Will a properly gone over trans of this type hold up in my application?  I've seen conflicting input so I thought I'd draw on experience.

I also read that there are slightly different bell housing lengths between car and truck units.  The advice was to be sure to run the slightly shorter car unit.  Is this true, true for top loaders only or do I just need to run a certain pilot bushing to compensate?

Input appreciated-
Len