Got the new Roller Cam all installed into the 351 W, back awhile ago, and it's working great. Funny thing happened with the first HEI dizzy that Pete installed for me though,....just wondering if anyone else has had this problem before. Back when it still had the flat tappet cam,..Pete installed a brand new HEI dizzy, right out of the box,..and set everything up accordingly. After a couple short trips,..maybe 45 miles on the new dizzy,...the car started running rough, lagging badly for a short while and then would run normal for a couple minutes ,..and then right back to running like a POS. It was about this time that I decided it was time for the new roller cam and components, so I tore the engine down and notified Pete that I was ready to go ahead with the cam swap. Pete went into the other room of the shop where I had all of the engine components cleaned up, and started looking them all over closely,...he picked up the dizzy and started checking the internals, while spinning the gear,...and he came out with, " what the hell !! ",....and he stated that he could hardly turn the gear with his hand fully locked right onto it,....I tried it and sure enough,...stiffer than all hell. We worked on it for half an hour trying to get it to spin freely, to no avail. I called my supplier and he told me to bring it back, that he had another new one there for a 351 W. The morning that I was about to take it back, I tried spinning it again,..and into about the seventh turn on the gear, it locked up totally,..couldn't budge the thing at all,...it had to have been seized up inside some how, some way. My supplier stated that he has never had one come back that had seized up like that,..or ever heard tell of one seizing up.
Thanks Chuck, it is a neat, clean, tidy old relic, and solid as a rock, and in immaculate condition. It was born in Louisville Ky,..and spent most of it's life in South Carolina, until imported into Canada.
I like everything about the vehicle, with the exception of the wheels, which in my opinion don't suit the car at all, in any way, shape or form, and that problem will be taken care of within the next couple days. I ordered a set of 5, American Racing, Torque Thrust Mags w / the grey matt spokes from Barry, over at Performance Unlimited in London,..and just got a message on the phone from him telling me that they were in. The laced wheels look good on the mid sixties Ford Thunderbirds,....todays Low Riders, etc..but they don't do the Galaxie models any justice imo. This '64 Galaxie is my fifth one over the years, I have owned 4 hardtops and 1 ragtop,..and I love the ride they afford you, and the way they handle on the highway. The only one that I owned that I found fault with was the ragtop,..which had power steering, and the '64 Ford power steering left a lot to be desired, ( or at least the ps unit in that specific vehicle did ),..I found that the " armstrong Steering " made a big difference in the way that the cars handled on the highway, a whole lot more positive feel to it.
