The Galaxie joined Ford’s lineup at mid-year 1959 for the first time, replacing the Fairlane as the top model in the full-size Ford series. Featuring a Thunderbird-style roofline, the model accounted for 27-percent of production in its first year. In the quest to out-sell rival Chevrolet, Ford designers pulled out all the stops for 1964 giving the big Fords all-new styling for the eighth year in-a-row. Styled with aerodynamics (and NASCAR) in mind, the ’64 Fords were arguably among the best looking big Fords of the decade and most successful on the race track winning 30 of 62 NASCAR events.

Ford built 15,169 Galaxie 500XL convertibles for the model year which included bucket seats and console as standard equipment. Most desirable was the four-speed manual transmission with the 390 V-8 like this yellow and black example. It has been upgraded to a P-code with "tri-power" carbs and also features whitewall tires and rear fender skirts.