From its headlight covers and Cragar S/S wheels to its teardrop head of white paint, this ’63 427 Galaxie screams early Ford performance. (Photo by Evan J. Smith)

David Leshay’s classic Ford looks like your typical period-correct ’60s muscle car that you’d find at a local car show. With its teardrop hood and Cragar S/S wheels, it could be right out of the pages of a classic car magazine. But this is no show queen. While you may find this 1963 427 Ford Galaxie at a cruise night or cars and coffee, you’ll also see David ramming the gears a quarter mile at a time.

The 427 dual-quad Ford makes roughly 500 horsepower and pushes the 1963 Galaxie to 11-second, quarter-mile runs. (Photo by Evan J. Smith)

For 75-year-old David Leshay of The Villages, Florida, his dream took shape in 2016 when he purchased the 1963 427 Ford Galaxie. “I bought this car about seven years ago and it had a 460. I knew I would change that to a 427 FE and it had to be a stick,” Leshay said. “I built a 482-cube FE with an MMR block, a .600-inch lift Crane cam, Edelbrock heads and a SCAT rotating assembly. I topped it with a medium-riser Ford intake and dual Holley 600 carbs to make it period correct,” he added. In addition to having the 427 and a manual, it had to be street-legal so he could maximize his seat time and fun factor.

“I raced in the 1960s and the 1970s but had been out of racing for a long time. I had a ’66 GTO and a ’69 Judge,” he said. “But back in the day I had three friends with Galaxies, and I always wanted one. I have worked on every nut and bolt on this car.”

1963 Galaxie History

The Ford Galaxie was reshaped for 1963 and was used by racers in NASCAR and various sanctions of drag racing competition. Two roof lines were available, a fastback or sports hardtop (which was a midyear introduction) and the formal-roof box top, which you see here. Ford produced 212 “Lightweight” R code Galaxie 500 fastback models with the 427, but this is not a factory original. The Lightweights were equipped with the Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed, 4.11:1 rear axle, heavy-duty suspension and brakes, and were fitted with a fiberglass hood.

Early cars had the flat hood, then later a teardrop bubble that appeared the following year on the Thunderbolts. Other features included aluminum bumpers and mounting brackets, transmission cases, and bellhousing and other weight-reducing items were installed or deleted.

Leshay can be found at select Ford events and he previously raced in the now-defunct NMRA series. His favorite class was True Street, where racers completed a 30-mile street drive and then made three passes down track to score an average. They had to make the runs without any tuning or cooling down, either. In his last outing, he clocked runs of 13.291, 11.944 and 12.230 to arrive at his 12.48 overall score. That was good enough to qualify him for the special TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout in the eighth and final spot.

In a field full of modern muscle, Leshay’s 1963 Ford 427 Galaxie was a hit. He gained fans with every burnout and powershift. And the crowd roared every time he dumped the clutch in his big, white Ford.

The TREMEC competition was run with a handicapped start based off the racer’s True Street average, but with no breakout. After winning Round 1, Leshay faced Brian Biegert, who was driving a quick 2017 Mustang GT. Leshay produced an 11.83 at 114 mph, which was his best pass of the weekend, and the best pass on the car, too. Better yet, he defeated Biegert and moved to the final.

In the money round, Leshay faced Tyler Thornburg in a 1988 GT convertible. The handicapped start went to Leshay and on green his Galaxie lurched off the line. With a bark of the slicks, the dual-quad FE came to life and charged to the stripe. Thornburg left on cue and drove to an 11.31 at 124 mph, but Leshay was too tough. He ran 11.97 at 115 mph to capture the win.

I can’t explain the level of excitement; I can’t get over it. I tried to qualify for this event in the past and didn’t make it, so I went home and worked hard to make the car faster and more consistent. It’s spectacular to have achieved this. I barely made the field this year, but with the handicapped start it’s a race anyone can win.

How He Does It

Leshay was quick indeed, and he’s learned to get the most of his street-driven Ford as the weekend progressed. He typically does a short burnout, stages and dumps the clutch at around 4,000 rpm. He jams the H-pattern shifter through the gears at 5,400 rpm and the FE pulls like a freight train. “It makes 500 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and I have a Jerico four-speed transmission in there. I broke seven stock-type transmissions in the past, but this one is working great. I also have Caltracs, and a Moser 9-inch with 4.11 gears and 35-spline axles,” he added.

Leshay recently recorded a best of 11.80 and he plans to refine his classic 1963 427 Galaxie and progress into the mid-11s. So if you’re anywhere from Bradenton, Florida, to Gainesville and you see this big Ford, give him a thumbs up and watch out for the FE-powered monster.