NIK Warde spent her youth around old Holdens, happily helping her dad in the shed with his cars and Harleys. While she remains a GM-H enthusiast, she now also appreciates the finer offerings of other makes. Like this ’65 Ford Galaxie Country Sedan, for example. Nik was already a keen wagon fan when she was seduced by this roadside beauty, and while the purchase wasn’t smooth sailing, the love story definitely has been.

This article on Nik’s Galaxie wagon was originally published in the September 2017 issue of Street Machine

How’d you get the Gal?

I needed to replace my modified V6 VS wagon when my hubby Cam and I saw the Gal sitting on the side of the road for sale, in Bright. We snoozed and missed out – and I really regretted it. We were keen to have something ‘Chopped-worthy’, so we sussed out EK and FB wagons, but they were too small and too expensive by comparison. A few months later Cam found the Gal for sale again on the ’net. I bought it a few days later and for the original price.

What’s under the hood?

It’s the standard driveline, including a 390ci FE motor. There were only six Canadian-built ’65 Ford Galaxie Country Sedans for the Aussie market and only three had the FE, so it’s quite rare.

What’s its story?

A guy built it in 2000 to go caravanning around Australia with his wife. About halfway through the trip they split up and he sold it. So when I bought it in March 2012, it was already painted in the AU Galaxy Blue, de-badged, with crappy wheels and it was sitting too high. So we fixed the ride height and recently added the Astro Supremes with the pin whites. We’ve had the 390 rebuilt to run on straight gas; it’s really reliable. Cam’s also added discs, as they’re better for pulling up an almost two-tonne daily.

You drive this every day?

Yup, the kids’ seats are in it all the time. At least once a week people on the street ask me about it. In summer I just park under trees and I can reverse parallel-park it easy enough. I like that it’s old; it keeps me driving well. So many people tune out when they drive modern cars.

What do the kids think?

The vacuum wipers can be pretty funny; they will come on randomly when the vacuum is high and it cracks the kids up. But overall they’re not fussed as it’s just what their mum drives. They’re always out in the shed but we’re not pushing them into it; it’s up to them. Our eldest, Ace, helps Cam with the Gal, Cam’s A-model ’banger or Harley – just like I did with my dad growing up.

What’s next?

I’d like to get it painted. Before a full respray though, Cam might panel and lace the roof for something a bit different, and I really like metal flake. A full interior is on the cards too, but first I need a gas tank that holds more than 57 litres! Other than that, we just really love getting out in it to events like the Boogaloo Invitational and Chopped, to meet other like-minded people.