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He was living in Monterey, California when the ‘wanderlust’ bug bit again and Peter wanted to do some travelling. He also had planned to go home again, so what better way to kill two birds with one stone. "That’s right" said Peter, "I drove the Chrysler from California to New York with a friend in three days. I remember once we did 1200 miles in one day! It was a dream - bloody fantastic! Rocketing across the States in a fifties American convertible car, with the sound of a Hemi V8 providing a glorious sound track, it was like a movie and I can still hear it today…" "…What more could a man want?" He asks, with a look that says he misses it. On one occasion as he and his friend were cruising the desert Highway, music playing on the radio, he was stopped by the Highway Patrol for exceeding the speed limit by, quite a bit," Peter remembers. But, his ‘Englishness’ paid off and he got away with it. "You’ve got to remember," he says; "British people were quite rare at that time in America and I guess I was a bit of a novelty." During his stay in America Peter has owned a lot of cars and he’s driven a lot more. From a 1954 Packard Clipper with a huge ‘Flat Head’ straight eight, to a Rambler station wagon and various pick-ups and trucks from Dodges to Chevies and from Fords to Macks. One car that Peter really enjoyed driving was a Cadillac and over the years it’s become a firm favourite of his to drive. "I’ve always had a fondness for Cadillacs. Once you’ve driven a Cadillac," he says, "you’ll always have one in your life - I know that I do," adding; "I came back to Britain in 1970 and I haven’t been without an American car since." Peter’s other fondness is for some serious muscle. In his time he has had a couple of Mustang Mach 1s, but Peter has always wanted a racing Ford, a sixties Galaxie, preferably a 1963-64 model. He remembers in the early sixties watching Ford’s Galaxies dominate the racing at Goodwood with Jack Sears and Baronet Sir Gawaine Baillie at the wheels of these seven-litre V8s, and whilst all his friends drove Mini Coopers, Lotus Cortinas and Jaguars, which he also liked. Peter had his heart set on the big Ford. " Seeing and hearing those cars hurtling down the straight at Goodwood was the ‘ultimate’ in motor racing for me!" He said excitedly. "When they drifted out of the corners and used their brute force and horsepower of a 427ci engine to power their way down the straight, wiping the floor with everything that stood in their way." "…It didn’t matter to me if they won or not, I just loved to see and hear them race… It was just fantastic," he exudes. So, when he came across the Galaxie, which had been originally imported from Cherokee County, Kansas, it was like a dream come true. Peter has had his dream car repainted in Ford’s three stripe racing colours of the period, red with two white stripes running along its length, by Steve Leary. It is Peter’s ambition to restore the car to full ‘road race’ trim, complete with a Holman & Moody race prepared NASCAR 427 big block, instead of the 390cu in Thunderbird V8 that sits under the hood at present. But that’s for the future, for the moment he plans to replace the Cruise-O-Matic transmission with a four-on-the-floor Borg Warner manual box, which, would have been the original specification for his Galaxie. " I was in the States last year bringing back a seventies Cadillac, when I contacted the Galaxie Owners Club of America on the off chance that they may be able to help me in my search for the Borg Warner box." He says. "Luckily, they could, and I brought it back in the Cadillac," he said happily. We walk up to the red and white ‘63 1/2 Galaxie 500XL and it’s impressive to say the least. If it wasn’t for the Peugeot, Fiat, Vauxhall Nova and the Jag sitting around it, we could have been transported back to the swinging sixties. The first thing you notice is that this car rides high, higher than any race car I have seen before. The next thing you realise is this car is wide and long; 6 feet 8 inches wide and l7 feet 6 inches long, to be precise. You open the door and ease yourself into an interior that is surprisin9ly small for such a big car. The leather seats are firm, yet comfortable, and the red and white stripped hood stretches out in front of you a good six feet or so. I put the lap belt on and wait. Peter turns the key and the gauges sweep into life as the sound of the 390 FE V8, 300 bhp washes over you and you can’t help but grin like a Cheshire Cat. Peter selects ‘D’. The nose rises a little, the rear sort of ‘hunkers’ down and we roar away. The Galaxie handles better than I had expected from a car that’s almost thirty-nine years old. Peter explains; "I’ve had a full race front suspension modification, a disc brake conversion by RPM, (Rare Performance Motors) and a non standard set of wheels and rubber from North Hants Tyres." "The result is unbelievable," and I have to agree. The ride is stiff but comfortable and it covers the country roads leading to the carriageway in its stride and the ride ‘height’ comes into his own. We then hit the asphalt and this old car shows me what it can do. Stretched out in front of us is a mile of tarmac populated by soul-less cars of today, indistinguishable from each other save for their badging. I know that they are probably more reliable, more economic and easier to drive but, I bet that their drivers aren’t having as much fun as I am. Then Peter touches the gas and the car doesn’t just accelerates, it explodes down the road like a shot from a point 45. The Galaxie cuts through the traffic like a hot knife through butter. A Lexus tries to keep pace but fails, as do many others, and the power of the Ford’s V8 permeates the air as it did all those years ago on the racing ovals of America. And it’s thanks to people like, Peter Caird who keep these legends going for another generation to see a real car. A final word from Peter: "I would like to thank RPM, Steve Leary, North Hants Tyres and Martin Frost for their help, advice, friendship and for putting up with me and helping me realise my dream. < Previous Page  |
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