Timing is everything, especially when it coincides with the well-earned acquisition of a freshly minted driver’s license while in high school. It’s a joyous moment, liberated from a slog to and from class in a crowded bus, or a long walk no matter weather conditions, yet it’s also a celebration tempered by the need for transport for which said license quickly earns its value. Options at this stage in life are typically few. Do you accept the offer of a dowdy hand-me-down sedan the parents drove to within an inch of its usable mechanical life, or save an extra year’s part-time job income to help defer the cost of a cool decade-old hardtop coupe from the used-car lot? Then there’s a rare third option that can materialize when one least expects it, something far better.
“Uncle Wally was a Ford man. My earliest memory of his cars was a 1957 model he drove until he bought a brand-new Galaxie Sunliner in 1960. It was painted Orchid Gray; Aunt Connie referred to it as her ‘purple car.’ They didn’t travel a lot— though they did visit Cuba during the revolution—so it always looked really nice, even after they took it to Florida and back one year. By early 1969, though, my Aunt Connie wanted a new car, and if they found something they liked they were then going to sell me their Sunliner for $1,” Coatesville, Pennsylvania, resident Frank Root says.
Being the good “Ford Man” Wally Leighton was, he made the short trek from his Coatesville abode to Ford dealer Sloan Motors in Downingtown, and approached a salesman with a short list of mandatory requirements. Their new car had to be a full-size convertible, and Connie requested it be painted green. Fortunately, Wally was provided options: Both the Galaxie 500 and the XL model offered convertible body styles and there were no fewer than three different green hues available. Ultimately, Wally and Connie chose the Ford XL, and specified it be delivered in Lime Gold over black vinyl upholstery, in addition to a black top. And with that, not only were the Leightons happy, Frank’s first car—the Sunliner—became his.
When introduced during the 1962 season, the XL was designed as an upscale trim level built upon the Galaxie 500 subseries. Despite the existing full-size foundation the new trim level utilized, the two-letter emblem did not stand for “extra-large,” but rather “extra lively,” as stated right in the factory literature. Whether that’s accurate or not, it was hard to argue against, for the Galaxie 500/XL skipped right past the economy six-cylinder lineup and stipulated the Galaxie’s base V-8 as standard equipment. Further proving Ford’s insistence that it was the “sporty” Galaxie, other standard features included front bucket seats, “bucket-styled” rear seats, a “Thunderbird-styled command console,” full wheel covers that mimicked knock-off wheels, and extra trim throughout. Options included an automatic or four-speed manual transmission, and one of the four then-available Thunderbird V-8 engines. Only two body styles were offered: a two-door convertible or hardtop. Just under 41,600 combined units raced to eager owners in the first year of production
In the ensuing years, the Galaxie 500/XL both welcomed and discharged additional body styles—including a four-door hardtop—and evolved stylistically and mechanically. Its core remained true to the original design intent, even after the LTD supplanted it as the top-of-the-line model in 1965. Just two years later, the XL finally shed itself of the Galaxie 500 subseries moniker, though in a strange twist, it was still part of the Galaxie family of cars. By now, the original two-door hardtop and convertible lineup were all that remained and production began its rebound from 23,335 combined units during ’67 to 61,595 in ’69; 7,402 of those were convertibles.
The numbers strongly suggest that while Detroit’s factory muscle cars were garnering road testers’ attention, and LTD sales eclipsed the 417,000 unit mark, sophisticated types still yearned for a sporty image machine. Or, in the case of the Leightons, a convertible they could be proud to drive. Aside from the color combination, theirs was delivered with a now-standard bench seat, it and had been modestly optioned with a two-barrel, 220- hp version of the 302-cu.in. V-8, along with a column-shifted “Select-Shift” Cruise-O-Matic transmission, power steering, radio, and power front disc brakes.
“My aunt worked at the Coatesville Hospital, which was about three blocks from where they lived, and my uncle worked a couple blocks away from the house, so neither ever drove to work. They also didn’t do a lot of traveling by that time. They would drive the Ford about five miles to my parents’ house and go to the grocery store, stuff like that, but they didn’t go anywhere further than that,” Frank says.
In the early 2000’s, Wally died, at which point Frank’s father, Frank, purchased the XL convertible from Connie. Though he didn’t revere Dearborn’s vehicles like Wally did, the elder Frank drove the Ford in the same spirit—minimally—while maintaining its care both in presentation and mechanical maintenance, though not without incident.
According to young Frank, “My dad was on his way to the grocery store one day and he was sideswiped. Fortunately, it wasn’t all that bad; the only real damage were scratches along the side, and the pot-metal side marker bezel ahead of the front wheel broke. It was a minor enough collision that my dad didn’t pursue restitution. It turned out to be a young girl who had her baby with her, and she wasn’t even the owner of the car. The owner didn’t have insurance, and even though he offered to pay for any damages my dad told him not to bother, since it was cosmetic. Dad drove it like that until he couldn’t drive anymore. That was in October 2008, and he basically gave me the Ford XL and his 1984 AMC Eagle wagon.
“When I brought the XL home, my wife looked at it and casually mentioned that she disliked the color, so I told her we could fix that by having it painted. She suggested red and we agreed that if she didn’t like the car after it had been repainted I’d sell it. We went with Ford’s Candy Apple Red, which was an available color for the ’69 models. Someone we know nearby was commissioned to do the job, which also required two tiny patch panels in front of each rear wheel opening. I mean tiny— that was the only rot on the car, simply because it wasn’t driven much. Unfortunately, it took the guy a while to get the job done, and after some nudging and nearly four years, it was back in my hands. My wife looked at it and said she loved it, so obviously I had to keep it. Other than paint, the two patch panels, and a new side bezel, the car is all original.”
In 2012, Frank was finally able to take his uncle’s Ford XL to its first car show: the AACA Eastern Fall Nationals at Hershey, Pennsylvania, where he had to fend off persistent offers to buy it. He’s since joined the Ford Galaxie Club of America and has continued to display the convertible at several local and regional events. And like his predecessors, Frank has managed to keep the mileage low. At the time of our visit in late 2022, the XL’s odometer read a scant 28,646 miles. It begs two questions: What kind of maintenance is required, and what’s it like to drive an essentially original, low-mileage 1969 Ford XL?
MAINTENANCE
According to Frank, “I had to fix the carburetor this past winter because it was leaking, so I went to my local auto parts store and got a kit to fix it. That’s the beautiful thing about this car: It’s not complicated. Mechanically it’s all Ford, and it uses almost all the same components every other Ford used during the era—and they built a lot of Fords in 1969. If you can’t find something at the local parts store, odds are good that you can find it online, and the support network through the Galaxie Club is amazing. They know all the subtle details and the right people to talk to if you run into some sort of issue.
“Things like body parts and trim are different. It can be hard to find some of the specific trim, for instance, because they only built 7,402 convertibles and 54,557 fastback coupes; the XL was not a high-production model like the LTD. Again, this is where the Galaxie Club’s network really serves car owners well.”
DRIVING
Frank reports that driving his family’s Ford XL convertible is a comfortable experience. Even with the 220-hp 302-cu.in. small-block engine managing nearly 4,000 pounds of metal and material, it provides plenty of pep when needed and runs very smoothly when properly maintained. Not unusual considering the V-8 has been a near bulletproof, reliable Ford staple since its introduction.
“I don’t drive the convertible super fast, but it will easily cruise at 60 mph without any trouble. I know it will go a lot faster; it’s more than capable of maintaining speed in today’s highway conditions if you don’t want to take the slow route somewhere. The Ford XL doesn’t wander all over the road, either. It probably helps to have radial equivalents mounted, but even with bias-plies it tracked nicely. The disc brakes up front provide just a little more stopping reassurance, and because of the chassis wide stance and a capable suspension system it doesn’t wallow while cornering at a reasonable speed. Ford really knew what they were doing when they engineered this. It’s a very enjoyable car.
“I asked my dad why he bought this XL from my uncle, and he said, ‘I bought it for you. I know you like to collect cars.’ I think he knew I’d appreciate this one.”
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