[Lee Stewart]

1962 390/401 HP Galaxie 500










The 390 "Super High Performance" engine was a precursor to the 406 which came later in 1962 (between December 1961 and January 1962). Just below it was the 390/375 HP engine with a single 4 bbl carb.

1962 Ford Galaxie Engine Options:



Just to put things in perspective, $465 1962 dollars = $3,643 2015 dollars

BTW - The car above is all original and unrestored

So why did Ford release the 406? In the beginning of 1962, Ford found itself without a greater than 400 CI engine. Mopar had it's 413, Chevy the 409 and Pontiac the SD 421. Both NASCAR and the NHRA were growing in popularity and the "win on Sunday, sell on Momday" was becoming very apparent. Unfortunately the Ford 406 was't much of a threat at either competition. Ford would have to wait a year before leaping ahead of the competition with it's 1963 1/2 427 LeMans engine.

Many call 1962 the "breakout year" for high performance cars. NHRA launched the new class; Super Stock in 1962. So another venue opened up for the factories to compete in other than NASCAR.