Ex-Octane fleet; imported from America in 2014 and  two owners since; over £20k spent on full mechanical overhaul; fabulous rat rod patina; get yourself noticed! By the late 1950s, America was firmly in the grip of rocket age mania and the newspapers were full of the latest moves in the Space Race as Uncle Sam battled the Soviet Bear for supremacy on earth and in heaven.No surprise then, that when Ford launched its new top-of-the-range model in 1959, it was called the Galaxie.

Of truly vast proportions, it abandoned the ostentatious fins and flourishes of the early Fifties for a more sober, sleek and scientific look.

Available as either a sedan, an estate or a convertible in two- and four-door form, it came with a range of engines from a 3.7-litre straight-six to a humongous 7-litre V8.The Galaxie really hit the UK headlines in 1963 when Ford brought a few specially tuned ones over to England where their tyre-smoking, power-sliding antics in the hands of drivers like Jack Brabham, Gr...