Chris Welborn

My name is Christopher (Chris) Welborn, and I am a life-long resident of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. I own a 1965 Galaxie 500/XL convertible. This was my first car in high school. It had 45,000 miles on it in 1974, and currently has just under 72,000 miles on the odometer. I was featured in our local newspaper as a "my first car" article. My father purchased the car brand new from Don Seelye Ford in Kalamazoo on December 31, 1965. My father, mother and both sisters had a hand at driving it until I took control. It spent most winters in storage, as it is a Michigan car. The car went through major reconstruction in 1985-86 for its body rust. I replaced the carpet and dyed a door panel that had turned orange. The motor and transmission have also been gone through. The top was replaced as well as the glass back window.

I am married to Patti (1990) and have two children, Paige (15) and Kirsten (12), and have two dogs. We have a nice home in Portage, Michigan, although the garage is not big enough for all my rolling stock.

I also purchased a 1965 Mustang 2+2 in 1985, and a 1992 Mustang LX 5.0 convertible Limited Edition in 1993 that was never titled. I drive all of these vehicles to shows and cruise nights near where we live.

I also collect automobilia on Fords and other auto related themes, such as diecast cars, signs and art work.

I have attended and graduated from Kalamazoo Public Schools (Loy Norrix) and Western Michigan University with a BBA.

I started my working career while in high school in an electrical warehouse (9 months) and at Meijer for 27-1/2 years, only to get caught up in a management downsizing. I then went on to run a small store at the VA Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan for 15 months, and left there for my current position at Lane Automotive (Motor State Distributing) in the shipping department.

The Gilmore Classic Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan asked me if I would loan my 1965 Galaxie 500/XL convertible for a display of Ford vehicles to celebrate Ford's 100th anniversary, so I loaned it to them for two years (2003-2004) for the exhibit, along with 45 diecast cars from my personal collection.

As you can see, Barry Meguiar might term me as "Car Crazy", as I have been into cars all my life.

1965 Galaxie 500/XL Convertible

VIN 5U69X117069, BODY 76B, COLOR J, TRIM 75, DATE 29K, DSO 35, AXLE 1, TRANS 4

Left click on the thumbnails below to view the full pictures:

Let's see what the VIN and production data tell us...

The VIN of 5U69X117069 decodes as follows:

5 = model year: 1965

U = build plant: Louisville Assembly Plant in Louisville, Kentucky

69 = Body Serial Code: Galaxie 500/XL convertible, bucket seats (9,849 produced during the 1965 model year)

X = engine: Thunderbird "352" Special V-8, 352-4V, 250 hp @ 4400 rpm, 352 ft-lbs @ 2800 rpm, 9.3:1 compression ratio

117069 = Consecutive Unit Number (CUN): 17,069th Ford car scheduled to be built at the Louisville Assembly Plant during the 1965 model year (Job 1 was CUN 100001)

The production data decode as follows:

BODY 76B = Body Style Code: Galaxie 500/XL convertible, bucket seats (9,849 produced during the 1965 model year)

COLOR J = exterior paint color: Rangoon Red (red)

TRIM 75 = interior trim color, material and front seat style: red vinyl cushion inserts, and red vinyl cushions and bolsters, bucket seats

DATE 29K = scheduled build date: Thursday, October 29, 1964

DSO 35 = District Sales Office: car was ordered through the Lansing, Michigan District Sales Office

AXLE 1 = rear axle ratio and type: 3.00:1 non-locking

TRANS 4 = transmission type and shift location: Cruise-O-Matic 3-speed automatic, console shift

Left click on the thumbnails below to read what the Buyer's Digest Of New Car Facts For 1965 had to say about the 1965 Galaxie 500/XL Convertible:

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