In my search for the story of the Dockery Galaxie, we spoke with many racers and enthusiasts who knew the car, or the Martins. Ford drag racing legend Charlie Morris, led us to an article done on the car in 1998, and also provided a handful of timeslips from the car’s early days, as well as a copy of the car’s original title. Its best time slip of the group he handed over was a 12.867 at 111.66, however, Morris notes that once Bob switched to 7-inch recap slicks, the car did accomplish times in the range of 12.6 at 117 mph, though he couldn’t locate the slips.







A photo that has stayed with the car since its time as a street-driven Galaxie.


After the Martins sold the Galaxie, it would make its rounds. First, the dealership dismantled the car, removing the original drivetrain, before painting it silver to cover its lettering. It was sold with a 390 cubic inch engine, and the 31-spline rear was replaced with a 28-spline version, before it was put out on the used car lot. Fortunately, the man who bought it knew that it was a lightweight, so he drove it only limited miles. He then sold it to a man who painted it blue, before selling it yet again to a police officer, who made it a project car. He had the intentions of restoring it and took it apart to prepare to paint it. Eventually, he retired and relocated, so he sold the car back to its previous owner. And there it sat for a full decade.

“The car has never been back in lightweight configuration,” Davies said, “until now.”

Finding The Albino

When Davies got a phone call from a friend, Andrew Krassas, who said he might know where a lightweight Galaxie was located, they never guessed it might be the famed Dockery car. Andrew’s father knew the owner, and my father was trying to broker a lightweight for a friend. After some digging, it came to light that the car may in fact be the Dockery drag car. The owner believed it was raced out of a Ford dealership in Morristown, and my father had the sneaking suspicion it might be the famed drag car. My brother, Scott Davies Jr., and Andrew went to see the car, and sent photos of the door jamb VIN sticker to my father.

At Carlisle in June, my father approached Charlie Morris to ask him if his suspicions might be correct. Could this be the Dockery Albino? Charlie told him to call him the following week, and he would give him the car’s VIN number.

During the phone call, Charlie asked if the VIN ended in “630.”

“I said, could it be 631? He told me he would check, and sure enough, it was 631,” Davies said.





The car sat buried under boxes, bins, and rubble until its rescue. This photo and the photo of the VIN were the only ones taken of the car when Davies and Shanley decided to buy it.


We had happened upon the actual Albino.

When the friend that the car had been scouted for dropped out of the deal, Davies and Shanley decided to go in on it together.

Before the sale, Davies and Shanley never actually saw the car. They only saw the photos provided, and knew they had to have it.

The Recovery

The weeks leading up to the recovery of the car were full of the unknown. We weren’t sure that the owner was even going to follow through with the sale, though the pair had left a hefty down payment on it earlier.

The day came, and we all waited around for hours. Could it be that the Galaxie would never be recovered, after all?

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