I’m in Albuquerque this week visiting my sister, and I spotted this 1971 Ford Custom 500 sitting in an apartment complex along Juan Tabo Boulevard. The sun lay low in the sky, overpowering my camera and wrecking my interior shots, but I ended up with a couple of outtake quality shots. Since Jim Grey posted a 1966 Ford Custom 500 this morning, it made sense to post this car as a counterpoint.
As Jim noted, the 1966 Ford tail light stood out as modern automotive art, unequaled by other brands. Jim called them “Futuristic and Brash.” Five years later, the big Ford’s tail light lacked the complexities of the 1966 model. No chrome ring, no starburst, no built in reverse light. The cool factor was completely gone. What word now comes to mind? Oh yes- Cheap.
Cheap like the rest of this fleet special sedan. Jim’s Custom 500 included a unique engine package, with a two door body. While I could not find any engine markings on this car, I’m willing to bet this four door comes with a very pedestrian engine package. It did come equipped with an automatic transmission, but that may have been standard fare for all big Fords in 1971. I’m sure someone will be able to weigh in on the topic in the comments. In the meantime, enjoy this basic Ford fare circa 1971.
Engine callouts were dropped after 1969, except for a few early 1970 429 cars. 1971 was the final year for a 3-on-the-tree, and I’ve even seen a pic on the net of a ’71 LTD convertible so equipped.
I once saw a 70 LTD Brougham with a 390 and 3 on the tree. My guess is only one or two of these were ever built.
In my hometown, the wife of the retired owner of my town’s Ford dealership and the mother of sons who owned successful Ford dealerships was, with persuasion, able to get Ford to build her a ’71 LTD Brougham with a 3-speed on the column shift. Other than that the car had all options except speed control and I don’t believe it had a tilt column being a manual shift but I may be wrong on that.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
That’s just plain wrong on so many levels.
Why? You drive what you like, and I’ve got a lot of respect for that owner.
It’s like putting a 4 cyl engine in a Corvette, you could do it, but because it would be wrong on so many levels why would you?
The moment I saw the pic of this Ford, I thought of ‘White Lightning’. There were more Ford placements in this movie than any previous movie I can recall. Every scene seemed to have 3 to 4 big Fords. Reminiscent of all the Chevys in “Live and Let Die’.
As pudgy as the ’69s were, the ’71s were even pudgier. Wallowfest!
Live and Let Die has to be one of the most blatant in-your-face product placements of any movie EVER, that scene in the beginning of the movie, after Bond arrives at JFK and he’s picked up in a 1973 Bel-Air sedan, and then they drive on the FDR(I think?) and EVERY car on the road is a full size 1973 Chevrolet, with the exception of 2 73 Eldorados.
To spread the blame around a bit, Diamonds are Forever is almost equally full of Ford placements. None of it is as alternate-reality weird as the all-GM drive from JFK in Live and Let Die, but Diamonds are Forever had Fords and Mercuries everywhere and GMs almost nowhere, from the Mustang used in the famous two-wheeled stunt in Las Vegas to the many Ford Custom 500s of the evil minions.
The desert chase scene in Diamonds are Forever, like the off-road scene in Close Encounters, proved that full size 1970s Fords are very bad off-road vehicles.
That was pretty obvious too, but not as bad as the Live and Let Die Chevroland. 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun is almost as bad maybe even worse, with AMC’s in Bangkok, even the police cars!
Included in the numerous GM product placements in ‘Live and Let Die’, a number of them were driven by bad guys. Whereas, the New Orleans Police (good guys), did have ’69 Fords and ’72 Custom 500s in a small cameo role.
Ford and Bond go way back. The Mustang was very fresh on the scene when the Aston Martin’s wheel threshers remodeled Tilly Masterson’s white convertible, and Oddjob dropped off a hunk of car at the junkyard in a Ranchero in Goldfinger.
There was the pimpmobile that fired the lethal dart from its wing mirror in LALD. Can’t remember what the basis of that car was, I’m thinking Monte Carlo.
I wallow in fuselage-ness. Still kick myself for passing on a RHD 72 LTD wagon. Woody tailgate, but LTD sidetrim.
That “pimpmobile was a Les Dunham Corvorado, a Corvette reskinned with Eldorado panels. If there was such a thing as a ’74 XLR, this would be it.
Goldfinger is practically a FoMoCo commercial. A Country Squire Wagon, a Thunderbird, a Mustang, a Ranchero, and a Lincoln Continental.
True there were a couple of Fords here and there, but WOW, were there a lot of Chevies, the chase scene at the airport which includes and then new Colonnade Malibu, Nova and a new C10 pick up.
I’ve always liked Live and Let Die, probably because I remember seeing it when I was a little kid. For the same reason, I still really like 1973 full-size Chevys. That airplane chase was great, and so was the Nova police car/double decker bus chase, but my favorite is the boat chase with all the oh-so-’70s Glastron speedboats.
“Is that a boat there, in the Sheriff’s car?”
“Boy, where you been? That there’s one of them new car-boats!”
All the boats were Glastrons too!! Its funny that the Sheriffs car was a fancier Impala with a vinyl top and full wheel covers, while the other police cars were plain jane Bel-Airs.
“And that means you…………………….smartass…….”
Really, Live and Let Die is like a Smokey and the Bandit movie rolled into a Bond movie altogether, no wonder they were seriously considering Burt Reynolds for the role, but Burt turned them down, saying it would be wrong for an American to play James Bond.
Well, they did bring back Clifton James as Sheriff J.W. Pepper in “The Man with the Golden Gun” the following year. But his schtick was taking away from the Bond brand.
What that movie must’ve done for AMC’s reputation and Hornet/Matador coupe sales!
TMWTGG was so bad, Harry Saltzman sold out of the production partnership. Actually, it wasn’t the fault of the movie, it was bad personal business on Harry’s part. But TMWTGG is just a bad Bond. And a bad soundtrack as well. Even the superb and genuine corkscrew jump was ruined by sound effects and slo-mo.
Not much seeing as how the Matador faded away into obscurity by 1978.
Moore’s Bond did a lot of wandering in the woods before finding its OWN mark with 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, which sort of set the mark for the Moore Bonds. They searched around for a proper mood for Roger Moore’s Bond, they tried a tougher vibe, similar to Connery, evident in 1974’s The Man with The Golden Gun, where you see more slap Maud Adams, which didn’t “work” for Moore, like it did for Connery.
TMWGG has some cool elements, Christopher Lee is kind of a interesting as a Bond villan, Tattoo as the “hench-little-man” was forgettable.
Roger Moore finally nailed ‘nasty’ when he kicked the w116 with occupant off the cliff in For Your Eyes Only.
Yep, Christopher Lee was good in that movie. The gun itself was a nice touch. Best thing about TMWTGG was the ‘Villains’ teaser 1-sheet.
I agree, FYEO is probably the best of Moore series.
They kept the Savalas Blofeld for the poster, even though the most recent one was the Blofeld with hair from Diamonds are Forever.
The 1969 and 1970 Custom looked ok to me and to Jack Arnold in the Wonder Years episode “The Family car”. 😉 A bit sad then Ford dropped the Custom 2-door sedan after 1969.
Besides “White Lightning”. The 1971-72 Custom 500 was also featured in “Magnum Force” and “Freebie and the Bean”.
Freebie and the Bean. Classic.
A big Ford homecoming…
That one looks like it has a “MINI” engine, based on the logo on the deck lid. I hope it’s at least the “S” but either way it’s definitely no EcoBoost Edsel!
Yes indeed, that is a Mini Badge. Not sure what to make of it…
Irony? Kinda of like a 6ft 7in 350lb guy nicknamed “Tiny”?
Maybe it’s a gag on the increasing waistlines of the current Minis.
“The new Mini Custom sedan! Room for you, your friends, and up to EIGHT sets of golf clubs!”
My other car is a Mini.
There’s a Mini in the trunk.
Only in the dry southwest do these things seem to exist anymore. Rust magnets of the first order. I have not seen one of these in eons.
My mother once had a job that required an occasional trip out of town, and she would get a company car. Most of them were big Chevys (1972-73) but once she brought home a mint green 71 Ford Custom or Custom 500. I was a lover of all things Ford back then, but could not really get worked up over that one. The LTD was a nice car (at least at first), but these strippos were just grim.
I always thought these were emblematic of the Years Ford Lost Its Way. I just struggle to find any love for the 70s full-size Fords. And for Ford, the ’70s started in 1969.
Id like to fantasize that its a 429 Cobra Jet police car but Ill bet its probably a 302 or maybe even a six. Still a nice original car duking it out with todays crapboxes.
This car is two things that seem to get no love from the mainstream American vintage car crowd. Bottom rung base model sedans and 70’s full-size Fords.
These Fords seemed to disappear from my part of rust country, as fast as any early 70s domestic car I can remember. Even the fuselage Chryslers were still around in significant numbers longer than these. The Ford wagons from ’69 to ’72, seemed like a blip on the automotive landscape. I barely remember seeing them, in spite of them selling reasonably well. My grade school math teacher had a ’71 coupe in metallic brown, that wasn’t that appealing when new. The family of a childhood friend owned a ’69 Ranch wagon that was covered in leopard print-like spray bomb primer by 1974. Wish I could be more positive about these. The ’73 through ’78 Fords sold even better, but I simply didn’t like 70s Fords, until the Fairmont and Fox Mustang came along.
The Fords of this era were notorious rust-buckets. Two years and you’d have holes in the rocker panels. In fact, rusty Fords were the main reason the Canukistani Politburo passed a decree that mandated no rust holes for six years. Of course the Big 3 bleated, screamed and sued, but followed a standard that they said was impossible (like so many others). Winner: consumers.
Yes, damn that politically correct big government nanny state interference in the free market level playing field! Can I get Brock Yates old job now?
Ah yes the evil greedy big three. Because Asian/European cars were so much more imperious to rust in the 70s….
Matt, note that many more Fords were sold in Canada at the time, than imports. Given their tendency towards early rust for a number of model years, Ford wasn’t acknowledging it. Plus they were caught giving secret warranties to those customers that caused the biggest commotion. Ford’s serious rust issues was quite common knowledge amongst the general populace. Many of them were rust buckets in less than 5 years.
Be still my beating heart…..
Paul dripping with sarcasm . . .
Actually I think he’s on his way to Albuquerque as we speak, checkbook in hand.
Now you’er bringing back memories. During the summers of my early college years (’69-71) when I still came home for the summer, I was a student engineer for the Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), doing radio frequency readings from 345-500kv power lines to handle complaints by customers who’s television reception was affected. Penelec used low line full-sized Fords as company cars.
Of course, the day I was issued a brand-new ’71 was the day I was in a collision. From that day on, I was issued the oldest car in the motor pool (usually a beaten to death ’65) and was not offered a summer job for ’72. Which was no great loss, as I really was trying to avoid going home for the summers. From that point on, I was a full time bicycle mechanic.
I don’t think I’ve seen one in the metal but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them in a TV detective show.Likely to be rare as an unloved car and gutted for the big block V8 then banger raced or crushed sadly
I’ve noticed this one parked there for the past few years. Seeing a local car on CC might be just the inspiration I need to stop and snap a few pics of CC-worthy rides parked here and there around Albuquerque. The Southwest sun sure takes its toll on paint and interiors, but if a car has managed to stay out of the snowier parts of New Mexico, you don’t see much evidence of the tin worm.
Yes- I’ve been here two days, and spotted four or five good CC candidates.
Plain jane car, but still nice to see since it ads variety to the roads.
A neighbor on my street had one of these as a fleet company car. It was a funky pale green color that was not too many shades off from white. It seemed like a lit of these were very light colored.
The taillights are plain, but as much as I like those ’66 taillights, the minimalist look works for me and the rear detail in LTD trim was nice and worked for its era.
I think a big part of the reason that these tail lights are so plain was to make the Galaxie 500 and LTD look that much fancier with their trim panel or center light. By 1971 the Custom 500 was the base model and was aimed at fleets and cheapskates and they wanted it to look pretty stark to give you a reason to spend “just a few dollars more” to move up to the Galaxie 500.
These were pretty popular as Commonwealth cars when new but I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw one, even as a wreck!
Love this car! Reminds me of my Dad’s ’72 LTD, it was such a tank!
The first car I really remember was my parent’s 71 Torino 500. Four door, bright yellow exterior with black cloth interior. Had A/C and a 351. No other options. My father kept it until 76 and he still misses it. My parents were teachers so we had the summers off and they would pack us up and drive to Colorado from St. Louis for a month long camping adventure every summer. He used to drive 90mph across Kansas in the pre-55mph days and swears that it drove better at 90 than it did at 55.
What were gas prices in ABQ? When I visited there last year, they were amazingly low compared to national average. I couldn’t figure out why.
Most stations are at $ 3.05 for regular, but I topped off tonight at a place charging $ 2.91.
Why? Partly because there’s a lot of crude oil produced in the area, creating a surplus at the refineries and reducing shipping costs, and partly because New Mexico is ranked 43rd in total gasoline taxes (18.9 cents per gallon. In contrast, New York is # 1 @ 50.6 cents per gallon).
I paid similar prices in Colorado two weeks ago, due to similar economic forces.
I drove a 1971 Ford Custom as Taxi in NYC. Given that it was a RWD It handled surprisingly well in snow! I really liked this car. It was way better than the Checker Taxi.
This car represents what I miss about today’s cars. If you want a plain car, you have to buy a small one. If you want a large plain vehicle, you have to buy a truck, and even then they are few and far between. Of course, one of the reasons nobody makes them anymore is nobody would buy them…
There is a ’71 LTD convertible a couple of miles from my house, but like many others I haven’t seen a low level sedan in many years. This one looks like it came with the dog dish hubcaps, as with full wheel covers the wheels would be black. It does (or did) have a radio as there is an antenna on the fender. And it is missing the chrome moldings that go between the taillamps and outline the ‘FORD’ letters. You can see the holes for them.
I like two of the background rigs; the early Miata, and the ’85-’87 Chevy dually. Both of those are fading from the street scene.
I’d cruise that bitch…
That Custom 500 has been at that apartment complex on Juan Tabo since I moved here to ABQ in March of 1995. It had a buddy parked next to it, a 73 Merc Monterey sedan, also in white, up until last year. Have seen plenty of these Fords here over the years. Even seen a Mexican ’71-72 LTD at a yard near El Paso with a straight six-banger……
reminds me of the film “Superman II,” when the small-town cops roll up on the bad guys from Krypton. Depending on the scene, the cruiser they were driving flips back and forth from a ’71 to a ’72.
We don’t need no stinkin’ continuity.
The raised height of the front end makes me wonder whether or not there’s still an engine in it.
Production companies shooting a period film or tv show pay good money to rent cars like these as props.
More like guinea pigs, if the cars knew what their fate will be like the one in “Freebie and the Bean”. 😉
A bit off-topic but a interesting detail to know is Ford dropped the front-vent windows for the LTD/Galaxie/Custom 500 4-door sedan and wagon for 1971. Since it was a mid-cycle refresh of the 1969-70 body. They could had kept them for 2 more model years until the restyling planned for the 1973 model year.
It does have a certain “Harry Callahan” aspect to it, I expect Clint Eastwood to come out of a burger shop, with a milkshake in one hand and big wraparound shades.
Or any policemen or FBI agent from a Quinn Martin production like “The FBI” and “The Streets of San Francisco” or private investigator like Cannon! 😉 Here one clip of Cannon in a 1971-72 Custom/Galaxie/LTD before he drive a Lincoln Continental in the later seasons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF-dgroq4TI
That’s a great clip. You’ll notice that Cannon’s first choice would have been the Dodge Polara.
Schmart move. They’ll never catch him on foot.
Carmine—he didn’t drive one like this until the sequel–Magnum Force.
I drove a ’71 Ford Custom 500 as a taxi inYonkers NY. For a RWD it handled well
In the snow! It was a way better driver than the Checker I also drove.
Is it wrong that I have a strange, perverse love for these cars? Did seeing too many reruns of 70’s cop shows as a kid warp my impressionable young mind? Do I need professional help for repeatedly browsing CL for one of these?
Hey, if they’re good enough for Inspector Callahan, they’re good enough for me!
Naw, there is something about one of these, especially a plain jane one like the featured car, that makes me want to slap a red gumball on the roof and tear off down the street laying rubber.
Alternately, because of all of these cop show memories, these have to be the most disposable big Fords in my recollection. With the ’73-’78s a very close second. These ones always seemed so cheap and taxi-like.
Full-sized Mercs still maintained a better sense of quality during these years than Fords. But that distinction was fast fleeting.
Clint Eastwood drove one of these as Dirty Harry Calahan in Magnum Force–circa 1974….along with plenty of other plain jane cop issue Fords. Delightful!
It was at around this point in time that I recall seeing Fords, sometimes less than a year old, with rust on the rear end. This in Ohio. Definitely not uncommon on 2 or 3 year old Fords. My thought at the time was that Ford didn’t even try to offer much in the way of factory rust-proofing compared to other brands. I can say I knew somebody who bought one new, a green one, that didn’t rust as badly as some others. Those were the days you really needed Ziebart or some other aftermarket rustproofer.
I built one of these , set it up with a 429 and a 4 speed. Found the clutch pedals in a junkyard. It’s a fun drive.