I got it all wrong; so much for trying to think you know your wife after 36 years. I assumed Stephanie would be thrilled with this 1972 LTD, given its fine green brocade cloth upholstery and soft ride. I ran in the house breathlessly, and called out for her to come check out her new ride, to replace her incontinent Forester. I guess she was thinking I’d brought home a new MINI Countryman or Volvo C30 or something like that, because when she came outside…well, let’s just say the LTD needs to go to a home that will truly appreciate its many virtues, even if its green brocade seats aren’t heated.
OK; enough with the leg-pulling. No, I never really bought this living time capsule. And those of you that have been around for a while know to be on guard for that. It wasn’t actually for sale then, but now it really is. There’s a (perverse) side of me that is quite tempted, but I guess I’m just not quite perverse enough. Well, that and the fact that I don’t have a place to store this baby, which needs and deserves a nice big garage.
If and when I buy myself a CC toy, it’s going to have to provide a bit more driving pleasure on our winding mountainous highways and gravel forest roads, as I’m not too big on tooling on the straight and flat roads of the valley on weekends. But since Jerry was so accommodating in my ruse, and this is such a fine car, I offered to let our large audience around the world know about this rare opportunity. How many other ’72 LTDs in such shape are left in the world?
Jerry’s asking $4500. I’m in no position to comment on that price, as I’m totally out of the loop on vintage car prices. But if you’re interested, head for the ad (here), and send him an e-mail. And we’ll follow up when Jerry sells it. Watch it end up in Sweden!
1972 LTD craigslist ad My write-up on this gem is here, but don’t take everything in it quite literally
That is definitely a fair asking price for such a nice car.
If I had $4500…well, first I’d pay off some of my tuition. But then! Imagine my father’s surprise if I were to pull up in his driveway in a beautiful “Ford P.O.S.,” as he once so eloquently dubbed the full-size Ford platform. How he came to use that name is a story for another time, particularly when I’m not typing this all on my phone.
Men in Black?
“Unlimited technology from the whole universe, and we cruise around in a Ford P.O.S.”
Wish I lived in Oregon where I could see old cars (in good shape). Could drive one of these boats for 20 years with minimal repairs. Compared to the problems I experience with newer cars, I’d call this an investment! (Minus the gas costs of course).
$4500! I’m weeping, for years these were about AUD$3000 then the mining boom took them up into 5 figures in this nick. Is shipping to Australia included?
Or, failing that, shipping to NZ? 😉
The car is in amazing condition. I’ve ridden in it several times and marvel at how nice a place the inside is. And it’s freaking fast; hard NOT to smoke the tires at times. Original spare and tools are still in the trunk, even a pair of road flares that are probably dangerous. No extra charge!
If any of you have any specific questions or want pictures, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Delivery available for the right offer. 😀
is this still for sale ? very interested
I was a bit surprised when you first wrote about this car as being a replacement for your wife’s Subaru and she said nothing. It would be a rare women who would prefer a 40 year old land yacht over a modern compact grocery getter.
You’re lucky she didn’t file for divorce
Here, put this on her real replacement car
ha! When a ’05 F150 totaled our ’02 Odyssey, I joked with my wife that she’d be safer in a ’68 Chrysler New Yorker Station Wagon. Being the good husband I am, I offered to find one with dual A/C, AM and FM radio; even POWER WINDOWS. Did she consider the offer? I even said I’d look for a “woodie” version.
Turned me down flat.
Back in the 90s, my wife’s Accord suffered flood damage and was sold. I replaced it with a 68 Newport Custom. Best thing was that I got to drive it everyday while she started driving our Club Wagon.
I had a ’68 Newport in the mid 70s. Great car — 383 power and I loved the luminous dash panel at night.
Not my cup of tea, but if it’s as good as it looks that’s a fair price. I hope it finds a good home. I’m thinking $4500.00 is about what it would have cost new.
We had this exact car, but a 1973 model. 400, 2 bbl. Killer a/c, useless motor.
My Dad also had the 400 2v in his 1973 Country Sedan Wagon version of this car. My mother called it “the boat” (not affectionately, she thought it too large) though instead of a boat, we used it to tow a 20 foot poptop camper.
It had the trailer towing package, was our first car to have air conditioning, AM/FM stereo, and power locks (but crank windows). I remember the loud clicking of the power lock solenoids as well as the turn signals (which I think is good, my father who is hard of hearing often leaves his turn signal on when they don’t self-cancel, on his current car, a ’06 Impala). His was a metallic brown car, a color I like and one you don’t see much now. It got traded in on a 1978 Caprice Classic wagon (his last station wagon…gone after it was in an accident in 1984). This car replaced a ’69 Country Squire with the 351 2v, higher line model but had fewer options; no power locks, AC nor stereo, and didn’t have the trailer towing package (I think my Dad mostly wanted AC since by then we had moved south of the Mason-Dixon line and would take camping trips down to Florida once a year for a few years).
Actually that is a really good price for that LTD. A quick check shows they range from $7.5K to about $20K
I had a ’69 Ford Custom. That was the name of the base model on this chassis. Mine was the same color as this LTD.
BTDT, never want (or need) to do it again.
My grandparents had the same car in a metallic blue. 400 cubic inches. An older cousin got to air it out a bit. It would really run, but boy it floated at highway speeds.
Oh great now there’s going to be one more person (Paul) looking for a mint 190E or 300E on the west coast. Thanks Steph!
Totally understand about not wanting something like that to sit outside. $4,500 is great price!
I like it!””
Thanks everyone for the fun comments, and a special thanks to Paul for all the attention! One of my reasons for selling is my lack of garage. Otherwise I would seriously consider us driving to our wedding in this beauty. Well, at least it can help fund the honeymoon!
I’m betting you’ll have the cash by Monday morning at the latest. Nice car, and congrats on the upcoming nuptials.
If I wasn’t married to my ’63 Fairlane, I’d put some serious thought into buying it. You’d have to pick me up at the airport, though.
You have excellent taste in cars. My father bought one exactly like yours for around $500 back in the late 80’s. His ’72 LTD had 66K miles and was an Alabama car with the same green color combination, inside and out. In fact, the only difference between his & yours was that his had the base dog dish wheelcovers, manual A/C, and oxidized paint. It had the 400-2bbl engine and I remember it being surprisingly powerful. I hope the next owner takes good care of yours.
That is a beautiful example of an LTD. Not exactly my style, but I enjoy seeing it and appreciate it for what it is.
I have a feeling if Paul lived in the Great Plains as I do he’d appreciate these a bit more. Or maybe not. I have extensive B-Body and Panther and even old GM X-Frame road trip experiences but none in one of these. It certainly looks like a comfortable highway cruiser. Today’s cars have gone to the opposite extreme, with many so-called family cars delivering punishing long distance rides.
This was my very first car, and I loved her.
My dad picked it out as a complete surprise, cost around $1,300.00 in 1977, the payments were $62/month. He had gone to an auction, picked up the LTD for me, and a Gran Torino for my sister.
He assured me that I had the better car,.
Every now and then, I still see that beautiful beast around town (last time was within last few years ago), and it had the brocade seats with the higher back.
Had a Windsor in it, and she just rocked. Thanks for the wonderful memories, hope the wedding went well.
You had me fooled, but I’m glad you didn’t fall for this monstrosity. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but these are the cars that sent me running in the direction of sports cars, hot hatches, and all that European minimalism. Let someone else ride with pride in the LTD, just not me, or thee.
If you cruise Eastward on U.S 20 in that the handling will scare you into behaving before you reach your limits unlike a sports car that will nearly kill you by crashing before you learn your limits, Nice vehicle and color, but I rather my land yacht be a 92-96 Caprice 1A2 or 9C1.
There is at least one Curbside Classic other than the LTD in each of these photos, nice! When I was growing and living up near Cornell University and Ithaca College Oregon license plates were among the hardest to find out of all the Western States next to New Mexico. Even when I did see them it was always the Doug Fir Plates and only once did I see a Yellow Plate. I suspect most vehicles with the Blue, Yellow, and Pacific Wonderland Plates stay in Oregon since even in California and Washington most Oregon plates I see are the Doug Firs. Not even the several speciality plates seem to stray out of the Beaver State and most of Paul’s Curbside Classics do not wear those plates.
It always seems to be the case that the license plates you see from the other end of the country are on newer cars, so they’re newer plates. It makes sense in that most people will use the newer car for a cross-country trip.
As one of the sage farmers once counseled me in my uncle’s bull pen (the feeding lot where the registered breeders were kept) one cold winter’s morning, if I spied a bull beginning to let loose with a steamer, I was to run over to it and catch the excrescence with a shiny shovel before it hit the ground. I asked why. His response was, “because it would be clean”.
Obscure reference? Not at all, a direct analog to a ’72 Ford LTD regardless of the mileage. A turd is a turd, no amount of polishing will save it.
One man’s turd is another man’s…………?
…Brougham.
I would not bet against this car ending up in Sweden, Norway or Finland. I saw an identical 1972 LTD or Galaxie 500 in Stockholm, although I could not photograph it before it drove away.
I happened to be perusing CL and saw the listing, and went….”Oops……..”
I got it all wrong; so much for trying to think you know your wife after 36 years. I assumed Stephanie would be thrilled with this 1972 LTD
Admittedly it’s only been 23 years for us, but I too often have trouble divining the real message. What exactly could be inferred from the expression ” NO MORE ***ing old cars!” Beats me.
Paul, all I gotta say is that Jerry says he’d like a trade with an RV… 😉
And make Stephanie even more unhappy? She loves going out in the camper, even if it is a bit old and gnarly. I did mention it to Jerry… but I’m not sure he really wants another project.
If Paul won’t buy it, I don’t know what the odds are of there being another perfect buyer in Eugene! I would be surprised if craigslist finds the right buyer locally for a collector car like this. It is more of an eBay type of vehicle. Fortunately $4500 should be high enough to keep it out of the hands of someone who will treat it like an old used car.
That’s why I’m running it here. We reach a lot of folks around the world.
I hope there is a “CC effect” for selling worthy cars here! That Ford deserves a nice, loving garage home. Of course I have no room…
Rule-of-thumb: dollar price = euro price (the number), add 10%.
It could be mine (and here) for about 5,000 to 5,500 euro. Older than 40 years, which means it’s road tax free. Hmmm…..not bad, nice weekend-sunny-weather-cruiser !
Unfortunately the garage is already filled up, and in a maritime climate you’ll have to park it indoors permanently to keep it in such a great condition.
I’m surprised the original buyer went the original 80 bucks for Auto-Temp, then got no other options.
Most cars are obviously just dealer stock, odds are this one was as well. I recall in those days that a lot of cars had one or two high end for the times options that seemed strangely placed on a fairly basic car. I’ve wondered if that was the dealer / manufacturers attempt to introduce the public to newer or high end stuff as well as sneak a little extra margin in. After all, you don’t know you need it if you don’t know it exists. If you were coming out of a ’64 Ford Galaxie 500 with no AC and no features beyond power steering, automatic and radio, this car was quite exciting with not just AC, but automatic AC!
Another theory is that some parts inventory may have needed using or perhaps it was a way to force some volume on certain features to make production of the item cost effective.
An interesting side track on that is that I just read the other day that an F-150 can be ordered in 10 million different configurations. Sound complicated? Back in ’08 the number was in the Billions. Yep, Billions. So Ford is making progress, and one of their reasons for the push is to make it easier for dealers to order stock and then turn that stock over quicker, so they don’t end up with oddballs like this one sitting on the lot for a year.
I was surprised as well. This would be a good example for the mega oddly-optioned thread.
The car is in amazing condition for 40 years and 102,000 miles. I’m guessing the seats may have been covered. The brocade in the GM cars we had from that era never held up that well and could become threadbare after 80,000 miles.
My dad’s ’76 LTD had brocade and it was never covered. I’m not sure, but I think it held up better then the GM stuff.
Don’t know how long this link will be alive but here for reference….
1973 FORD LTD BROUGHAM
http://dothan.craigslist.org/cto/4286455204.html
I saw a comment on some blog – maybe here:
“Why is it that the survivors are always green?!”
A pic from the ad for posterity…..
“Barnaby Jones. A Quinn Martin production”
Thanks — I saved off the pics. That’s a nice car (429!!) in one of my favorite colors. While few here consider these other than wallowing pigs, there’s so many little things about these cars I like.
Those wheelcovers are some of my favorites: somewhat heavy due to the potmetal turbine section and they have that pretty blue center emblem. A lot of stying & engineering went into those: a far cry from the generica 5-spoke cast wheels/plastic wheelcovers of the present.
The “Air Conditioning” font of the mid-seventies Ford A/C controls always makes me smile — I can’t imagine why that cute script was approved but it adds to the appeal. The tick-marks on the clock instead of actual numbers adds a “cheap elegance” and a little character to the otherwise conservative instrument panel.
The sliding balance controls on those old Ford stereos is cool too.
One of the “big” appeals to me is the grand canyon of a trunk. The spare didn’t eat up space unlike the GM competition and it is one of the few designs that could swallow a console television whole. *Burp*
I think this LTD Brougham coupe is a beautiful car too, and the color is great. Almost identical to one of the ’69 GTOs I had with oyster white interior.
As far as the trunks, I do recall seeing Fords of the era, or at least Lincolns with entire full size velour recliners in there and the trunk lid could just close, no problem 🙂
While I am really not a fan of the styling, I do appreciate the green interior.
I had a ’71 Mercury Montego MX (gold w/black vinyl roof, black interior) in Salem, Ore. in 1989 with the 351C 2bbl and it was a car I was glad to trade off a few months later . . . for a ’61 F100 with the unitized cab/bed design, 223 ci Six and three speed.
Well, I have had plenty of lookers, and one offer for $3500 which I turned down. Oddly, I seem to be getting much more interest from people who saw the car driving by my house than online. I’m rather surprised. I’m contemplating using eBay, but I’ve never sold a car that way before and I would rather do it the “old fashioned” way haggling in person.
Well, it looks as if the LTD will be sailing across the Atlantic, and living the rest of its days in Germany.
No doubt purchased by some of Paul’s distant relatives who are just so over those stiff, lifeless Teutonic cars. To hell with the autobahn, let’s cruise the strasse! 🙂
That does not surprise me in the least. In fact, I as much as predicted/anticipated this outcome. We’re selling off our crown jewels to Europe.
So, did you sell it?
I always considered 1972 to be the last great year of the Ford LTD’s before they became more bulky and less stylish, 1972 is my third favorite year of the Ford LTD’s after 1967 and 1968.
Is this car still for sale?
Paul, look what Sarah Jessica Parker bought http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/sarah-jessica-parker-a-little-hyper-aware
If I were into these, I’d definitely be traveling 20 mi. away to Paterson NJ to check this out! $5299 sounds reasonable to me!
Seeing this ’72 LTD really makes me feel old–I was in 1st grade when this was new. Haven’t seen one in, like, 40 years. Then I see this and I think, “Oh, yeah–I REMEMBER those!” How did this one avoid the crusher and survive to 2023?
https://newjersey.craigslist.org/ctd/d/paterson-1972-ford-ltd-buy-here-pay-here/7587039311.html