(first posted 6/16/2013) What is it about our fathers’ cars? Those of us who were car-crazed little boys (and girls) certainly lapped up every car experience we could get our little hands on. But the cars that our Dads drove can hold a special place in our memories.
For the past few years, my sons and I have attended a small Fathers’ Day car show in Noblesville, Indiana. There is always a nice variety there, something for about every taste. I enjoy, of course, looking at the cars, and even more, I enjoy the time spent with my boys who have a better-than-average appreciation of old iron. If things go the way I hope, while you read this, we three will be traipsing around Forest Park again, taking in the sights, with old Dad snapping a few pictures for some future Car Show Classics.
Last year, though, this car made me stop in my tracks and just stare – probably with my mouth wide open – while the sons wondered just what the heck was wrong with their father. Just what would make someone take notice of a ’69 Ford LTD sedan? They would have no way of knowing, but this car is almost the spitting image of the car my father drove during most of 1969. All of a sudden, I was ten years old again.
1969 was a time of transition, in many ways. My parents had been divorced for about two years and Dad had remarried. I would eventually have two brothers, but the oldest was still a year away from birth in 1969, so this marked the last year that it was just my little sister and me. This was also a time that Dad had left the only employer he had ever had since leaving college over ten years earlier, to strike out on his own as a self-employed management consultant.
I should start out by saying that my father was not really a “car guy”. Which was sort of strange, with him having graduated from college with a degree in mechanical engineering. He understood all of the mechanical stuff, but it really held no interest for him. To my Dad, a car accomplished two things: It was a depreciating asset, and its job was to take you where you wanted to go, comfortably and with no drama. More importantly, a car was your calling card – like your clothing and your bearing, a signal to the world around you who you were and what you were about. This was, pretty much 180 degrees away from my own approach, which valued the subjective experience above all else. The upside of Dad’s worldview on cars was that he never brought home a car that embarrassed his young eldest son.
Not our car, but close.
For most of my life up to that time, Dad had driven a company car. The first had been a white ’63 Chevy Bel Air station wagon. Someone else surely picked it out. The color was the only thing that would have agreed with my father. You see, there were two constants in Dad’s life when it came to cars – they were almost all the products of the Ford Motor Company, and they were almost always the best trim level offered in a given model. A low-trim Bel Air with dog dish hubcaps would never, ever have passed the JPC-the-Elder test. It probably made him feel like a house painter.
The second was more his style – a white ’66 Country Squire that pulled into the driveway one cold, snowy evening in late 1965. Although it lacked air conditioning, it was a car in all other ways fitting for a young up-and-coming executive. The Squire was his car for the next three years, which included some wrenching life-changes. Following a divorce, and a Dad’s move to an apartment, the sight of the white painted woody was eagerly anticipated every other Friday evening as its pulling into the driveway signaled the start of a weekend visit with we kids. Dad married again in 1968 and moved to a new home that was the start of a little subdivision way out in the country.
The three-year-old Squire was due for replacement in late 1968. To me, it was the last holdover from an earlier kind of life that I was sorry to see go away. As I have gotten older, however, I realize that he must surely have been ready to be rid of the Squire. It had to have been difficult to spend so many hours in a car that was a daily reminder of an unhappy chapter of life, which he was surely ready to move beyond. In the early fall of 1968, the Squire was traded on a new company car. The Country Squire’s replacement was always a bit of a mystery to me – a gold 1969 Olds Delta 88. I vividly recall the air conditioning and the brocade cloth seats. I also remember that Dad was transitioning to a new career and suspect that his replacement may have been given some choice in the new company car.
Within about three months, the Oldsmobile was gone and on one snowy Friday evening, a new car turned into Mom’s driveway – a robins egg blue 1969 Ford LTD four door hardtop. I was ecstatic. At ten years old, you see, I was my Father’s son. Therefore, it went without saying that I was a dedicated Ford man as well. Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs were fine for the women-folk, but in my little world, a Ford was the appropriate car for the man of the house. And an impressive Ford it was, too. OK, a Mustang Mach I would have been cooler, but that just wasn’t happening.
The story of the Ford LTD has been covered here before, and in the second half of the 1960s, it was a very, very important car. Each year following its 1965 birth, it gained in power, influence, and prestige, taking an ever-larger share of big-Ford sales. The 1969 model was a significant leap. There was a longer wheelbase, a wider track, and a completely new body with styling that may have been one of the best looking large sedans of the late ’60s. Ford had been on a quality roll through the ’60s, and its cars were seen as appealing propositions. The competition from GM seemed a bit stale, and the new fuselage Mopars were just not that appealing. The LTD seemed to be a new wave of quality. The structure was tight and quiet, and the materials used seemed to be a notch above those used in the competition. It was certainly a lot nicer than the ’69 Catalina my grandma bought that year, which seemed cheap, plain and dull in comparison.
The LTD suited my father perfectly. It was handsome, big and well-built. The new LTD gave a pretty credible impersonation of a luxury car. Although Dad did not spring for a lot of options (we still cranked our windows and listened to AM radio), the car was awash in luxurious upholstery cloth, woodgrain trim and a smooth, quiet ride that would impress anyone. Ford called the front passenger seat “the Front Room” because of the unique dash design that clustered everything around the driver and swept the rest of the panel back away from the passenger for what seemed like acres of room.
On family outings, the huge back seat was like a quiet, comfortable cocoon. I don’t recall many fights with my sister back there, perhaps in all that roomy, air conditioned comfort, it was just an air of serenity that was hard to break out of, even at age ten. (I supposed we saved the fights for the scorching hot vinyl seats in the closer quarters of Mom’s ’64 Cutlass.) Try as I might, I have very few really vivid memories of the LTD. Instead, they are just a couple of dozen snippets with a common theme – a kid getting to spend time with his Dad, and the LTD was often the place where that happened.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared in our lives, it was gone, replaced in the late fall of 1969 with a light yellow Continental Mark III. Self employment seemed to be working out well for Dad, and he was ready to move beyond luxury with an asterisk to the real thing. My father was quite excited to score a Lincoln. I can’t say that I blame him, it was quite an accomplishment for a man at thirty-five to own one of the most prestigious cars built. Me? I missed the LTD. I don’t know why. I didn’t like the Lincoln’s color and I didn’t like climbing into the back seat of a 2 door. Real Lincolns had suicide doors, didn’t they? But on a deeper level, I think that the loss of the LTD highlighted one of the biggest differences between me and my father – he always appreciated the finer things, while I was more comfortable in a simpler lifestyle.
Beyond Dad’s light blue LTD, ’69 Fords seemed to be all around me in those years. Uncle Mervin had a navy blue Galaxie 500 coupe, and our insurance agent had another LTD 4 door. A family friend had a bright turquoise Galaxie 500 convertible, and several years later, a boss bought a silver blue LTD sedan from an elderly man, which I got to drive and spent the day detailing for him.
For most of those people (and almost anyone else who ever owned one of these), the bloom came off the rose fairly quickly. In the salty north, these cars turned into major-league rusters. I’m talking gaping holes in the lower doors at 5 years old. As I watched these cars fall into early decrepitude all around me, I was saddened at how Ford could take one of the most appealing new cars made and build it in a way that would become a major disappointment to its owners down the road. Alas, it would not be the last. As I think about it, the ’69 Ford paralleled my father in another way, too. Like the car, Dad aged poorly. Within a decade, he would have his first heart attack and would lose a lung to cancer before age 50.
It has taken some thought, but I think I have finally put my finger on why this car appeals to me so. Almost always, a car that comes into our lives and lives with us is there for quite awhile, certainly long enough to develop the scars and failings of age, mileage and general family wear and tear. Dad’s LTD, though, never got old or dented or rusted, but has remained forever new in my memory, looking for all the world like this car. And when I think of that beautiful new ’69 Ford, I remember my father at his mid-30s peak – young, strong and handsome, at a time in his life when there was nothing he could not accomplish so long as he had a fresh pack of Tareytons at the ready.
So, this Aztec Aqua 1969 LTD was sort of the perfect, though unanticipated, Father’s Day gift for me. If there was a single car from my early life that would bring almost nothing but good memories, this would be it. Sadly, my father passed away over ten years ago, after a twenty year battle with ill health. But for just an instant on a sunny Father’s Day last June, it was as though Dad stepped out of the crowd to say hello and give his ten year old kid a hug. I guess sometimes a car can be more than just the mechanical stuff for me too.
Happy Fathers Day, everyone.
Thank you for a great story. As a Ford man and
and owner of a Falcon, I hope that my girls will always look back on their trips to get ice cream with a fondness that I know it brings to me. Cars are more than steel, plastic and rubber and your story says it perfectly.
Great post. Our family had a black Jade 1969 Ford Fairlane for years.Just thinking about riding in that car with my Dad are the best memories I have.Your post really spoke to me.Thanks for taking me back to those simpler days if only for a few moments.
That reminds me of Jack Arnold’s car in the latter seasons of the tv series The Wonder Years except Jack’s car was a Custom 500 http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_65205-Ford-Custom-500-1969.html
And if the tv series The Streets of San Francisco had beginned a couple of years earlier, circa 1970. I could imagine Michael Douglas and Kurt Malden driving a 1969-70 Galaxie 500. 😉
I know your father is smiling down upon you this father’s day. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt piece.
What a great story, JPC. It’s so true: our dad’s cars really do hold a special place in our memories.
My dad had a ’66 Galaxie two-door when I was born and he drove it until about 1974. I’m still drawn to ’66 Fords.
Sorry to hear that your father is no longer around, though I still have mine, he’s also had several health problems (now going through cancer treatment for multiple myeloma) and of course I wonder how many days we have left together. He sounds a lot like my father, down to the temprament and maybe from that choice of cars compared to my own.
My Father also bought a ’69 Ford, but instead of an LTD, his was a Country Squire wagon (with a family, this was his second wagon, the start of a string of Fords). I kind of think he bought it based on my Uncle’s recent (at the time) purchase of a burgandy ’69 LTD 4 door hardtop earlier in the spring. My uncle had been driving my Grandfather’s ’51 Chrysler Windsor, which had died (sounded to me like bad head gasket) during his last semester at college, but he already had his first professional job lined up, and on the prospect of a good job, he was able to get a loan on the LTD.
I remember making him mad one time saying my bicycle speedometer (actually odometer) had more miles on it than his new car had at the time (of course I overlooked that I had the odometer on the bicycle for more than a few years). Anyhow, my father liked my Uncle’s choice, and in the fall of that same year bought the ’69 Country Squire at Luzurne Motors in NE PA. My father was a child of the depression, and also liked nicer things, and I think the Squire was certainly a step up from the ’65 Olds F85 wagon we had before that. Me, I’m not so luxury oriented (though I do like my comforts, I don’t have to have any luxury reminders around me…though the Squire was pretty much a base model, it did have disc brakes (which my Uncle’s LTD lacked) and an AM radio. We only had it for another 4 years (I think my Uncle kept his closer to 20 years) having exchanged it for a slightly lesser ’73 Country Sedan wagon, this one though had more options, power locks, Air conditioning (first in my family) and AM/FM stereo, which seemed pretty decadent at the time (I don’t think it was an inexpensive option) and trailer towing package (which we got despite having a popup camper at the time, though it was rather large popup camper.
He’s had a succession of Fords since then, 3 Mercury Sables in a row (he leased 2 of them) and now seems to have gone back to Chevrolet, he’s on his second Impala in a row). My father also traded cars much more often than I do (I’m about 13 years on my current car, have only owned 5 different cars in my life) so his car history is much richer than my own. But being a car nut (me, not my father) that’s pretty neat environment to grow up in!
Interesting and moving piece JPC, thank you.
A great story JPC. Thank you for sharing.
My Dad had a 1971 Satellite for much of my childhood and my fondest memories were of riding around with him in that car, just running around doing errands and stuff and he’d put his big bear paw hand around me while singing along to the radio and everything was all right.
I found this copy sitting all by itself at Carlisle a couple of years ago right after he died and since I don’t think Ive seen another 1971 Plymouth Satellite sedan since he scrapped his in 1983, I took it as a sign and bought it.
That’s once nice clean Mopar, keep it around and your Dad will live eternity. Some cars are appliances, some cars have style…and some have soul…..
Wonderful story. Happy Father’s Day, JPC!
Nicely written JP. May your Dad rest in peace.
That is quite a nice 69 LTD sedan pictured in this write up. It is uniquely equipped with the optional tilt steering wheel – something rarely seen in full size Ford cars of this era.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
Thanks for a wonderful story! Fathers’ cars do indeed trigger wonderful memories.
Terrific story, JP. I’ve been looking forward to reading this.
In a small way, I suppose my life has been touched by a ’69 Ford, although it was a Fairlane, that my parent’s owned when they brought me home from the hospital after my birth. With it being a two-door, it posed excessive challenges for back seat access – along with about 100,000 miles on the odometer – and it was traded for a ’73 Ford Torino.
Wow – great story! It’s really amazing how cars can trigger such memories and feelings within us. For most people, they just saw an old 4 door sedan, but you saw all the great memories of your dad and you when you were 10. Beautiful stuff, and another reason I love going to car shows and love cars.
My Dad from 64 bought a new car every 2 years because unlike the majority of Kiwis, he could. Cars were very hard to get here thanks to govt policy of restricting supply and finance the average Joe or Rangi could not march in and take delivery you ordered your new car and waited on a list my Dad simply ordered a new one when HE wanted one wh9ich meant he had sold at a profit his current car and we would get to ride in whatever he felt like from the used lot untill it arrived only a week or so where some more unfortunate people might wait a year when I attended primary school in the 60s prewar dungers were a common sight dropping kids off old heaps of crap were kept alive here well past their rebar appointment because there was no alternative. Noone else at my school rode in a brand new Vauxhall or Holden that was THE only one about for several months evry couple of years.
I am the last child of a late second marriage … my Dad was born near the end of the 19th century in Europe, and never learned to drive. He was a train, plane (he used to tell me about seeing the Wright brothers at an airshow in France as a child) and streetcar fan when he was young … but cars were just outside his sphere of interest or even familiarity. My mother tried to teach him to drive here in the US but she said it just didn’t click with him, especially shifting, and frankly he preferred being driven around by her. But I think if my Dad had been a car guy, and a Ford guy, we would have had a 4 door Fairlane with a six, automatic and dog dish hubcaps. But in hindsight, Henry Ford was too friendly with the Soviets, so no Fords for our family. Maybe a Mercedes 190 Diesel. Or a Peugeot 404. Or maybe he was the one who actually chose our Volvos … after all, the passenger seats were very comfortable.
I’ve always liked the big Fords of that era and as a kid I rode in a few. A friend’s dad owned an LTD Country Squire wagon of similar vintage, and it was always a treat (for me) to get a ride in it….or nearly any different car, for that matter. Our cars were usually pretty basic. My dad could easily afford something nicer, but he simply considered them an appliance as much as anythng else. The nicest car we owned was a ’73 Impala coupe – dark blue with a white vinyl top. I loved the sound of the 350 and the low whine from the THM 350 automatic – a far cry from the 230/Powerglide in our old ’67 Beaumont. Unfortunately the Impala rusted out quickly and was off the road by 1980, though when we scrapped it a few years later the engine still started and ran well. We went through a few other GM products that always ran well, but always seemed to have less than stellar quality control – the best was our ’77 Buick Century. In 1990 he bought his first new vehicle since our ’78 Gutless…a Nissan Axxess minivan with a five speed stick. It was a great vehicle to drive, and he got over 300,000 km out of it in 12 years with very few problems. He sold it to a neighbor and bought a used Toyota Camry. It was a nice car in the Toyota fashion, and unfortunately he put it into a ditch and had to scrap it. His last car was a Saturn 4-door…back to the basic sedans of yore, but at least he put a decent stereo into it so he could play his classical CD’s. When he passed away three years ago he had lost his license 6 months earlier due to age-related issues. My sister and her husband took the Saturn to clean it out before they sold it, and they found a few dozen of what was a common thread with all his cars – pipes that he’d smoked and forgotten he’d left there.
What a beautiful piece of writing JP thank you,the cars are great too.My Dad stopped driving at 70,he’s 85 on Tuesday and always liked Ford’s the best,he was and still is a fan of American cars as he’s 6’3″ and Mum was too being 5’11”.We had 2 Falcons when I was a kid as well as Zephyrs,Zodiacs,Cortinas and a Corsair among the Vauxhalls and a Valiant and a Dart
Very nice JP, my dad was a dedicated Audi guy when we lived in Germany, after immigrating here he transitioned into a Ford man himself. I like the big LTD’s and they lasted a lot longer on the West Coast without salt!
A very evocative piece…thanks!
It brought to mind my father’s cars – his first one was a 1930 Chrysler convertible coupe, just the car for a dashing young bachelor in southern California. After he married my mother in 1938 he got a 1936 Chrysler coupe , and they traveled all over the country in it. I was along for some of those rides but I was only 1 or 2 at the time. The first of his cars that I actually remember was the 1935 Ford sedan with the banjo steering wheel and big 17-inch wire wheels – off a Pierce-Arrow iirc. Right after WWII someone offered him $300 for it – he thought that was a great deal and sold it. Then he found out why – it was almost impossible to find a decent car in those days. I remember going with him in the 1937 Dodge dump truck to look at a Model A coupe with a pickup box in the back. He eventually found a 1934 LaSalle – a 4-window 4-door sedan that was well used and needed some work to make into a family car. That was the car until 1950. Business was pretty good that year, and he bought a new black Packard 4-door sedan, riding Greyhound back to pick it up at the factory.
This is getting long, I’d better stop. Speaking of that LaSalle, I have never seen another 1934 4-window 4-door sedan. Has anyone here?
My Dad,being a former British,and Canadian Army officer,could be a poster boy for Conservitive. He never left the house unshaven, and rarely with out a tie.
When it came to cars,Dad was a radical. Dad bought cars like some men of his generation bought suits. If he took a fancy to it he bought it. We had a lot of Pontiacs some used,and some new. Car buying, wasn’t exatly good financial planning at least in my mothers point of view.
If it had chrome wheels,and buckets with a floor shift? Dad had to have it. Times were not always good. Dad was retired and looking for work in the late 60’s . One Sunday he had my brother, and I,wash wax,vacum,and detail {they didn’t call it detailing then} his 66 Impala SS.
A couple of days later dad brings home a 64 Biscayne, three on the tree. Dad hated the thing. I guess he did what he had to do. At the time I was some pissed off. All the nice cars he had. Now I got to take my driver license,on this tank!
Fast forward about twenty years. I had nice Monte Carlo with big payments. So I decide to trade down to a lesser car. Dad got wind of my plan. He says “WTF are you doing.! How much money do you need?” “Trust me son” he says you will lose your shirt trading down”
Dad wrote me a check for a $1000.” I don’t know how I can pay it back”..I tell him.
“I don’t want it back”..says Dad
I miss him every day.
Nice piece Jp.
I remember the Ford LTD ( a later model) from an appearance in one of the French Connection film (Can’t think which one).It wasn’t the car chase scene..But I think it was Gene Hackman who was following it around some New York Projects..
I remember looking real closely to try and identify the Car, It was easy in one respect that the Ford name was spelled out over the bonnet and LTD appeared in the back rear reflector.
However having grown up in Ireland, I had no idea that LTD was a model and not some sort of trim option!!! Like GL, or GLX etc as Ford were using
Anyway, after ALL these years that LTD sticks i my mind, and I remember liking it.having had a weakness for Large American saloon cars.At the time I was also an avid Mercedes fan. However I grew out of that one.Still like a good saloon car though.Estate cars too..Can’t stand MPV’s or SUV’s and of Course Hot hatchbacks such as the VW Golf GTI, Or Fiat Punto Abarth are always worth a peek!!!
But generally a nice saloon, has been my ideal car..I think I was born Middle aged.
Anyway , happy Father’s day to you and all fellow readers
My dad had a succession of Fords from 1964-69, each year, all of them employer owned.
Since the employers changed, the level of the cars changed too. The nicest was a ’67 LTD 2 door hardtop with 390-4V, disc brakes, power door locks and the factory tape player. This replaced a ’66 XL that was deemed inadequate for a long family road trip
by dint of it’s bucket seats.
We took a trip from the prairies to see Expo ’67 in Montreal in that car. We stayed in a luxury condo in downtown Montreal for 2 weeks, leased for the summer by the radio station for which he worked. We went on to Maine, northern NY state and back to Saskatoon via Windsor Ontario. We actually got caught up in the midst of the ’67 Detroit riots leaving Windsor, anxiously following the signs to get onto I-75 while plumes of smoke billowed on the horizon. We were on the road for a solid 4 plus weeks, I as a 6 year old. I have never since then equaled it.
Alas, a change of employers resulted in a crummy base level 1968 Galaxie 500 Fastback, with a 302, auto and a radio, and nothing else. This was replaced by a 1969 Galaxie 500 2dr hardtop that was a bit better, at least it had power steering and disc brakes, full wheel covers, a vinyl top and a rear defogger(but still that crummy little 302!) Funny thing, even as a kid I knew the ’69 was much less well assembled than the preceding cars. The weird dash was especially flimsy, and it had many irritating little features such as inadequate interior lights (2 little C-pillar lights), a driver-side antenna that was a distraction, the aforementioned weird dash with the left-side radio, a tiny glove box,an ashtray of out of reach AND sight of the driver, and tires that barely lasted 12,000 miles. This was the last car of the company car era, the ’69 was replaced by our own personally bought used 1967 Galaxie 500 4dr sedan 390 that everyone in the family liked better than the ’69.
WRT to the feature car, this is rarer than most people might realize. The 4 door sedan bodystyle is already rare, this one has the Brougham Interior which was seldom seen on the sedan.
Here’s another trivia fact about ’69 LTDs. Anybody who has read either David Halberstams book about Ford, or either of Iaccoca’s books has heard of the PIP, or Profit Improvement Program. This was a gradual chintzing of content while keeping the base price the same. In mid-69, the LTD was demoted to a Galaxie 500 level interior where even the clock reverted to an option. The previous trim level became extra cost, never mind the Brougham option. Did I mention these things rusted even in places where salt use was at a minimum? As much as love the 1969s, they demarcated a drastic drop in quality for full sized Fords that was never really resolved until well into the Panther era.
Having said that, I still dream of a red, loaded ’69 XL GT convert with a 429. It has to be a convert, I just can’t abide by the flying buttress hardtop roofline, I think it looks like crap, and can’t hold a candle to the ’67 LTD’s small window quarters, the ’67 Galaxie 2 door hardtops delicious sweeping pillars, the concave roof ’66, or even the ’68 Fastback.
My dad’s car was an early model, with an interior exactly like this, right down to the color. I do remember the oddly placed ashtray, which he used with great regularity. It can be seen in my interior shot. The radio on the drivers side of the dash was odd as well.
These cars virtually disappeared before 1980. Not only has it been decades since I have seen one in person, I couldn’t even find a picture of a ratty one online. They were all survivors like this. All of the beaters dissolved eons ago.
The LTD really came into its own with this model, even meriting its own hood panel. The Galaxie hood lacked the little beak on the front. The Galaxie grille was interesting in that it was a large diecasting, which I found unusual since Ford had been doing aluminum stampings for years by then. Unfortunately, it pitted and corroded like all chrome diecastings on cars of those days.
My other take on these was that they were SOOOO much more solid than the 1971 model. The 71-72 was a juddering, quivvering structure. These 69-70 cars had a very tight structure that felt more like the 65-68 than like the later cars.
Just to clarify, was your Dad’s car a pillarless hardtop or a post sedan like the pictured car? It made a huge difference in the “vibe” the car gave off. LTD sedans were so rare that I’m sure people regarded them as Galaxies.
The hardtop versions were much more striking, able to project an upscale image, which the post sedan just couldn’t pull off.
Yes, Dad’s car was the 4 door hardtop. The only other difference from this car was that I believe Dad’s had a dark (black or navy) vinyl roof.
Just a footnote on the 69 LTD pictured. I just saw one at a car show in Turlock, Ca. Same color as the one shown. I even got several good shots of it. The reason that I have an affection for these cars is my uncle Arnold had a 1970 LTD Brougham 4-door sedan. Metallic beige, white vinyl top, AM radio, factory 8-track mounted on the transmission hump. And yes it was a factory unit. The eight track was color keyed to the interior. Looked nice but not for the middle front passenger. No power windows, door locks. Not sure about power seat, but did have a passenger recliner. As a nine year old whose parents only bought 2 door hard tops, I was very impressed. That was the first four door sedan that I even remotely thought of as cool. The best feature was the 429 4V residing under the hood. The sound of my uncle telling the gas station attendent to fill it up with Ethyl was almost more than I could handle. My parents were the give me three dollars worth of regular kind of people. Anyway going from San Jose to Madera, Ca was always more fun in my uncles LTD because we would get there a lot quicker. For a frumpy, my moms discription of his car, this car was fast. So even though it wasn’t a 2 door hard top, or even a four door hardtop, i thought it was the coolest four door sedan ever. One more thing. I guess because the dash is huge. They all crack in the exact same spot. His cracked in January of 1974. The reason I remember that is because my aunt tried to blame my dad for cracking their dash when we used the car one time to go to a funeral. Our cars had even plates, theres was odd and at that time you could only buy gas on odd or even days, and our cars were empty that day. Had to wait in line to get gas in those days.
I’d forgotten about the odd ashtray location and the radio on the left of the driver. The ashtray I think kind of pointed towards the passenger (kind of like the ashtray on the AMC Javelin, which similarly had a driver-centric dashboard. My father sometimes smoked cigars back then (mostly to keep mosquitoes away at drive-in movies) but otherwise didn’t use the ashtray much. I commented on reversing the clock and radio to my Uncle (who had the ’69 LTD 4 door hardtop) and he kind of got mad, I thought the clock and radio should have been reversed (so front passenger could also get to radio) but he didn’t want anyone else but the driver messing with the radio in his car, he liked the layout as it was..
My father drove my Uncle’s LTD once (I was too young, never drove it) and as a Country Squire owner, he remarked that he didn’t like the brakes (not sure if they were power, but they were 4 wheel drum compared to his front disc on our Country Squire). My uncle had the (infamous?) panty cloth (black cloth) which looked pretty formal with the burgandy exterior (and black vinyl roof). Our car was typical wagon, with green vinyl seating, had no vinyl roof (do I remember corrrectly, that they offered vinyl roof even with wagon in one or two years?)..but of course had luggage rack with the integrated wind deflector to try to keep rear tailgate window cleaner (no rear windshield washer back then). Both cars I think had shoulder belts attached to the ceiling. The hardtop had a half pillar between the front and back doors, whereas the country squire was sedan based, with b pillar between the doors all the way up.
As Ford watching kid , especially at the showrooms/dealers, I was quite astonished at the frequency with which I saw high-trim LTDs with manual drum brakes. Cripes, it was only 65 bucks to get the discs! My dad’s bare bones ’69 Galaxie had them, and here were power window and AC equipped units that didn’t!. Head-scratcher for sure.
BTW I love that Dark Jade ’69 LTD 4-door hardtop. Everything except for those 10 pound cast fin wheel covers that had a penchant for flying off, that is.
Here’s what I’d have gotten.
Thanks for this excellent story. I nominate it for a Curbie.
Yes, these cars are very rare now; I haven’t run into one in way too long, even around here. Odd.
I drove a ’70 Galaxie 500 two-door hardtop quite a bit in the summer of 1971, and rather enjoyed its huge wide sofa, as four of us could ride up there on warm summer evenings.
This story made me think about something (as all stories are supposed to, right?).
Do girls remember family vehicles as fondly or as sincerely as boys?
Do girls care about what kind of car was sitting in the driveway during their childhoods?
Sure, they have memories of vehicles, but I’m guessing these are based on specific family events (vacations/graduations/proms) and not the car itself as an entity.
I just think it’s funny that the type of car seems more like “a guy thing”.
If my recollection is at all correct, women buy a substantial number of automobiles. Yet they are close to nonexistent on automotive websites — as editors, writers and commentators. Not surprisingly, some websites contain men’s locker room banter.
I wonder what conversations about cars would be like if more women were part of them.
My younger sister sure does, but that might be by extension of my passion for them. We are extremely close despite nearly 8 years seperating us, and very similar people (yet nothing like our conservative parents). She lives abroad now in South America and she sends photos of rare/old/strange cars to me all the time 🙂
JP,
A ’69 Country Squire is a regular at the local cruise nights. I’ll have to write it up one of these days.
I really like the 1969-70 instrument panel, with the radio on the left. No impertinent passengers will be changing the station!
I see that it too has fallen victim to the dreaded “crack in the middle of the dash” syndrome. This would have happened to most of them before the Carter Administration was done. No matter how mint, they all do it. My theory is that the basic under-structure of the dash stamping wasn’t strong enough to withstand the torsional stress of a big blob of dash, replete with 8 pound radio, twisting vertically over bumps supported by that little wisp of frame over on the passenger side. Subsequently, this subjected the dash padding to considerable trauma, especially in temperate climes where it got chilly.
Can you imagine a car today with the radio(or a/c) controls on the left side of the dash? Consumer Reports would tear their own bowels out and eat them in rage!
Whats even more odd, I’ve seen one of these with a radio delete on that funky left side radio. I remember seeing an XL500 hardtop one of these that used to live in my grand mothers neighborhood, I remembe peeking inside it once, it even had bucket seats, that must have been rare.
Starting in mid ’68, the buckets became optional on XLs, the really rare ones are the 1969-70 non-XL Galaxie 500 2-door hardtops and SportsRoofs with buckets.
I remember one Saturday morning in late February as a kid with my dad, we were in the showroom where an LTD coupe sat. Blackwall tires, Galaxie level interior, no vinyl roof,
no radio, or clock, or disc brakes, just an automatic. I don’t think it even had power steering, but it might have, at the age of 9 I didn’t think to look for the pump. .
No callouts on the lower fenders implied a 302, but lifting the hood surprisingly revealed a 351 Windsor, a mid-year option not listed in early literature. I guess the engines were ready before the callouts were because I did see later ones with the 351 stenciled on the marker light.
I just couldn’t get over how chintzy this thing was, since we had recently come out a 1967 LTD company car that beautifully appointed, a Cadillac (okay Lincoln) by comparison.
Many years ago I saw one advertised in Hemmings even more bare bones than that one, it was a 3-on-the-tree. Some people!
That reminds me: when I was a car jockey at Towson Ford, I drove a car in for service that was highly unusual: a ’69 LTD with Brougham interior, with the 390, three-on-the-tree(!), and no PS. The manual alone threw me, but when I drove it and it had no PS, I assumed it was in to be fixed! But no pump under the hood. Must have been a real old-school toughie to order one like that.
I started to read this article thinking how I have always had an appreciation for the mid to late 60’s Ford Galaxie’s/ LTD’s. When they are fully equipped they take on a completely different look which is so handsome and balanced.
As I read your story and reached the point you made about what the 69 LTD represented to you; how it never aged and your Dad was at the peak of his game I truly got what you were saying. It is nice to know other people make such connections. This is probably my father’s last Father’s Day and he is losing a battle with lung cancer. My safe place in time was represented by a 1977 Buick Electra Limited my grandparent’s owned. I am the only child of an only child so I spent as much time with my grandparent’s as my parent’s. In 1977 when my granddad ordered that Buick my grandparent and parents were in good health, the world was young and larger to me as I was a little boy. I think you and I both understand each other on this subject and I thank you for sharing what I have often felt but failed to mention. I can say without a doubt, you are one of those people who “really get it”. I wish there were more people in the world who think like you. Thank you for what you gave me with your article.
Nice piece. This generation of LTD was not my father’s car, but my maternal grandfather’s (he was a Ford and, eventually, Mercury Marquis guy; my dad was a Chevy man who married into a family of Ford drivers). Don’t know if it was a ’69 but it was a year either side of that at most, I’m sure.
My dad is still around, and I can’t see a ’68 Chevy without thinking of my then-young parents schlepping us around in their ’68 Impala SS. Memories like that really make one feel the sweep of time–it was only yesterday that my skinny, dark-haired 27-year-old dad bought that car, and now he’s about to turn 72 and cars like that are long gone for the most part. Today he and my stepmother have an Acura (although he also has a Z71 Silverado–he’s almost always had at least one GM product, usually a Chevy).
Such a great year. As upscale as a Lincoln but not a Lincoln look alike. I believe 1969 was one of the few years Ford outsold Chevy and it was because of the strength of this model.
From what I read on this article from Automotive News, it was 1970 then Ford outsold Chevy.
What a great story for Father’s day JPC! Thanks for sharing this with us.
A great point about the benefit of sometimes not having a car around long enough to see it get old. Unlike your father, my dad drove cars into the ground. He (through me) took care of them mechanically, but appearance wise, not so much. Whenever I think of my dad, all that comes to mind are his workhorses. The 84 Pontiac 6000 wagon with peeling Di-noc, his 91 Maxima with the torn leather seats and ashtray overflowing onto the console… Probably a subconscious reason why I have been buying new cars lately.
Fantastic story, my friend. Glad to have you here at CC, keeping this place alive and well. Thanks for this contribution (and your many others).
Kevin
A lovely and poignant story, Jim. A reminder to cherish ordinary moments with our parents, and our kids too.
My only impression of this era Ford happens to come from my Dad – as a Mopar head I think you’ll enjoy it. He was the leasing manager at Brown Chrysler-Plymouth in the early ’70s, and he’s said he moved a lot of Furies to people fed up with flimsy Fords. 🙂
My dad bought new a yellow ’69 country squire with every option but the biggest engine, vinyl roof and ?? (It probably had fewer options than in my mind’s eye, but it did have ps, pb, 390, ac, cruise but didn’t have the turbine wheel covers.)
I recall being fascinated by the grille and taillight design, as well as the high quality design of the die-cast components of the center AC vents.
This car, though beautiful and comfortable, had major problems with start ability; my mother became quite adept in inserting a screwdriver into the carb’s choke plate … She quickly tired of this extra step, that she did whatever wives do to convince rheir husbands to resolve a problem.
The car made at least one visit to the Ford dyno lab, but the problem remained unresolved.
Somewhere in that history, my dad spray washed the engine and got water in the carb… I got my first ride in a tow truck; this was a big treat for a 7 year old.
I loved this car, and was very pissed and heartbroken, when my dad bought a ’72 Kingswood wagon from Roger Penske in the fall of ’71.
But before the Country Swuire passed out of our life, go about a year or so, our next door neighbor bought an off-white ’70 Country Squire w/turbine wheel covers. And standing on the front lawn, between these two beauties, I was in heaven!!
Excellent piece JPC, thank you.
My grandpa had one of these when I was little, but it was a Custom 500. It was light green metallic with a dash the same colour of green as the one shown in the picture above. I remember how plush and quiet it was compared to my parents Valiant.
These sort of stories is why I read Curbside Classics. Two thumbs up!
Amen, brother. This beautiful piece of writing evokes a lot of teary-eyed thoughts — too much for me to pen.
That pillar emblem is like new — what a beautiful car. I think these have one of the most attractive front ends I’ve ever seen in a car.
I always liked watching the intro to “Alice”, one of my favorite sitcoms when I used to watch television. It shows the front end of one of these ala Country Squire.
Good one JPC, thanks.
My Aunt had a 69 LTD for a couple of years. Following the Isuzu Bellet experience she seemed to be permanently scarred on tiny unknown imports, so she enlisted my Father’s help in selecting it’s replacement. The first vehicle she arrived at our house with was an ENORMOUS 1970 Fargo pickup truck with a cap on the back. I loved it, but Dad gave it the thumbs down. So she returned later with the LTD and that was deemed acceptable.
Like JPC said, it was an incredible ruster. I remember wondering what that funny growth on the side was, poking it with my little 8 year old finger and making a hole in my Aunt’s car. I didn’t say anything and nobody noticed, since similar growths and holes were appearing all over it..
Great story JP! My Dad had a similar auto lineage….just one level down…’66 Ranch wagon, ’69 Galaxie…
I took my 11 year old daughter to the auto show this year to help me determine which models we’d test drive in my quest for a new car. We had a blast (although she is easily lured by interactive anything…); then over the past 6 months we have been on numerous test drives.
She was totally excited when I zeroed in on the finalist.
We pick it up in a few weeks, and I’m excited my interactive expert will be aboard to get me hooked up on the car’s electronics….
You nailed it, with the concept of our fathers’ cars. That’s half of what this is all about – or more. How the hell ELSE would someone like me get excited about a Jeep Wagoneer?
Like your father, my own was a Ford man. American by birth but German in culture…he was born of German parents and the family returned to Europe after his birth…and then again to America as the leaden curtain of Nazism was dropping…
…to him, as with many Europeans, Ford was America. The Ford story was quintessentially New World, with a cantankerous farmer/peasant becoming one of the world’s richest men by his own hands. His own first car was a Model A. Saw him through college, after which he bought a New Look Chevrolet pickup truck. Not sure why.
It didn’t please him, though. His home-construction finished, he traded it in on a 1957 Ford, which pleased him less. Straying again, he listened to an uncle by marriage and bought a Rambler. Which did less than displease him; it made him see red. It clouded his judgment.
My mother joked that by that time he was ready for a Checker Marathon wagon. Or maybe it wasn’t a joke…in any event, he passed on Checker for Kaiser and got a Wagoneer.
My mother, not willing to take a Checker as the other family car, twisted him to a 1968 Ford. A Galaxie…right in the middle of the lineup. Which, again, displeased them both; it was reliable enough, but the Ford-famous rust-out was reliable, too. Five years in…both postwar examples.
Which brings us to JPC’s example. That was a 1969, of course; but my old man bought the Galaxie in a year-end closeout. 1969s were filling the lot; and I thought how contrived, how awkward, the new ones looked compared to the smooth, flowing flanks of the 1968. The kewel LTD, the 1968 having a sinister, narrow mouth/grille…that was what I judged every car by for years.
The 1969, with it’s cartoon hair-band slash across the grille…didn’t cut it. Nor did the more awkward greenhouse. Taste is subjective…but I found the 1969/70s as much losers as the 1968s were winners.
Aside from having a white landau top, this is the closest I’ve seen to my first car. Mine had a black top. It brought tears to my eyes to see it again. What a beautiful, beautiful car. I lived in the country and never had to worry about getting home in that car. It would get me where ever I needed to go whenever I needed to get there. It just about killed me that my folks thought I needed to get a newer car when I went to college and they got me a Chevy Impala. I’ll always be a Ford girl at heart…
Great story JPC. If you have any pics of your Dad’s yellow Mark III please post them!
The ’69 LTD was probably the best looking and best built late 60s sedan. Love the pics of the ones you posted but would love to see a car with the sport mirrors. The grille and headlamp treatment was so classically elegant and the cockpit style IP, well it has never really been duplicated. The taillamps, while an offshoot of the ’65 design, look sooooo much more modern with their shrunken down shape.
As for the drive I road in one once and it felt just like my aunt Gerry’s mid-70s Lincoln, it was that good.
For one year and one year only Ford ruled the roost with this car. The ’70 model, like the ’70 Mustang, differed in minor details but somehow completely lost the magic.
That one year thing I said was a mistake. Ford had also done it in ’57 with the happy Fairlane. Just like the ’69 LTD what a car. Look at any period black & white (or faded color) pics from the late 50s or ’69 and it’s nothing but Ford.
Just re-read this while reading your post on the 73 LTD, JPC. Really tugged on my heartstrings, as it turned out my 90 year old Dad passed only four months after this was written. What you say is true, my handle is in memory of his 67 Continental (silver 2 door with black vinyl roof), my twelve year old self hitting the road with dad towing his Shasta trailer and selling aluminum siding. Think tin man. Even in my teenage years my 65 Bus had a Lincoln wheelcover identical to his attached to the front mounted spare.
Hello.
I´m from Germany and i find, this is a good story. So, my daughter has seen this car, and in internet in Germany was one 1969 ltd Brougham for sale. We bought this car. On the journey from the seller to our home we´ve got a crash in the backside of the ltd. Our luck was only for 2 hours. This car is in a very good constitution and i do´nt want it to sell again, but i have very big problems here in germany , to find parts for it. Please, please, can someone help me? I hope, my english is correct, for understanding.
I ´m very thankful for every help.
Grettings from Bavaria – Germany.
Hi dude.Cool car.I have a 69 ltd n code 429 4v coupe,Its only done 92564 miles.Came from LV.Its now in melbourne AUSTRALIA.
Hi JPC. Thanks for your comments on my family’s ’66 Country Sedan three days ago. I read this story of your Father’s Day LTD and your memories of your Dad and his ’69 LTD back when you posted it. Great story. Dad wasn’t a car guy and it turned out that Fords ended up being his least favorite cars. And, much to my dismay, the ’66 Country Sedan was the one he liked least. A good part of it was that he had gone from the 1960 Ranch Wagon with 223 six with standard transmission to the ’66 which had a 352 with 4 barrel and Cruise-O-Matic transmission. He lamented that he couldn’t get past a gas station with it. My oldest sister wrecked it in May of ’67 and he thanked her for it. I was crushed. Like you, I was a Ford man and there could be no better car. Over the years I’ve owned many different makes, but sixties Fords have always held a special place. Back to your LTD, I own several older cars, one of which is an LTD. I don’t want to tell you what it is. I’d rather show you. Problem is, I can’t figure out how to attach a photo of it. Could you help me with it?
Just a footnote on the 69 LTD pictured. I just saw one at a car show in Turlock, Ca. Same color as the one shown. I even got several good shots of it. The reason that I have an affection for these cars is my uncle Arnold had a 1970 LTD Brougham 4-door sedan. Metallic beige, white vinyl top, AM radio, factory 8-track mounted on the transmission hump. And yes it was a factory unit. The eight track was color keyed to the interior. Looked naice but not for the middle front passenger. No power windows, door locks. Not sure about power seat, but did have a passenger recliner. As a nine year old whose parents only bought 2 door hard tops, I was very impressed. That was the first four door sedan that ever n my eyes cool. The best feature was the 429 4V residing under the hood. The sound of my uncle telling the gas station attendent to fill it up with Ethyl was almost more than I could handle. My parents were the give me three dollars worth of regular kind of people. Anyway going from San Jose to Madera, Ca was always more fun in my uncles LTD because we would get there a lot quicker. For a frumpy, my moms discription of his car, this car was fast. So even though it wasn’t a 2 door hard top, or even a four door hardtop, i thought it was the coolest four door sedan ever.
I liked your story I currently drive a 69 ford xl 429 k code 2 barrel. great running old car. Nothing like the power, sound and hitting passing gear at 80 plus mph.
JPC, this is a terrific post. My first car was my inherited (from my grandfather) 1970 Ford LTD Brougham, 4 door pillarless hardtop. Triple dark ivy green, panty cloth, pretty much every option except power windows. I personally loved the dash assembly with the radio on the left (although eventually I mounted a cassette player stereo on the transmission hump). And just like many of the previous comments listed, mine had a crack in the dash in the same place where it swings away from the driver (I’m constantly on the lookout for one that is pristine but they are almost impossible to find). 390 and let me tell you, it would fly. It had almost 275K when I finally totaled it. Great car. I ended up buying a 1970 coupe and kept that for a long time too.
There has never been a Curbside Classic review of the 69 Delta 88 and it didn’t seem to make much of an impression with JP. I thought they were pretty nice at the time, and loved the 455 that they came with. The wheel hubs look a little awkward to me know. What do others think?
For me, it’s a Mercury Monarch (silver, with a red vinyl roof) that does it. Now, I realize it was just a tarted up Falcon, but it was Dad’s first ever splurge on a car, the first time he’d bought a car with some luxuries, and just to treat himself. Until that point he’d always been the practical, almost miserly child of the depression, and his cars reflected it. He’d bought new cars because they would be more reliable. He’d bought smaller cars because they were cheaper. And he typically bought the base trim, or just one step above, because nothing more was “necessary.” So that Monarch – with a V8 and air conditioning – was his treat to himself as he approached retirement. Today the sight of one now takes me back, and makes my heart skip a beat.
Loved this story, thanks for sharing. And Happy Fathers’ Day Dad.
Nice to be able to fondly remember one’s father as you do.
I always thought the ’69 LTD was one of the most handsome cars on the road. I would love to have had a white Squire with brown vinyl roof, matching interior, turbine wheel covers and 429-4V.
Still would
My favorite car ad.
My father had many company cars so the only new car he had to buy for himself in 1968, between jobs, was the 1968 Cougar. He drove it for 16 months before it became mine forever. It’s story has been featured. After retiring he had some used cars such as an Infinity and a Crown Vic. However, he purchase his first brand new car, since the Cougar, in 2004 which was a metallic red 2004 Buick LeSabre Limited which he was very proud of. He passed away this February at the age of 93. I can sit here now and type this I can look out the front window and see that Buick which now joins the Cougar. The console has a picture of him and me in my doctoral gown upon graduating from UCBSO in 1981.
The television series ‘Dan August’ starring Burt Reynolds from 1970-71 featured various LTDs and full sized Fords from this era. Here’s an episode playlist at YT:
JP
Great story, and a reminder that one’s childhood often turned out less than ideal when viewed back through adult eyes.
You probably have seen countless shots of ’69 Fords, but I took these whilst on vacation in 2005 in PEI at a favourite scrapyard/garage that I frequented. He was asking $2500 for this very original Galaxie 500 that had the 390 2/bbl. I’m not quite the Ford fancier like you or Shafer might be, but realized that I hadn’t seen one this original and nice in years and that it was a bargain at that price. Unfortunately, it didn’t follow me home, but I still regret not buying it.
2nd shot
interior
Passenger side
Really nice looking original looker.
My Dad brought one of these home for my mom in 1972. It was a dark blue hardtop with a matching dark blue interior. Other than that, it was the same. I learned to drive in that car.
Really nice car, you should have bought it. It is a ’70 though.
What a wonderfully woven story JP. A truly excellent piece.
My Dad had a 1950 Plymouth, a 1955 Dodge Crusader, and a 1966 Valiant. All low trim level cars, at the least expensive end of the spectrum. When I see one of these three today at a car show, they get an extra heaping dose of my attention. And camera time.
Happy Father’s Day 2019!
Great read JPC! I must have missed this one first time around. I have to agree with you wholeheartedly about our father’s cars holding a special place. I know for me that is certainly true, which is why I own two of Dad’s former cars. If I could only get his old truck to go with them and mom’s wagon, I’d have a complete collection!
I think I read this first time around, but it was great reading it again. While JP’s dad and mine were worlds apart; the “father’s son” waiting for Friday night, wanting to hang with his recently divorced dad, in a world that had irrevocably changed (for me it was the mid-70s)…this touches a raw nerve.
One of the reasons I come to this website, is it’s slogan: “Every car tells a story.”
Great story.