Ford sold a bundle of Galaxie 500s and LTDs in the 1960s and 1970s. And you’ll still see one pop up from time to time. But lesser seen then and now was the Custom, Ford’s budget full-size car. It was along the lines of the Chevrolet Biscayne, devoid of many creature comforts and usually put to use in fleet purchases. This 1970 Custom was one of 1,536 built in Canada with a truck six-cylinder engine, yet it was never put into service as a taxi as was intended. We’re not exactly sure where it is today, but it’s not for sale here on Facebook. Mitchell G. keeps finding nifty tips like this for us!
The Custom and Custom 500 were in production for about 30 years. They were intended for buyers who needed some basic transportation and didn’t mind a lack of frills, such as rubber floor coverings instead of carpeting. The Custom was popular for police and taxi use. Both applications needed longevity as a selling point, so the Taxi Package (for example) came with heavy-duty brakes, suspension, and cooling, along with interior components that were more about lasting a long time rather than being plush.
According to the owner, the car has a Marti Report indicating it’s one of only 1,500 or so built with the Taxi Package. For reasons unknown, the car was never pressed into service even though Checker Cab decals adorn the white paint. The vehicle has only traveled 12,000 miles, so it was never intended to be driven much over the past 56 years.
This Ford has a 240 cubic inch inline-6, which U.S. Ford owners usually see in pickup trucks. While it has an automatic transmission, the steering does not have power assistance. The light usage of the vehicle is supported by the fact that the rear seat belts still have the factory plastic protectors on them. And we’re told the Ford runs well, and it probably only gets out occasionally for Cars & Coffee shows and the like. Clearly, this is something you’re not likely to see every day.
Too cool. All work in mind pkg. 🚕
A 12,000 mile taxi? Lowest mileage taxi ever!
A car built for excessive mileage..So theres at least another 200k miles of use left in this until it needs an engine overhaul :D SO..daily drive it,it’ll never let you down.
It’s 56 years old. I don’t think I would depend on it as a daily! It’s also one of a kind. It will end up in a museum , most likely or in somebody’s garage as art.
The idea of making it a daily driver sounds good on paper but probably not so much in the real world. The manual steering, manual drum brakes, spartan interior will get old fast, does it even have a radio? At best it will be treated like most classics, taken to coffee and cars and the occasional car show, the rest of the time it will be relegated to a spot in the garage.
Steve R
It would be slow (dangerously so in modern traffic) and difficult to drive, not to mention unreliable until you completely sorted it out. The average American these days can’t even be bothered with a manual transmission or to bend their knees slightly to get into a normal passenger car, much less drive something like this! Such a ludicrous notion.
All the cars I drive daily are classics, that’s what it’s all about for me.
I like old cars for what they are and so I wanna enjoy them and not spend time in a modern car I don’t like every day and only take the classics out for “fun”.
If you can not depend on your classic then it is not in dependable condition. That’s a decision the owner makes.
Maybe it’ll get used in TV or movies.
That’s what I thought. It would bee period correct for retro movie shots.
I got my license in the family Meteor Montcalm with the same dash! I almost never see these anywhere. I loved that the radio was on the left, where your passenger couldn’t change the station lol
Its got a 6 cylinder in it slow …. Just perfect to make sure the Taxi driver makes the maximum amount of $$ money on his timed run. Not going to be any ware fast like in the movies. No peeling out -burning rubber ,when the pickup says step on it Leroy !
It’s a novelty, nothing more. A simple utilitarian vehicle, that would suck driving, especially on a hot 95 deg day.
My first car was a 70 Ford Galaxie sportsroof. I would of killed for the dash out of this car! They are usually cracked to hell and back.
Wanna build a really great sleeper
Just beef up a 250 or 300 6, screw a turbo on it, and watch the
fun begin! I’d run a C-6 auto tranny in that setup to keep it from grenading though, and a hoop around the driveshaft to keep it under the car should you
twist the U-jpints out of it should
you use a heavy foot in the Go pedal. Saw one on Power Nation
that put out over 400 foot pounds
of torque when red lined. Fun car
though. Inspector Erskine, your
car is waiting.