Choosing the right collectible automobile is often like kids picking their teams for kickball. Everyone wants the most desirable players first. Sometimes the vehicle, or player, you would pick last can surprise you. In the automotive world, four doors are the least glamorous, and often the least expensive, but they can be a lot of fun as well. This 1970 Ford Custom four-door sedan for sale on Craigslist in Buckeye, Arizona is a case in point. Well-kept and almost like new from the inside out, this big Ford is a 34,000-mile example of just how good a choice a “more door” can be if you are looking for a reliable car to have fun with. With an $8,000 asking price, would you consider a four-door for your primary collectible? Thanks to NUMSKAL for the four-door tip!
So if you are in the market for a collectible car that is reliable, roomy, and in great condition, this 1970 Ford Custom 500 may be the car for you. According to the ad, this 34,000-mile car is completely original. We have seen original cars with low mileage that look like they were pulled from the swamp last week on these pages before. Not this one. It has always been an Arizona car. A dry climate goes a long way toward making sure a car is rust-free. While the sun does beat down pretty hard in that border state, this car shows little evidence of being sun baked.
Also, the car is equipped with air conditioning and tinted windows for motoring in the desert sun. That air conditioning is described by the seller as “ice cold.” Under the hood is Ford’s ubiquitous 302 cubic inch V-8, and backing it up is their standard automatic transmission. This combination is about as reliable as it gets. Even if you do have an issue, parts are easy to find and a drunken monkey with a screwdriver can fix whatever ails it.
Looking at the exterior pictures of the car reveals no obvious issues. The original paint is shiny and resplendent in its overwhelming brownness. It is hard to tell from the pictures if the top is painted or a vinyl top. My guess, and my hope, is that it is painted. Vinyl tops and brown paint were very popular during this era for reasons known only to God.
Inside, we see that the dash has a carpeted cover over it. That is a good thing in such a harsh climate. However, it would be nice to have a picture of it without the cover. While we can’t get a good glimpse of the radio to see if it is still the original, we can see the addition of a CB radio on the rubber mat-covered floor. Also interesting is the use of carpet samples as floormats. This was pretty common back in the day, and it brings back memories. The pattern and color of this sample were very popular. Everyone’s grandmother must have purchased carpet from the same place back then.
In the picture above is the only flaw that is visible on this Ford. The nylon seat material on these cars is usually one step below bulletproof vest tough. Its weakness is in the stitched seams. We expect the driver’s seat in any car to have the most wear, and this one looks pretty good except for the rip and the mummified remnants of the duct tape adhesive. Hopefully, a good upholsterer can find a matching material. If not, a proper cover would go a long way toward making this presentable.
The backseat, in contrast, is pristine. We can also see that the car is equipped with roll-up windows and the rubber floor mat extends to the back. It seems strange to us today for a car to have rubber instead of carpeting for floors. This is, however, very practical when you consider this car was built before minivans. You can practically hose it out if the kids make a mess.
Under the hood, we see the previously mentioned 302 V-8 and the factory air conditioning system. We can also see that the car is equipped with power brakes. What stands out the most is how much room there is underneath the hood, as this car was available with several optional engines. You could also order this car with a 429 if you were more interested in speed than fuel economy.
Taken as a whole, this is an exceptionally nice car at a reasonable price. While it is a four-door, just think of how little $8,000 buys you in the regular used car marketplace. With this big Ford, you have a very presentable V-8 powered rear-wheel drive sedan with a lot of life left in it. You can take it cross country, drive it to work, or spend Saturday night at a cruise-in sitting in a lawn chair behind it. Not a bad deal.
Another low-trim-level full-size Ford, this time with four doors. Looks good, and it’s even brown, so it fits its era. For not much money you get a car which is probably as reliable as any 50+ year old car could be, and if something breaks, you can find the parts. And you won’t stress out if it gets a rock chip. Take the grandkids for ice cream, even if they aren’t into cars they will beg you to take them again “in the big old brown car.”
I would get the upholstery fixed.
Thanks Jeff, good job.
Radio is in top left of instrument cluster, looks like am radio
Dad decides what radio station the whole family is listening to.
That was a pretty crazy idea. They should have switched places with the clock. Ford was also late for the locking steering wheel ignition, this being the first year.
I like it a lot. With that AC, it’s the perfect summer cruiser in a hot climate whilst the other classics without AC sit in the garage and wait for cooler weather. I’m referring to Tampa and Phoenix of course.
check the other 1967 Ford Custom 500 here on Barn Finds, it has a two tone paint scheme like this one. The color chart attached makes mention of two tone paint combos as well, so maybe it never had a vinyl top.
https://www.rickscamaros.com/pit-stop-blog/wild-paint-colors/
Cars destined for areas like Arizona usually had painted roofs as the vinyl would have a very short life under the blistering sun . The only painted roof cars I ever saw in CT. were cars that Navy guys had shipped over while stationed at the nearby base.
The dark tinted windows ruin the look IMO.
Passenger front fender is a different color.
Looks like a repaint. But, the car is worth a helluva lot more than that rusted out hulk Mustang featured one car above it.
Looks like a nicely preserved 1970 Ford, however the 34k miles claim is dubious. That worn seat and the fact they won’t show you the odometer in the pictures, plus the tint and cb radio, tell me the car has had use. It’s gone a lot farther than 34k miles.
I had one of these as a company car. 1070 Ford LTD 4 door sedan, (not a 4 door HT). Can you believe the company ordered mine with the 429 engine and the complete list of options. Was a terrific car and I did not hold up traffic. It was a dark blue color. Should still be up in the Detroit area still today
Looking from the side, it’s hard to tell this Custom from a more upscale Galaxie, thanks to the vinyl roof and side moldings. But even if it has 134k instead of 34k it’s a tidy and turnkey driver that really just needs new front seat upholstery. A nice family cruiser.
This reminds me of the ’69 Galaxie my parents had for a while in the ’70s. Ours was the light yellow beige with green gut. I don’t recall it being my Dad’s favorite car. This one is pretty well equipped with air, tu-tone roof, AM and a clock. I’d drive it. I’m not in that big a hurry.
It’s just a little strange that this entry-level full-size Ford would be ordered with the optional clock, as even many more well-equipped, upscale versions of this car often omitted the optional clock. I don’t know how much a clock cost back in the day, but they never seemed to keep good time and often died not too long after the warranty expired.
I liked the LTD edition. Had very fancy badges on the side of the top and a more deluxe protective moldings on the sides.
Looks like Dirty Harry’s car
Nice car at a reasonable price. Just have to find someone who’d want one.
That’s a clear shot of the AM radio, on the left side of the dash.
I have now bought and sold about 200 cars so far. One of my best buys was in 1969. Kelsey Hayes had taken a 1967 Ford that had been bought for engineering and when they finished the company used it as an interrail mail car going from Romulus, Mi. to Cleveland, Fremont and Kingsway and back every day. When it had 99000 miles I bought it for $100.00. It was a 1967 Ford LTD 4 door hardtop with the 390 engine. Burgundy with a black vinal top. I put on another 100,000 miles on it.