I was excited to read the opening line of the listing for this 1968 Ford XL, which states, “Got this car out of a barn, where it’s been sitting for quite a few years. Around 25 is our best guess.” These full-size performance-oriented cars from the sixties are some of my favorites, and I’ve always dug the fastback lines of the ’68 Ford two-door hardtop. But then, further down, I encountered the line that suggests, “Good parts car, or find a cheap Galaxie, LTD, or Monterey frame to set this body onto.” Hmmm, too bad, sounds like this one’s got some big issues, so let’s check it out and see if it’s salvageable. Lancaster, Ohio, is where you’ll find this big hardtop, and it’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,250, OBO. Thanks are due to Sam61 for this tip!

This XL is one of 56K assembled in ’68, and it has some desirable features – more on that to follow. At first blush, it looks fair. The finish is faded, the chrome is dull, some trim is missing, there’s observable surface rust – some maybe more so, but this XL is intact and doesn’t appear to have suffered any crash damage.

However, there’s that entire matter of the frame – and it’s not just failing in one area, it has lots of problem spots. The extent of scale and deterioration likely indicates that this car’s 25-year respite was hardly conducted under dry conditions.

While the XL projected a sporting image, in standard form it was docile, powered by a six-cylinder engine. They could be optioned with some serious power, of course, and whoever first purchased this example opted for a 390 CI V8, generating either 265 or 315 gross HP, which is not stated. The seller includes a video of it running, and he’s of the belief that the engine has been rebuilt, as he notes, “390 motor was seemingly rebuilt before. Has overbore pistons, can take a spark plug out and show cross hatch and piston tops with bore scope if desired.”  But boy-oh-boy, look at that engine and compartment rust! I’m thinking submerged at some point. As is usually the case, a three-speed automatic transmission backs up the FE big-block motor, but it supposedly has gear activation issues.

Another standard feature of the XL was a vinyl-covered front bench seat, but this car was optioned with bucket seats and a center console – items more befitting of this car’s image. The environment’s condition is about what one would expect. The upholstery and headliner are split, the instrument panel is dingy and delaminated, and I can only imagine what’s under the very worn-looking carpet.

This was one fine car in its prime, but it has clearly seen better days. It seems too good to write off as a parts car, but that frame problem is a critical path item – it’s in crusty enough shape that I doubt it’s repairable. As for parts? Well, the engine has value, as do some other components. So, what do you all think? Is it fixable or a part donor?