Ford Country Squire station wagons, such as this 1972 example, are regular visitors to BF’s webpages – and the older, the better. What caught my attention with this wagon are the references to “Ford Cobra 429” and “429 Cobra Jet“. Hmmm, in a station wagon? Sounds suspicious…And that warrants a closer look. Dr. Ron found the listing for this at-one-time very popular people hauler. It’s located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and is available, here on eBay for a BIN price of $12,500.
It seems like every family that I knew, back in ’72, had a Country Squire – they were immensely popular cars, ringing the register with 121K units that year. This example has the typical southwest fade to its Frost Turquoise finish – at least that’s what the seller calls it. I couldn’t find that finish designation on the ’72 PPG chart, it looks more like Medium Poly Blue but I’m splitting hairs. Regardless, it’s believed to be a repaint. The Di-Noc, faux wood paneling still shows well, though the fiberglass trim pieces are showing signs of delamination – not surprising after a half-century. Rust? None observed, just a slight dent in the leading edge of the passenger fender is the only out-of-place item noted.
The seller mentions that “the dash looks mint“. Agreed, it’s very nice, but how about the rest? Well, there’s an included image of the back seat, and that’s it. I wonder more about the front seat and cargo area. Additional interior items include an 8-track player, CB radio, and non-working A/C.
Now, onto the matter of the motor. I’m calling horse hockey on the Cobra-Jet claim, the engine looks like and should be a standard 429 CI V8 wheezing out a measly 208 net HP, and that’s it. Besides the fact that the 429 Cobra Jet engine wasn’t full-size Ford motivation, as Hagerty will tell you, and many Ford aficionados already know, the 429 CJ was dropped at the end of the ’71 model year. And no, an air cleaner decal doesn’t turn this lump into something that it’s not. The seller does state, “this thing just glides down the road smooth as could be“, and I’m sure it does but let’s keep it in a realm of reality. Further information identifies a C-6 automatic transmission, the standard gearbox for the 429, and a limited-slip differential being in place so maybe a trailering package was what was originally ordered. The spied dual exhaust system is a later addition and was not available on a ’72 Ford station wagon.
So no CJ but still a nice old Ford wagon. The mileage is recorded as 125K miles, so that’s something to consider, but as long as the engine has been maintained, and not abused, it shouldn’t be overly concerning. Cobra Jet or not, if old Ford wagons are your thing, this would be one to consider, wouldn’t you agree?
The VIN could tell us more. An ‘N’ on the VIN would indicate the 429 4bbl; a ‘P’ would be the 429 4bbl ‘Police Interceptor’. I wonder if this is the latter? Air cleaner just says Cobra, not Cobra Jet…
I’ll bet 1972FordGuy could tell us.
My 69 galaxie xl has a 429 4v thunder jet motor as per the data plate. maybe that is what they were thinking?
Nope as stated already. 72 was just a 4 bbl Motor. CJ was 70 and 71 only and the super CJ 71 only. He just changed the air cleaner lid.
Thanks, Big_Fun, now I really have to step up and sound like I know what I’m talking about! Here goes:
The ’72 429 was rated at 208 net horsepower with 322 lb-ft of torque. According to the ProfessCar’s estimation, a Ford 2-door hardtop would accelerate 0-60 mph in 10.2 sec with a quarter mile time of 17.6 sec. A wagon would be somewhat slower, obviously.
“The 429 Cobra Jet did not become available until 1970, with the 429 Super Cobra Jet becoming available in 1971. The production life of the Cobra Jet was very short with it being phased out in 1971.”
If this wagon has a 429 Cobra Jet, it’s a transplant. Or you can buy that “Cobra” air cleaner decal online and stick it on any car you want. Most people wouldn’t have a clue that it doesn’t belong on this wagon’s engine.
As for this wagon having a 429 Police Interceptor, not impossible but unlikely. Most ’71-’72 police cars were basic Custom 4-door sedans, Ford’s lowest trim level. Perhaps a few police cars were ordered with a higher trim level for captains or police chiefs, but not many. I did see a fire department ’72 wagon online once with a 429 PI but it was pretty Spartan inside with a fairly plain exterior. Even if by some chance a police department ordered a station wagon with a 429PI for police use, it’s unlikely it would be in a higher trim like a Country Squire. It wouldn’t have carpeting, full wheel covers, power windows, A/C or whatever else a Country Squire package got you. Back then, police cars were usually ordered with the lowest trim level to save the taxpayers a few bucks, unlike todays police cars that are usually trimmed at the highest level because who cares? It’s taxpayer money! Cops weren’t coddled back then like they are today.
I did find this interesting tid-bit about 429 PIs on a 460 Ford forum posted by one of the Ford big block “experts” there (https://www.460ford.com):
“Ford did not release any hp or torque ratings for the ’72 429 PI engine. The PI version of the 429 has the CJ camshaft. In fact, the entire short block assembly is identical to the ’71 CJ. The heads have 89 cc combustion chambers, which lowers compression from 1971’s 11.3:1 down to 9.8:1. The intake was a one year only, PI only, intake. It is identical to the CJ intake, except with a spread bore carb flange that matches the Motorcraft 4300 D carburetor (as well as the later Motorcraft 4350 carbs.) The air cleaner is the same dual inlet piece found on the ’71 engine. They use the CJ dual point distributor, and the exhaust manifolds are CJ pieces. I am just guessing, but I would say they have to be good for at least 330 net horsepower or so”.
As a few of you guys know, I had a ’72 Ford Custom 4-door sedan with the 429 PI. I doubt very much that it had 330 hp as this guy guesstimated unless he’s talking gross hp, not net hp. And even at gross hp, I don’t know if the 429 PI had that much. Also, my 429 didn’t have a dual inlet air cleaner though it did have a chrome lid. Mine took regular gas, not high test and while it was a pretty good performer on the highway, it didn’t really compare to the ’69 Ford Custom with a 428 PI I had owned previously. That car was a real beast with gobs of hp and torque.
Anyway, just keep in mind I’m no expert on these cars though I do know a little about them from having owned one and some of what I’ve posted here I found online so maybe take these “facts” with a grain of salt.
Thank you for stepping up and giving all of us great info on the Cobra/Cobra Jet for 1972! It clears up the issue of what engine is in the car featured. We all appreciate it!
Too bad lots of his info is wrong.
FordGuy1972, you wanted to know what’s wrong with what you said, so here’s a response.
Seems you quoted someone else and I thought it was you! Nonetheless, most SCJs were built in 1970 and only the Mustang had the Drag Pack available in 1971.
The air cleaner with “Cobra” would have been a C-code Cobra Jet without ram air. We tend to call that engine a Cobra Jet, and rightfully so, but Ford just called it a Cobra and the one with ram air a Cobra Jet. The brochure bears this out.
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/70torin/bilder/14.jpg
The 1971 brochure keeps it more conventional, like CJ and CJ-R.
Good info on the CJs and the SCJs, Trey. I don’t know much about those as I never had one, the only big block Fords I had were Police Interceptors though I also had some big block Chevys and a couple of other GMs with them. I was mostly addressing the PI big blocks because it was mentioned as a possibility in this wagon. I loved the power of those engines, and they were a blast to drive hard but at today’s gas prices, most of us certainly can’t afford to daily drive one. And of course, you’re dealing with some pretty meager mpgs on top of those high fuel costs. Not to mention some of them require even more expensive gas than regular hi-test because of their high compression engines. Give me a nice running 302 with a stick and I’m happy.
Forgot to add this picture of a ’72 Connecticut State Police cruiser that is exactly like the one I had. I even found a reflective sign in the car like the one you can see on the front bumper, which I still have. I bought mine at a state auction in the late ’70s for $275. Best $275 I ever spent!
1971 bumper, Guy?
Yeah, Boatman and Joe M, I posted the wrong year cruiser. I had a picture of a ’72 CT. state police cruiser, but it seems to have disappeared. I found a ’72 Kentucky Ford Custom state police cruiser, so that will have to do.
Michael Berkemeier: So, the ’71 is a clone? If it is, it’s a good copy of a period state police cruiser. As to a ’72 429 PI being faster than a ’70 428PI, I don’t know how you can make that claim. The ’72 429 PI had a lower compression than the 428 PI, they ran on 91 regular gas, so common sense would indicate the 428 PI was faster. I had both, a ’69 428 PI and a ’72 429 PI and the ’69 was faster and more powerful than the 429 PI.
Trey: Well, I’m willing to learn. Step up enlighten us.
That’s not a Cobra decal somebody stuck on there, that’s a chrome air cleaner lid somebody stuck on there, apparently donated by an actual Cobra motor somewhere along the line.
I have a 429 Cobra Jet That was in a 1974 Ranchero GT Still all original 4bbl carburetor Ford Racing said it’s one of First 50 made And I Still have still attached to transmission
That’s not a CJ, Peewee.
That is a 71
One of my college years jobs was driving a cab. It was common for the local taxi firms to repurpose retired cop cars so, I got to drive quite a few Chev and Ford police package cars of that era. Our police force never went for the big motor, subscribing instead to the axiom “you can’t outrun a radio” so ours were usually entry level engines, no a/c but HD everything. Us younger cabbies would regularly meet up just outside town during the slack period before the bars closed and uh………compare performance. They were all dogs by todays standards and sucked back fuel at a ridiculous rate but would survive anything.
The 1971 Custom pictured above is a clone and not a real PI. I owned a real 1971 Custom 429PI (DOJ) and a real 1972 Custom 500 429PI (SCHP). They were both faster than my 1970 Custom 500 428PI which was an Indiana Sheriff’s car.
Well we are starting to see more of these older wagons show up here and they are always over priced I know they are getting harder to find a lot of them ended up in the demolition derby. The owner of this one claims to be using it as his daily driver. The nice thing about them is they can pull decent size boats or travel trailers and you can slide some 4X8 sheets of plywood in the back and still shut the gate you can’t do that with most pickup trucks today.
A big block wagon will be big bucks. Heck, I’m seeing Pinto wagons with $18000 asking prices! The world’s gone mad, I tell ya!
A friend of mine ordered a ’99 Crown
Vic from the factory with all the luxury
items and all the police interceptor
items too. So could it be possible that the original buyer did the same
thing in ’72? For years I’ve been hearing stories about how John Q
Public could walk into his local car
dealer and special order a police
package on any mid or full size car
the dealer was selling at the time.
It’s probably rare I know, but surely
someone has done it so my guess is
that what we’re looking at here is
indeed a 429 police interceptor here.
All I can say is check out the episode
of Barn Find Hunters where the host
actually found a ’67 Country Squire
equipped with the police package that had a 428/4-speed in it. Dad
always said that if you have the money, they’ll build you anything you
want at the factory.
Baloney, it’s not a PI and the air cleaner lid on it didn’t even come on a PI…that’s a Mustang or Torino decal on the lid. A civilian couldn’t purchase a PI in 1999. The government pricing was totally different and they would not allow it. Ask me how I know. Your friend might have gotten a CV with heavy-duty trailer towing suspension but it was not the same thing and, the engines in ALL CV’s were identical from 1992 through 2011 when they stopped making them. There was no “police” engine.
I had a 1972 Ranchero baby blue with a 429 & it was a beast doing burnouts! I was 18 in 1983 that’s what I did for fun & I remember always collecting donations for gas money so gas mileage wasn’t so good at least with your foot in it all the time
Gas money? What about tire money?
Why do you insist on allowing the totally unrealistic prices on any and all of these cars to seem within the realm of sanity ? I have not seen even one on here that I would consider worth 5,000. At 75 years old: I have at one time or another owned an example of each of them, you lack perspective. The value of anything is what the market will bear – stop inflating the value of junk ! If you don’t pay stupid prices for sh*#” t the market will find a reasonable level !!!!
“The value of anything is what the market will bear…”
You answered your own rant. As long as global sites like craigslist, eBay, and nationally televised auction houses put buyers and sellers together, the prices will be what they will be – upwards. Welcome to 2023, 1983 was a long time ago.
JO
Never knew Ford put hypo engines in their wagons. (or did they ?)
Now there’s……A Better Idea !
Clark Griswold would have approved.
If memory serves me correctly the last year for a 429CJ was 1971 available only in a Mustang, Cougar, Torino, or Montego not on full size Fords. However in a past issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines they had a cover story of a 1970 Torino Wagon complete with woodgrain trim that was a factory 429CJ Ram Air 4 speed. The original owner bought it to haul a boat. It was 1 of 3 made.
I love the old Ford/Mercury wagons. Lots of room, good ride, great towing capacity. Unfortunately, not a lot of them left, most were probably driven into the ground.
This one is OK, not worth (to me) the asking price, certainly since the seller is either mistaken about the CJ engine or a liar. Clean up the surface rust, and a repaint and it would be a nice car.
My brother owned the exact same car. Same color, same engine. I thought it was a pig but I did get it to 112 on the backroads of Southern Ohio. Lol. I was driving a 67 cougar at the time with a 390. Damn I wish I had THAT car back! Lol
As a Ford tech even in the seventies, they used to retard the cam timing with the crank sprocket. So, when one came in needing a timing chain and gears, I always installed earlier chain and gears that weren’t retarded. Gave the customer a little “boost!”
I worked at Ford Motor co for 36 years at the Indianapolis plant. We made steering parts for Police vehicles occasionally. The parts overall looked the same as regular Ford parts. Critical areas/parts we made more rigid-heavy duty and much better on Police vehicles, but usually it wasn’t that noticeable just looking at it. This is the way all Fords should have been made?
I don’t know about the engines since we didn’t have anything to do with that part of the process? I would think that they would have been modified also? Not bigger cubic inch, just different exhaust, carburetor and other differences to make them faster. Usually bigger exhaust, definitely duels.
Police vehicles seemed different than civilian vehicles because my first car was a 1964 Plymouth, ex Kentucky State Police vehicle. 383 v8, push button Transmission with no AC or a radio. It seemed much faster than other vehicles that was sold to the civilian market. I don’t believe this is a Police vehicle. And, you could not just walk into a new car dealership and buy a Police car.
Just my opinion!
My brother was a true Ford guy.Now I no why he rebuilt a 429 out of a country squire wagon.He put it in his 73 Mach 1.He used to run it down the strip at SIR.I drove it a few times but was afraid to unleash it’s awesome power on the city streets.Too bad his son sold it right after he passed. I miss my bro Gary and his Mustang…..!
We had one of these big family boats. No rust on this one ?? I heavily don’t believe it. These were all recalled for bottoms of the doors rusting out like GONE ! Only thing is, you had to pay half if you wanted me doors or no charge if they just bonds them !
There was no recall on these ; of the hundreds of the sedans and wagons that came into our junkyard in the mid 1980s, none had rotted out doors – the rear quarters were always rusted out, but in New England that was just an expected thing to happen . I derbied plenty of these Ford wagons and none ever had that issue with the doors
Yes ! There were recalls ! Maybe not on the early ones but ours was a 74 I believe and in 2 years all 4 doors the bottom was gone ! We had to pay 1/2 the cost of new doors or they just fixed the original for free ! Which they filed full of bondo ! Owned one so I guess I would know.
The engine is an N code 429, not a P code (429 P.I.). Note the stock stamped steel valve covers. Those covers will not clear the 429 CJ/PI intake manifold runners. Seller mentions in the ad that the engine has DOVE cylinder heads, which are an improvement over the D2VE heads found on ’72 passenger car 429 engines. D2VE heads have a very large combustion chamber, almost 100 cc, which keeps compression down to 8.0:1. The ’71 Ford Police car pictured above in the comments is a clone, done from a Galaxie 500.
Those side trim panels aren’t fiberglass, they are aluminum wrapped with some sort of thin material, maybe vinyl.
Not the faux wood trim pieces, the borders surrounding the edges.
JO
Yes, on later ones they may be fiberglass, but these were aluminum . If you look at the front fender , you’ll see the molding is dented. You can see this Ebay auction as well # 233859651091 , it shows the back side of the molding ; the clips were held in by the curled edges of the trim. I had to put a country squire fender on my 1971 LTD winter beater as I couldn’t find a plain fender – I remember pulling off the trim with a screwdriver and folding the trim up . Maybe the next 1979 and up Country Squired went to fiberglass to save money and weight ?
Yada, yada, yada oh my goodness it’s just the air cleaner cover somebody found someplace. It doesn’t even match (blue) the rest of the air cleaner “assembly”. Do we even know for sure it’s a 429??? MOST of them came with a 351 or 400, but the all look alike from afar. The only REAL way to tell is the VIN, but there’s also always the decal on the left valve cover…
Lol. The bottom of the air cleaner was always blue, even with a chrome lid. And it’s a 429, which looks nothing like a 351 or 400. Lordy
Oh hell. Educate me. What looks significantly different about the 429/460? Are the engine blocks not the same? My bad if not.
The only thing they all have in common is the blue paint. One major difference, is the 351M/400, has no water passages in the intake manifold, the thermostat housing bolts to the top of the block, that’s a quick way to tell if you’re unsure.
Much appreciated 👍