Ford was two years behind General Motors in downsizing its full-size cars in 1979. Riding on a new Panther platform, the Ford LTD was now 15 inches shorter and 700 pounds lighter as part of the movement to squeeze more miles per gallon out of a U.S.-built automobile. The LTD would continue to be successful and continue as Ford Division’s leading “big” car through 1986. This ’79 example, a Landau coupe, is said to be all-original and has seen just 26,000 miles (how is that even possible?). Located in Glenwood, Arizona, this tip from Tony Primo is available here on craigslist for the nice round sum of $10,000.
When the Ford LTD was first launched in 1965 as a fancier version of the Galaxie 500, I remember their daring advertising campaign. Ford compared the quiet ride of the new LTD to that of a Rolls-Royce (“please pass the Grey Poupon”). I don’t know how true that was then or if it was still applicable to the LTD 14 years later, but Ford was always striving to keep up with or beat their main competition, Chevrolet. The LTD joined Mercury’s Marquis on that new Panther chassis, the best that FOMOCO had to offer in the turbulent 1970s. Rear-wheel-drive and V8 engines were still the order of the day.
But now the LTD had a 302 cubic inch V8 as standard and a 351 was the highest you could go (as opposed to a 429 or 460 before). Those bigger, thirstier engines were no longer needed to get the same job done. The seller’s Landau coupe is one of 42,300 built in 1979 on Ford’s way to producing 356,300 LTDs that year. Not a record, but certainly one of the LTD’s better years. The seller doesn’t say a lot about this car other than the paint and interior are original and the odometer shows a meager number of miles for a 45-year-old automobile.
Perhaps this LTD was Grandpa or Grandma’s car, and it was only driven to church on Sundays. Why else would it have been used so little and apparently be so well taken care of? Photos are rather scarce and not much of the passenger compartment is seen and the engine bay escapes the camera lens altogether. This machine looks like it should have a lot of life left in it. Are you ready to take the plunge?
Lol good mustard reference Dixon.
Well here is a rare coupe, Landau in Fords famous robin egg blue.
I like this car because it is the lesser-seen two door coupe, and (as Stan says) it’s robin egg blue. (I believe its proper name at this time was a descriptive, but unimaginative, “Light Blue”). For me, it does cry for whitewalls.
I wonder if, fifty years from now, these big Fords will still be roaming around, kind of like we still today see Model A’s in operating condition. Not because they are collectible or (like muscle cars) value, but rather because they are such solid machines— and because maintenance parts are available.
💯 good call on the white walls Bob
Im with Bob and Stan this LTD is crying for white walls. Very nice clean example.
I had a 79 landau 2 door, mine only had two headlights, not the quads, might be an 80 or newer.
yours wasn’t a Landau (that was the top trim level) it was the base model. That’s why it had 2 not 4 headlights.
The one head light that was the LTD S it was in 1979-1980 it started with the S package was the lower end and had the rectangular two headlights and the Landau had the four headlights with the amber turn signals.
Great write-up, Russ. Mom had a 79 LTD wagon for many years and maintained by my father and brothers, as I lived out of state at the time. Good car, only real problem seemed to be the variable venturi carburetor-from-hell. Wanted to replace with a nice 2bbl but she was living in CA most of the time she owned it. FYI I believe this car is in Glenwood, Arkansas.
Yep – no such place as Glenwood, AZ.
I bought a 79 LTD for parts once, the guy I bought it from said it just died one day when he pulled into his driveway. The car got hammered with hail while it was sitting behind his house. After I drug it home I got to looking at it and it was a pretty clean car other than the hail dents so I got to looking at the motor, hand turned it up to TDC and looked where the rotor was pointing and it was way off so a 25 dollar timing chain and gasket set later it was a runner. Drove that thing for two years, everytime it rained it would blow a fuse for the power windows. That got old fast so I parked it at the farm, I eventually sold it to my brother
I remember these well.Ford was the last of the holdouts with downsizing.Opened my repair shop in 85 and repaired a lot of the Variable Venturi Carburetors.I still have some parts and the tools though obviously haven’t seen one in ages.Very temperamental carburetors!
Those carbs sure didn’t like the cold. Saw lots of frozen up venturi sliders if the hot system was malfunctioning
Nice car! Scared of that carburator, though. But the deal-killer for me are those two doors: if this were a four door sedan, I might consider it.
Nice car I lean more towards dual exhaust and raised white letters on the tires instead of the whitewall. Of course being a 5 digit odometer and it was before carfax and auto check you should inspect in person to verify miles but even then its hard to know for sure.
Ford really had a field day with colors in the day. This blue probably looked great on a Pinto or Maverick but on the acres of sheet metal on this LTD, it makes my eyes hurt. Conversely, I loved a LTD Landau coupe in black, navy blue or dark red with the matching Landau top and dark red or dark blue leather. A guy who owned the liquor and wine shop near my house had the dark red with the Ford aluminum turbine fin wheels. The car was gorgeous. I always wondered how he got the cases or wine or liquor out of that cavernous and deep trunk however.
The variable Venturi carburetor was also very sensitive to dust/dirt. I was a field rep for Ford in 1979, and dealerships in farm areas had a lot of customer complaints with drivability concerns relating to that carburetor. Once central fuel injection (CFI) came out for the 1983 model those drivability problems went away.
Where are the whitewalls?
My late MIL had one of these. We inherited it on her untimely passing. Once the VV carb was dialed in the car was a great runner, easily returning 20 mpg. Ours was the light blue metallic with the standard half roof. No options except for am radio and air. This one on the other hand is loaded with divided seat, cruise and power windows. Although no tilt wheel which was kind of a funky design of its own and new for ’79 in LTD and Mustang.
The big girl lost weight but it didn’t help the looks …could also be applied to many women !
To Claudio: beauty comes from within, not from without. And SOME of us think that the “downsized” cars actually looked BETTER. As for women: let’s be kind, if for no other reason, than we ourselves need kindness. And the woman who does not attract us, whether heavy or lithe, will attract someone else. Give her glory!
Thanks, i always liked the smaller dimensions in life
These years had the horn on the turn signal lever. You had to push the lever inward toward the column to get the horn to honk. Most annoying thing ever. Emergency situation you are pounding on the steering wheel center and nothing happens.