We’ve seen many custom pickups here on Barn Finds over the years, but this one is more of a custom business coupe, I think? It’s really cool whatever it is. You can find this unique 1978 Ford LTD Custom listed here on Facebook Marketplace in beautiful Huntington, West Virginia, right on the Ohio River, and they’re asking $6,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Ted for sending in this tip!
Bickety-BAM! Check out that custom hood, I mean, trunk lid! These photos are, sadly, a top contender for our annual worst-photos-in-a-listing prize but what a cool concept. There isn’t one photo showing the whole car without part of it being cropped out, MAYBE BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL VERTICALS!! AHH AHHHHH! (in my best Sam Kinison voice). There’s more of that now that most folks take photos with their phone cameras, which is weird because camera phones can be turned 90 degrees. It is what it is, as they say.
Let’s get a closer look. That’s one big trunk, probably big enough for traveling salespeople (is there still such a thing?) to drive around with a giant trunk full of items to sell to customers in the days before the internet. Here’s what Wiki says about the business coupe: “A two-door car with no rear seat or with a removable rear seat intended for traveling salespeople and other vendors carrying their wares with them. American manufacturers developed this style of coupe in the late 1930s.” This car is positively luxurious compared to what most of us think of when we hear the term business coupe.
Despite the photo quality and quantity (no interior photos, no engine photos, etc.) this car is super intriguing to me. Whoever did this work came up with a very unique idea and they seemed to carry it out nicely. We don’t get to see detailed photos to see the seams and edges and things like that, but I love how finished it looks, almost like a factory creation for a 1978 Ford LTD Business Coupe.
The second-generation Ford LTD was made from 1968 for the 1969 model year, until the end of the 1978 model year. Big changes were in order for the 1973 model year and this car was about 15″ longer than the next year’s model would be, so it really emphasizes the length to see that long trunk. I really wish the photos would have been better, or at least horizontal. This car has power windows and power locks, it would have been nice to see at least one interior photo.
If you zoom in on this area behind the Landau window, you can see something going on, but half the fun of owning this would be to fix it up and add your own touches, and get better wheels and tires. The engine is Ford’s 302-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had 134 horsepower and 238 lb-ft of torque. This car is said to run and shift as it should but it needs work on the brakes. Have any of you created a crazy custom like this one? I really like this car!
It would be a sweet tow vehicle for my ’68 Mustang. Lol.
That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout! You could even fix up the back to sleep in there when you’re at a multi-day car show out of town.
Creative, love the hoodscoop trunklid
When you ask your Mom for a Ranchero and she replies “We have Ranchero at home”
Somebody got creative and cut-down a standard LTD Coupe into a pretty cool ‘Ranchero Long Trunk’ if you will…
I wouldn’t have bothered…but maybe she’s an EPIC one-off Tow Vehicle in a great color..?
I’m not mad at all..; I could actually use it!!
Actually…I think it was built to haul Moonshine the Old-Fashioned Way.
Nevertheless- cool build..!!
Of all the customs I’ve seen online and in person, this is one of the very few I liked, that came out pretty good. Hopefully it finds a good home. That 302 is a dead dog, though. I had a 78 LTD with the hideaway headlights, 302 2bbl, and I wished for holes in the floor to help get it moving Flintstones style.
Wholly cow you take that trunk lid off and my smart car can fit in there now its got me thinking …..
Easy to complete into a UTE!
Was this maybe a Ranchero from the factory? It looks a bit too short, I think.
The factory Ranchero of this era was based on the mid-size LTD II, rather than the full-size LTD like this one.
If I was the owner of a drive-in, no way would I let this car in until they popped the trunk open for a look-see.
This is pretty cool and seems to have been well-constructed. Wish we could see the interior. It needs some TLC and upgrades, but looks like a do-able project for the right person.
Good job Scotty.
Thanks, Bob! For this money, you could pass on a new F-150 and just get this and probably haul just as much. Bob? Hello, is this thing on?
Ha ha. It might ‘haul’ as much… cargo, but without interior pics, I’m kind of doubting there is enough room to ‘haul’ the wife and the three long-legged grandkids…. So I don’t think I’m the ‘right person’.
I keep getting a feeling this was a flower car in a funeral procession. This would definitely be fun to play around with glwta
Since I appear to have a certain amount of comments before going to “moderation”, I’m limiting my comments to Scottys. Being presumptuous, it would seem “Jason” is stuck with disposing of dads, or dad-in-laws “creation”. I like it too for the fact, it’s my era for cars, and looks to be very well done. Car/pickups have always had a limited following, not quite a car, not quite a truck ( boy, did THAT ever change), and I feel for the authors frustration on the limited, poor photos. Be like me seeing a semi with side panels damaged and ICC bar bent, but we must remember, FB is for people that haphazardly acquire these things, and generally have no use or interest in said item. For once, I say for what this is, it’s a fair price.
What I really find interesting is how the builder integrated a hi mount brake light into that trunk lid. Or maybe it’s just a reflector?
party in the front….all business in the back.
Grandpa’s pride and joy project. With pictures taken by his 14 year old granddaughter. I applaud the effort, but it’s too weird for my tastes.
That 14yo would more likely know better how to rotate her phone to take a horizontal pic than her grandpa would.
Interesting concept. I like just about everything except the trunk lid. Just doesn’t look right with the scoop. Many photo’s are needed though to make a final judgement! Many years ago I bought a 2nd series Corvair that had been converted to a El Corvairo. It started life as a 4dr. The work was done by a GM engineer as a Hobby project and was excellently done. You would swear it was a factory 2dr. Corvair-El Camino. All I needed to do was prep it and do the finish paint. It turned out Very Nice. I drove it for awhile and people kept bugging me to by it. I finally sold it to a fellow Corvair Club member. He had an accident with a lot of front end damage. I bought it back replaced the entire front clip and crossmember. I still had paint left from the 1st paint job and repainted it. Perfect match! I sold it to another collector and never saw it again. He was an old guy with several cars in his barn.
No B&W photos C5? I’m curious with the rear engine how he accomplished that feat. And I have never seen nor did I think they made a 4 door 2nd series Corvair.
I do have some color photos, but BF do not allow me to upload them.
Here’s the only pics I could find of a ute conversion based on a 2nd-gen Corvair; was this yours?
https://lh3.ggpht.com/_xTeJBP4fkJY/RzEgaM4tlbI/AAAAAAAAFWI/Uu5yHgAznOo/pic25.jpg
https://lh4.ggpht.com/_xTeJBP4fkJY/RzEgac4tlcI/AAAAAAAAFWQ/lano3Bhj3-E/pic28.jpg
Mine was very similar. I believe this one is based on a 2 dr. It also has CORSA badging. If it is a CORSA it will either have 4 single barrel carbs or a Turbo. I doubt the turbo would fit under the bed! Regardless, this is very well done.
Yes, traveling salesmen are still out here! We’re every where!
Perfect band vehicle for my acoustic duo! Locking storage sooo much better than an open truck bed. Doubles as a good marketing tool as well
The trunk lid could actually be a hood. It’s hard to tell from the crappy photos.
Now that you mention it, yeah, that does look like they grafted a hood to the rear part of the original trunk lid. The “reverse scoop” is where the hood would have met the grille surround, neat solution to just stick a CHMSL in there
If I had this when I was a teenager I would’ve saved a lot of money for motels.
very close to 1 of my concepts. I lean toward the hatch so bring ‘the line’ up to above the rear window. Have a sorta circular inner rib go round the interior of the sheet metal at the back of roof (see an ol Torino FB for one of these ‘move up the trunk hinges’) where the new opening is.
Use actual business coupe from 30s/40s, Torino-type from later. Higher packages, less claustrophobia as head is now @ back of rear seat or (when cleared out there) at back of frnt seat. A heavier weight can now go in too as it is between the 2 axels.