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Full-Size Fancy Ford: 1977 Ford LTD

031416 Barn Finds - 1977 Ford LTD 1

I used to call these LTDs fancy Fords. They seemed nice enough to me to be a Mercury and sometimes, yes, even a Lincoln. This 1977 Ford LTD is on craigslist in Cedar Rapids, IA with an asking price of $2,500. What a fantastic car! This time machine has 62,500 miles on it and it almost looks like new. An almost new-looking car for $2,500?

031416 Barn Finds - 1977 Ford LTD 2

Sure, it’s 39-years old, but I didn’t even look this good when I was 39 years old! (or, 29, for that matter). Supposedly, there is a dent in the LF fender but I can’t tell from these small photos. The seller says that this car has been in storage for 13 years and that it’s 99% rust-free. The Mini Cooper that my wife bought brand new in 2011 couldn’t even claim that. On top of a new gas tank and all new fluids, this LTD has a new “sending unit, distributor, plugs, plug wires, ignition coils, air filter, fuel lines.”

031416 Barn Finds - 1977 Ford LTD 3

Nice! I’m not sure what the white stuff is on the door jamb, but from the only interior photo it sure looks nice in there. The AC even works, believe it or not! This is the era when you’d get one of those bean-bag wastebaskets and flop one side of the bean bag on each side of the hump. And, if you were lucky you’d find one with a Kleenex holder and a couple of cup holders too. Except in those days those portable cup holders weren’t for $5.50 lattes, they were for a steel can of Shasta pop, as we called “soda” in the Midwest. This monster car has a monster V8, too; a 400 to be exact. In 1977 that would have been a 400 Cleveland as opposed to a Windsor. The 173hp on tap isn’t as impressive as it would have been a few years prior to this ’77 model but I bet that you could still chirp at least one rear tire on your way to Sunday brunch. I have no doubt that the engine compartment and trunk are both as clean as everything else here is. This looks like a great car. Are you a fan of these big, luxurious, fancy Fords?

 

Comments

  1. Avatar Luke Fitzgerald

    Gone already – barn finder I hope!

    Like 0
  2. Avatar piper62j

    Yep.. Gone… These cars in this condition are hot..
    Great find.. Nice comfortable car..

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    I knew it wouldn’t last! On to a flipper for a big markup!

    And the engine wouldn’t be a 400 Cleveland, just a 400. A slightly larger version of the unloved 351M.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Ed P

      I’ve never heard of a 400 called a Cleveland engine before, but it is partly true. The 400 was part of the 335 engine family that included the 351 Cleveland. The 400 was not part of the Windsor series of engines.

      Like 0
  4. Avatar Blueprint

    Probably just spray-can grease on that door jamb.

    In my summer of ’89 beater hunt, I test-drove a same vintage LTD, only in coupe form and very, very brown, inside and out. It was as clean as this one, only the seller was so happy to claim he had just done the brakes himself. The test-drive scared me out of that option! Quite a ride though – these things glide over pavement and they really were blue collar Lincolns.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Mike H.

    “It’s an LTD. LTD stands for ‘Limited’. . . Do you know what it’s limited to? How many of these damn things we can sell; that’s what it’s limited to.”

    Oh, Jerry. . .

    http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/sarah-jessica-parker-a-little-hyper-aware

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Mr. TKD

    This goes back to a time when you could get an interior that wasn’t tan, black, or gray. Impressive. I wonder if it has the fender skirts because the trim is missing from the rear wheel openings.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Chip

      Yes, fender skirts are missing. My dad had a ’76, same color, same everything.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar jim s

    nice looking car. gone already because of the price. nice find.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Scott B.

    Wow, I thought it was my Aunts old LTD but hers was a 2 door. I got it from her before she died and sold it to a college kid who was going to Iowa State, same area too! She bought it new, always had it serviced at one garage and it was in dam good condition, 400M 2 barrel I think. Talk about a boat, 4200 pounds. Hers came from Mt Ayr, Iowa.

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  9. Avatar Chebby

    Pretty cool for a triple green car. Ford’s green vinyl seats of the day were like the shiny skin of some iridescent jungle chameleon…these cloth ones are more subdued. Put some Lincoln turbines on this and uncork the 400 with a 4v carb and dual exhaust.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Warren

    Hopefully the skirts were in the trunk!

    Like 0
  11. Avatar grant

    That 400 is a 400M, not a Windsor or a Cleveland. Nice car but the motors a boat anchor.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar piper62j

    I bought a 73 Mach 1 which had a 400 2v in it.. Very rare.. It was on the lot, so I scooped it up.. In the Mustang, the 400 would push your head back into the seat off the line.. From what I’ve learned as of late, the 400 ci was primarily a truck engine for that era..
    Had to sell it to do good for my family at the time. Wish I had it now..

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Jim Marshall

    Yep , had one of these also in 77. A dr Landau, 351. Nice car. Same color with a white half top with color keyed wheel covers and skirts.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Pfk1106

    I had an all white with red interior 4 door. It was the proverbial land yacht, just floating down the road. I went from driving an MGB to that! Hated it, felt like the car was 2 lanes wide and as long as a bus. My wife is 5’1″, when she drove it, the bench seat was all the way forward. Riding shotgun felt like you were sitting on the dashboard.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar SnuffySmiff

    The ones with a 460 were some of the plushest rocketships Ford ever made! Well, to be honest-the ones I’m talking about and got to drive were all ex-Georgia State Patrol cars that still ran well enough to avoid the State auction. Almost lost my job once after stretching one out on I-85 north of Newnan and was chased down by yep-a Ga State Trooper-who was NOT happy! Still makes me grin every time I think about it…

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Rick

    When they got miles on them,those 400s had a propensity to snap the crank just behind the harmonic balancer. Anyway, it’s a barge, and Ford downsized the following model year, GM beat them to it.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Eugene

    i remember my parents having a 1977 ltd when my brother and i were kids. It ran for a long time and boy was it fast. I miss that old car. Wish i had it now but it died and they junked it.

    Like 0

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