This 1972 Ford Country Squire LTD is described as a 39,000 mile survivor that remains in impeccably clean condition courtesy of a lifetime in the California sunshine. The wagon had previously been in a private collection for years before the seller took ownership, and he notes that aside from the A/C, everything works as it should – including the powered rear window. The wood trim looks outstanding, and the California blue plates confirm this long-term Cali car’s limited use in recent years. The LTD is listed here on eBay at no reserve, with bidding up to $8,400 as of this writing.
With so many vintage nameplates coming back to life, such as the recently re-introduced Ford Bronco SUV concept, I’m surprised Ford hasn’t tried to capitalize on the iconic status of its Country Squire nameplate and the high levels of luxury and comfort it embodied. I’m also a little sad fake wood paneling hasn’t made a come-back. Regardless, an example like this that has survived with its wood trim still looking sharp, original hubcaps attached, excellent chrome, and straight-as-an-arrow body panels should impress just as many onlookers as a modern-day SUV-crossover-lifted station wagon blob of anonymity.
The interior is in outstanding condition, with bench seats that remain untorn, an un-cracked dash, and door panels that show zero signs of modification. The thick carpeting also looks quite clean, along with the wood trim inserts in the doors. Despite these wagons being used for road trips and hauling multiple passengers, this Country Squire doesn’t appear to be any worse for the wear. If it was used anything like the Volvo 240 wagon my grandmother purchased – i.e., solely for the purpose of hauling the occasional grandkid – then I can see how this large-bodied estate remains in such good nick. Bummer about the A/C not working, however.
Underside photos confirm this wagon is as rust-free as the seller promises, and in the sort of condition that only West Coast cars can pull off. The Country Squire is powered by a 400 V8 paired to an automatic transmission, and the seller confirms that it runs and drives well with no indications of worn suspension components or other maladies. The engine bay appears quite fresh with near-perfect paint on the air cleaner assembly, along with all factory stickers and labels still affixed. If you’re looking for a survivor-grade family truckster, this no-reserve listing could be worth a peek.
I typically like to keep my comments objective and keep memories to myself but this one got me. It immediately brought back memories of sitting in the back seat facing oncoming traffic and making faces at the people behind us. And then there’s those hot vinyl seats and poorly tinted windows. I think I still have the “branding” on my upper rear calves. Ouch! My older brother got to sit on a towel…wimp. I’m still jealous of him.
My sister put the car in reverse at about 30 mph. The clicking sound it made is still etched in memory.
Weren’t there two rear seats in these wagons, facing side to side? That’s my memory of our 72 Country Squire, not looking directly through the back window at oncoming traffic….
Ours faced the back. I think it was a 1974 model.
I think it came both ways. We had the one with 2 rear seats facing each other. You could actually get 4 kids in the back comfortably.
All Ford and Mercury wagons of this era that were optioned with the third seat had the two seats that faced each other side to side. None had a rear facing seat.
The Ford full sized wagons had dual facing rear seats. In the mid-size Torino and smaller wagons the optional third seat was a single rear facing unit.
The idea of this car and the reality of it are two different things. Current owner has had it for a year….comedy has an expiration date.
Buyers remorse
I am amazed at the condition of the wood grained sides. So many of these faded badly.
My dad was a Ford man, and with 6 kids, always the wagon type. I remember countless December evenings, 4 of us kids in our PJs in the back (me and my younger brother in the “snake pit”) riding around looking at Christmas lights… I also recall my dad “plowing” the snow by doing power slides around the driveway. He would run a car ’til the wheels fell off, and our wagons usually died with a dent in every panel (my older brother and sister helped with customizing). LOL
Now this is a car that deserves to be labeled a survivor. Most are well used by a family and then given to the new drivers as they come of age. Two of my friends growing up were passed down wagons like these. We did our best to destroy them with Dukes of Hazard style hi jinks to see how much they could take. Turns out a lot. We once jumped one so high we smashed the trans linkage and had to drive it home in reverse, lol. Then people in town would donate more of them to the High School auto shop class for a tax write off. We would fix them for free during shop class and then buy them from the school for $50 and continue the cycle. I don’t think they knew that they were supplying our bad ideas lol
Try that in your Toyota mini car with no frame.
With both of my parents now gone, and me now being 60 years of age, I guess there is no harm in coming clean and telling the truth.
You can’t do a neutral drop in an early 1970’s full size Ford wagon without breaking the motor mounts.
There, I said it. I feel better!!!
Been there, done that! 1971 Country sedan. A chain and padlock fixed the broken motor mount very nicely!
We had one of these awesome cars ! Does this one have new doors ? Ford produced these with trash steel. Maybe the first in recycled from China ? But the bottoms of the doors were completely gone in 2 years ! Yes we lived in Michigan but salt want that bad on any other vehicles (tho it’s bad). Ford had a recall and sadly they wanted $400 to put new doors on, under the recall !! Or they would Bondo them for free ! Of course $400 was a lot of money back then ! So ours got the Bondo job 😥. It was a great car the and I had to drive the family with my Learners permit at 15 down to Disney World ! Great times.
My first Demo derby car was a 72 County Squire , the only diffrence to this one was it was dark green . This was 1981 in Connecticut , and even though it was only 9 years old it was already tired looking. It had survived two teenaged boy drivers , faded paint from never been garaged (or washed), rust in the lower quarters -so bad the spare tire was visible and the wood grain had faded completely white .I only paid $50.00 for it and the people were so happy to see it go ! One thing I remember about the car is that it ran like a bear ; I beat that car until the whole rear of the car was stuffed around the rear wheels , and left it at the track.
I’d love to have one in this shape now , it would really be an eye catcher at cruise nights – how many people would stop and say ” my parents used to have one of these ! “
My Dad bought one of these new, same color, motor, brown interior. It was a sad day when it went to the boneyard.
I transported a 45 gallon drum of coal oil in the back once, tire blew out at 45 mph, that was interesting.
Rust killed it.
This is when you got some real metal for the money!!!! The problem with the early rust outs was Ford started to use a “CHEAP GRADE IRON ORE” and not the higher grade ore which degraded quickly.,
This is one of my “bucket list” cars which would look just right parked next to my ’72 Galaxie 500 2-door coupe. It’s in beautiful original condition, in and out, a rare find indeed. It will be interesting to see what it sells for, you’d be hard pressed to find a nicer one. Having insufficient funds and no space for a car I desire is really starting to aggravate me. Maybe I can talk the wife into getting a second job.
Correct they were on both sides, no seat belts.
Learned to drive on a gold-ish one. Great to see this one in such good condition.
mine was green with a rear facing third seat, 400 ci, 2v carb, and used 1 qt of oil every 50 miles. I blew the original motor, and replaced it with a 71 429 PI, replaced the 535 cfm 2V carb with a mini high rise and a 650 spread bore, went from 10 mpg to 16. finally pulled the motor and put it in a 72 grand torino. sent the rust bucket to the graveyard