Ford rolled out the LTD in 1965 as a fancy version of the popular Galaxie 500. Early advertising compared its quiet ride with that of a Rolls-Royce. After more than 20 years of production, the LTD gave way to the Crown Victoria in the mid-1980s. This 1974 edition is a 4-door sedan that has emerged from 25 years of slumber on a Nebraska farm. Yet it runs and looks as good as it did at the turn of the century. The nearest big town is Fort Collins, and that’s where you can find this big Ford, which is available here on craigslist for $19,500. Rocco B. delivers again with a neat tip.
Second-generation LTDs were in production from 1969 to 1978, with a major facelift in between. If you were a fan of TV cop shows in the 1970s, it was hard not to see an LTD or a Galaxie in many scenes. Within months of the LTD’s introduction, Chevrolet quickly followed suit with the Impala-based Caprice, which was every bit the success story that the LTD was. Though sales were softened by the OPEC oil embargo, Ford still sold 72,000 LTD four-door models like this one in 1974.
We’re told this one-owner Ford was last registered in 2001. At the time, it had 115,000 miles and was retired apparently for reasons not related to mechanical health. We’re guessing it was Grandpa or Grandma’s car (though they had no children), and they got to where they couldn’t drive anymore. Fast forward 2.5 decades and the family now needs the LTD to find a new home. Everything about the car speaks “time capsule” regarding the body, paint, vinyl roof, and interior.
This Ford has a good running 400 cubic inch V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor. which wouldn’t have been too popular when you were waiting in lines to buy gasoline on even or odd days (remember that?). Options abound on this luxury car, including power seats and air conditioning (of course). The couple kept records on the car’s service, and those documents will follow it on to the next owner. This is a beautiful big Ford, but is it worth nearly 20 grand?
Looks like a clean LTD. A good example of the days of roomy, quiet, smooth-riding big sedans. Well-equipped— 15 options. I can imagine this “western Nebraska farm couple” knew the importance of taking care of their farm equipment, and keeping records. Which carried over to their car. It even has a stick-on compass, and the Ford shifter warning sticker is still intact.
Get it roadworthy (perhaps, new whitewalls) and enjoy the ride.
Nice, but pricey. There is a lot of competition in that price range and below.
Steve R
My neighbors had one blue with a white top and blue interior. Its was a very nice car that I was able to drive on occasion. The price is too high considering the seller is advertising the milage as 15,780 instead of the true mileage. What else is the seller not truly telling us? But the 1985 Pontiac Grand Prix would be more in my price range
The seller is not being misleading about the cars mileage. The odometer does show 15,780, which is accurate since it’s a 5 digit speedometer, they specifically state the mileage is 115,780 in the next sentence. It probably would have been better to leave that line blank when filling out specifics in the ad to reduce confusion.
Steve R