While we cover 1967 Fords rather often, that year’s Country Squire, however, doesn’t make the cut very often. Today, for your review, I have just such a rig that at first glance looks pretty fair. But as I read through the listing, and I hope you do too, my enthusiasm started to wane. These big wagons are definitely popular, but this example…well, I’m not sure. Resting in Everest, Kansas, this faux-wood slathered wagon is available here on eBay for a current bid of $2,551 with the reserve not yet met. There is a BIN option of $5,600 available, too.
Station wagons were still all the rage in 1967 and a suburban staple across most of America. Ford’s storied Country Squire, introduced in 1950, was one of the most popular wagons that year and managed sales of 70K units, while its non-wood paneled siblings, the Country Sedan and Ranch Wagon, added another 109K copies to the total. The seller of this wagon tells us, “THE CAR HAS SOME RUST BUT NOT A LOT, ONE FLOOR PAN (REAR PASS) WILL NEED REPLACED) THE REAR LOWER QUARTERS AND AROUND WHEEL WELL HAVE SOME RUST AND PLASTIC, BUT CAR LOOKS PRETTY MUCH LIKE IT LOOKS.” This one’s a sorta twenty-footer; it’s OK at a distance, but its foibles become evident under closer inspection. I will say that the Magnum 500-style wheels definitely help with the cause.
Part of the way through the listing, the seller states, “I NOTICE, WHEN I WAS TAKING THE PICS, IT HAS FRAME RUST -(SEE PICS) CENTER OF DRIVER SIDE ON BOTTOM .” Ruh roh! This one image isn’t encouraging, and if I were interested in this car, I’d want to know more – how many other areas of the frame are also going soft?
Continuing along in the listing, we learn, “PROJECT CAR-NOT RUNNING****! 390 (MAYBE LOCKED UP).” Wow, the hits keep on coming! This is the point where the seller goes for it and suggests, “I WAS GOING TO PUT THIS ON HERE FOR $8000-$9000 AS I FIGURED IF YOU DID A LS SWAP IN IT, IT WOULD BE EASY 20K CAR ***OR COYOTE SWAP EVEN WORTH MORE.” Oh brother, another GM engine in a Ford body suggestion? For the sake of authenticity, I would think one would want to at least consider a rejuvenated FE powerplant. I can’t comment on the Coyote suggestion, but a 428 would slide right in and bolt up directly to the C6 three-speed automatic transmission – no muss, no fuss!
Inside, we’re told, “FADED SEATS, BAD CARPET…INTERIOR A BIT ROUGH, NEEDS HEADLINER, WINDSHIELD IS CRACKED.” That’s a pretty apt description. The interior isn’t terrible, but it certainly is very tired, and there’s the matter of the rusty rear floor pan. This Country Squire is a ten-passenger model, but the lone image of the wayback is out of focus, so its condition is not clear. A/C is on the job here, but the locked-up engine means it’s marked off.
This Country Squire certainly has its issues. Trying to figure out what to do for power can be expensive enough, but the flaky frame on top of that? Hmmm, I’d be inclined to take a pass on this one; how about you?
That frame is way beyond “flaky,” and it’s likely there are other frame issues the seller is unaware of. Wagon frames were unique, and finding a replacement frame is going to be a very big challenge. On the other hand, there’s a lot of unobtainium here, so this might make sense as a “make one out of two” project.
High time to retire “put an LS in it” person to pasture cause they finally totally lost it..UGH
Along with “That’ll buff out”.
Millennial speak for the old SBC!
Its a 390 wagon, what’s wrong with that? Why the engine swap talk? I think its a cool wagon but it definitely will take some work. $5k ???. Don’t think it will hit that mark.
It’s a shame but frame rot means this is just a parts car. Hard pass.
From the pictures? This wagon personifies the meaning of “20 footer.” And you rarely see a ’67 Ford wagon in the wild. But the frame issues mean this poor Squire is toast.
Guy in town had one of these with the pre-CobraJet 428 4bbl in it. It moved two-plus tons of steel quite well…
This one ‘only’ has a 390, but a significant amount of that hefty steel has been removed by the Special Aggressive Lightening Technique, thus improving performance.
These years ’65-’69 Fords and Mercurys were notorious for frame rust. We had 2 full size Mercs that went to the junkyard with bad frames. Both had near perfect bodies, interiors, and 390 motors that ran great. Back about ’95 I went to look at a ’67 Ford Fastback with 28k on the clock. It looked near perfect, but had sections of the frame rusted away. I don’t know if this is even worth saving.
Northeast Kansas gets plenty of snow. Salted roads turn these cars Into rustmobiles. That, on top of a seized engine makes this shaky. Buyer, beware.
If the block isn’t cracked, the engine can be saved. It may not be seized, either. Turn it over by hand to check. Bore it out, with some fresh pistons, connecting rods and a new crank, throw some aftermarket or SCJ heads on top, with a new intake, headers and dual exhausts, and that engine can make serious power. A bored and stroked 390 can become a 428, if the block can stand it. The two engines may use different blocks, however. The 428 may have had stiffening ribs added to tolerate the 0.080 inch overbore from the 390. A 406 used the same stroke as the 390 (3.785 in.), but the larger bore of the 428 (4.130 in.). The 428 used a 3.980 inch stroke, 0.195 inches longer than the 390, so a stroker crank with a less aggressive over bore, say 0.030 inches over, might be acceptable. Source: Wikipedia. Google: “Ford FE Engine” for details.
Speed cost money. How fast can you afford to go?
A 428 crank in that 390 block make 410 cubic inches, Mercury did that in ’66 and ’67.
nice
Find another wagon in better shape and make one out of two and use whats left of this car for parts. It still has some good parts on it.
Those frame rusts were common especially in NY. A local fabrication shop in Ithaca had rails in stock and their chop saw was marked to cut the required length. Replaced a rail on one of my 68’s and still have a rail in stock.
1 of fords best looking wagons. this looks great with the wheel/tire combo. it needs a frame. the big deal is finding 1. i am sure there are a few in those yards in those western states. a b/b FE motor would be easy to source if needed. to dive in and redo this it would be because you want the car. there is no other reason and will cost a lot even if you do most yourself. it’s a shame it was left to get to this point. i love these wagons lot of memories from the 60s seeing these.
Count me among those who cannot stand it when people “put an LS in it.” Ugh. If you want a Chevy, go buy a Chevy. Meanwhile, this wagon looks too far gone. Plenty of others can be found if you really need a mid-60s Ford Country Squire.
If you’re going to put a new engine in it, at least make it a Ford power plant for crying out loud! Ford makes crate small-blocks with up to 429 inches displacement, and big blocks up to 572 cubic inches, and there’s always a Coyote of up to five liters (5.0L) available!
I agree that there are better examples available for not too much more money, but as these get rarer, lesser examples like these will go up in price, so get while the getting is good, if for no other reason than to part it out! Let’s face it, Ford isn’t making any more of them, and more get sent to the crusher every day! Bid is up to $2800.
Maybe as a parts car, but not at the bin #. What’s the rest of the frame look like? ugh.
Absolutely right Jim, starting out it looks pretty good. But the further you read the worse it gets.
Brings back memories though. One of the wagons we had when I was a kid was a ‘67 Country Squire. 1 of the 4 Ford wagons we had from my earliest car memories until I was in my late teens. Always Fords, 61, 65, 67 & a 71 Merc. One of my dad’s buddies from his youth was a Ford salesman.
Even if the frame and floor-pans were GOOD, the interior were really nice and clean, and it were running as a turnkey proposition with less than 50,000 documented original miles, you’d still have to MISS me with THIS one, with that aftermarket steering-wheel and those terrible sport wheels!!! Anything that sniffs-out as a “hot-rod/street-rod/resto-rod” wannabe is an instant hard-pass. Original steering wheel. Original steel wheels. Original type of whitewall tyres. Original full hubcaps. Entirely an original upscale practical family hauler, unmolested by some owner with “custom” idea. THEN talk to me! Oh — and no quartz-converted clock or after-market stereo! But if this were a really “cherry” almost “showroom” all-original survivor, I couldn’t afford it, but I’d WANT it!
Everything you mentioned is an easy bolt-on fix, except for finding an original, stock steering wheel! Radio upgrades were as common as dirt back in the day, when these became the rides of choice of high school students everywhere, available on a student’s budget, with a part time, minimum wage job, as they hit the bottom of the depreciation curve, full of rust and grey primer, for well under a thousand dollars ($1000). Removing the stock, factory AM radio, in favor of a Pioneer AM/FM stereo with a tape deck was job one, after you paid for insurance and registration fees, LOL! Wagons were not the top ride of choice, as they had the stigma of being a Mommy Car, much like the minivan is today, but an air mattress in the back made for some fun times with the girlfriend at the drive-in, so there were compensations, LOL!
ANOTHER reason to avoid this car: who wants a vehicle which some high schooler on a budget drove? Once I see aftermarket “hot-roddish” custom items, and a Pioneer stereo, I’m OUT of there!!! By the way, I think that Ford did offer an AM/FM stereo factory radio, but whose preformance left much to be desired. The top-tier A.M. offering was much better. And I listen almost exclusively to A.M. in a car anyway. But, with the possible exception of Blaupunkt, aftermarket A.M. performance tends to be rather poor.