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Rare Ragtop: 1972 Ford LTD Convertible

031916 Barn Finds - 1972 Ford LTD 1

This rare 1972 Ford LTD convertible is in Manitowoc, Wisconsin but it’s originally from sweet home Alabama. You can find it here on craigslist with a firm price of $3,000.

031916 Barn Finds - 1972 Ford LTD 2

The seller mentions that Ford made fewer than 500 LTD convertibles with a 429 this year which would seem to make the $3,000 price pretty reasonable. The car looks nice and straight and the seller says that this “Alabama car is very solid.” This is the last year for the LTD convertible.

031916 Barn Finds - 1972 Ford LTD 3

The top mechanism works but as you can see the top material will have to be replaced. It also needs a gas tank which won’t be hard to find.  These were big cars, 4,400 pounds and 18 feet long.

031916 Barn Finds - 1972 Ford LTD 5

There is no mention of whether this car has AC and it doesn’t have power windows. I know, neither of those things really matter but it’s just interesting to see that we all seemed to live without those options a few decades ago where it’s unheard of today. This interior looks great and there is no mention of rust at all other than that it’s a solid car. The floors here look a little iffy, I can’t tell if that’s carpet or what’s going on beneath that massive power brake pedal. And, is that a cup holder in the middle? The seller has a couple of matching bucket seats in case you wanted to sport it up a bit, appearance-wise.

031916 Barn Finds - 1972 Ford LTD 4

There are no engine photos but it would look something like this if it has AC; which again they don’t mention. I have seen almost perfect examples sell for $10,000-$15,000 so unless you’re going to do the majority of the work yourself you’ll be into this car for more than it’s worth in no time. But, if you’ve got the time and the skills you could turn this into a gem once again. What do you think: can this rare ragtop be saved?

Comments

  1. Avatar Gnrdude

    Definitely Worth Restoring, And for 3K$ a Bargain. Looks pretty solid too.

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  2. Avatar piper62j

    Looking at the climate controls on the lower left, it appears the car has AC. Let’s hope it wasn’t stored outside with that top the way it is..The carpet looks to be a bit funky. Definitely worth $3k and appears to be a easy restoration. Nice car to cruise around on a warm day with the top down.. Lots of room.. The engine alone will power this one with some pep and response..

    Nice find.. Hope one of the BF members can score this one..

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  3. Avatar James

    My dad pulled a 72 Ltd station wagon out of the naval base in Arbroath in the early 80’s he got it as a non runner.

    after getting it home and lifting the hood he discovered a 428 cobra jet motor in place which was a nice bonus. after rewiring it as the local mice had made a mess of the wiring it fired up and ran lovely.

    sadly it was never put on the road as it had been imported through the American air force so there was no proper UK import paper work and after a few years trying to get it registered it finally turned into a parts car.

    He did have it out on the road for a run over to the ministry of transport using a set of trade plates it would have been the ultimate sleeper.

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  4. HoA Howard A Member

    Manitowoc. Home of the only operating nuclear power plant in Wis. ( well, Point Beach, but close enough) I believe this car has A/C, as I’ve seen Ford’s without A/C, and they don’t have those vents in the middle of the dash. Besides, anybody that bought a convertible in ’72, surely lived in a warm climate, and A/C was a must have. Always a market for convertibles, and I’m sure this will go quickly. These don’t bring a lot of money ( 2, ’72 LTD ragtops on Hemmings, both $8750, but there is one for 15g’s) so not a lot of interest, but still be a nice cruiser. Sure looks like a lot of work.

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  5. Avatar Francisco

    That is the most boring dash I’ve ever seen on a car. Seems Ford engineers wanted to put drivers to sleep.

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    • Avatar James

      yea I agree the dash lets it down when you compare it to other cars of the same era

      Like 0
  6. Avatar gerry Member

    Looks fairly straight and solid but an inspection is needed if it has spent a long time in the dirt floor barn there is bound to be some moisture issues underneath.
    Not sure why you would have the hood open in one shot but not take a picture of the engine or list if it runs or at least isn’t seized. at $3K could make a decent cruiser out if with a clean up and a once over on the mechanicals.

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    • Avatar Ross W. Lovell

      . Greetings All,

      Not sure how Ford knew, but those lower trim moldings are know to hide the perforation. The bodies seemed to suffer more on these, and they didn’t have to be ragtops.

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  7. Avatar DanB

    I had one of these back in the 90’s that I purchased as cruiser. It had a 351 Windsor no a/c. It was a nice cruiser. There was a wee bit of surface rust on the rockers that I did a repair on. IT was tan with black interior and black top. I had painted the repaired rockers gloss black along with the steel wheels. I ditched the Ford wheel covers and replaced them with chrome baby moons. Great looking car that I got a ton of compliments on.
    Unfortunately it developed an overheating problem and one night, coming home from the local Chinese joint after closing. I hit a pot hole and the steering wheel jumped 90 degrees off center, then hit a second and came back to center. I nursed it home slowly, parked it, sold it a month later for 500.00. Sigh.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar AMC STEVE

    Again a bucket of water and a hose would do wonders. Lazy sellers are really ignorant or are hiding something. Sketchy

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    • Avatar Ed P

      That’s what I was going to say!

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Chris in Nashville

    Damn it! You had me excited… Finally a car in my price range that I would love to take on and mention of Alabama in the email, had me ready to drive… Now it is all the way up north and the trip to get it would add another $800 to 1000… Oh well the right one will come along.

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    • Avatar DavidLMM

      We might have to flip a coin for this one!

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Ken M.

    We had a LTD station wagon when I was a kid. Thing looked like it wore a mile long crate with its simulated wood exterior panels. Hood big enough to play catch on. Had the pop up seats in the very back. Queen sized mattress fit back there with all the seats folded down. Used to take road trip vacations like that before the seat belt nazis.

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  11. Avatar Gary

    The proliferation of AC, electric windows, electric seats, auto trannys on new cars now a days just amazes me. When did we get to the point where we have to have all these heavy, power robbing accessories on our cars. Maybe this is a result of dealers never keeping base vehicles in stock anymore. They only seem to want to sell the higher level vehicles – for a lot more money, of course.

    Ranting aside, nice find. Love the dark blue color with a white top.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mike

      It was caused by the BIG 3, in ways to streamline the assembly lines. If a car came done the line and had to have accessories like AC, Power windows, Power Brakes, AM/FM/CD Player, etc, it would cause a slowdown in the line as the parts had to be added to a car. In todays thinking add everything as it goes down the line and it will save time and give us a higher profit!!!!! When was the last time that you saw a New Model that did not have everything, this also helps to prevent people ordering special items to a new car. The way it is done today, is if a really special item is to be added the part is sent to the dealer and they install it.

      This comes from a man who worked for GM for 30 years, and was a Line Foreman!!!!! Not Me my Uncle Leo!

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  12. Avatar Ed P

    Nice looking candidate for restoration. Convertibles were passing from the American highways when this one was made.

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  13. Avatar Alexander Member

    Wish the seller would show the bucket seats. If they are truly FOMOCO items I could recreate the one I had as a new driver in the late 70s. This is the same color as mine too. No air as I recall, just a boring expanse of black vinyl from the instrument “pod” all the way over to the right hand passenger door.

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  14. Avatar piper62j

    I worked on the GM assembly plant line in Framingham, MA and in the late 60’s. Cars came down the line assembled with whatever the buyer ordered.. It did not matter what options or accessories were installed, but the build sheet told us everything.. At that time, parts were warehoused for production, unlike today where parts are supplied on demand. Some cars were built with nothing but the basic needs if so ordered.. Then, a dealer could add a stereo radio or pin stripes, body side moldings, AC etc..

    Like 0

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