introduced the LTD in 1965 as an upscale version of the Galaxie 500. It was hugely popular, and Chevy scrambled to unveil the Caprice a few months later. The car would remain the top dog in the Ford Division’s line-up for more than 20 years. This 1972 edition, a Brougham Coupe, looks almost like a new car, having been in the same family since it was delivered 52 years ago. Located in Claxton, Georgia, this beauty is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $20,000. As always, Barn Finder T.J. finds us the best tips!
When the LTD debuted, Ford advertising claimed the car was quieter than a Rolls-Royce. I wonder if that’s a statement that RR ever challenged. The car so well, that it quickly became a series of its own. All of Ford’s full-size products were redesigned in 1969 and that platform would cover several model years, including this ’72. Ford built more than 525,000 of the automobiles that year, with more than 100,000 being either the Brougham Coupe or the Formal Brougham Coupe (not sure of the difference as sales were split virtually even).
This solid-looking Ford has been passed down from grandmother to father and now the son/daughter, The body, paint, and interior all look quite tidy, and we assume everything is original. That means the car has probably spent much of its life in a garage rather than under a carport. At less than 60,000 miles, Grandma and the others seldom drive the luxury auto over the years.
Under the hood resides Ford’s biggest engine in an LTD at the time, 429 cubic inches with a 4-barrel and automatic transmission. No mention is made of its running condition, but if it drives as well as its appearance, we’re guessing it’s ready for the open road. The machine will come with a full library of the car’s service over the years. The price is negotiable ($20,000 sounds like top dollar) and may reflect a continuing emotional attachment to the vehicle.
Very nice LTD. Before we ever thought about oil supply issues and serious emission regulations and such, this was what we could buy. And it was nice. Maybe if you specifically wanted a FoMoCo two-door luxury liner, you might have preferred a Mark or even a Mercury, but this wasn’t half bad.
The attractive cloth upholstery coupled with the soft yellow paint makes the car. One family owned, with records; that’s a plus. Ditch the steering wheel cover and head out for a pleasant cruise.
I’m guessing the cover is hiding a cracked steering wheel.
I’d rather see and feel a cracked wheel. Agree with Bob, it would be a great cruiser, and the colors work on this vintage boat. Bring your gas card….
Not necessarily, the plastic steering wheels of the era were often quite slippery, and this was a cheap alternative to driving gloves long before even the most basic econoboxes came with leather-wrapped steering wheels. Made of the finest Naugahyde our chemists could produce, they simulated a leather wrapping for between $3.00 and $5.00 at your local auto parts store. Applying the gimp weaving skills you learned at summer camp to install it was just a nice bonus, LOL!
I, and many of my fellow teen aged friends, happily installed those steering wheel covers on our Dad’s cars back in the mid 1970’s. Color-coordinated and everything.
Nice car, nice writeup Russ. Ahh, 1972….cruisin’ in this car, gas costs 50 cents per gallon, the Waltons were on TV, and Linda Ronstadt was on the radio. It was pretty darn good.
The only bad part is that $0.50 in 1972 = $3.67 a gallon today, that’s almost a buck more than it is here in the Midwest. The coasts are probably still $5 a gallon.
$0.50 in 1972 = $3.73 in 2024.
I stand corrected. I did some googling myself, and saw that gas was actually 36 cents per gallon in 1972. But the larger point, I suppose, is that with Scotty’s figures or Dusty’s figures, gas prices have not effectively changed (relative to time period) in 50 years.
I paid $2.89 the other day.
That’s because our money is worthless today. At 16, in ’76, I had a ’70 Nova, with a 350 4bbl. Worked part time as a landscaper, for basically peanuts, and never worried about filling the tank @ .75 a gallon.
Damn Nixon.
i am not a crook!
Tricky Dick wanted to print more scrip than he had in the bank to cover.
And his successors in both parties have been doing it ever since, which is why the National Debt stands a $34 TRILLION and is growing larger every day!
A beautiful car and a model not often seen these days. I love it, especially with the big-block 429. The condition seems to be outstanding, and the low miles are a big plus. I’d be sorely tempted because I’m partial to the big Fords of the late ’60s and early ’70s having owned a few including a ’72 with a 429 Police Interceptor. However, I’m happy with my ’72 Galaxie 500 that I’ve owned for 28 years.
Yes….bought a ’73 Galaxie 500 for $750 in 1986, daily for 8 years, then gave it to a children’s home. 351 w was acceptable. Loved the car. These years, ’72 – ’74 don’t get enough credit for being great cars.
My dad had a 1969 Galaxie 500. I remember him saying he traded the car for a new ‘72 of the same. I remember him saying he had trouble with the engine. I don’t remember if it was a Cleveland or a Windsor motor. It may have been a 289 or 302 swap. Dad kept the ‘72 for seven years.
Nice car Ford Guy 1972 ! I want one too that roof line & body style has me thinking have you driven a Ford lately! I of course like the feature car here but Ford Guy has it going on like I like it a lot! Well done to all & I’m not a Ford guy go figure but I road around with a guy who was & always admired his rod of choice which was a LTD
I appreciate the compliment BA. My first car was a ’69 Ford Custon 4-door sedan with a 428 Police Interceptor. I really got to like the full-size car body style and a lot of guys are brand loyal thanks to their first car. I also like that cars like mine are seldom seen, at least up here in the North-East. I used to go to a cruise night that usually hosted 400 to 500 cars and big crowds every Monday night. My Galaxie was usually the only ’72 there so my car got a good bit of attention.
This is a gem! Learned to drive in Dad’s ’72.
Too nice to drive. The fella has the right engine. I own a 71 convertible that has been with me for years. 351 Winsor with power everything, tilt and so on but I always was puzzled why it had the smaller engine. I did know a guy with a sky blue 72 convertible and his was a 302. Amazing time for cars when you could get them however you wanted. As said beautiful unit here but too nice to drive.
Absolutely! Those halcyon days of yesteryear are unfortunately GONE With the Wind! 😔 😟 Now choices are limited to small cars, SUVS and crossovers🤮 as well as colors.
Agree, but if people would stop buying the damn things the automakers might get the message. Not everyone needs a truck.
To FOX Owner. Somehow people have been hoodwinked into believing they must have a glorified truck 🚚 as the new status symbol. One friend claims she likes to look down on people while driving her Mazda 👎 SUV. Go figure 🤔
In 1984 or close to it we bought one of these off our cousin, the green one in a post on here is its twin. They had a minor fender bender with it and after that it would not run right, it was backfiring out the exhaust badly. We gave I think 30 bucks for it, might have been 50 been a long time. I drove it home and it blew the muffler out it was popping so bad. Got it home and looked it over some, popped off the distributor cap and saw that the condensor was broke loose from the base so I took one out of another car and that made the a world of difference. Dad drove that thing for years after that, what surprised me was how fast he drove it, he poked around in his trucks barely ever getting over 35 but he drove that car the speed limit sometimes more in the few times I rode with him
Gorgeous car, must be fun to drive with that engine!! I wish I could buy it!!
In the mid-1980s, a silly cousin of mine, around age 16, bought one of these from someone on the next street from me. It was a brougham coupe, 351 2bbl. Ran good, decent shape, faded light green paint. Drove it home to the next town, decided to take friends on a joyride. Since he didn’t have a license, and had the car was unregistered and uninsured, this was a big risk. He passed a house that someone wanted to look at again. So, being the stupid teenager with little driving experience, he backs up down the street, right into the front of a Plymouth Duster that was just parked. The owner hadn’t even gotten into the house yet, and he was standing there with his mouth open, and my cousin threw the old Ford into drive, and sped off. He abandoned it near my home, and the guy who sold it to him saw it with the damaged rear, and eventually the car was either impounded by police, or the local town government. That could’ve been a decent, reliable car with working A/C, if he’d waited until getting a license, instead it’s probably been recycled a few dozen times since then. Not to mention the poor guy who’s Duster was damaged, possibly beyond repair, and the aggravation caused to the previous registered owner of the Ford.
Thanks for the Memories! I once owned a 72 LTD convert. Same color combo but with black pleather 😉 interior, Windsor engine helped tear up the pavement. Friends said LTD stood for LA Ti Da.👍. One of several automobiles I regret selling. Subsequently had an 89 Crown Victoria LX. As to quiet ride, my current 2007 Town Car (and all last generation Town Cars) were recently referred to in an article as the American ROLLS-ROYCE. 🏆 One family ownership Is impressive 👏
I drove a ‘71 Galaxie four-door sedan for driver’s education. HUGE land yacht!
I wonder about the condition of the steering wheel with that cover on it.
This example has been well cared for and well loved for over fifty (50) years, and it’s descendants (Crown Victoria/Police Interceptor, Mercury Marquis/Marauder, Lincoln Town Car) were the last of the full-size, body-on-frame, rear-wheel drive cars. That 429 was the biggest engine in the Ford lineup until 1976, the 460 was exclusive to the Lincoln Mark series of personal luxury coupes until the T-Bird got the 460 to compensate for declining power output resulting from ever more stringent emission control rules imposed by the EPA.
I actually prefer the taillight treatment of the 1971 model to the rear bumper on this example, but it’s better than the Federal Bash Beams that made their appearance on the front of the car in 1973, or on both ends of the car in 1974.
BTW, that 429 can become a 460 by swapping the crank for the “stroker” crank from a 460.
Bucket seats and a console with a “basket handle” floor shifter would make this just about perfect, but the convertible went away in 1971, IIRC.
The convertible went away in 1972. I own a 1972 LTD convertible with the 400 2bl motor. Yellow with black vinyl interior. Do not park in the sun with the top down! I provide white towels for occupants to sit on. But still a blast to ride.
Blah, ha, ha….yup, sun and the top down. I learned that early in my 64 Impala convertible with shorts on as a teen. I always kept a couple of beach towels in the car. I use a 72 Impala convertible daily and in the back seat are the neatly fold seat covers for summer time.
Your mistake was buying a convertible with a black vinyl interior, LOL! White works best, but any light colored leather or fabric is preferable to black, due to its tendency to absorb heat in the sun!
Seems like a nice car. A buddy’s dad had one of these in 4 door. The 72 only had a 390, as it was a company car. It would cruise all day, and hold 6 easily.
I think if you took this car, cleaned it up, changed fluids and hoses/belts, you could get maybe $39K at Mecum or B-J.
My Dad’s 1970 Galxie 500 company car only had a 351, his company was cheaper than your Dad’s company, LOL!
We owned a 1971 LTD Country Squire version of this car and we had a similar steering wheel cover, not because it was cracked, but the sun would make the wheel extremely hot to the touch in summer, so could be that. Great looking car!
I like this one a lot.. Perfect driver and looks immaculate.. I’d go $12k max,,,, Not $20k.
My thoughts exactly.
This belongs on bring a trailer, super nice and yes the steering wheel plastic cover over steel frame would shrink making for a space at a seam line and yes a little slippery. A proper leather cover would be nice.
Although in nice condision the seat coverings belong on funeral home chairs.
Someone must have gotten tired of dealing with the factory distributor and the bushing wear and dwell variation, along with constant point and condenser replacement, ’cause they swapped in an aftermarket version that’s most likely electronic and unlikely to act up.
True, it looks like an MSD unit, but I didn’t see an MSD box in any of the pictures. I could see taking the next step and fitting it with either a throttle-body injection setup or a port injection setup. Edelbrock makes a full port injection setup for these “385” family engines, complete with a new intake manifold and distributor for the integral electronic ignition system. Edelbrock, Holley and MSD offer TBI kits as well.
Nice 04′ Impala with less than 35 k original miles up for sale for $ 5,400 here in the retirement community, My wife says no.
Just an FYI, from the rear, the only difference between the Galaxie 500 and the LTD was that the center bumper between the rear bumper guards was solid chrome on the Galaxie, only the LTD got the red illuminated light between the bumper guards. The LTD got the hideaway headlights in front, the Galaxie got ordinary exposed headlights and a different grill.
Once upon a time when I was MUCH younger, I had a 71 LTD Coupe.
Really liked the car but it was in a minor wreck and transmixer issues. It was time to go. Since then I have been looking for another 71 or 72 LTD.
This one’s for you.
Does your yellow 72 convert have a black top with GLASS rear windshield? When I put a new top on mine, I had the GLASS added. Sold to a collector. Always wondered where it might be now.
Nice looking Ford.
Must be sold, the listing is gone.