Ford was probably working on their downsized Panther platform, to be introduced in 1979, by the time the 1977 General Motors cars hit the showrooms. But just the same, the marketing team went to work praising how the LTD was still full-sized, the same size as the new Cadillac, while at a price like the Caprice. But to offer a smaller LTD in 1977, they took the old Torino and restyled it and called it an LTD II. But here is the big one, the 1977 Ford LTD Landau 4 door pillared hardtop (4 door sedan) for sale here on Craigslist in San Antonio, Texas.
This body style was pretty much used untouched from 1975 to 1978, and while most we saw on the road were the lower range base LTD, there were a few of these Landaus out there. There were 112,392 base LTD 4 door pillared hardtops and 39,836 of the LTD Landau 4 door pillared hardtops produced in 1978. The things that distinguished the LTD Landau from the LTD were the full length lower bodyside molding, concealed headlights, and inside a nicer interior. The fender skirts and deep dish aluminum wheels of this car were optional.
The seller says this black beauty turns heads everywhere it goes, and I don’t doubt that. I myself was driving a new black Thunderbird in 1978 and it was the nicest looking color to me in such a large car. The exterior of this car appears to be in great shape. I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but the front bumper looks slightly bending down, especially on the right side of the car. Although the seller says there are some dings on the paint, I can’t find another flaw with the exterior, including the vinyl roof which appears to be in great condition. The car has a new set of white wall tires.
Inside we find the 50/50 split bench seat with dual center armrests finished in Ardmore knit cloth and vinyl trim. It’s a little unusual, but this higher model has manual windows and no cruise control, while it does have power door locks. The interior is in excellent condition. The air conditioning has been serviced and converted to 134A refrigerate.
There is no word on whether this is a 302 cubic inch, which was standard, or 351 cubic inch V-8, which was optional. The LTD Landau has received a tune up with new spark plug wires, new u-joints and differential pinion seal, rebuilt rear differential and axle bearings, new rear end gear kit 3.08 ratio, new brake lines and wheel cylinders, new alternator, voltage regulator, and battery, new shock absorbers, and new exhaust. The car has just over 85,000 miles. The seller is asking $7,500. Are you interested in one of the last really big LTDs?
Regular gas is down to under 4 dollars a gallon here in Ontario Canada but it would need to drop another 3 dollars a gallon before I could afford to drive this boat
I hear you irocrobb, but as long as your list of vices is short, the enjoyment of driving it makes up for the cost of gas.
Still have Grampa Johnny’s LTD in the shed.
I am amused that Ford copied the 1976-78 Mazda Cosmo by placing a small ‘opera’ window in the B-pillar. Would have really been something if it too rolled down like on my old Cosmo!
Judging by the width of the engine rocker to rocker this is either a 351M or a 400. 1978 was the last year that the 460 was available in the Full-Size LTD. check this page out for powertrain options…
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/78ltd1/bilder/8.jpg
It’s a 351M. Wish it was the 460, but I really think this was a “grandma car”!
This was my Dad’s last new car, most of these had the 400M engine. I had to parallel park this beast and got to within 2 inches from the curb. These cars lasted forever and saw them for years after he passed. 55 Fairlane, 63 Comet, 66 Galaxie 500, 69 Marquis, 72 LTD and the 77 LTD Landau finished his blue oval legacy. These were the last of the big sleds Ford ever made. Fond memories of this car and my Dad.
Seems like every 10th car you’d see around Louisville was one of these back in the day. If you didn’t work at Fern Valley building them you had friends relatives or neighbors who did and they had one of these but rarely in such a flattering color scheme. So many Fords have the weirdest combination of options like this one.
Back in the day, this is the last car which would have had any attraction to me. Today, I think it is pretty neat. Probably because it represents a class of car far out of favor today, one that would be a real eye-catcher at cars ‘n’ coffee, one which everyone would say “had one like it.” This example, the upscale model in attractive black/red, is particularly fetching.
If I had it, I wouldn’t be driving it much, thus its poor gas mileage would be the least of my concerns.
At the time these were a nice piece of Detroit iron.
Car & Driver ran an article about the LTD Landau, and actually compared it to a large Mercedes Benz sedan. The reasoning being, the LTD could do 99% of what the Benz could do, at a fraction of the cost. And in much greater comfort ie smoother ride and quieter than the Benz.
These were also well built. My parents subscribed to Consumer Reports and I poured over the reliability charts as a teen. The 70’s big Fords were equal to today’s Lexus and Toyota. Chrysler products
of the era were horrible.
Man, I’d definitely love to have something like this in my stable. A burger cruise on a sunny summer afternoon would be the ideal way to enjoy it.
This one must have been special ordered by the owner. The lack of speed control and power windows is very unusual for a car with that level of equipment.
I had a couple of great uncles in the mid 1970’s. They had retired and purchased new full sized ford LTD sedans. The one who towed a fairly large camper ordered a 460 with a towing package. The other one bought his with a 302 because he didn’t tow at all. At that time we had already been through one fuel crisis. It was very much on peoples minds when they chose what engine they needed for their cars. So, a small v8 was pretty common in these cars unless it was a wagon. Then the 400 and 460 was the common choice. Mainly because the wagons were used for towing and hauling much more often.