My friend’s cat has eyes that glow mysteriously at night when she’s in her cat condo. This kind of freaks me out and causes me to keep my distance. The 1973 Ford LTD available here on craigslist has similarly glowing eyes. Whether that’s a scary thing or not depends on one’s point of view, I guess, but if the yellow eyes of this car don’t frighten you off, you can be its next caretaker for a paltry $2500. Seems pretty cheap, but you’re also not quite sure what you’re getting, as I’ll detail below. But should you make a deal, you will pick up your car in New Fairfield, CT. This tip comes from Mitchell B.
Mysteries abound on this one. First question: Why? What’s the deal with these cat eyes? (How do they work is another question.) The color at least complements the exterior paint color of the car. The provenance of that paint is not known. The car is only said to be reading 44,000 original miles, though note that it also says 46,000 in the ad, and the odo image shows 43K and change. Is it serviceable? Your guess trumps mine, though the ad says the oxymoronic “runs great needs some tlc.” What part is the “great” part, and how much tender loving care is necessary, on what components?
The LTD is named a “great survivor.” That S-word, as has been discussed many times here on Barn Finds, is a slippery one. Some people think, and I tend to be amongst them, that it means that everything from exterior to interior is untouched. Others will allow a repaint and still call the car a survivor. The car in question is said to have “minimal rust,” but again, no details. Does this mean a little bit of surface rust, or a few body panels afflicted with the tin worm? The images don’t really help—as Ralphie’s dad said when the crate with the leg lamp showed up, “Why, there could be anything in there.”
One thing that should provide comfort but somehow doesn’t is the price. Surely any decent two-door car in running shape is worth a minimum of five grand nowadays, and thus this is a deal in which you can’t go wrong? Heck, four-doors are selling for twice that. True, the LTD of this era is hardly at the top of people’s collectibles list, but that’s pocket money in the old car game. So if you want something big, boxy, and square, a bit on the odd side, but possibly close to original, this might be the ride for you. Just go into the deal with eyes wide open, if you can ignore the cat eyes watching you.
Thank you Brian K. Yes those cat eye/ halo headlights are strange, especially on an ultra-conservative car like this LTD. Typical minimalist craigslist ad. I don’t know how many miles it actually has, but the front seat sure does look good. I’m sure we will hear the “odometer numbers don’t line up” comment; that may be a clue, but I’m not convinced this is an irrefutable piece of evidence. In any case, it doesn’t look bad, and if truly not much is wrong, it could be a good buy for a big cruiser.
Bob in TN thank you. I do very much appreciate your positive comments.
Long story short: When I was growing up I ran a pimp-tastic car much like this as a street racer around St. Louis and Chicago. Muscle cars were obsoleted almost overnight by the baddest Black racers in St. Louis running big barges on heavy atmospheric enhancements.
My brother’s 340 Duster could run low 11s launching out a car wash, but these big street bruisers were deep into the 10s and knocking on 9s and eating us hot rodders alive. It’s hard on your LS-6 Chevelle’s rep when it gets seriously gapped by a deuce and a quarter. Rather than running amongst ourselves for table scraps, we decided to join ’em — because we sure as heck couldn’t beat ’em.
Mine had the same opera windows and pseudo-Continental trunk, with faux luggage straps and a hood ornament I used as a bomb sight for lining up my targets. With a 400M/C-6/9-inch with 3.50 gears, and heavy hits of squeeze, I was back runnin’ race bait.
No mooneyed headlights though …
A street 340 running low 11’s… out a car wash ??? I must pry and ask what “enhancements” did he have in those early 70’s that basically made it NOT a 340 duster ?
A few.
340 seriously cammed, forged pistons at around 11:1 compression. Holley-Brock intake upgrades, with a bottom-drilled stock 340 intake to kinda hide the intake upgrades, and wrapped headers with four mufflers to keep the racket down. MSD box, so we could tune for total advance and use the multiple discharge spark to mask it with a tamer idle. Electric fan and Holley blue fuel pump to keep the whole thing cool and fed.
727 TorqueFlite with a serious shift kit. Stock front suspension, and stock rear leaf springs with gas shocks but an adjustable pinion snubber that hit hard — once — and kept the springs from winding up until I let off the gas. Plus it’d lull marks into thinking the car couldn’t possibly hook up since it didn’t have traction bars. And cheater slick recaps dressed like snow tires.
With a faded chalky Hemi Orange paint job/black vinyl top and a black bench seat interior and auto shifter on the column. It looked like a kid’s beater and ran like the hammers of Hell. Nothing fancy, but a lightweight, powerful and easy to tune street racer that looked like a lame pretender to the throne. That car was money while it lasted.
Stock air cleaner, not intake. The whole engine was painted 340 orange too to hide the aluminum intake.
Still, for all of that, we knew our days were numbered when we started running up against these boosted Q-ships.
Large displacement, low compression engines were made for boost. In the early- and mid-’70s these guys were using turbochargers and nitrous to make those big boats fly. That was foreign stuff to us hillbillies, and they were eating us alive. Within 6 months it was either join the party or lose out.
NC…. Yeah… you know the Super Suds down on main street. No better place for a holeshot! 😂
Yeah the lights suck.
FWIW if anyone wants a modern LED upgrade for old sealed-beams like this, but without the weird “halo rings” or compound-element bug-eye look, I just discovered Holley now offers “RetroBright” sealed-beam replacements with traditional-style glass lens optics.
1973 Ford LTD’s are “great riding cars “, smooth – like a Lincoln. Probably because they use the same platform and engines,except for the 351ci which was available on the Ford. SO – what engine does it really have? My dad bought one JUST like this one when I was 9. He got it used, (2 years old) and the owner told him it was a 400. Turned out it was a 351. It actually moved out alright, 2 – barrel and all. When cars get this old, (classic), you really have to take what you get. The mileage “might be “ accurate,, or not, but for the price it is almost a no brained. If it checks out OK , title is legitimate – BUT IT! Great article too.
Thanks for the props on the article and title. I hope you continue to enjoy my stories.
Of course I meant BUY IT.
The lights are probably an easy fix, plug-and-play replacements for the sealed beams with the hardest part being undoing whatever janky wiring was involved in getting the outer rings to light with the parking lights.
The faux-Continental opera windows would be harder to get rid of but might well be period mods on the car from (almost) new.
Doing a Google Image Search for 1973 Ford LTD turns up numerous other examples with the opera windows, so if they weren’t a factory option, seems they were at least a popular period mod.
Found one example posted on BaT mentioning the opera windows, along with a Continental-humped trunklid, were part of a dealer-installed “sport package”. One commenter there noted a dealer in Ohio had promoted them as “Clevelander Editions”, which seems a bit more on-the-nose — going along with the “full Cleveland” of ’70s men’s fashion, pairing white patent-leather shoes and belt, typically along with a polyester leisure suit or plaid sport jacket (which may be the sense of “sport” meant for that package, indicating casual leisure wear rather than athletics).
Something is seriously wrong here. Posted for 16 days and unsold at that price?
Still no nibbles.
Perfect ride for assistant trailer park supervisor Bobandy 🥴 🚨
I think it’s spelled, Bo-Bandy
couldn’t resist.
Is it my imagination, or is his belly staring at the burgers?
2200 bucks is chump change. The interior alone makes it worth that. Everything else is frosting on the cake . This can’t ve for real still unsold .
Agreed.
Lookin real solid with those lights! Car would be tough rollin downtown at night.
Probably a nice enough car. What is shown inside looks good. The lights are a perfect compliment to the opera windows. At least you can correct the lights.
I don’t understand the purpose of the headlights. I need someone to edumacate me.
Them lights just a custom touch to make it pop
So you’re saying you need illumination? Oh boy, that was bad.
A lightbulb just appeared above my head.
I bought a 1973 Galaxie 500 with 65k on it in 1986….same car as this with a little less refinement (roll up windows etc). Really nice cruiser with more pep than you’d think with the 351w…..actually blew off my brother in law’s newr BMW one time. These aren’t big time collector cars but if you want an inexpensive comfortable get around car, and can afford the gas, these are great. If this one wasn’t so far away I’d gladly pay the price for it.