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Time Capsule: 1972 Ford LTD Survivor

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Ok, folks, the ad for this 1972 Ford LTD has me convinced that it really is a true survivor with only 11,457 miles. Take a look at this ad here on craigslist and see if you agree. This pristine Ford is located in Okeechobee, Florida. Thanks to reader Scott L. for this survivor find!

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Look at that shiny chrome and paint! If this really is original paint, and I think it is, this may be one of the finest original 72 Fords that exists. However, it is an LTD, not a Mustang, Torino, or one of the other Fords of the period that are generally considered more desirable. It’s going to take a particular enthusiast to want to pay anywhere near the $17,000 asking price for this car.

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Wow, this car brings back some memories of my youth! My only problem with owning a car like this is that I couldn’t drive it much without risking its value and condition, and that would take away some of the fun for me. And driving a car like this would certainly be fun!

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I actually think of fuzzy dice as something for 1950’s cars, but other than that I don’t think I’d change a thing about this interior. It certainly looks like an 11,000 mile interior!

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As you might well expect, the rear seat looks just as nice. I’m left wondering if anyone has ever sat back here. One thing that does have me wondering is the black seat belts–I would have expected color-coordinated red ones. Does anyone know if the black ones are correct?

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Here’s the engine, which looks just as nice as the rest of the car. The seller reminds us that the oil has only been changed twice, per Ford’s recommendations. Personally I’d change it more than that, as I worry about water condensation and contamination. But that’s me. Are you interested in this beautiful example of a 1970’s Ford? Let us know what you think!

Comments

  1. Avatar Chebby

    Wasn’t the oil change interval in the 70’s something like every 3K, with a new engine break-in at 6- or 800 miles? That hardly seems like a selling point. Clean car but 17k is convertible money.

    Like 2
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      Oil change interval is still “like every 3K” , where have you been??
      FoMoCo’s break-in was up to 500 miles with a dealer fluid change-out under warranty…..kinda dating yourself….ain’t Ya ? What are You driving now?

      Like 1
      • Avatar jaygryph

        I dunno. Factory recommendation on my 08 Accent is 7k for moderate driving. Modern engines and modern oils hold up a lot better.

        Like 1
      • Avatar MountainMan

        Drinkingas. Why the attitude? What rock ya been under? Odd as it may seem if you look at manufacturers current oil change intervals it’s mostly 7,000 between the recommended oil changes. Maybe you should check the facts before you try to put down or call out another reader.

        Like 1
      • Avatar Ed P

        Using mileage as your only reference point for oil changes is a recipe for disaster. Time between oil changes is also important. No matter what oil you use, condensation will occur and acids will build up, faster during short trips. Short trips are harder on a car and require more frequent oil changes. If it takes you 18 months to drive 6,000 miles, you should change more often.

        Like 1
      • Avatar Chebby Member

        Guess I’ve been driving a new car. 2007 328i factory service interval is 15,000 miles between oil changes, but my independent BMW shop said don’t do that, they recommend 7,500. It surprised me at first, coming from a 1965 Chevy, but is apparently pretty common these days. Maybe you should stop drinking gasoline.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Ed P

        Changing oil to frequently will never hurt an engine, just your wallet.

        Like 3
  2. Avatar Cassidy

    He needs to take it to AZ and see if B-J can get that kind of dough for him. Overpriced? Yes. Beautiful? Heck yeah! Fuzzy dice? Trash ’em!

    Like 0
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      Barrett- Jackson is by far….. the LAST word in antique vehicles. They are Pimps.
      Sit back and watch their auctions on your overpriced cable channel while we barter these vehicles in reality on a daily basis. You said it right when you called it “BJ”, because that’s what it is..a BJ. Think about it. We fight daily to ensure that houses like BJ do not get the chance to inflate vehicle prices, causing what we cherish to stretch out of our reach ! Do You want that to happen???

      Like 1
      • Avatar Mimo

        the market sets the price the car is worth what someone will pay for it, smple as that.

        Like 1
      • Avatar Joseph Conner

        Agree 100%! B-J has damaged the collector car market. You can’t be the average guy anymore and afford any type of classic. Whether it be a 68 Camaro, or a 87 Grand National. The market is tainted and as long as B-J is around, it will never change.

        Like 1
  3. Avatar Rick

    You gotta be kidding me – only 2 oil changes in 43 years? Maybe if it was synthetic. Anyhow that alone is grounds enough to knock $10K off the price. And besides, $7K is all it’s worth anyway. Convertible versions (if there is such a thing as an LTD convert) don’t even go for more than $10-12K, doesn’t matter how nice. Some folks sure are cheap when it comes to vehicle maintenance, jumping over a dollar to pick up a dime.

    Like 1
    • Avatar grant

      Not to rile anyone up, but how can you quote a price range for something that you admit you aren’t even sure of its existence?

      Like 0
    • Avatar Chebby Member

      They made a few. Sharon Stone’s apparently failed to reach 15K at a charity auction five years ago

      http://tinyurl.com/gop3f3n

      Like 0
  4. Avatar Ed P

    This is a beautiful car but, the lack of regular oil changes bothers me. A friend bought a extremely low mileage Chevy II in the early 70’s. The oil had been changed on a mileage only basis, which was about every other year. He changed the oil when he brought it home. A few days later, oil was gushing out of every seam it could find.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar DrinkinGasoline

    1975 was the introductory year for interior color integrated seat belt color webbing with black buckles. Up to this release, all GM seat belts were black in color with black buckles.
    I am a former General Motors Service Parts Operations Fleet Manager

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mimo

      This is a Ford

      Like 1
    • Avatar phoneman91

      My 1968 Olds Delta 88 had blue seat belts and buckles.

      Like 0
      • Avatar FleetwoodFancier

        The Big 3 used black belts in all of their products except the high line stuff. If you wanted to spend an extra $30-40, you could order “color keyed” belts that matched the rest of the interior

        Like 2
      • Avatar Ed P

        My 1968 Plymouth Valiant econobox had color keyed seat belts. So did my 1970 Plymouth Gran Coupe, 1967 Plymouth Fury III, 1978 Dodge Aspen, 1984 Chevy Celebrity, 1984 Pontiac 2000, and the list goes on. All my cars have had color keyed seat belts.

        Like 0
  6. Avatar Marty Member

    Beautiful car in a desirable color, and I love the interior. This is likely one of the nicest survivors there are in this body style. That said, $17K is quite a chunk of cake for it. If I had that much available to spend on a project car today, I’d be looking at a lot of others too. Agreed, about the experience with ultra-low mile cars, start driving them and they fall apart fast. They consume and leak more oil than similar cars with normal miles. This is a show car, a garage ornament, and a very attractive one at that, but with miles this low (and a price this high), it’s probably not a Sunday driver. Love seeing it though, great find!

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Charles

    Nice car. Price does seem high for a common model with no special options. There does always seem to be some certain person who will pay a significant premium for an ultra low mileage car in near new condition. Two oil changes in 43 years is crazy. Why would anyone care for a vehicle in this manner and only change the oil according to mileage.

    We own several cars that don’t see 3K miles in a year. Those vehicles get an oil and filter change once a year regardless of the lack of mileage driven. The diesel gets a complete service every six months. If the two oil changes claim is accurate, than the cost of an engine rebuild should be factored into the costs of this car.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar piper62j

    WOW.. Beautiful car.. IMHO, very original and the odometer numbers line up perfectly.. There’s only one flaw.. Overpriced…..

    Great find.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Tom

    beautiful car but when I read that it has only had to oil changes.it leaves me to believe that there will be problems with the engine.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Mimo

    So someone who is anal enough to take care of this car so well doesn’t maintain it? Seems odd..

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Electronika

    I would be willing to bet that the galleys and passages are clogged badly with sludge without regular oil changes. As desirable as the idea of low mileage is for a car like this, cars were made to be driven and with natural oil and contaminates the chances that this engine will have full oil flow is very low.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Alexander Member

    Nobody cared for this car…they just never drove it! Lots of cars like this scattered around Florida from elderly “snow birds” who landed in the winter and retired permanently to the warmer climes.

    I owned the 1971 Galaxies convertible version of this car–with factory bucket seats and floor shift automatic no less (!) Not as common as a 72 hardtop. I might pay $17k to get my 71 back. That was a comfortable ride.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Alan (Michigan )

    When I read the listing, I did not see any reference to whether it ran or not.
    As others have mentioned, problems arise due to non-use.
    In addition to factoring in an engine overhaul, I’d count on doing the same for the transmission, the brakes, the cooling and fuel systems, wheel bearings, and perhaps the rear axle.
    That is of course if a buyer intended to drive it in cruises, etc. As a showroom ornament, it doesn’t appear to need much!

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Dave (Arizona )

    Beautiful car. Way high on the price, but it is one of my favorite models. But I am mostly puzzled by some of the nasty comments. Unnecessary, and it takes the fun out of it! Come on folks, this is not politics!

    Like 0
    • Avatar John

      Agreed. Nastiness will drive people away in a heartbeat.

      Like 0
  15. Avatar stillrunners

    Why do those hood hinges not match up ? Not sure what is coated in the rear of the trunk but shouldn’t it still be spotty paint from the factory ? Hood insulation looks new but what the heck – it most likely needed it – right ? Just wonder about that carpet too ? Oh well nice car – just over priced…..

    Like 0
  16. Avatar stillrunners

    and the radio – what’s up with that ?

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Jim Marshall

    Had one new in 1972 like this but with the upgraded luxury decor interior. 351 Windsor, AMFM stero, all power and loved it. Great driving car, came to Florida in May 72 in it with the family.

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Jack

    According to the factory owners manual, the oil and filter should have been changed every 6 months or 6,000 miles, whichever comes first.
    http://www.srossi.net/2009/11/pages/04_gif.htm
    The ad states “every works” I wonder if that is supposed to mean that the car runs and drives. The maintenance was definitely deferred on this one.

    Like 0
  19. Avatar Bill O Member

    My first car was a 1971 Ford LTD 2 door my dad bought new the day I turned 15 1/2, normally the day I could get my learner’s permit, but since it fell on a Saturday, had to wait until the next week. Mine had a light tan interior with the black seat belts, which I also thought did not look good. All GM cars we had even by that point, had color keyed seat belts. My next car, a 1978 Thunderbird, did have an interior decor group, with gray seat belts to match the interior. BTW, my LTD was a very early edition, built in August 1970 and bought on September 26, 1970. It had a 390 V8 and they shortly changed over to a 400 and did away with the 390.

    Like 0
  20. Avatar Alexander Member

    So what’s wrong with the carpet, Stillrunner? Looks correct to me. Trunk looks correct and the hood hinges are showing a common ailment when salt air meets thinly applied factory black paint. Seems odd a car with this few miles would have been upgraded at any point with a different radio but it IS 40+ years old after all.

    Like 0
  21. Avatar S.Brodie

    I had one of these in1974 and paid $800 for it. Couldn’t understand why it was so cheap until I drove it. 6 miles to the gallon was all it would do so I tried tuneups putting dual exhausts on it to improve breathing, changed the carb and it was still a gutless gas guzzling POS. I asked my mechanic what could be done and he showed me the HP figures for that 429 4V engine. 371 in 1971 and only 210 HP in ’72. I live near a ski hill and it gets cold here in the winter and that car would boil trying to go skiing in the winter. The only thing good about that car was that my daughter Candace was born in the front seat at about 60 miles per hour down mainstreet of Penticton BC. I know why it has no miles on it, the previous owners probably couldn’t afford to drive it. This was the year that the EPA came down on manufacturers and 8.5 compression just didn’t work.

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Ed P

    1974 was the model year before catalytic converters came to our aide. That was probably the worst year for performance and gas mileage for all cars.

    Like 0
  23. Avatar piper62j

    My opinion is that auction companies like BJ and Mecum will kill the market for now, but when the demand for these cars ceases to exist, the buyers who paid top dollar for the cars will be stuck with them, unable to sell and will end up dumping them for what they will consider short money.. I’ve seen it in collector dolls, figurines, furniture, horse drawn buggies and even antiques..
    If us gear heads don’t believe a car is worth the asking price, don’t buy it and wait.. Sooner or later, the price will peak and begin it’s downward spiral…

    Like 0
  24. Avatar SnuffySmiff

    I once got a chance to stretch out a 4-door version of these except it was an ex-Georgia State Patrol car with a somewhat tired 460 under the hood. I was a state employee at the time and was running north on I-85 just north of Newnan after going there on a service call and was clocked @112 mph and promptly chased down by a GSP Trooper in a later model Chevy. I had just earlier attained an indicated 130mph and was backing down-never saw the trooper ’til I looked in the rear view mirror and he was glued on my bumper. As he had called it in as a chase I came VERY close to losing my job that day but I still get a huge grin every time I think about it…

    Like 0
    • Avatar Alan (Michigan )

      Makes me grin to read your story!

      People who get (ahem) “older”, and have none to tell are folks that led a boring life, I say.

      Like 0
      • Avatar SnuffySmiff

        Alan, thanks much for that. As I recall, it wasn’t so funny when I got back to the shop and the director was standing there, fuming more than that old Ford was!
        But oh man, what a ride!

        Like 0
  25. Avatar Jack
  26. Avatar Jack

    Lesson in 4 speed shifting
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i098eHCkzxA

    Like 0

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