This beautiful 1976 Ford Custom 500 wagon is a nicely preserved specimen with under 70,000 original miles and excellent cosmetics. The Custom 500 wagon was previously known as the “Ranch Wagon” but the name changed towards the end of the production run. This example clearly avoided becoming a beaten-down family hauler once these old-school wagons became just another used car. The paintwork, interior, and drivetrain all look like they belong in a car with even lower miles than this 500 has, so it’s clearly been loved along the way. Find the Custom 500 here on eBay where bidding is over $10,000 with the reserve unmet.
The wagon has always been loved by enthusiasts of certain age, especially those of us who grew up with a long-roof in our lives. Personally, I spent a fair amount of time in my grandmother’s Chevrolet Celebrity and Volvo 240 wagons, so it’s no surprise I have two wagons of my own these days. Still, I wondered if wagons of this era still held appeal in today’s topsy-turvy marketplace, so I checked out the results from the Mecum Kissimmee auction. It’s encouraging, to say the least: Chevrolet Chevelle SS Estate Wagon, $23,100; ’67 Pontiac Bonneville station wagon, $38,500; ’87 Ford Crown Victoria Country Squire, $22,000. It’s safe to say the wagon isn’t dead yet.
Still, it doesn’t necessarily help the seller of this Custom 500 who has yet to clear his reserve price. The Custom 500 moniker came after Ford phased out the “Ranch Wagon” name and according to various online sources, Custom 500s sold between 1975 and 1977 were reserved for fleet buyers. So, was it a fleet reserved for a rental car franchise, or a corporate lease for company executives? Hard to say and it doesn’t really matter as the previous owners clearly took good care of this Custom 500, even if it was only used weekly by different drivers. The gallery photos show the original CB radio still in the box as it was never installed by the previous owner.
The 400ci V8 looks just as tidy as the rest of the car, with near-perfect paint on the air cleaner housing. The seller notes the wagon is equipped with power steering, power brakes, and a power rear window tailgate window. The air conditioning still blows cold and it still rides on four color-matched hubcaps! Overall, this Custom 500 looks like the time-warp survivor the seller indicates it is, and will likely provide years’ worth of easy-going miles with very reasonable maintenance costs. But will this primrose yellow wagon make it past its reserve price this go-around?
Very nice wagon. The seller gets points for NOT putting a damn surfboard on the roof!
@Sam61
The seller is a dealer so you know he’s not going to spend a damn penny he doesn’t have to.
Damn straight…thanks for pointing that out
Seems like a lot of Ford wagons of this vintage were fitted with the 400.
No hitch for a travel trailer, or a boat either…A very well respected, and maintained station wagon, especially one, in the ‘low priced three’ fleet category. Wish more history was available.
A lot of them had the 351m / 400 engine. not the greatest of Fords engines, but they did the job
May have belonged to a school district.
I have never seen a wheel cover like that! Worked at a Ford dealer in “78-’79.
Those wheel covers must have been added to the car. I believe they are standard for the LTD Landau models. This looks to be a very well cared for base model wagon, a rare find for sure
Nice ride I don’t have a use for it , one thing I have noticed shopping on a lot of car selling websites is there seams to be a lot of these low mileage cars from the 70s and early 80s from the Lakeland Florida area don’t know if this dealer is getting them somewhere else and raising the price or if they are a local car where the owner just started driving golf carts instead
Bought a corvette from a guy in Lakeland who was taking cars on consignment and not paying the owners. So he never had the title. I waited 3 months for a title with no recourse. The I.R.S. shut him down. Be careful and make SURE the title is there. I understand he’s under a different name now but still selling cars.
Nice but the 68’ model with hideaway headlights with a 429(Or 428?), wood trim on sides and in those days glass packs and with wheels similar to magnum 500’s. Just described our neighbors car back in 68. Looked great and sounded even better.
They want 24.9K on their website, that will give you an idea of what it will take to buy this one.
https://www.primoclassicsllc.com/vehicles/550/1976-ford-custom-500-station-wagon
They always have a nice selection of inventory, all with typical car dealership markups. We’ve seen some of their stuff here before, most of it still available.
This dealer’s markups are very aggressive – you have to really want what they have to pay the price – apparently some folks do.
I love this wagon – great find
The 1976 Custom 500 was available to the general public in Canada, but it was fleet-only in the US. The speedometer in this example appears to be calibrated in MPH, so this is likely a fleet car. The wheel covers are LTD Landau covers with non-stock, color-matched centers. It’s unlikely these covers were on the car when it was new.
Good info CCFisher. I looked at the LTD brochure, and I didn’t even see this model listed. So it makes sense that is was fleet-only. And I saw these wheel covers on upper trim level cars (via a stand-alone option?). So if they were directed upper level cars — but who knows what specific model/restrictions/availability there were at the time — I suspect they were added later.
In any case, nice car.
Probably had dog dish caps originally.
Nice wagon – great find.
Could be wrong bit the engine looks like a 351 to me. Wrong air cleaner for a 400
The blue seat belts look pretty bad. Why would they be blue??? Or is it a lighting /camera/cell phone issue???
They’re black, they just look blue. Unless a car was ordered with the deluxe, color-matched belts, they were built w/black ones which were standard. Apparently, that’s what we see here.
This looks very much like the company car my good friend had when he work in the Permian Basin. It was a perfect fit for his 6’5″ frame. And, in those days, it seemed like no one in West Texas could drive 55. He had no trouble keeping up with traffic.
Questions…1.) Does it have a third row seat? 2.) How many people will it haul with seat belts fastened? 3.) Any service records to go with this wagon?
Thanks, Dave
Hmmmmmm..reserve not met…at $11,900..these dealers have to learn that times are tough……
GM Frigidaire compressor…nice!
I’m surprised to see carpeting in the fleet-only base wagon. Such a beast would often be put to uses where a hose-out interior would be desired.
Indeed I think a base Country Squire interior without the “Brougham Option Group” was about the same inside as this.
The SUV of the mid 70s.
Looks like Mercury Villager to me :D
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Cougar_Villager