1972 Ford Country squire

Tony Tabacchi · Sep 9, 2015

Tony Tabacchi submitted a new Garage Item:

1972 Ford Country squire

We bought "Clark" off of ebay two years ago. Typical of what you get off ebay, it was not as nice as represented, but I expected this going in. It was a one owner car, sort of. I bought it from a guy who had just picked it up from an estate of the original owner. This car belonged to a gentleman who owned a funeral home somewhere in Tennessee. As the story was told, this car was used to transport flowers to the gravesite. It had a bar behind the grille with flashing lights. I wonder if it also was used in a pinch to haul coffins? From the oil change stickers and paperwork, it had not been used since 1986, and obviously had been indoors all its life.
It is for the most part very solid, with the only rusty areas being in the rear spare tire well and trunk pan where the jump seats are. The rear window leaks, which probably caused the problem. Otherwise, the floors under the carpet and the rest of the metal is like new.
I replaced the original 400M with a high compression 429 4V removed from a 71 tbird. I also rebuilt the tbird C6 and used it. I converted the A/C to 134a and rebuilt the front end.
It just completed a 3200 mile trip to Michigan and back. Ran like a top. Even pulling my 2000# trailer, it will accelerate from 60 to 80, even on an uphill climb, like nobody's business. Downside is the need for premium fuel, and it gets lousy mileage. On the trip, the best was 15.5 MPG, and the worst was 12. I have scrounged a lot of NOS sheet metal and will be replacing all of the weak pieces in the rear. I found a new RR 1/4, the spare tire well sections, and trunk floor. The factory vinyl top is in great shape. I am trying to decide on whose replacement woodgrain to use, but as I am finding out, the selections are bleak. I am pretty anal, and what is out there is just not all that great. Maybe there will be more to choose from by the time I am ready for it.
Bottom line is, I love this old wagon, and I was amazed at how many admirers it had on this last trip.
Too much fun!
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1972 Ford Country squire

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1972 Ford Country squire

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