Howdy, I just wanted to introduce myself and share my 1973 Ford LTD Country Squire 6 passenger wagon with everyone. I've owned this car for about 2 years and have put in a ton of work and about 4,500 miles on it. The wagon is an original California Blue Plate Car with a 460, C6 transmission, Power Steering, Power Brakes (discs in front), Air conditioning, and Deluxe 5 speaker Radio. White exterior with Dark Green interior. I bought the wagon on Craigslist for $500 from a guy who lives about a mile away from me. It had been sitting for about 8 years and had some plants growing out of it! Unfortunately, it accumulated some minor rust on the hood and the right rear quarter panel during that time of neglect. All it needed was a new battery and starter, and some fresh gas and it fired right up on the first crank! 460s were definitely built tough, but it was running rough as heck. After a few minutes of tinkering with the carb and the timing, I realized that the previous owner had the spark plugs hooked up in the WRONG ORDER! I put them in the right way and it purred like a kitten. You wouldn't have believed that it sat for so long. First order of business was the brakes. It had virtually NONE. I almost crashed on the first test drive. So I had it towed to my house on a flatbed to begin working on it. Unfortunately, the driver was a bit incompetent and ended up puncturing my gas tank with the securing chains, spilling gasoline all over the place. The tow company graciously agreed to pay to have a brand new gas tank professionally installed. The old one was probably rusted on the inside anyway so I actually lucked out not having to buy a new one After a week delay, my Squire was delivered to my house and my work began. Here's the wagon shortly after I bought it, AFTER the first thorough cleaning. You don't want to know what it looked like before: After replacing the master cylinder, drums, disks, pads and lines, I flushed out the cooling system did an oil change, fuel filter change, transmission fluid change, and spark plug change, and I was on the road. After a few weeks of subpar performance and horrible gas milage, I decided to rebuild the carburetor and remove the EGR, which was no longer working and creating a huge vacuum leak. After this, the car ran way better, and my MPG jumped from about 7 MPG to about 11 MPG! I had some new whitewall tires put on and put some pledge on the faux wood panels. It actually works remarkably well. More recently, I've put in a new radiator, hoses, and heater hoses after the original radiator started to leak. I also put in a new vacuum advance and a Pertronix electronic ignition on the distributor. Significantly better drivability and a noticeable increase in power. All gauges are accurate and working except the clock. My compression is good on all cylinders. No leaks of any kind. I went 3,000 miles between oil changes and only had to add less than half a quart of oil in between. The car starts up every time on the first crank and has never once broken down on me. It drives like your on top of a cloud. If I take it easy on the pedal, my general around town milage is around 11.5 MPG. Not bad for a 40 year old behemoth car with a 7.5L V8! Heres one more picture of a few old Fords next to my Country Squire. The '65 mustang on the left belonged to my old housemate. The '63 Galaxie 500 is my main project. A story for another day and another forum... Thanks for listening and I'm really liking all of the other wagons I've seen on here so far.
Nice job on your '73. Welcome to the forum. Shhh....I'm also liking those other Fords in your last picture. I was raised in a Ford family, so growing up between dad, my uncles, and my older brothers there were always some NICE ones around, my uncles '67 390 Galaxie and '71 Torino GT 429 SCJ, my dad's gorgeous '66 Mustang fastback, my older brother's '69 351 Mach 1 Mustang (those are just a few and also for another time another forum ).
Quite an interesting write up on your new wagon! Sounds like a project working out well so far. Welcome to the forum.
Thanks, for the record, the Mustang in the picture is not mine. That belonged to a neighbor who has since moved away. It had a straight 6 and a 3 speed floor stick-shift. It was pretty sluggish and had no power steering or power brakes. Another neighbor who owns his own shop and restores classics bought it from him and restored it. He swapped in a pristine 302 that he rebuilt himself and the thing flies now. On an unrelated note, I am considering adding a '63 Falcon wagon to the fleet and making that my new project. If I do, I'll be posting pictures soon!
Congrats on saving your Ford wagon from years of neglect. They are remarkably sturdy and reliable cars. Years ago I almost purchased a '63 Galaxie 500 4-door similar to yours, except finished in chestnut brown metallic with a white top and brown interior. I liked how you pull on the Ford grill emblem to open the hood!
Yeah! The grill emblem hood latch is a really cool feature. The '63 is my favorite car that I've ever had. I don't plan on ever selling it. I've had people come up to me in parking lots, gas stations, etc and ask if it was for sale. I've had to refuse some pretty tempting offers.
Excellent intro, gp. Thanks for all the historic info; I love to see cars like yours brought back to life. It's a gorgeous Squire. What a difference the wsw's, correct wheel covers and some Pledge make. Looks like a completely different wagon, one which has been cared for and well maintained its whole life. Nice job. You say the '63 is a project car? Yikes. It looks like it's done aleady. Welcome.
Nice job on bringing the wagon back to life! It's great to see something that most would say is too far gone turned into a roadworthy ride! My family had one very similar to yours when I was in junior high and high school. Keep up the good work!
The '63 is a well-running daily driver. I said it's my project because I'm always restoring little things here and there.
BTW, please check out my other thread that I posted: http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16427 I'm thinking about doing some towing with my Squire and I'm trying to get opinions on whether or not my car can handle it.
A story for another forum :confused:...there's other forums... It's OK to share your other car projects on this forum, no need to be lurking on other sites. Glad you found us...great wagon. See ya around!
