1976 Ford Country Squire

Found this Squire from Finland on my wearisome wagon journey for €13,800 / $16,008.69 / £11,744.97 - looks lovely! Any more knowledgeable people able to give an opinion?

On a side note, I have been putting off the idea of a 70s wagon for a while, due to the sheer size of the ones that take my interest - does anyone know how manageable one of these would be in the UK? Are there any forum members from the country who can give me information or advice?
Thanks.

https://m.nettiauto.com/ford/crown-victoria/12412372

 

Problems:

1) Non-original, non-authentic woodgrain decal. Yes, I know I harp on this.

2) I don't think this is a '76 model. The '76 would have a different hood ornament and a similar emblem on the tailgate. The car appears to be a '77 or '78.

The car certainly appears to be in phenomenal condition and is priced accordingly. It's certainly priced higher than I thought was current for one of these, but I may be a little out of touch. Of course, in the U.S. anymore, there is often quite a difference between the asking price and the selling price.

For a Country Squire, this car is a stripper. The only options I can make out are the AM radio and (per the text) DFRS. That's dual facing rear seats for those not versed in Ford-speak. It doesn't even have remote control outside door mirrors. In fact, it's so bereft of options, it would be considered remarkable at car show with knowledgeable attendees. Sort of like a Mustang with a bench seat.

I have no experience with cars in the U.K., but I would guess that operating one of these anywhere outside North America would be very expensive. Twenty years ago I drove my '75 7.5L Country Squire from Maryland to Michigan. If I kept it at 70 mph or lower, I managed about 12 mpg, but if it edged up to 80, mileage dropped to 8. With the 6.6, I'd estimate you might better that by 1 to 2 mpg. On the other hand, I do know of someone living in the U.K., who has a couple of early seventies full-sized Mopar wagons, which would be comparable in size. So managing one of these in the U.K. isn't impossible, but I'm sure it's challenging. Of course, when you park it on the street, assuming you can find a place to do so, it's a safe bet that there won't be another anywhere in sight. If you would find this sort of thing rewarding, it might well be worth the challenge. Just don't expect it to handle like a Jaguar or Mini Cooper.

 

I'll add to that option list -
Deluxe Bumper Group, Deluxe Wheel Covers, Deluxe Luggage Rack, A/C + Tinted Glass
Split Bench Seat w/ Duraweave trim
Rear Defrost
Rocker Panel Molding
(The tailgate handle is upside-down).

 

Welcome to the wagon-obsessed, Leon! I learned to drive in a 1964 Ford Galaxie Country Squire (5329 mm/209.8 in. long) and a 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire (5568 mm/219.2 in. long). If you can parallel park one of these, you can parallel park anything. But you may already be familiar with the size of the cars and realize how big they are.

I've also driven in Wales, Scotland and England, over several different trips to the UK, and realize how narrow the laneways can be. Driving a vehicle this large could be a challenge at times, and being an LHD vehicle in a RHD world might also be a challenge. But I would never want to deter anyone from taking up a suitably fun adventure. Driving one of these cars from Finland, Germany or Italy would be great fun. Heck, I'd volunteer to drive it home for you if I could.

I'm surprised that you've found the ones that you've listed here in Europe. It would be interesting to know how they got there. Possibly U.S. expats who took their cars with them overseas? Prices in Europe might not bear any semblance to those in the U.S., because of their rarity.

Good luck with this search!

 

A very nice car. I do however agree with ctrysquire. There have been some modifications with the wood grain. In addition to the Landau styled hood ornament for the ‘76 it would have also most likely had a chrome center strip down the middle beauty line of the hood. The other thing that makes me think , ‘77-‘78, and it’s completely OCD is that it is also missing the embossed gold LTD emblem that was in the wood grain part of the driver and passenger door. This could have been a very late model’76 that may have had the ‘77 modifications already engrained in the car, but I doubt it. Obviously the VIN number will settle that argument. It should start with the number “6”. If it is indeed a 1976 my next look would be for the data tag to see what the date code is. If it’s an August or Perhaps September of ‘76 then it may have had some of the ‘77 modifications I eluded to earlier. Good luck in your hunt.

 

You're right. I didn't pay close enough attention. I've gotten so used to the more modern cars being stacked with what used to be options. I'm not sure you could buy a new car without AC in Alaska today.
Five or six years earlier, this would have been considered a fairly well equipped Country Squire. By '76 a much higher percentage of these models would have been decked out with the remote mirrors, intermittent wipers, stereo, power windows, etc.
Considering the level of options on this car, the deluxe wheel covers are a bit surprising. If I had to make a choice, I'd have chosen remote control mirrors and interval wipers (even if I didn't order the whole Convenience Group).

 

Agreed. And the wheelcovers could have been added later. May not have come with those from the factory.

 

Maybe someone actually sat down with the salesman and checked off which blanks he wanted. Ah, the good old days. My dad had a '78 Squire like this used that was hard loaded with everything but a 460 and a roof rack. Heck, I would've thought the rack was a given, but not on this one of ours. Never had one....

 

ctrysquire said: If I had to make a choice, I'd have chosen remote control mirrors and interval wipers (even if I didn't order the whole Convenience Group).
Unfortunately, the dual remote door mirrors and interval wipers were part of the convenience group and weren't available separately, although a driver's side remote mirror was. The beginning of the package style of grouping options. Now on the full size Mercury, they were separate options.

 

And for some reason, that strip down the center of the hood disappeared halfway through the model year.

I agree with the others, a very nice car in very good condition.