One Family-Owned: 1969 Ford LTD
Here’s a car that’s been busy nickel-and-diming its current owner to the brink. This 1969 Ford LTD here on craigslist has seen a full menu of repairs over the last eighteen months. From engine work to suspension, lights to brakes – it would be daunting if yours was the wallet that paid for everything. On the other hand, now that much of the car has been renewed, the buyer stands to benefit while picking up a handsome luxo-boat with big-block credentials. Furthermore, this car has been under single-family ownership since new. Painted in Brittany Blue – now slightly faded – and decked with a formal roof in vinyl, it’s located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The price is $11,000. Numskal found this swanky tip for us – thanks!
The full-sized Ford LTD was launched as a luxury submodel of the Galaxie in 1965. but rapidly worked its way to a nameplate of its own. By 1969, when this car was produced, safety regulations were creeping into cabins and onto sheet metal everywhere, but emissions regulations were still on the horizon. This top-of-the-line 428 cu. in. V8 breathes through a four-barrel carburetor, and produces a whomping 345 hp; torque is monstrous at 460 lb-ft. (This motor was a holdover from 1968 models; the new engine for 1969 was the 429.) An automatic gearbox brings the power to the pavement. The performance big-block made a muscle car out of this luxury cruiser. While the odometer reads 132,000 miles, so many mechanical components have been renewed that the buyer can probably ignore the high mileage for now.
The interior sports a car phone, a rim blow steering wheel with a new center pad, and seat protectors. The wrap-around dash – new for 1969 – has an after-market fabric cover. The trunk looks like it’s never seen a spill. Air conditioning, power steering, power brakes including front discs, and power seats put this LTD at the top of the stack.
The LTD was completely redesigned in ’69 but retained one of my favorite features of the era: hideaway headlights. These were discontinued after 1971. The grille was newly elaborate, split in the center by a horizontal element. Perhaps Ford thought this grille was too elaborate because it was ditched in 1970 for a simpler arrangement. The seller notes that this car was a special Central Office Production Order (COPO) – but COPO was a General Motors phenomenon. Still, no doubt in this era, granular special orders were ubiquitous – not like today’s “take it or leave it” sets of options. These large American cars sell very reasonably, offering would-be collectors a cost-effective way into the hobby. This example seems like a great “starter” car; what do you think?
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Comments
Love to have this one as my very first car was a ’69 4-door Custom with a 428, though mine was a Police Interceptor. This one is way more optioned than mine was and I really like the color as I had a ’68 Torino that was Brittany Blue. Lots of good work done to this one that should ensure decent reliability and Ford’s famous smooth ride. Yeah, it’s got “too many doors” for some but I’d take this one in a heartbeat because it would be like having my first car again.
You never forget your first!
I want to forget my first auto a 65 Ford convertible. I don’t know how many miles it had the odometer reading was broken. I had to change transmixer twice. It was wrecked and patched on three corners. IN spite of this I still managed to sell it for a hundred dollars?
FordGuy72:
Hey I had the same good fortune in ’77, my 1st car was a 1967 Ford police Int., the Custom with 428.
Still have the KY Registration and fender engine tag 46 yrs later – my favorite all time best car.
VIN# 7U50P168200.
Gulfstream Blue ’69 Torino gt now in garage with those cubes.
This is NICE and a fat Bargain! The 428 is smooth and runs on and on as a testament to durabity. I wish I could take this Gem Home.
Top shelf offering from Ford right here Torino. 👌
Those 428 PIs could really make those big cars move, couldn’t they? Geez, I miss that car!!
Ordinarily, I’d be in the majority wishing for fewer doors and a convertible top, but this is such a clean example, it’s hard to resist, and there’s lots of hop-up parts for the FE block to wake up that 428! Yes, that 428 could be original, given that the car was produced in November, 1967, and Ford was trying to use up the remaining FE block motors in the inventory before switching over to the 429. Decoding the VIN number and data plate should tell the tale.
Oops, I meant November, 1968! My bad.
I think by COPO, he means to say the car was special ordered. That was common back in those days when you had to order all of your options individually. It started to become much less prevalent in the 1980s when various option packages became the norm. Now, it’s very rarely done, as options are largely packaged by trim level.
Neat car. If I had some room, and wasn’t afraid it might be too long for my garage, I’d consider it!
Looks like a nice LTD. Impressive list of maintenance work done lately, which had to have cost thousands of dollars. I wonder if the paint could be brought back to some degree. You could take this LTD to Cars & Coffee on Saturday morning and enjoy the fun “we had one of these when I was a kid” conversations, then use it to take your wife and another couple out to dinner Saturday night.
The passenger has easy access to a phone of all things back then, but not the radio? – at the extreme upper left! Ridiculous design,
I would think this optional sport steering wheel in a FOUR door was not common at all.
Again, no cruise control – why so rare in the ’60s?
Interesting approach to seat covers – espec if you have a hole(s) or rips in the original vinyl, etc.
I never noticed the radio on these until now. That is nuts! looks like you’d have to reach through the steering wheel to change the channel.
But the lack of cruise isn’t surprising. I don’t think many cars back then were ordered with that much equipment, even power brakes weren’t always ordered. People were suspicious of the reliability of such then new-ish technology or saw it as completely unnecessary.
Not much different really than today, where people are suspicious of the electronic driving assists, sensors, and dashboard screens controlling everything.
Whats not to like. This is a great sedan to have. More doors are fine with me but have to be unique I.E. options. lots of unique features set mundane overpriced old cars apart from vehicles like this. What is neat about this car is it likely cost as much as a base Mercury or Lincoln at the time.
Not to mention, this unit has ONE of the most beautiful sets of wheel covers offered by Ford. I have a set on a 72 Monterey wagon since I could never find the Mercury version. This is a great car to me.
Awesome boat. The condition of the car is fantastic and the effort the owner put into it to make it a solid runner is a big plus. But I can’t help but think how that motor would respond in a smaller body … say a 70 falcon wagon?
Nice
Good luck with the sale.
Not as sexy as a hardtop or convertible but quieter and more solid. Someone’s idea of a sleeper or trailer tower. Love everything about this car.
As the great Bud Linderman said about this car, “Resemblance to the
new Lincoln is just a hubcap away.”
when he reviewed it in a 1969 episode of Road And Track which can
still be found on YouTube. Saw it when it aired 50+ years ago and boy,
did they put that car through the wringer! And it passed with flying colors too! All that rough housing that car went through just shows how
well this beauty was built. If I had the
space and cash, I’d pony up 11K provided I could drive it back to Florida under its own power. As for the paint, it should buff right out if you
take your time with it and don’t rush it.
And the rest of it? You can finish the
resto while you drive it. Win-win all
around!
Link to the episode, Kenneth?
I love it, too. I wish I could buy it, it would be fun to float around in, with that big block, dual exhaust so it can breath, and factory A/C, and blue is my favorite color. I hope it finds a new owner who appreciates it. 4 doors don’t bother me, either.
that was not anew find by numskal it has been for sale for weeks on west coast ! why has it not sold ? any check to see if it 428# ?
I looked long and hard and can’t find a 428 in a full size 1969 Ford. 1969 would have come with a 429. If this is in fact a factory 428, it’s doggone rare!
My first thought was I could almost picture Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett behind the wheel, but he preferred Mercury products (Marquis). It was Karl Malden and Michael Douglas who drove full-size Ford sedans in “The Streets of San Francisco”, LOL! If the 428 is original, it would be extremely rare, since Ford was phasing out the FE block 428 in place of the 385 block 429/460 big block motors. 1968 was the last full year for the big FE motors, once stock was gone, the 429 replaced it in all big-block applications except for the Lincoln Continental, which had exclusive use of the 460 until 1973, when it became available as an option in the T-Bird, and was made standard in the T-Bird in 1974, to combat declining power output due to the tightening emissions rules of the era.
Interesting that the 4(& of course 2) door frameless glass HARDTOP versions did not come with the small vent windows in the front doors.
I don’t think tho there was a 2 door sedan version with frames around the side glass.
by 1969, both vent windows and kick panel vents were on the way out. GM started it with the “Astro-Ventilation” system, with the blower fan that never shuts off, and the increasing purchases of cars with air conditioning outside the “Sun Belt” only accelerated the trend towards frameless door glass without vent windows.
The blower fan is not on all the time if the GM car back then & in the ’70s & perhaps later – did not have factory A/C.
Off position meant off for those cars – the fan was off.
Astro ventilation was promoted in the 1968 Chevy Caprice tv commercials.
Search for 1968 caprice commercial on youtube. I don’t believe that Caprice has A/C, yet it has hidden headlites – an extremely rare option for ’68.
I’m not good at posting links Boatman, but all I did was go to YouTube and type Bud Linderman
road tests in the search box and it’ll
take you there. Then scroll down til
you see the LTD in the thumbnail.
You’ll really like the way he talks about the car too.
Thanks Kenneth.
This would be the non CJ 428 that came out in 1966 that became an option for the T-Bird.It has the small valve heads(2.02/1.55).But you could always put on a set of Cobra Jet heads to really turn up the horsepower and torque…
I bought a new 69 LTD in October of 68. It was a 429 4V engine. It would destroy my friends 68 with a 428. My guess is this car originally had a 390 2V, that was the only FE used in 69 and 70 in a full size Ford