429 Four-Barrel! 1973 Ford LTD Project
Barn-bound and offered in “Ran when parked” condition, this 1973 Ford LTD in Klamath Falls, Oregon packs the mighty 429 under the hood. Check out more pictures and details here on Facebook Marketplace. The $3000 asking price buys a lot of car, by the pound anyway, and this big block cruiser may have more life and service to give.
Behold the four-barrel 429 cid (7.0L) version of Ford’s 385 Series V8, basically a de-stroked 460 (7.5L). This application brings gobs of torque, but some aftermarket parts or pieces from the 429 Cobra Jet or Super Cobra Jet parts bin will snap Grandma’s neck when you pass that big rig on the way to the Grand Canyon. That bucket-sized air conditioning compressor promises to keep everything chill as this road schooner crosses the desert… once everything’s working that is. Thanks to Wikipedia for some details.
A trailer light hookup may explain the 429, though no hitch is visible. Credit the seller for washing off most of the barn dust to give buyers some sense of the car’s finish. Unless it’s an optical illusion, that roof took a beating, probably while serving as a storage shelf. That probably knocks $1000 off any car, but maybe it’s a simple trick of the light. I always show and describe a car’s weak points up front so buyers coming to see the car don’t begin their decision-making process knowing I’m a liar and wondering what else I’m willing to cover up.
Among Ford’s full-sized line-up for ’73, only the LTD Brougham sits above this LTD. The listing states “driven 35,000 miles,” and those must have been some hard ones. Due to this car’s immobility, we don’t get a good look at its profile but check out the Ford brochures at lov2xlr8 for a side-view of the LTD and other models. This ride might be coaxed into a second life with minimal effort, though I’d consider warming up the 429, tightening the ride with cop suspension parts, an overdrive and more lively gears than the 2.xx ratio fitted to most of these vinyl-y mammoths. Throw some Pepsi and Hydrox in a sack and point it at the opposite coast with stops courtesy of RoadsideAmerica. How would you get this double-green giant into the wind?
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Comments
Hilarious write-up Fitch. These Beauties that had the big 429 left the factory w 2.75 Gears.
⚙️ 3.00, 3.25 Optional.
At just shy of 4500lbs highways are the preferred environment for these land yachts.
Todd, what a really great and positive write up!
Gator would be proud – some work needed but a solid start.
Like this one as well – absolutely love the big Fords.
And, the 429 – of course.
👍 Torino
Gator…HA HA. A movie where men were….well…
Why do most these big old road boats smell like cigar smoke?
“Mighty 429″….by 73′ what did this combo yield? A couple hundred hp, 0-60 times of a Smart car and 1/4 times pushing 20 seconds?
Good highway cruiser but far from any muscle machine.
Nice to know that you will be following the 429 off one of those Columbia River cliffs to be installed in a river barge needing a new anchor.
Grew up with a ’73 LTD Brougham Brady-Bunch-mobile, with the 429 4v motorvator. I can remember clearly my parents complaining about 8 miles per gallon . . . whatever that meant.
They traded it in shortly after my 16th birthday, so the night before it was swapped for a smaller car, I took it out and alternately baked the rear tires, filling the cabin with smoke (lots of torque).
I remember on the ride to the dealership the next day, my dad saying “Don’t anybody say anything about this car smelling like there’s an electrical fire or something burning inside.”
Gotta love these big ol’ Fords. (Somewhere deep inside I think I still do!) Cruising down the highway on that big bench seat with an 8-track blaring through the front dash center speaker felt a lot like sitting in my living room. Comfy, cushy ride but it’d put any wallet on a fast weight loss plan…
But that front end, with the 5 mph bumper and all that chrome grillwork still gives me PTSD from my dating years as a youth wearing braces with headgear…
Those were the days…
Put a good set of heads,an intake and a decent cam and you can easily get 375-385hp out of this land yacht.3.73 gears to make it a rocketship….
On my way to Indian Lake in my 73 split bumper Camaro with a very recently installed 400 small block , when out of nowhere this LTD appears. He stayed on my bumper till the 400 tapped out it’s all over but the knocking. He passed me as the rod broke and left it’s former place as number 7 and ventured out the oil pan . The friend that was riding with me at the time reminds me almost every time we talk . Almost 50 years ago .
Nice one, Todd! The roof dents are a drag as is the green vinyl for me. I’d want a nice green brocade as the 1970s fabric Gods dictated, but this looks like a great project.
Ok so buy this one and pull the 429 warm it up and pop it in that 69 mustang coupe on BF auctions then you would have something. Probably a death trap but it sure would be a fun way to go LOL
Every trip to the store is not a race. This would be a good ride to grab groceries.
The interior looks more like it has 135,000. But, it is a two door, (not so hard) hard top. For the price, it would be worth fixing up. We had a green 74 LTD Squire wagon and got about 12 mpg.
Nelson c every trip to the store may not be a race but it’s sure more fun when you make believe it is and trips to the store with that ltd would more likely drive you to the poor house paying for gas
Come one people, no one talking about the mileage? Just the seat cover damage on the drivers side shows that car was gotten in and out of ALOT. put that along with it was used for towing something it’s easily 135,000 mile car.
Love the car but I’d plan on a rebuild of the drive train on this one. The older engines didn’t normally do 300,000 miles like they do today and if it was towing anything heavy I’d certainly plan on a trans rebuild. IMHO