My parents bought a 65 Chevy Impala wagon that had few options. In 1969 we were all loaded (5 kids) into the wagon for a cross country vacation. It was July & very hot. We were headed to Arizona from Viginia . As we went through our small town my dad stopped at the Ford dealer & we kids were none to happy to be stuck in a hot car.. But...when he came out, he had a set of keys to a brand new Ford station wagon... We transferred kids, luggage & mom into this brand ne wagon.. It had A.C. , power windows & seats , cruise, tilt , stereo & it seated 8 ( I think). It had a 429 with power to spare. And off we went... Best vacay ever... Its was quiet, smooth , but most of all the A.C. kept us cool. And my dad loved the power under the hood... I sat between my parents up front & my dad & I talked about cars.. I kept track of our gas mileage at each fill up.. In the rear, the two facing jump seats were perfect for card games & such.. I loved that big car... When my dad bought our next new vehicle in 1977 , he basically did the same thing.. This time we stopped at the local chevy dealer .. Unloaded the old wagon of luggage, 5 kids & mom into a brand new 77 chevy suburban . Much older now , my mom broke protocol & set in the middle seat so my dad & I could talk shop... It had A.C., Power everything h a 454 big block.. Two bucket seats in the front with a huge console , & two more bench seats . My father was less pleased with the gas mileage of 12 mpg , but it was beautiful... And we drove to the Grand Canyon, then Yosemite, then up to Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, the Badland of S Dakota & then home yrs later I asked my dad why we went on such a long rd trip & he told me , " I knew it was the last time all 5 kids would go on vacation together". He was right... But that Ford wagon made some great memories .
ford hit a home run with the 69 and 70 country squires. my dad for a time was a carpenter and bought a 67 country squire for his work vehicle. after it got totaled he bought a 70 country squire, yellow with a brown interior. had the roof rack, same hubcaps and a 390. still got pics of it loaded with tools and 2 ladders on the rack with a auxillary rack over the front of the roof to level everything on top. he took out the jump seats in back to put his tools in and keep out of sight. i dont think the back seat was ever in the upright position. what a car that was until the rust set in. yours is beautiful..brought back fond memories of our work beast.
My dad had a 70 Country Squire LTD that was sky blue, it too had the 390. As kid, I found the hideaway headlights to be coolest part of the that stationwagon.
My dad's first wagon was a 1970 LTD country squire. The lady he bought it from was told the engine was shot. She sold it to my dad for scrap. My dad was not really a ford guy yet he towed it home checked it out and found the oil returns needed some attention. It had I think around 80,000 miles on it at the time it had the 390 ci two barrel engine. He fixed the issues and flushed the motor and put a oil and filter, he serviced reguarly with a lot of city driving. He sold it about two years later and it was still running good.
Your Dad was smart - the 390 was one of the best engines Ford ever made, which automatically makes it superior to the Chevy blue-smokers. I got over 250k miles out of my first 390, and the second one rests in my '58 Edsel Ranchero conversion.
@@markreisen7038 Join the International Edsel Club, not the Edsel Owners Club. The International folks were a lot friendlier, and you'll surely find a Roundup, only made in '58. They made 963 of them, I think.
Beautiful, the best and most definitive station wagon of the 60s / 70s era. Everything about it is perfect, the interior colour, faux wood grain, hub caps. Look after her, they won’t be making these ever again.
Thanks, when I first got her it was because of my wife's desire to have one but I quickly became of wagon lover! The 390 V8 allows her to easily keep pace with modern traffic which happily surprised me.
@@jagsimon640 man i wish more modern cars had V8s, it seems to be mostly 4 cylinders these days, sometimes with a turbo charger, occasionally a V6 or straight 6 in a sports car, but V8s seem to be on the way out, they are only in the most expensive cars.
My local florsit had a one of these in a green....it had air, they used it as a kid hauler, and smaller delivery van, boy this brings back memories, the Mom took us all over in this.....lol, When there daughter said they got a new car, I thought they said a Jaguar, not a Country Squire...Haha
My first car at 16, a 1970 Ranch Wagon (hand me down from my mother) same color as this one, inside and out. Amazed you could fit a modern radio in that spot, mine only had an AM radio, and I felt special when I added an FM converter to it. Love wagons and need to bring them back, love your wagon.
Thanks, the only reason I could make the stereo fit was by finding one with remote volume and tuning knobs and I believe they have only been available for the past few years. You were lucky to have such a cool first car!
Similar story for me. Truly loved that wagon. Coming home from college one weekend a drunk driver in a Chevrolet suburban crossed the center line and hit me head on. Because of the size of the car and the fact that I was that rare teenager that buckled up both the lap and shoulder belts when I drove, I walked away with only bruises from the belts which was far better than the unbelted other driver. That was a solid car.
Ford was king of station wagons ,I grew up and learned to drive in a 68 LTD wagon, they were powerful and we pulled the family camper behind ours for many years! Nice to see such a pristine example still around and I miss the days when they were plentiful! I bet you would draw a lot of attention at car shows because the younger generation probably never seen one!
The body on frame will never return to passenger vehicles, quite frankly it's a bygone era. Ford did produce a reasonable facsimile wagon in the Ford FLEX model in recent years. It has since been discontinued due to anemic sales numbers. ✌
@@johnde2754 Well quite frankly the car's that are built today suck The 2 body on frame vehicles are built today are the Toyota Tacoma and tundra and they are both way to expensive to get. Body on frame needs to return
It's rare to find a station wagon that isn't a beat to death but with a perfect interior is a miracle! This LTD is beyond rare and probably the only one I've seen in 30 years in this condition. What gorgeous car! As far as Ford wagons go, the 69-72 was the only wagon ever built by Ford that was exceptionally good looking, (actually better looking than the sedans in my mind) with your choice of every engine in the Ford stable. Not to mention every option from the prats bin if you wanted to spend upwards of 4k back in the day. This was the ultimate SUV before the word existed. Thanks for sharing.
Our extended family in MA had nothing but station wagons, including this one, as well as a Mercury Colony Park. And I remember that jump seat. I threw up in those at least twice.
Beautiful...my best friends Dad had a 1968 LTD Wagon w/ the "green tinted windows" which told everyone "it had factory air!....black leather interior...390 4 brl. ...this 1970 is in amazing condition, thanks for sharing and bringing back those 1970's PA vibes!
This reminds me of the good ol' days. We drove this vehicle cross-country from Maryland to Los Angeles. I also used while in college. We had the LTD edition.
Honest, strait forward, down to earth and practical. Can you imagine a designer being given those criteria to work with to-day? Everything is for just feel good people now!
My mom and dad had one identical to that. Same color. Same interior. Same engine. I remember my dad had aftermarket air conditioning installed when we moved to Texas.
I remember my father's 74 country squire, we went up and down most of the eastern seaboard, explored the north east and many trips to Boston and Chicago. Back then we didn't use seat belts so any space not occupied by luggage was ours for play or sleep.
I know of a ton of people on a '69 and '70 Ford group who would love to know about your replacement radio for the factory radio. I've never seen anything that would fit in that spot other than a factory unit. This is a remarkable example, thanks for sharing.
My father had a 1967 Country Sedan model with the 390 ci aspirated by the 2 barrel carburetor. While this produced less horsepower than a 4 barrel it had plenty of torque and enough horsepower to move the car quickly from a start and cruised at 80 mph with ease. Large and comfortable with of course the vinyl seats. Freezing cold in winter and fried your skin in summer. Trips were two adults, five kids and a dog or cat. Luggage rack on the roof. Not producing the greater horsepower of a 4 barrel carburetor the engine was under less internal stress and ran for a very long time. There were no engine problems other than external components. It was replaced only after an accident.
Just ONE more thing 🤔 I am totally digging the background music. I'm waiting for an announcer to say "this is the 1970 Ford LTD Country Squire! Hurry down to your Local Ford dealer where you will see why, (Ding!) Ford, has a better idea!"😆
What a cracking example! I'm desperately trying to find a die cast model of this exact car hence finding the video. It's the one from Harry & the Hendersons.
These 1970s station wagons are such gems, so much better suited for road trips than anything from the 21st century. The color combo on this ol gal is hilarious! Love love love the woodgrain and gosh ya just don't see enough yellow cars anymore! Great music too LOL thanks for sharing!!!
Awesome wagon! I noticed you wrapped the dash and steering wheel. I'm sure the sun 🌞 got the best of the original. Looks great 👍 My best friends family had a 71 Ford wagon that led a hard life. It went on many road trips, and towed a boat too. The back end was always in the salt water launching the boat into the Jersey waters. It didn't take long for the rust to take over! The wagons life came to an end when a boyfriend of my buddies Sister wrecked her. We were so mad at that jerk. We loved that car.
We had a 72 Country Squire LTD. Dark green with the 2 jump seats that me and my little brother used. My older brother and sister got use the adult seats. Lol. Great car!
🏆Such a beautiful thing to preserves such luxurious family automobile of a simpler times,an that sewing machine sound in the engine is priceless 👑of the road 🛣️
Beautiful car, great walk-around, fascinating accent, and best of all, marvelously appropriate 1970s game show theme music! Thanks, much enjoyed! My folks bought a new 1969 Mercury Colony Park, light blue over dark blue, so yes, these are my favorite wagons~
When it came to wagons, Ford wasn't playing around, this was pretty much a stretched LTD; it was powerful, roomy, comfortable and handled well for a vehicle that size! If I could find a nice one, you BETTER beleive I'd own it!😁👍
Ah, yes, a classic wagon. My uncle & aunt had a 1967 Ford Country Squire LTD wagon, and my parents bought the 1975 model, so I remember those cars well. Gotta love the 3-way tailgate; I think only Ford and Mercury full-size wagons had it back then. As a kid, though, I was not in love with the tailgate seats. No matter how we sat in them, the hard edges of the tailgate floor bordering the seats was uncomfortable to lean against, and if the driver accelerated or braked hard, we got pushed against those edges. Any luggage stowed between the tailgate seats and the rear bench seat would slide right into us, because there was no way to secure it. Also, the recessed, sideways seating position made us car-sick very quickly. After a few experiments using them, my parents just left the tailgate seats folded down and let us lounge around in the tailgate on trips. Definitely not safe (heck, those tailgate seats weren't much safer, even if you used them with the seatbelts), but that's what most parents of the time did. When I turned 16, that Country Squire wagon was one of three cars I learned to drive on. Your Country Squire almost certainly has more get-up-and-go than my parents' did. In addition to the 390 engine in yours - I suspect my parents' car had the smallest engine available with air conditioning - the 1975 model was full of power-sapping pollution controls. It wallowed more than it vroomed.
Musak chosen wisely. It remind us the cops stories on tv chasing the bad guys in those days👍🏻👍🏻🥳🥳 Writing from across the pond… In France in those days people were dreaming about purchasing a Renault 12 or 16…🙄🙄🙄
What a beautiful 1970 Country squire. My first car was a 1969 Country Squire, white color with the 390 engine. The 69 had a different grill and the ignition was on the dash not the steering column. I noticed the vinal wood trim along the sides and tail gate is not original, but still looks very nice. I miss my 69 and wish this lovely 1970 was in my garage.
The family car when I was a tike was a ‘69 Mercury Colony Park, basically the same car as this. It was the car I learned to drive on. I loved that wagon. It tools us on lots of family trips… comfortably! And my dad hauled everything in it, everything from all the materials to build a 10’ x 10’ shed, to loads of bricks. We sold it in ‘79 to a guy starting an airport limousine service. He was delighted to have found it as we kept it well maintained.
That would have been sweet back on our 2 week 1976 trip across the country (NC to OH to Grand Canyon, Tomestone, Mexico, Las Vegas, CA Pacific Ocean, and back) half the time sleeping in our 1970 LTD 390 coupe... I was 12 and with 5 of us, I got the front passenger floorboard.
These really were the SUV's of the day. The super soft rear springs made for a soft with the taigate down. The 390V FE engine allowed a tow weight of 6,000 lbs. Your lo compression 390 probanly produced about 280 SAE gross hp, Every block had a few of these.
Your Country Squire is beautiful! Nice mods you made too! I grew up in a family that bought many new examples of the '69 -'78 full size Fords and Mercurys back in the day. I've got a nice '69 LTD Country Squire sitting in my garage which I have not driven in years; it's a lifetime-garaged car with original champagne gold paint and nugget gold interior. It was a wonderful driving car with a stunning interior, although I have let it sit so long now that it is covered with dust, and the carb has dried out. The car still has its original 429 4V engine. Your video inspires me to pull it out of storage and replace the A/C compressor with a unit like yours.
I left an 81 Toyota Crown sitting for years, the pickup screen melted with the stale fuel and won't start, I thought the electric fuel pump might be clagged with the stale fuel. I since binned the Crown due to issues proceeding the layup, blown head, rusted trunk channels, tired trans
Excellent episode. Our family couldn't afford a 1970 country squire. My dad had a bronze 1962 ford ranch wagon. It was pretty rusty and beat up 10 years later. Great car with little long horn steer heads on the seats.
While I was working and living in the Chicago area I lived at Town & Country Apartments in Shiller Park, Ill. They had two 69’ ford LTD’s wagons as courtesy cars to transport airline employees to and from O’Hare airport every 15 minutes. Several times because they didn’t have a driver we guys would take a car load to the airport and there was always someone coming back to return the car to the apartment office.
Ah I miss being able to see the hood stretching out in front of me as I drive. When I was 7, my parents bought a new ‘69 Country Squire, white with blue interior. I loved that car. I was obsessed with those rear facing seats lol. Didn’t have it for long…my Dad was terrible with cars and it seized up (not sure why..overheated maybe) on the freeway on a trip. Engine was ruined, never saw the car again.
So that car belonged to Donfeld? Nice, the man had an impressive resume. Many of the films he worked on are among my favorite movies of all time! One of the greatest cars ever made too! I remember when they were commonplace on the roads, I miss that. Now the roads are littered with generic Crossovers. 🙁
In remarkably good condition. We too had a Country Squire that was given to us by our grandparents. Identical to yours with a few upgrades including power windows. However, the California emissions that were included on the car, vexed the local mechanics who never could get the 390 to fire on more than 5 or 6 cylinders; all the power windows died one by one; the hoses for the cooling blew prematurely; the fuel mileage was about 9 to 11 mph; the engine was very cold-blooded blowing out James Bondian clouds of black smoke; the horn in the steering column stuck; the heater core leaked fogging up the windows that being broken, could not be lowered; and the rear seats were a penalty box for bad little kids who didn’t mind throwing up as the car bounced up and down on its floppy suspension. We called the car ‘The Beast’ for nobody liked it but because it was a car it was the only way we could get to school or to activities.
My girl friend in high school loved the back seat. We would go to the drive-in and lay down the second seat so it would be open to the rear hatch. You can imagine the rest of the story; we didn't see much of the movie.
My parents had this exact model. I drove it occasionally. Unreliable and slow, the 390 frequently overheated. Very comfortable, but ours was dark blue so it got scorching hot in the summer and the single AC wasn't up to the job of cooling such a behemoth. 9MPG downhill with a tailwind. It's massive weight made it ride like a Cadillac, but it steered like a cement mixer, and braked like an aircraft carrier. It was completely worn out by the time it reached 80 thousand miles. That's why they are so rare now. Good times!
It reads like your folks got theirs when it had about 300,000 miles on it. No one has ever had that experience with these cars. Maybe you're confusing it with another brand of car, but I can't think of any cars in 1970 being that bad.
Great car and enjoyed the video, but after a few minutes I had to mute it, the music was just getting to be too much -- although it did remind me of CHiPs (70's) and the NBC MLB Game of the Week (80's), so those were nice touches :)
My parents had a red ‘70 Country Squire. Dad loved it, Mom hated it. She said it was too big and bulky. She preferred to drive her “smaller” ‘66 Olds 98.
Love the car and what’s great is, because if it’s robust nature, could be usable in the 2020s as a daily driver if desired. I like the music too - is that ‘Sparks are Flying’?
@@TadfaftyThe only deterrent is the price of gas today and you need to know how to fix things or have a buddy. When I was 24 I had a ‘64 Buick LeSabre hard top. It was beautiful. That was in ‘89 and gas was cheap and I knew someone at the GM dealer who could fix it if it needed it, although it actually didn’t need anything while I had it.
I did my drivers test in an 1972 Country Squire. I failed because I wasn't used to driving the beast. It had a 400 engine if I remember correctly. Definitely the family truckster.
Amazing condition! You know a one income blue collar family man could afford this beauty back in 1970 and a camper for it to pull, which it would do quite handily. Now, you get home from a drive, pull the crushed up kia or hyundai from under the wheel wells and navigate her in the garage, great feeling!
Quit messing with the Mona Lisa! Dude, I overlooked the 390 engine badge modification, but you lost me when you installed the temperature and oil pressures gauges. Leave these cars intact! They are works of art!
Watching from the state of Rhode Island-fun profile-thanks-when the U.S. owned the world-and each American could be the "Squire" of their own country-since they could drive around in these vehicles that were the size of a small country (but also the reason why our environment is imploding now).
Spent many a trip trapped in one of these inhaling second hand smoke while dropping fries and pebbles thru the hole in the back floor between the two seats. Used to fold seats back down when we went to the drive-in.
