Much better looking wheel covers for sure. Good job Tony, the wagon is coming right along. Looks like the 70’s all over again and there ain’t nothing wrong with that!
Sorry to hear you lost a sub , I need to say this it’s your car whether you leave it oem or mount it on a one ton dually frame or make a donk it’s your car . Enjoy it and be proud .
Well it finally happened. Can we please have a moment of silence….for the loss of 4 LTD deluxe wheel covers on the Country Squire. Some hand holding will be required during this period of adjustment. I was only just getting over the Cragar 50 spokes on the 2 door as well. I am happy that we both have a good sense of humor Tony. The new wires look great 🎉
The wire wheel covers are such a great improvement. Removes any possible "Griswold family truckster" vibe and makes it a more stylish, upscale vehicle. Nice camera work on the before and after shots, too.
I love what you did for upgrades. I've always loved wire wheels with white wall tires on full size cars. It makes it so classy and luxurious also love the new hood ornament. When I got my 85 crown Vic when I got my license in 1992. The hood ornament that came with it was crusty not shiny so I found a Ford dealership back then that had 1 left in stock same exact one that I was replacing. If i remember correctly I paid $75 for it but I didn't care. The hood ornament belonged on it and it's the tie that goes with a suit lol. Rest of my car was mint except for the hood ornament so it had to go lol. I put it on myself also. I really miss my crown Vic. Your wagon is gorgeous i love it 😊
9 out of 10 dentist recommend wire wheel covers for their station wagons, actually, I have no way of knowing if that statement is true, but everybody seems to really like what you have done with those wire wheel covers, really makes a difference, on both cars, both of your fords have very good looking wheels.
Thanks, Dave! Yeah, it seems like most people do like them just like the Star Wires on the LTD. The likes definitely outweigh the dislikes. I lost a subscriber as soon as I posted this video. However, I've already regained that one and another one. So, I guess, I say Bye felicia! 👋 🤣
Hey Tony! Buddy I got to hand it to you. You crack me up when you flung those “deluxe” covers! you are so much like me….It’s unbelievable. I absolutely love those wire wheel covers!!! True class!!!! They look fantastic!!!! When I cleaned mine up and put them back on my Buick Park Avenue… they look fantastic. You do what you want, it’s your car you make the decisions that’s what I say. It looks fantastic buddy.!!!❤️👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thank you very much! I really blows my mind how many people love those "deluxe" wheel covers and dislike the wires. They look so much more expensive to me and sparkle so much!
@@tonyscarcare5657Don’t forget Tony - I put my hand up if you decide to sell that 460 from the green Lincoln MKIV. 😀👍 Re the MKV radiator rubber insulator, you maybe could put a sliver of thin rubber mat etc to tighten it up. A bit like what you did for the emblem, which by the way is not OCD as I would do exactly the same thing. 😊
I enjoy and appreciate your enthusiasm for these mid 70's Fords. These cars were new when I was a teenager. I remember admiring them back then. Its great to see you return them back to their glory
It's getting late and I've only watched part of this but: You said wish they'd ordered those wire covers new. This is much better because if they had done that they'd be beat up after 47 years. Now you have NOS new ones on there! Also please get yourself a white rubber mallet to install wheel covers with. You're going to end up with a sprained wrist or broken blood vessel, etc. I say from experience as I am even older than you. Lol. Take care. The wheel covers look great and they add a lot of class to the old wagon.
Thank you, Jeff! I believe those will go on there easier the next time. I hope! And yes, those NOS ones were very expensive! They cost me more than the NOS GT wheel covers for my 68 XL.
Much better with the white walls and the wire wheels. Now it's a wagon. I grew up with wagons and I miss them. I wish Ford would make them again, instead of the SUVS.
I had the same problem getting my wire hub caps installed on the rims of my 1977 T Bird. They were very tight fitting against the rim. Get one side of the hubcap on and the other side of the hubcap pops off. 😊 New old stock hubcaps look much better.
You can always take the ornament apart and swap out the base. To get the angle you want. The reason they probably changed it is people used to always flip the thing around backwards to look at the black side and face the grayish look inside forward. The early Silver version in the bottom was a little bigger and fit its own base with a large thread base. And there was a few made that use the later base. And then they switched to Black, and those were black on both sides dark black, then the next year it went to black and gray. And people didn't like to look at the gray side so they'd always turn it backwards. That's why you always saw these cars with the hood on that leaning forward cuz they wanted to look at the black side. They made four different versions of that LTD ornament, and then they made the ltd2 which they only made one version of that, and then there's a super unbelievably rare ltd2 that was made down in Brazil that has just a silver piece on the inside with no LTD logo at all cuz it was called by different names so they made a generic hood ornament and I have the only two I know of in existence brand new never used that were ever brought into the US somebody was selling them on eBay and I snapped them up quickly and I've never seen another for sale again. It just has like a future looking piece of metal on the plastic insert. The ltd2 was called by different name for the Brazil car. So the ornament couldn't have the initials LTD but it used the same tasks on either side just the insert was different. And then you have the leaf looking things that nobody really liked the l a n d a u got silver and you have black. Then it's 79 they changed it to the flat tall things that would break off that had two square holes in them first they had plastic in the holes and they were blank and then the ugly looking ornament that was square with the V shape in at the Crown Victoria came out. I remember removing the later model hood ornaments off friends cars and putting the early LTD with the tusks on it and saying oh God that looks better.
I’m like you are Tony when I look at these LTD Country Squires I like to see a fully optioned Car & I know what to look for and where it should be on the Car I can really appreciate that call of detail an LTD Country Squire Or Mercury Colony Park deserves the full option & accessory Buffet treatment
It looks great -- you are really starting to gild your Light Jade lily! I have to say, I do like the deluxe wheel covers as well -- a more modern interpretation of the earlier FoMoCo turbine wheel covers. I'm rather glad that they are hard to put on -- that means that they are much less likely to fly off on the highway. I love how you referred to the LTD as "groovy lookin'?! That it definitely is.
Thank you, Sir! 99% of the comments on the wire wheels for the LTD were positive, but there were a few haters. And this video here on the wire wheel covers has already lost me a subscriber, so I guess it pissed someone off.
Night and day… LOVE LOVE LOVE the wire wheel covers! Those were the ones my mom had on her 77 Champagne Metallic Squire. Those deluxe wheel covers… never liked them, even when they put them on the 73-76 Thunderbird..
Ford engineers sure make you work hard on the hood ornament. It'd be fun to learn the R&R book rate for that job. I absolutely love the wheel covers! This car brings back so many memories, and I love it. Thank you for keeping youtube positive and enjoyable. I have to tell you... I've been a detailer for a little over 25-years. If I was anywhere close to you, I'd be asking if I could spend an afternoon with you to polish the paint on this one and the brown bomber, all while listening to your great stories.
I’ve got five of those spoke hubcaps, but they’re really pitted. I collect old hubcaps since 1993 when I was 14. The first one I found said LTD on it and after doing research, I really fell in love with Ford LTds now I own two of them. I’ve got a 77 LTD wagon also and hopefully one day I’d like to find some Cragor spokes or even some old keystones. Originally the car came with dog dish hubcaps, but they’re pretty rough. I actually ran over one by accident once lol. awesome video take care of that car. There’s not too many left.
I think those optional/upgraded wire wheel covers look amazing. I like the deluxe wheel covers but the wire wheel covers are a ton more elegant and really make the car pop. I have to admit, in all my years of knowing these cars, very very few were optioned with these wire wheel covers. I would say I've seen about 8 cars in 40 years with this rare option. The only higher option was the alloy wheels. On our 1978 Ford Country Squire wagon ,we had the base hubcaps and they were very nice but would fly off so easily when you hit expansion joints on the highways. Your car looks really regal because with those upgrade wire wheels and corner lamps it really takes it to the next level. Glad to see you put the NOS hood ornament on too. Love this wagon so much.
Thanks, buddy! The deep dish aluminum wheels were not available on any station wagon. I've seen people put them on them, but they were not a factory option.
@@tonyscarcare5657 With all your research and history, do you know what the 3 cats used in the emblem on the wire wheel center caps mean??? They used those 3 cats on the LTD and the Elite models but nobody has every been able to explain what they mean? Why 3? Is there a deeper meaning?
The new hood ornament looks great. I'm like you, it would've bugged me that it was leaning back. Ok, I'll admit it, the wire wheel covers look nice. I'm looking forward to seeing the interior finished.
A rubber mallet works well for putting on wheel covers. I don't remember those spoke wheel covers coming on that model wagon, although the ones that were on it went on cars up to 1974 I believe. I think the spokes look better on the Cougar and Thunderbird. I never did like those spoke wheel covers you just put on her but it's your car. I actually like the regular hubcaps with the blue centers better. Now, a set of deep dish wheels like are on your Mercury Grand Marquis would really set her off! Oh, and wheel weights can hinder the hubcaps from going on all the way too!
They clear the wheel weights just fine. The deep dish wheels were not available on any wagon. These are listed in the dealer brochure as a dress up option, and I love them. I would not like them on a Thunderbird or Cougar. They'd be ok on a 74-76 Bird.
@@tonyscarcare5657 Even though they were NOT a factory option for the alloy wheels, i have seen wagons with them. The owner much have put them on later after the fact. There was one that sold on Bring a trailer less than a year ago in the same color as our wagon, Dark Jade Green, with the alloy wheels.
I laughed seeing your rag. I have the same type of ripped and worn out rag I use in my kitchen. It’s like cheesecloth by this point but it goes through the wash over and over and I’ll never get rid of it.
Awesome! Looks so good! I forgot the merc had the floor mats, score on those, can’t wait to see how they clean up. The wire wheel covers look so much better than those deluuuuxe ones. 😆 I never understood why they called them deluxe, when they kind of aren’t. When I was little my parents had a brown LTD like yours but it didn’t even have the deluxe wheel covers, more plain disk looking ones. It’s no wonder so many put something aftermarket on those.
Well Tony, I’m one of those weirdos that like the deluxe covers but it might because I had those on my first car so maybe it’s a sentimental thing but the wagon looks beautiful. My dad’s 1977 Landau, which he bought new right off the showroom floor had the wire wheel covers and it looked fabulous. The one thing that you need, in my opinion, is the factory brown/woodgrain side molding. I think it’s the cherry on top but that’s just me. Looking awesome!
The NOS wire wheel covers look just beautiful. I would've done the same thing. A vast improvement. I did however cringe a bit when you put those pristine wheel covers on right over those filthy wheels...
I'm out of time. Leaving for Dearborn in the morning. They have to come back off to service the wheel bearings. Please be patient and stay tuned. Thanks for watching!
That tilted hood ornament was a mid year change to give the illusion that you were going really fast when in fact the national speed limit was 55. Or not. Lol
Hey Mr. Tony - station wagon looks fantastic. That car is definitely worth all the work and effort. The new wheel covers and hood ornament look terrific. We like the towel trick on the bumper what a cool idea. Are those new tires on the wagon. They look new. The stance is perfect and a car that can be admired. Our best! Roseann & Dan
Thanks, guys! Those tires were on there when I bought it and are dated 2016. They do look new. It also already had new shocks all the way around, so it does sit well. See you soon!
Those are amazing Tony you just moved that Country Squire up in Class Ahh heck you can pretend to be Bosley from Charley’s Angles when your zipping around Town Checking on the Girls on their assigned Case Assignments they all drove those cheesey Pinto based Mustang ll s and poor Sabrina was in a Pinto Bosley always had a Country Squire or T. Bird
Thanks! I didn't have a rubber mallet. I trust the palm of my hand and tennis shoes way more. I don't wanna take a chance on damaging NOS wire wheel covers. Those cost a lot!
Hi Tony, yes i like your new wheel covers, but i do not like your old rag hi hi hi. And a other tip for you, go and get your selves a magnetic screwdriver so you do not loos your screws when you are working with your cars. Nice video as usual.
The de luxe wheel covers are o k, but I prefer the wires too. Please let us know if you find out why the hood ornaments were different. That was just weird. The Squire is looking better and better.
Thank you very much. I lost a subscriber on this video, so I guess someone really didn't like them! I'll have to study the hood ornament when I get back from Dearborn.
Yay! I was cheering for you to find a way to keep that ornament upright - and you did. Did you consider or has anyone else suggested trying to swap the new ornament onto the old base? Although, your shim fix seems to have done the job quite well.
I live the color of the counyry squire. You can yrade yhr drluxe for a set of LTD Landau wherl covets snd psint yhe color keyed insert up match. Then you gave teo sets.
Tony, the wire caps are stunning ! It makes your LTD stand out. I am sure you will get a great response at your car show. I noticed that yours is equipped with a rear air deflector off of your luggage rack. I would like to equip my two Crown Victoria wagons with the same . Do you have any suggestions as to where to search ? Thanks for the video.
Quality work as usual. Those hood ornaments are definitely two different castings. I think only exterior options left are vent windows like you mentioned and a full vinyl top correct? Are you adding a vinyl top to this one also?
The wire wheel covers look great on the wagon. Are those exact covers an option on a 77 Grand Marquis? I had a grand marquis with those exact wheel covers on it.
I don't believe they were listed as an option on the Mercury, but they were available across the parts counter, so it wouldn't have been unheard of to see them on one. Thank you!
It was simply an unpainted piece of metal. It looks exactly the same on every one of these cars I've had. Nothing else is perfect under that hood either.
I didn't know how soft they were and didn't want to chance denting NOS wheel covers. You wouldn't believe what they cost, and no, I haven't had a rubber hammer in years. They are on there with no damage, and that's all that matters.
