We had a new '66 289 /C4 Fairlane wagon w/ the "two-way tailgate", no P/S, P/B, or A/C-vent windows for "460 A/C"...although back then more like ""480 A/C". Sucked back then when it was hot and us stopped for the Saginaw drawbridge before they built the "super glue" bridge. I never heard it called a magic tailgate.
I'm wondering if this was a Ford exec car, special order. The DSO number might reflect that. I met Lee Iacocca in 2009 at Galpin Ford, and I was awarded a Lee Iacocca Award in 2008 for my work with the GT/CS Mustang.
Congratulations! The story I recall is a good customer (regular fleet buyer) pushed his order up the chain all the way to Iacocca because he wanted what he wanted…
Lee Iacocca was a big problem for Ford. I'm not going to slander him here and by no means I'm do I want to knock you in any way, but you must read about the terrible things he did to Ford Motor Company. A book named "Ford: The Man and the Machine" sums him up in detail. of course there are other publications that yield a similar summary. Cheers!
@@BarryTsGarage That's basically it. He wanted to drive something sporty, with a big block and four speed, but he had a family, and needed the wagon. Chevy probably would have built it for him outright, but he was a Ford man, and fleet buyer. I guess he gave Ford enough fleet business that he was able to assert some pull and persuade Ford to build it. Ford never officially offered the 4 speed in the wagon.
Amazing vehicle, hot rod wagon. My PopPop had a 66 or 67 Ford Galaxie 500 four door that was supposed to be an Ohio State Police Patrol car that was turned back in and shipped to New Jersey to be sold. It had the 428 V8 with grayish paint and same interior. That thing would GO.
Excellent! I sure enjoyed meeting him and wish I could’ve spent more time hanging out with him. That’s a fun wagon and I’m glad for your family to have it! Thanks for the comment.
I remember my grandfather owning one of those fords and on the floorboard where the bright light switch was. There was a hidden switch that you pushed underneath the carpet to change The radio stations because of that I used to freak out my friends, by hitting the radio, like Fonzie, and pressing the button when I was sitting in the driver seat to change the station.Lol fun memory’s
When I was a kid I had a 65 country squire wagon pulled the 352 out and put in a 428 from my brother's 66 convertible that car was fun but with drum brakes it was hard to stop
Wow that wagon had some power, usually people back then had 6 or more kids and at times pulled a trailer to go camping or all would sleep there instead of renting 2 or 3 motel rooms for the night on a long road trip
Someone needs to restore the Country Squire!! It IS very rare being 1 of 1 with the 4speed, console and bucket seats but IMHO its just rotting away and more than deserves a complete body off restoration.
I'd be interested to know a little more about the car's history. Who ordered it built that way and why did it need Iacocca's approval for the 4 speed? How far outside the boundaries of regular availability was that option and what was so special about it that it had to go that high?
I would refer you to search barn find hunter on Hagerty’s channel. Pretty in depth story there. I guess they were “just not” building full size wagons with floor mounted stick shifts. May have to do with how they ran the factory for a reason we don’t know now. Certainly few would have been ordered even if available. Does anyone know if GM or Chrysler offered wagons in 1967 with biggest engine plus 4 speed?
@@BarryTsGarage OK thanks, I'll do that. I know of a guy in the Edmonton Canada region who has a '68 full size Chevy wagon with a 427 and a 4 speed. Don't know if it's original equipment or not but I assume it is.
@@BarryTsGarage Ya, there were some strange ones up here for sure. Pontiacs that were just warmed over Chevys, Fords that weren't Fords, 2 extra years of Studebakers.....
Sorry but I'm not a purist when it comes down to original condition , but I am a purist when it comes to a car being restored exactly the way it was originally built , I would definitely have to restore this car .
That was my late Father's ride when I was a kid. I remember going to the drive in movie and he would open the tailgate, lift that metal cover on the storage area, close the tailgate and that made a perfect lean back seat. I learned how to drive with that car after the brake booster went out. Can't count how many times I hit the steering wheel. That car was sky blue and I believe original. Don't know what size engine but I know it didn't hesitate when hitting the gas .
When I worked for Chevrolet my parts department manager also had a similar unicorn. A 1963 Chevrolet Nova Wagon with a 327, 4 speed, A/C Power windows, Posi rear end.
Occasionally you see full size wagons with big engines and four speeds. People would order these to pull trailers. Four speed was thought to be more durable than automatics.
IIRC the Ford deep dish, semi-padded steering wheels were a safety feature. Ford led the American brands with early consideration of seat belts, padded dashes, etc.
I remember that way also… It seems like a lot of the women took the wagon because they had to and later on the minivan became that same thing. I recall a few of the intermediate wagons seemed a bit more sporty and attractive, like the Vista cruiser, but not many
I believe Tom found it in a junk yard and it was destined to be crushed, whee-u, close one, the guy who ordered it had a family, yet wanted a hot rod. I worked in a gas station when I was a kid back in "70" and there was a guy who would come in in a 67 red conv Ford like this one @ hub caps, asked me to check the oil, 427, looked in the cabin, buckets @ console and a 4 speed, made me melt