ford guys help please

[Stich496]

while going through ebay for the 5000.oo junk drags/build thread..
as I'm board ,and can't do anything for a week, well 2 weeks(2nd week I can lift 10lb's yay)
I saw this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD-LTD-4-DOOR-WAGON-AUTO-3-8L-LOW-MILES-NO-RESERVE-/140588368176?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item20bbb84130

as seen as my health forced me to sell the hhr. and the 71 c-10 isn't really a year round car in the rust belt if I plan on keeping it..
so my questions are
what was the con's on these cars.. the 3.8v6, no idea if it had o/d tranny (asked seller, waiting) and I know the mustang junk mostly bolts up..
where these 4 lug (I have early 90's gt huracains)
I placed a very safe bid. and it looks like it's at a dealership as a trade..
what would be fair for this..
under a grand be nice..
any help will be great..
thanks.
signed
chevy guy

[milner351]

NICE WORK!
that thing is entirely clean! unreal - timecapsule unreal - I'd be interested to see if the tailgate is as clean as the rest of it - I can't recall if they were fiberglass or steel in those years. If you can get that thing for a grand or less you're stealing it as far as I'm concerned - especially in the NE.

as far as four lug - I think the answer is yes - like fairmont and mustang which followed. But -the LTD was supposed to be the "full sized" car in those days so I'm not sure.

The 3.8 was relatively gutless but other than head gaskets - ran forever. Obviously a 302 / aod / 8.8 swap would be a great future choice. The wagon may already have an 8.8 over the 7.5 - I have no idea.

With some good tires and a bit of weight in the rear - that thing should do fine in the snow - hopefully it has a traction lock - rebuilding them with new clutches is not a horrible job.

[SpiderGearsMan]

3.8 of that era didn't just blow head gaskets , they crack the heads

[fast Ed]

Definitely 4-lug with a 7.5" axle ... I had an 85 Marquis wagon, same car in the Merc version. Engine bay is pretty much the same as a Mustang of that year, rear suspension is a bit different, same design though. Will have 10" drums on the rear, and unfortunately 10" rotors on the front. The 87-93 5.0L Mustang spindles with 11" brakes are an easy swap, as well as bolting on a rear stab. bar from a 5.0L Mustang.


cheers
Ed N.

[Stich496]

NICE WORK!
that thing is entirely clean! unreal - timecapsule unreal - I'd be interested to see if the tailgate is as clean as the rest of it - I can't recall if they were fiberglass or steel in those years. If you can get that thing for a grand or less you're stealing it as far as I'm concerned - especially in the NE.

as far as four lug - I think the answer is yes - like fairmont and mustang which followed. But -the LTD was supposed to be the "full sized" car in those days so I'm not sure.
yes the ltd was full sized, I believe this is an ltdII
The 3.8 was relatively gutless but other than head gaskets - ran forever. Obviously a 302 / aod / 8.8 swap would be a great future choice. The wagon may already have an 8.8 over the 7.5 - I have no idea.

With some good tires and a bit of weight in the rear - that thing should do fine in the snow - hopefully it has a traction lock - rebuilding them with new clutches is not a horrible job.

yes,no?

[milner351]

Fast Ed's the go to guy here - he's had one - yea you're right this was called the LTD2 - aka - smaller and unibody!

[Russell]

Great find hope you can get it. I had an 85 tbird had a cfi 3.8 and c5 (3 speed with lock up I think) it would do a little over 100 flat out I bet this jas the same. What it needs is a 351! Its a bolt it!

[Huskinhano]

Nice job on finding a clean Mustang station wagon. Yeah, 4 lug wheels, 7.5" axle and 10" front brakes. A Mustang 8.8 bolts right in as well as the spindles and 11"discs. Dump the anchor and put a 5.0 with some 170 CC TF heads. Those early AOD's where crap, they would burn out the OD band from prolonged high speed because Ford saved a few pennies and decided the trans didn't need lubrication line for the OD.

You could so easily install a T5 if you wanted if you weren't going to be slamming gears or side stepping the clutch with sticky tires.

Oh BTW, I hate you.

[Stich496]

Nice job on finding a clean Mustang station wagon. Yeah, 4 lug wheels, 7.5" axle and 10" front brakes. A Mustang 8.8 bolts right in as well as the spindles and 11"discs. Dump the anchor and put a 5.0 with some 170 CC TF heads. Those early AOD's where crap, they would burn out the OD band from prolonged high speed because Ford saved a few pennies and decided the trans didn't need lubrication line for the OD.

You could so easily install a T5 if you wanted if you weren't going to be slamming gears or side stepping the clutch with sticky tires.

Oh BTW, I hate you.

don't hate me yet, you can in 6 days and one hour, I'm sure someone will want it more than I will and out bid me,
say like the dealership itself

[fast Ed]

It was actually just "LTD", the LTD II was the 77-79 version of the Torino. By the mid-80s, the full-size LTDs were called Crown Victoria, so the mid-size car was just plain ol' LTD. The full-size Mercs were all Grand Marquis, and the mid-size was just a Marquis. I used to also have a Marquis LTS, which was the Merc version of the LTD LX. Had a 5.0L HO with CFI, AOD, 3.27 gears, quick ratio steering rack and front stab. bar from a Mustang, and 625 lb. front springs that became the Ford Motorsport M-5300-C springs for a Mustang. Also had buckets and console, and a bunch of the trim blacked out. Funniest thing was the Ford parts catalogue listings for the car, a lot of the unique interior stuffed was designated as "with European performance group". LOL


cheers
Ed N.

[Beagle]

Man that is clean. I'd probably go as far as 1500. It must not have been driven in the winter. Maybe only to bank robberies on Sundays... unreal. The only bitch I would have aside from the 3.8 is the front bench needs to be split. I wouldn't want my passenger to have to sit with their knees as close to the dash as I do when I drive.

I'd deep six the six... it's probably a CFI and I have nothing nice to say about them except you can put a regulator on the fuel line for your carb'd 302. I think they are like 10 psi?

You can get all kinds of gears for the 7.5 courtesy of Rangers and Aerostars. If you don't beat the hell out of it, the 7.5 will be okay. BBR may chime in here, I don't know if he still had a 7.5 in his ranger when he turbo'd the 2.9 (James?) and I think it was running 14 something.

I'm tempted to snipe it. Good luck on your bidding. That is cherry grandma fresh. It seems to be missing something though?




If you're worried about the brakes or the rear, they are cheap from Mustangs. I found 3 8.8's this week for 150 or less. Also found the bigger front brakes and struts as an assembly for 50.00

I don't think you can hotrod much cheaper than with a Fox. They've kinda gotten old around here, the kids are wanting the 2005 up, so all the fox stuff is going for dirt.

[Stich496]

we'll see I've been out bid..
i'll wait till the last day to take make any more bids

[Bamfster]

That thing has sleeper written all over it. I think if you could snag it for 12-15 hundred you'd be good to go.

[fordman]

Nice sleeper! I'm having fun with my Fairmont wagon. Five lug conversion was already done on mine.

[starterguy]

You need to do this, a local guy had almost the same idea