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Black Beauty: 1986 Ford LTD – A 460-Powered Anti-Taurus!


Black Beauty: 1986 Ford LTD – A 460-Powered Anti-Taurus!

Ford was playing with the whole bank on the line in 1986. The Ford Taurus program was either going to make or break the company, but Ford had to do something…after years of disastrous results and quality control issues, they had shifted gears and started taking a new, “Quality is Job #1” approach to work, and had moved their cars from the three-box configuration towards an aerodynamic future. The 1983 Ford Thunderbird had paved that way forward, and if the front-wheel-drive Taurus succeeded, life would be good again. Happily, that was the case, but what was Ford’s backup plan if the Flying Potato had failed? We know from a historical perspective that the company was ready to continue producing the Fox platform LTD sedan. Itself a refreshed form of the Ford Fairmont, the LTD had all of the right bits to have become a performance mover in the 1980s. In fact, Ford themselves had made a quick batch of the cars, known as LTD LX (and Mercury Marquis LTS for Canada) that emulated what Bob Bondurant had wanted for his school cars.

So, what would’ve happened if the Taurus went belly-up? While many at Ford would’ve probably hesitated at the thought, the best plan of action would’ve been to run with the Fox body…the tooling was there and costs were amortized, the engines were there, and all that would’ve been required would be a facelift for the LTD to bring it in line with the rest of the Aero-styled Fords. The idea of a 1988 Ford LTD with the 225-horse 5.0L V8 sounds pretty good to us! With everybody trying to benchmark the German sports sedans at that time, imagine if Ford took aim at the BMWs with a 5.0L, five-speed machine that cribbed every last go-fast bit from the Mustang platform. In a sea of Chevy Corsicas and Chrysler New Yorkers, the LTD would’ve been the ultimate anti-hero.

That’s pipe dreaming, but hey…looking at this 1986 version packed to the brim with 460 cubes of big Ford power should give you some bad ideas. When there’s a will, there’s a way. Surely, you haven’t driven a Ford like this one lately!

Thanks to Channing Ivey for the tip!

Facebook Marketplace link: 1986 Ford LTD


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7 thoughts on “Black Beauty: 1986 Ford LTD – A 460-Powered Anti-Taurus!

  1. HotRodPop

    Seems legit, decent price, but the front bench would have to go or I’d take a Sawz-All to it!

  2. Shawn Wedge

    I have always said that if Ford had produced this car as a 2 door it would have become the go to ford “hot rod”. Sadly it never happened and we will never know?

    1. Matt B

      Ford did make a similar 2-door. The Fairmont was available during its 5-year run minus the kids’ doors from 1978-1983. Unfortunately, the best they had under the long pedal was a tight-pants wearing 255cu.in V8 with sub 120hp.

      1. Justin

        I love your wordsmithing. Not that it makes much difference, but a 302 was available in a Fairmont for 78-79 model years before switching to the 255 for ‘80

  3. Jack M.

    Without a doubt, that has to be one of the ugliest hoods that I have ever seen in my life, and I’m not a young man!

    1. jerry z

      I have to agree with notching the front seat or at least fabricating a post to install the shifter on.

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