It’s December, for all that’s holy. Ten days away from the Winter Solstice, colder than a cheating ex-wife’s heart, and here we are, presenting a glorious red droptop Ford LTD with it’s roof down, begging for a cruise. What the hell is wrong with us? Well, today has been greyer than the “oatmeal” the elementary school would serve, about as cheerful as a prison guard, and we could use a quick breather from the cold to look forward to the sun once more. And who knows, maybe the jolly fat man in red and white might happen to be a Ford man after all. Couldn’t hurt…after all, he won’t even bother leaving me coal after every last Mopar-based request I’ve made over the years. 
And why not request an LTD like this? Look, I know that they were supposed to be a kind of top-tier luxury machine, the best Ford you could get, the statement that said, “I’m doing alright, but I don’t need to show it off too much” or whatever the societal translation was supposed to be. But the big Fords of the late 1960s and early 1970s look positively badass on some hefty rubber and good mag wheels, and with the top down the view just gets even better. This could be powered by an inline-six and I’d be content just on looks alone, but this LTD really was kitted out to the nines…under that expansive, beaked hood is the N-code 429 cubic inch V8 hooked to a C6 automatic. It’s not psychotic, radical overkill musclecar figures, but it certainly is authoritative. Plant your foot deep in that carb and you had better be ready to let the back end sashay down the street.
Is it too soon to miss the warm weather yet?
Nice Car!
Always enjoyed that body style and I’m a GM guy. We had retired neighbours who bought a beautiful brown one brand new. As a kid I pretty much drooled over it. One year later, after one Southern Ontario winter, it had a hole behind the rear wheel well that you could fit a softball through.
So, its heartening to see such a lovely example in such wonderful shape.