For whatever reason, behemoth station wagons of the 1970s and ’80s have become a thing. Maybe it’s those mid-lifers who recall all the fun times they had rolling around in the half-acre of cargo space while dad or mom maneuvered through suburbia.
For those who are nostalgic for when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the Pick of the Day is a 1972 Ford Country Sedan station wagon looking ready for a cross-country trip to Wally World. No faux wood paneling on its flanks, but we could live without that.
This mighty Ford is, unexpectedly, a one-owner car being offered by a private seller who is, presumably, the one owner. More expectedly, the big hauler is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, where there’s lots of open space and families tend to run large.
In the advertisement on ClassicCars.com, the seller provides meticulous detail about such things as when the car was built (April 1972), its VIN, paint code and rear-axle ratio. The engine is a 400cid big block, which guarantees plenty of power and frequent stops for gas.
The wagon was originally a California car, the seller says, until moving with the original owner to Utah in 1998. The car currently stands in garage storage, the ad notes, although it remains “in excellent original condition.” The odometer reads 95,400 miles.
The original engine was rebuilt in 2008, 15,000 miles ago, and the transmission was rebuilt 10,000 miles ago, the seller states. The car received a repaint in 2007.
The gallery of photos with the ad, including a number of closeups, show a 47-year-old Ford that looks remarkably clean, inside and out. The fold-down “way-back” seating is a pair of side-facing rows for a total of four people, rather than the usual, awkward rear-facing row for three.
“Vehicle has never been damaged,” the seller says. “Vehicle runs strong and drives exceptionally well and all components function. Vehicle has been featured in parades and has been requested for promotional photos.
“Vehicle has been meticulously maintained and serviced well throughout its lifetime.”
The asking price, pound for pound, is not bad for claimed condition at $18,500, or best offer.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Not 72. Built 72 for 73 model or.
The car was built in APRIL for the 1972 model year. You are not a ford guy cause if you were you would know that ford does their yearly change over in june or july. READ THE TEXT!!
If it was a 73 it would have the big heavy front bumper. It’s a 72…
I owned a 1971 with the wood grained siding. I purchased the car to use for a job doing electrical work while I was attending college. (Wow! Suddenly I’m realizing how old I’ve gotten). I carried ladders 8 foot florescent lights and more. The rear door was a pain at times in cramped spaces. An inventor of back up cameras during that time would rival Bezos fortune but of course bumpers were made of heavy metal.
Family car maybe, but primarily the high school date car that would be parked at the edge of the runway to watch the airplanes and lose your virginity rolling around in that half acre of cargo space.
Became quickly obvious the writer doesn’t care for this station wagon. Would have been nice if he’d have been a little more impartial.
On the contrary, William, I found this wagon to be quite appealing. You mistook my having fun writing about it for not liking it.
Perhaps these things aren’t just popular due to nostalgia; often wagons were provided with the hi-po stuff in a much cheaper- and more useful- package. Ever seen an Olds VistaCruiser turned into a 442? Trailer-tow options normally meant deeper rear axle gearing, posi/limited slip, the bigger engine, enhanced cooling/electrics, and lotsa these wagons were so equipped. And family happiness meant a/c, power everything, and space. Same-same sells now, or why this SUV obsession?
In the late ’90’s I was able to purchase a one family owned ’78 Country Squire (the "Greg Brady goes to prom" style, last of the big ones) in gold metallic, obligatory fake wood, equipped with a 460/4bbl and the towing package, which provided a limited slip axle with about a 3.08 gearset (I never bothered to check). The elderly snowbirds were relocating, and no longer needed an aircraft carrier sized auto to pull their boat and bus the grandkids, so I got a 20 year old car with less than 80k miles. With the LTD style hidden headlights and ginormous chrome w/overriders front bumper, and it’s simply vast size, I can report that no-one ever pulled out in front of me, nor changed lanes into my path.
Oh, I put on new, aftermarket cats, true crossed over duals and Turbo muffs, rebuilt the carb and put a hi-po fuel pump/filter in, flipped the aircleaner lid, but left everything else alone. The thing would flame the 235/15 light truck spec tires on the factory alloys at 3/4s and leave two stripes as long as you cared, but due to the aircraft carrier weight, wasn’t quick in any sense. It would, however, accept the cruise control at 115mph, and float down the highway at this speed in absolute ease, quiet, and security for as long as the unleaded premium held out- which wasn’t very long, given the wagon’s pole barn aero profile. I could get 15mpg at 65, in town 9-11 was normal. Heavy car, heavy foot, ’70’s era pollution control equipment.
The interior was slick, sorta mustard/tan vinyl, not all that spiffy but completely immune to oil, food, kid puke, and pets, and equipped with power everything. The rear, when folded, presented a vast, if low ceilinged cavern based in painted metal and surrounded by hard, interior colored plastic; all upholstery save the huge headliner was protected from any cargo.
A note on the rear seats: as a kid, we loved the rear facing seat my Uncle & Auntie had in their ’60’s era Mercury Colony Park (a Country Squire by any other name…) and used to fight over who could sit there. Facing benches exposed you to parental supervision, via Dad and the mirror, or Mom rotated in the front seat. Bad for shenanigans.
A rear facing seat not only protects you from direct parental observation, it isolates you from other adults or kids in the rear seat. And between the oddity of hurtling backwards, and the ability to, "ahem", sign and signal following motorists (don’t say moon or finger), well, the rearward 3 outranks the infacing 4 any day, among discerning kids. I noticed that my partner’s kid, and his friends, would invariably ask me to open the two-way tailgate and pop the bench, rather than sit in the back seat. He was 6 through 11 when I had the Squire, and those boys ALWAYS took the tailgate seat- four 11yr olds fit in that seat, and often did. I used to turn up my aftermarket sound system to cover the giggling, ‘cuz unlike my sweetie, I knew exactly what went on back there.
Wish I hadn’t sold it.
I don’t know why but kids used to always fight over who got to sit in the third row seat in these big, colossal-sized wagons. Probably so we could sit back there and make funny faces at whoever had the misfortune of traveling behind us.
In the 80’s my dad worked for Hertz Rental Car as a Maintenance Manager. One of his perks was a company car. I remember anytime we were going on a family vacation, which wasn’t too often; he would try to reserve a Crown Vic/LTD wagon. My parents had owned a Mercury Colony Park wagon back in the 70’s when I was born but obviously I don’t remember that.