My '73 Country Squire

73super · Nov 18, 2011

I had a '75 about 10 years ago. Sure wish I had it back. Was a very nice ride. I have a soft spot for the Country Squires. Sure cruise down the road nice.

ReneA · Nov 16, 2016

gpcl16 said: ↑

Howdy, I just wanted to introduce myself and share my 1973 Ford LTD Country Squire 6 passenger wagon with everyone. I've owned this car for about 2 years and have put in a ton of work and about 4,500 miles on it. The wagon is an original California Blue Plate Car with a 460, C6 transmission, Power Steering, Power Brakes (discs in front), Air conditioning, and Deluxe 5 speaker Radio. White exterior with Dark Green interior.

I bought the wagon on Craigslist for $500 from a guy who lives about a mile away from me. It had been sitting for about 8 years and had some plants growing out of it! Unfortunately, it accumulated some minor rust on the hood and the right rear quarter panel during that time of neglect. All it needed was a new battery and starter, and some fresh gas and it fired right up on the first crank! 460s were definitely built tough, but it was running rough as heck. After a few minutes of tinkering with the carb and the timing, I realized that the previous owner had the spark plugs hooked up in the WRONG ORDER! I put them in the right way and it purred like a kitten. You wouldn't have believed that it sat for so long.

First order of business was the brakes. It had virtually NONE. I almost crashed on the first test drive. So I had it towed to my house on a flatbed to begin working on it. Unfortunately, the driver was a bit incompetent and ended up puncturing my gas tank with the securing chains, spilling gasoline all over the place. The tow company graciously agreed to pay to have a brand new gas tank professionally installed. The old one was probably rusted on the inside anyway so I actually lucked out not having to buy a new one After a week delay, my Squire was delivered to my house and my work began.

Here's the wagon shortly after I bought it, AFTER the first thorough cleaning. You don't want to know what it looked like before:

After replacing the master cylinder, drums, disks, pads and lines, I flushed out the cooling system did an oil change, fuel filter change, transmission fluid change, and spark plug change, and I was on the road. After a few weeks of subpar performance and horrible gas milage, I decided to rebuild the carburetor and remove the EGR, which was no longer working and creating a huge vacuum leak. After this, the car ran way better, and my MPG jumped from about 7 MPG to about 11 MPG!

I had some new whitewall tires put on and put some pledge on the faux wood panels. It actually works remarkably well.

More recently, I've put in a new radiator, hoses, and heater hoses after the original radiator started to leak. I also put in a new vacuum advance and a Pertronix electronic ignition on the distributor. Significantly better drivability and a noticeable increase in power.

All gauges are accurate and working except the clock. My compression is good on all cylinders. No leaks of any kind. I went 3,000 miles between oil changes and only had to add less than half a quart of oil in between. The car starts up every time on the first crank and has never once broken down on me. It drives like your on top of a cloud. If I take it easy on the pedal, my general around town milage is around 11.5 MPG. Not bad for a 40 year old behemoth car with a 7.5L V8!

Heres one more picture of a few old Fords next to my Country Squire. The '65 mustang on the left belonged to my old housemate. The '63 Galaxie 500 is my main project. A story for another day and another forum...

Thanks for listening and I'm really liking all of the other wagons I've seen on here so far.
Click to expand...

ReneA · Nov 16, 2016

Do you still have this car or know someone who has this car? Because I need to source a Brown, 1973, Ford, Country Squire LTD station-wagon with woody sides for a photo shoot. The project manager wants this specific car. The shoot is to take place in Los Angeles; we’d prefer a local car if possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me at rene[dot]arriaza[at]gmail[dot]com Subject: Station Wagon.Thank you.

Anderk · Nov 18, 2016

Very nice Squire

fannie · Dec 26, 2016

Man I hate that, when I start reading the new posts, welcome them aboard, then realize this is an old post from a year or so ago...silly me.

any way...

OrthmannJ · Dec 28, 2016

fannie said: ↑

Man I hate that, when I start reading the new posts, welcome them aboard, then realize this is an old post from a year or so ago...silly me.

any way...
Click to expand...

I know what you mean...

Log in or Sign up

My '73 Country Squire

73super Well-Known Member

ReneA New Member

ReneA New Member

Anderk Well-Known Member

fannie Well-Known Member

OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Useful Searches

My '73 Country Squire

73super Well-Known Member

ReneA New Member

ReneA New Member

Anderk Well-Known Member

fannie Well-Known Member

OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

Share This Page