For many years, Ford called themselves the “Wagonmaster” and perhaps it was deservedly so. Even though most years Chevrolet lead the overall sales race, examining wagon sales alone, Ford wagons typically outsold Chevrolet wagons by a significant margin. Ford’s station wagons were often more pragmatic and prestigious than the Chevrolet competition. Ford’s Country Squire was an example of a low priced car that earned enough cachet to fit in at the local country club. Fords wagons were built for functionality first though and were first to have the innovations such as the 3-way magic tailgate introduced in 1966. In contrast, Chevrolet wagons often had gimmicky features, like the built in bumper step or the cargo compromising clamshell tailgates.
Things changed in the 1977 model year. Ford was still pedaling its massive wagons, equipped with a 121” wheelbase and measuring in at over 226” long when Chevrolet released its much lauded downsized full-size cars. The 1977 Chevrolet B-body station wagon was about a foot shorter and 800 lbs lighter the leviathan Ford. Being far more space efficient the Chevrolet wagons gave-up very interior and cargo space to the big Fords despite their much more diminutive size. Chevrolet also finally abandoned gimmicky styling and features to build a practical wagon. Chevrolet basically made a smaller more modern Ford station wagon. It even copied Ford’s 3-way tailgate. On top of being smaller, the Chevrolet wagons were a massive improvement over the Fords dynamically and they also achieved significantly better fuel economy.
These sensibly sized and attractively styled Chevrolet wagons were good enough to steal the Wagonmaster sales crown from Ford. Ford responded with its own smaller wagons in 1979, but it never again surpassed Chevrolet’s full-size wagon sales figures.
The 1979 Ford LTD was massively downsized, in similar fashion to Chevrolet’s efforts in 1977. The new Fords were hundreds of pounds lighter, much easier to maneuver, got far better fuel economy and gave up little in cargo and interior space to its predecessors. In fact, the Fords were few inches shorter and rode a two inch shorter wheel base compared to Chevrolet’s svelte B-bodies. However, the Ford effort wasn’t exactly the same as Chevrolet’s. The Chevrolet engineers made a concerted effort to improve the downsized cars’ dynamics, so much so that they set a new standard. Chevrolet stylists designed an attractive car that lost much of the brougham gingerbread. Ford, on the other hand, wasn’t quite ready to completely let go of the past with its 1979 cars, and didn’t quite hit the mark as well as Chevrolet. So while on paper their efforts appeared similar to Chevrolet’s, the reality was that most agreed the B-body was the more modern and better overall package of the two cars.
The future of family haulers – note the kids in the photos
While both the downsized General Motors B-bodies and the Ford Panthers were considered to be modern vehicles in the late 1970s, they aged quickly. By the mid-1980s, these cars were considered by many people to be oversized dinosaurs from another era. Station wagons in particular were quite unfashionable among the many child rearing baby boomers, as the newer more space efficient minivans quickly moved to the forefront of desirable family trucksters. Sales of the full-size wagons slowly declined from the mid-1980s.
Where are the kids in this ad?
During the 1980s, customers who bought full-size wagons tended older and/or more conservative buyers. This meant that luxury and comfort were emphasized over the traditional utilitarian attributes, a Ford strong suit. Conservative styling and brougham features suddenly became attributes in this class. Station wagons also had a considerable advantage over Chrysler’s minivans when it came to towing, appealing to older more affluent buyers who may have had large trailers to tow.
The Ford SEFI 5.0L (302) V8 was rated at 10 hp more than GM’s 307-4bbl V8, but in the real world the Ford engine felt considerably stronger.
Despite their old bones and traditional sales base, Ford made constant improvements to its LTD wagons throughout the 1980s. Starting the decade with a 302 with a 2-barrel variable-venturi carburetor, Ford’s engines were a step behind Chevrolet’s. Ford upgraded to CFI (throttle body) electronic fuel injection in 1983 and then further upgraded to sequential multi-point fuel injection system in 1986. Meanwhile, Chevrolet stuck it out with the primitive electronically controlled Quadrajet carburetor through the 1980s and arguably downgraded the engine when it switched from the 305 Chevrolet to the 307 Oldsmobile engine during the 1986 model year. Ford also introduced the four-speed AOD (Automatic OverDrive) transmission in 1980, beating Chevrolet, by one year. Ford went further to make it the sole transmission for 1982, while Chevrolet continued to offer the three-speed automatic for several more years.
Ford station wagons only got a restyled front in 1988, while sedans got a front and rear restyle
Ford performed a restyle of its very boxy Panther cars in 1988, which considerably softened the edges and made the car look more modern, while still appealing to that conservative customer. By 1990, the end of the line was ever close for the old LTD Crown Victoria, but Ford decided that it was still worthy of an all new modern dash and airbag to meet the new passive restraint requirements. General Motors chose the cheaper alternative, installing the door mounted belts on its B-bodies. Clearly, Chevrolet invested the bare minimum in its full-size cars letting them wither on the vine, while Ford slowly improved theirs through the decade.
The GM B-bodies are highly regarded by Curbsiders, myself included, and generally are considered to be the much more revolutionary car. Undoubtedly Ford’s attempt to match the B-body with the 1979 Panther cars was somewhat feeble initially. However, as described above, Ford made a number of significant improvements to the Panther cars throughout the 1980s. GM only made marginal improvements to the B-body, choosing to spend invest its money in its FWD platforms. No doubt the financial investment Ford made to capture traditional customers was significantly less than GM’s investment in FWD. And while Ford may never have caught up to Chevrolet in sales, it is certainly arguable that by the end of the 1980s the LTD Crown Victoria was at least as good as the Chevrolet Caprice.
The aerodynamic 1991 Caprice was not available with di-noc wood paneling. It was more aerodynamic than even the Ford Taurus wagon.
Partway during the 1990 model year, Chevrolet introduced its new aerodynamically styled 1991 Caprice. Chevrolet decided to continue the station wagon variant, which was updated considerably over the 1990 models. The 1991 Caprice wagon was the most aerodynamic station wagon of the time and was certainly a huge change from the boxy predecessor. Ford soldiered on in 1991 with its traditionally style Crown Victoria, but sales waned against the new slippery Chevrolet, and only 8000 Ford wagons were produced. Nevertheless, the writing was on the wall for the full-size Ford station wagon well before the 1991 sales tally came in. There was to be no Crown Victoria station wagon when the new 1992 Crown Victoria was introduced. Ford continued to make station wagons though, and produced the Taurus station wagons until 2004. While the Taurus was a fine automobile for its day, it wasn’t quite the traditional big station wagon Ford had been known for. Something was lost when Ford retired its full-size station wagons.
I came across this meticulously kept 1991 Crown Victoria LX wagon on eBay. In its nearly 30 year life span it has only logged 42,000 miles, most of those in dry Arizona. It has had three owners, the first of whom kept it until 2016 when it was sold in an estate sale to an elderly neighbour. The current owner purchased it in 2017 and appears to have been an excellent caretaker.
The interior on this example looked like new. This car has leather upholstery, which was not available in the Chevrolet station wagons. One needed to step up to a Buick to get leather in a GM wagon. Note the more modern dashboard and airbag introduced in 1991.
The car has received extensive maintenance, included an “updated” (rebuilt?) transmission, three new power window motors, refinished alloy wheels (claimed to have cost $2000), recent tires, belts, hoses, dual exhaust, Bilstein shocks and speakers. The owner obviously wasn’t afraid to invest some money into preserving this old wagon.
Ford’s vertical fuel tank placement dictated dual facing rear seats rather than the single rear facing seat. Note that the cargo carpet had to be rolled up on Ford wagons, while on GM wagons, the carpet was glued to the cargo panels, meaning there was some storage space between the second and third seats.
The owner claimed this station wagon to be one of three produced, based on the Marti report, however, all that means is that there were only three other station wagons produced in 1991 that were exactly identical this one. Many times Marti reports narrow older cars to 1 of 1, so 1 of 3 isn’t that unique. According to that same Marti report, only 3865 Crown Victoria LX wagons were produced, meaning the remaining 4155 station wagons must have been wood panelled Country Squires. While most Ford station wagon lovers prefer their wagon with wood panelling, I particularly like this example due to its lack of di-noc. I have always preferred my wagons wood free. Not only do they look much cleaner, but my father drilled into me as a child that as the wood applique ages, it will lock-in moisture against the body and cause rust. He too was a big proponent of wood free wagons – just in case you were wondering. Furthermore this fine Ford wagon reminds me of my former Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagon, also being a well-equipped wood free white station wagon of similar vintage.
The big Ford wagon sold on at the end of June this year, surpassing its reserve with a $9,300 winning bid. Hopefully this station wagon will find a good home that will preserve one of the last great traditional wagons made by the Wagonmaster.
Beautiful car, but unfortunately the classy look is diminished by the addition of raised white letter Radial T/A tires.
But that is an easy fix and not too expensive.
Raised white letter tires typically have black letters on the reverse side, so one way out would be reversingthetires on the same rims. Even less expensive is tire paint.
I cannot look at this wagon and not think of the Family Truckster in “National Lampoon’s Vacation'”. I can just picture Clark and Ellen Griswold and the kids and Aunt Edna in the back seat rolling down the highway with Dinky’s leash on the rear bumper. Has anyone noticed but me that Clark traded in a 1970 Vista Cruiser but got back a crushed 1972 Vista Cruiser in one of the opening scenes?
Nice car Vince, and I like the RWL BFG TAs. I think you should have been the buyer.
A pre-Panther Country Squire or Colony Park is on my short list. When I was a kid, I was so jealous of my friends’ parents that had Country Squires and other cool wagons and I was stuck in my Moms awful orange Volvo wagon.
I missed the auction, but it’s not the wagon for me anyway. I like these Panther Fords, but there are a lot of other cars I’d rather own first. If I see any nice Country Squires pop up, I will be sure to let you know.
V8/RWD? Gotta have RWL BFG T/As. Look great with the turbine wheels. That is one cool wagon.
Nice perspective on the co-evolution of the Panthers and B-bodies. Interesting that the rear (middle) seat folds as a single piece, instead of being split. I wonder when that feature was invented, but it’s certainly something I would’ve expected from the Wagonmaster!
Growing up in the 80s and 90s the only people who drove full size wagons were kids with older parents. They were very few. Younger parents all drove minivans and taurus wagons and import wagons. By the mid 90s they were all driving SUVs.
Beautiful find. It is always useful to see such a car in mint condition to remind me of how it would have been seen by someone at the time, rather than trying to infer it through the oxidation, sagging suspension, and tailpipe smoke of most 30-year old cars that have managed to cling to life by 2020.
In an alternate universe where I owned a Carvana-type vending machine that could store and present to me any of a few dozen rides whenever I wished, I’d have one of these in there. The glass space. The stretch-out space. The pillowy ride and big V8 quietly chewing through alarming amounts of fuel without a commensurate increase in velocity…but always smooth. Cruise it into the desert sunset at 55, all windows down.
I guess mine is worth more than I thought! I don’t drive mine around town much, and hardly at all now that we’re locked down, but as you say, a cruise to the desert with windows down is ideal. I’ll never forget driving mine to Vegas a few years ago: That long hood just shrinks in front of you and the car eats up the miles as you relax.
I remember Jonesing after one of these when they were being phased out, but they were in short supply and not at all cheap. The final ones would be my pick of this generation too.
I came close to buying a high-mile but very nicely kept Colony Park, maybe an 87. It drove nicely (as nicely as anything with an AOD, anyway) but I remember the terrible symphony of squeaks and rattles from the “highly experienced” flexible body structure.
If these had come with an E4OD I might be really tempted, but I have spent enough time around AOD cars that I just couldn’t make myself do another one.
The station wagon body structures definitely weren’t as rigid as the sedans. It seemed most wagons were known to have more squeaks and rattles than their sedan counterparts.
The E4OD is a monstrous transmission so probably not the best choice for a Panther. I doubt one would fit without some modification to the transmission tunnel. Plus, they weren’t known for their durability either, despite being based on the rock solid C6. It’s interesting that you really hated the AOD so much. I didn’t mind the one I had. It seemed fairly comparable in behaviour to the GM TH200-4R I owned around the same time. They remain popular with the hot rod crowd today.
Oops, I meant AOD-E instead of E4OD (which was in my Club Wagon).
My main gripe with the AOD was the shift characteristic that engaged the lockup at the moment the thing shifted to third. The result was that on easy, light-throttle acceleration it stuck you in a torque-free zone from about 25 mph to maybe 40 – a place where I tend to spend a lot of time. I don’t recall that trait in the 200-4R cars I have driven. Those were crappy transmissions, but they where pleasant when they worked.
Great example. I would go for the whitewalls, instead of the lettered tires to complete the look. Attached is an ’86 wagon found last week in more typical shape.
Rear
Interior
Front
Nice find Dean! You are the ultimate car spotter, and most of what you spot is up my alley.
Very nice car. You addressed the leather seats and lack of woodgrain in the captions and main body of the article, but I wondered right off how rare the combination is? I’d had assumed that was vinyl on first viewing of the pictures, since the white paint and clean sides where you’d expect Di-Noc give it the look of a fleet car. Even the turbine alloys don’t completely dispel that possibility since they’re such an easy swap.
My own thought on woodgrain is that I wasn’t a fan back in the day but it does add a certain “they don’t make ’em like this anymore” aspect to a car. Apparently there was still demand for it in the early ’90s, Chevrolet added it back to the Caprice option list in the round body’s second year and Chrysler minivans with it sold well enough to keep the option around until the round-body makeover.
Unfortunately, the Marti report was not posted with the ad. It would show all the original options. According to what the seller posted, there were three other wagons produced that were exactly identical (all options, trim, colour, etc). I suspect it was a well equipped wagon from the factory. As I mentioned, I also owned a Custom Cruiser wagon from the same era. It was also a plain white car that literally had every option, except for the tow package. The full size wagon buyers of this time tended to favor loaded versions, as they were an older demographic buying it who wanted luxury options. I recall the old Buick Estate wagon brochures showing older gentleman towing their horse trailer or an Airstream – they were being sold as a luxurious utilitarian vehicle.
“Starting the decade with a 302 with a 2-barrel variable-venturi carburetor, Ford’s engines were a step behind Chevrolet’s. Ford upgraded to CFI (throttle body) electronic fuel injection in 1983 and then further upgraded to sequential multi-point fuel injection system in 1986. Meanwhile, Chevrolet stuck it out with the primitive electronically controlled Quadrajet carburetor through the 1980s and arguably downgraded the engine when it switched from the 305 Chevrolet to the 307 Oldsmobile engine during the 1986 model year.”
AMEN BROTHER – and that’s coming from a guy who was raised in a family where the Almighty GM could do no wrong.
Didn’t Ford continue offering the 351 in the wagons long after GM had relegated theirs to 305/307 only? My elementary principal (in the 80s) had a wood free Crown Victoria wagon with factory dual exhausts. I always thought that signified the towing package and 351.
BTW Colony Park and Country Squire would still be pretty good names for trim packages on our “modern wagons” – the CUV.
AFAIK, the 351 was only available for the inaugural year in civilian Crown Victorias. For 1981 and later cars, although still technically available, a fleet (police) version would have to be specified to get the 351.
The 351 went away after 1980 for the US variants other than police cars. It was optional in 1981 as part of the heavy duty tow package. The 351 stuck around in Canada as an option through the 1980s due to the more lax emissions laws. The 351 wasn’t very common and seemed to be mostly chosen by those doing heavy towing. When equipped a 351 and the HD tow package, it increased the maximum tow rating from 5000 lbs to 6000 lbs. It was an option on the wagons, but buy the late 1980s it was only offered in the sedans. I am not sure the last year a civilian Canadian market LTD Crown Victoria could order a 351, but I know as of 1989 they were still optional (only on sedans). A friend had an ’89 with a 351 he used for towing a large boat.
There was a dual exhaust option on the 302 CFI cars, which bumped up the horsepower rating from 140 hp to 165 hp offered in the mid-1980s. The SEFI was introduced in 1986, and the 5.0Ls with single exhaust used in the Panther cars were rated at 150 hp and 270 lbs-ft of torque.
FWIW, Chevrolet continued to offer the 350 throughout the 1980s, but only in the police cars. 1979 was the last year you could get a civilian Caprice/Impala with a 350 for the 1977-90 cars.
The 302 MPFI had a dual exhaust option from 86 to 91’that bumped HP from 150 to 160.
The 351 was offered in Canada right up thru 91. It was the only way to delete the standard AC, which the RCMP were all too happy to do.
They denied AC to their members right to the bitter end, when they simply couldn’t delete any more.
I didn’t mention the dual exhaust on the SEFI 5.0L, but yes it was supposedly rated at 160 hp and 280 lbs-ft. For what ever reason, I can’t find an official source that quotes that number. And correct me if I am wrong Roger, but the dual exhaust was never listed as a separate option. However, dual exhaust was included with the HD tow package, so my assumption has always been you need to order the tow package to get dual exhaust. I don’t recall any Ford literature listing the dual exhaust as a stand alone option (although with Ford, there always seems to be exceptions). Of course, the 302 SEFI police cars had dual exhaust too.
As for the 351, I was aware it was available on police cars, both in US and Canada until 1991. What I wasn’t sure of, was the last year that it was offered in Canada on civilian models. I checked through my brochures, and the newest Canadian one I have is 1989, which shows the 351 optional on sedans only. So can you confirm you could get a 351 in Canadian Civilian cars in 1990 and 1991?
I’m going by fuzzy recollection. I’m not sure. I saw a fair amount of dual-exhaust CVs and GMs back in the day.
Yeah, I can’t remember that details exactly either, not that anyone beside us cares. All I know is around here the 351 Vics were rare and so were the dual exhaust cars. More often than not if I saw a Panther with dual exhaust, it had the 351 and the tow package, much like my friend’s ’89 LTD Crown Vic. Or it was a former cop car.
Put me down as another thinking this one should have whitewalls instead of the raised letter tires. Why spend all that money and effort to keep a car original, and not put original tires on it?
Something missing on the towing advantage of these versus the Chrysler minivans is the Astro/Aerostar minivans which ‘did’ have towing capability in a nice, smaller package. It was just another nail in the station wagon coffin. If not for the continued popularity of the Subaru Outback, I dare say they’d be completely gone from the market by now.
In fact, just the other day, I was behind an AWD Astro. I thought to myself, “Damn, why didn’t they sell more of these?”. I guess that old soccer mom stigma really put a crimp in what seemed like a terrific package for someone wanting an efficiently-sized people/cargo mover in the snowbelt. Most people likely would have gotten a four-door Explorer, instead.
When Ford started fitting the composite headlamps to the facelifted models in 1985, Ford skipped LTD Crown Victoria and its plushier Grand Marquis. Both soldiered on with sealed beam headlamp capsules until both models were replaced by more aerodynamic successors in 1992.
I’ve always thought that a bit curious too, especially since Ford initially was pretty big on switching to composite headlights. Given the refresh was done in 1988, the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis have to be one of the last cars (not a truck) to get a refresh/redesign and not get composite headlights.
Spotless in every possible way!
The 1975 ad says “Three sizes from the Wagonmaster”. Indeed, that’s exactly what they offered here too, for many years at a stretch. Going back 45 years, you had the Escort-Taunus-Granada in wagon form. What they call the C-, D- and E-segment these days. All later models (Focus, Sierra~Mondeo and Scorpio included), were available as wagon too.
My grandmother on my mom’s side had a white Crown Victoria wagon much like this as her last car. This was a long time ago and I was young so I don’t remember much about the car. It was all white like this one without the dinoc, but I think pre-refresh. She stopped driving at some point and I don’t ever remember getting a ride in it. The car sat in her driveway for years in a “ran when parked” condition while she stored pet food in it. I have no idea what happened to it after she passed away.
Definitely sad to the Panther wagons go away.
One of the big reasons that the sales of the wagon was down so far for 1991 was not the whale in the Chevy showroom across the street, it was what was front and center in the showroom of the Ford dealer, the Explorer.
The Explorer of course quickly became Ford’s 2nd best selling vehicle after the F-series and even outsold the Camry and Accord in 95-96.
Undoubtedly the Explorer also impacted wagon sales in 1991, but there was still a group of customers who wanted a full-size wagon and not an SUV or a van. Of those “station wagon only” customers left, GM captured more and increased its station wagon sales, while Ford captured less, And its station wagon sales decreased.
1991 was a significant departure from the previous model, so yeah you would expect a sales bump since now people weren’t looking at trading in the old wagon for new one that was basically the same.
While Ford’s sales did decline they continued at the same steady rate that they had for several years, per your graph.
The bigger question is what happened to the Chevy’s sales in 1992 and beyond when there was no longer a traditional full size wagon at the Ford store.
“1991 was a significant departure from the previous model, so yeah you would expect a sales bump since now people weren’t looking at trading in the old wagon for new one that was basically the same.”
Yes, that is exactly what I was saying. The new Caprice was enough to entice a few more new full-size wagon buyers into the Chevy camp, while Ford lost customers.
As for the Caprice wagon sales, as one would expect, the sales slowly tapered off after 1991. It wasn’t until 1995 that the Caprice wagon production dropped to just under 8000 units, close to what Ford made in 1991. That said, the market for full-size wagons was clearly shrinking annually. If anything, as much as you and I may have wished Ford continued with a full-size wagon in 1992, it was a smarter long term decision to abandon it rather than invest in a new one like GM did.
My point is that the new body most likely attracted old buyers to finally trade for a new one, not that it drew customers away from Ford.
C’mon Scout, you’re telling me that you think no Ford customers switched to Chevy in 1991? Not everyone is as brand loyal as you are. 🙂 I have no doubt that some of customers were former Crown Vic wagon owners that wanted something more modern than Ford’s 1991 box wagon. While we may look at these whale B-bodies with some disdain today, they did actually sell moderately well for the times. The aero look was in and the old boxy cars were seen as dinosaurs.
In fact, when I worked at a Chevy/Olds/Cadddy dealer, we had plenty of Ford trade-ins, including Crown Vics/Grand Marquis/Town Cars. My ’88 Grand Marquis was a trade in at my dealership that I bought for my personal vehicle at a nice employee discount.
I said back up there somewhere that undoubtedly it did attract a few former Ford buyers. Just as likely however is that the jarring redesign sent a few people over to the Ford store.
My point was that the Ford wagon sales for 1991 continued on the same trajectory as they had been since 1986, so you can’t really put the blame on the drop from 90-91 on the Chevy.
Meanwhile you can explain the increase in Chevy sales by the typical bump a fresh model brings over a long in the tooth predecessor.
Bottom line is Scout, Ford had less market share of the full-size wagons in 1991 vs 1990. The trajectory doesn’t account for this loss in market share. I have also said the new Chevy wagon wasn’t the only reason for the change in production numbers and agreed some switched to other vehicles like the Explorer. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the reason for this change.
The other factor is that the 1991 model year was a short run for the Panthers as the 1992s were an early introduction. If I remember correctly they started regular production in May.
So the fact that the sales decrease was on track with prior years is a little surprising. Though I guess Ford may set the production mix to hit the wagon’s number the trend predicted since they weren’t going to make a new one.
I like this wagon so much, I don’t even mind that it’s white, which is hardly my favorite car color. For me, it’s pure Wagonlove.
This particular wagon reminds of of a white ’89 Caprice wagon that I saw for sale sometime in the late 1990s. It had ridiculously low mileage, and was a wood-free white wagon — I was awfully tempted by it.
It’s amusing to me how quickly these big wagons went from kidmobiles in the early 1980s, to old folks’ cars less then a decade later, and then rapidly became cool to younger folks who were shuttled around in them as kids.
The Explorer and other SUVs, became the darling of the Suburban lifestyle. I consider mine a wagon, though it isn’t as long as those old Country Squires. The lack of third row seating could be an issue and that would likely require the purchase of a minivan. The other darling of the suburbs. I’ve always thought that a minivan is better at carrying passengers, at least until Chrysler introduced “stow and go.”
I still have an undying love for the big Country Squires, because I grew up in one – a big, white ’67 with the wood. I remember Dad buying it used when I was about 4 – and it was Mom’s family hauler all the way until ’89, until “someone” tried to take it “offroading” late one night with some buddies – caught some air and caved in the front frame member.
By that time, because Dad was beyond frugal, every system on the car was finally failing. The brakes hadn’t really worked for 10 years, the differential was making ominous random VERY loud clanking noises, the power-steering was leaking a pint a day, etc., etc.
But having that big 390 in there and the C6 … man, the memories of loading my ENTIRE first band in there – drums, PA system, amps and all, and driving up a steep mountain road to one of our first gigs, with the old girl – even in 1987 – not even breaking a sweat (due to the totally shot 4-wheel drum brakes, it was a VERY different story coming back downhill – 2nd gear and 1st gear in that C6 saved multiple lives several times over the years).
I’m past 50 and I actually still have a recurring dream that I see that ol’ ’67 still out on the road, and I’m trying to chase it and buy it back.
So it was such a unique experience, when Dad chose as a replacement – a used ’82 Squire. – white – yeah, Mom was THRILLED (sarc) to be given a modern clone of the old beast she had been embarrassed to be seen in for so many years. The only hitch in the sale was that the owner warned that the Variable Venturi carb was shot and would have to be rebuilt/replaced.
It was so weird to see most of the original features of the ’67 replicated in the ’82 – but downsized, plasticized, and cheapened – so that the ’82 really WAS recognizible as the ’67s younger sibling – but it was just SO lame in comparison – and Mom felt the same.
But her displeasure was not to last. The ending to the ’82’s story was quick and violent. Mom has always had some weird psychic stuff going on, and I still swear that her hate rays for her “new” wagon did this:
Mom drove it for exactly 10 days, then it went to the shop to fix the carb. This place was a huge, 2-story, concrete car-repair complex – all ceilings double height, so it really was about 4 stories tall. Imagine a parking structure turned into an auto center. The service guy would take your car and drive it up some big ramps and park it on the exposed roof, where cars were stored during various processes of repair.
A few days later the service manager calls Dad and says there’s a problem about the car. I had seen a big black cloud in the sky the day that morning and heard sirens…. mmm hmm …
It seems that the mechanic had removed that fickle Variable-Venturi carb beast to rebuild it. Meanwhile……. Kenny, one of the gofers, needs some space and Mom’s ’82 is blocking off some extra parking. So Kenny moves the Country Squire.
Well.. that was the vision of his intended action in Kenny’s head as first the ’82 won’t start …. and then the fireball erupts.
Luckily, the fire station was next door, so only three other cars were destroyed in the ensuing inferno, including a ’68 Stingray. The local paper blamed the problem on a customer’s defective car.
The best part was when I accompanied Dad down there a few days later to sign papers. At the service desk, facing the customers, some shop wag had prominently posted a comic, cut out of some automotive publication. The top half of the comic showed a service manager talking to a customer. The bottom half showed a mechanic spraying a fire extinguisher at a car.
The caption:
“Sir, it’ll just be a few more minutes.’ Kenny’s almost finished tuning out the fire.”
The original name in the comic, was not Kenny, but someone had scratched out the printed caption and scribbled the ACTUAL name of the gofer who had “started” Mom’s ’82 Country Squire without the carb installed.
So…. Mom went without a car for a couple weeks, and then I somehow steered Dad toward an ’85 Supra P-type – and it looked so cool that Mom gave the thumbs up and drove stickshift for the next 10 years, just to never drive another wagon!
And that is how I came to be the owner of probably the last stock Supra Mark II in Louisiana 🙂
Yeah, I know I digressed just a bit. But man I still would love to have me a ’67 Squire….
CaliCajun, what a great story!
Di-Noc would adsorb parking lot dings, and some healthy ones at that and still look OK.
I don’t ever recall seeing rust under the Di-Noc except over wheel openings, when it tended to hide the rust. Other than that only if the Di-Noc was missing or cut.
I’ve had some people comment my Ford wagon(s) looked so good because they were still in the shipping crate.
One can tell whether the full size Ford was an 88-89 (cracked dashboard) or 90-91 (no cracks in dashboard).
I never said Dad’s advice was spot on, but I tend to think there was some truth to it. Here in rust country it was quite common to find a wood-grain station wagon with big rust blisters in random places on the body sides under the vinyl applique. Dad saw this and drew his own conclusions. What seemed to happen was once the di-noc surface was damaged, water moisture could get between it and body and cause rust. The other issue was that a small rust spot often went unnoticed, since a small rust spot would blend into the wood-grain. By the time it was noticed, the rust had become a big problem. I bought a 1988 Custom Cruiser wagon on the cheap with woodgrain and it was full of rust blisters on the body sides under the wood-grain vinyl.
Is that DiNoc on the back of the air dam, following edge of the roof rack?
I seem to remember seeing that on other Ford wagons which don’t have it on the sides or gate surfaces.
You mean that’s not real wood?
Had me fooled.😀
https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/svg/1f600.svg
I was wondering if any Ford with that air dam didn’t have DiNoc on it.
Truly the last of its kind from a long-bygone era…actually, we still have station wagons now–in the form of Chevy Suburbans & Subaru Outbacks!
Somebody actually DID build a wagon version of the ’92-’97 Panther by salvaging the top from a similar-vintage Taurus wagon & melding it with the Crown Vic’s former trunklid. Had it ever been factory it would’ve given the final B-Bodies a run for their money.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2011/02/09/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1997-ford-crown-victoria-station-wagon
Now that’s a beauty! And if it is a factory dual exhaust that means it would have the 160 HP version of the SFI 302 tied to the 3.27 rear end. GM would have been smart if they had utilized the 170 HP HO 307 vin “9” 307 when the trailer tow package or a dual exhaust/suspension upgrade was ordered to give these well over 4000 LB wagons some desperately needed pep. They did this with the Cadillac Brougham cars from 1986-1989 but not the wagons. GM under Smith was a disaster sometimes.
Just saw this exact same wagon, color and year, next to me at a stop light in Concord this afternoon in very good condition.
Thanks for this forum. Fun to read. I am the proud owner of a 1988 crown vic station wagon. I bought her with only 50K miles; had the transmission rebuilt and put a little money into it. For 10 solid years she seen my daughter through high school, college, grad school, and now into her 3rd year of teaching. It’s showing its age but still runs like a champ. I am in need of help, however. The rear window regulator recently broke in the upright position and the window is off the track. I cannot figure out how to open the tailgate either through the center pull or the swing arm. It’s locked up tight. I fear I may have to let her go if I can’t figure out how to get that tailgate open to work on/replace the regulator. Any tips are greatly appreciated.
Yes, those tailgates do get crotchety eventually even those that aren’t heavily rusted, if they aren’t lubed often enough. (and for most people that reads never-untuil something like THIS happens)
I expect that you’ve already tried and may have solved the problem by now, but if not here are a few things to try. That is after spraying inside the the lock’s keyhole with a lot of penetrating oil, and pounding on the exterior of the door while simultaneously pulling the side handle.
If the window IS off the track, you MAY have enough room to wriggle it around to gain some working room.I f so, soak both of the the tailgate ends inside the door, (using something with a long extension tube would help to direct the spray. WD40 or a similar product or just penetrating oil aree the best best to loosen up a dried out or rusty lock or latch. The ends are where the lock hardware is and where the linkages pull to open the latches.
Its possible that one of the linkages has just come out of its connector-which prevents the latches from operating. If the handle moves freely, with little resistance that’s a strong possibility. (Even without lack of lubrication or the presence of rustcausing a problem, simply closing if not slamming the tailgate for many years can eventually make those linkage rods pop out of an aged plastic connector.)
If that fails, (and if I remember correctly), the panel is most likely held on only with push in panel retainer clips. And possible one or 2 screws at the lower corners. The entire panel lifts straight up once enough of the panel retainers are pried up. It is not designed to be easily removeable this way and old plastic does get brittle, so keep that in mind if you do get something loosened and start to pry it up.
Last resort for most of us would be to cut an access hole in that panel, and that way you’re sure to get enough room to pull on the latch linkages directly but you would want to see a line drawing or photo of the tailgate sheet metal under that panel to be sure to not make a bigger hole than necessary-if you care about that sort of thing.
It was my 1967 Country Sedan, ANDeither my 1982 or 1987 Country Squire whose tailgate locks did the same thing to me-although truth be told the ’82 HAD been fairly well-rusted by then and acting up for some time before that happened. I spent a lot of time working over that tailgate to deal with the rust.
If you do happen to get it open, the latches are supposed to be lubed with white lithium grease.
Lovely car, where will you find another, how much to build one. Philiptilley1958@icloud.com