Random # 65: Early 70s Ford LTD

-

UMPH struggled for an adjective with enough gravitas to describe this early 70s Ford LTD.  Stately didn't quite do it.  Imposing didn't work, either.  Elegant?  Not quite but nearly ... .  Regal might have done the trick, had Chrysler not already taken it as the name for one of its Valiant variants.  


 Eventually he settled on venerable, as in deserving of respect due to age and character.  And let's face it, that does sum up the car quite well, given that it's forty five-odd years old and has a rather individual - one might say characterful - face. 

 It's often seen around Hobart being driven by an elegantly coiffured lady who, if UMPH's recollection is correct, has been at its helm since the early 80s.  It has always been beautifully kept throughout that time and presents as a much, much newer vehicle than it is.

 LTDs were the top of Ford's Australian line-up, sitting above the Fairlane but sharing the same stretched platform as that model.  Both the LTD and the Fairlane were based on the Falcon of the time and shared many mechanicals and other parts with that humbler Ford.  However, their equipment levels clearly put them at the luxury end of the market while the styling for both vehicles - especially the LTD's - had more than a hint of Ford's American line-up of the era.     


The big L bonnet ornament.

Louvred pop-up headlights.

Be in no doubt:  This is the top of the tree.


Just in case you forgot ...


Positively heraldic!




This time it's on the boot.

Hammering home the point ...





U M P H

 (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .)

 All iPhone images.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

-
Image
EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question:  Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van?  The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification.  Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ;  the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away.  However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other.    No super obvious hints here. Or here ...  . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front   H O L D E N   lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having their own . So what exactly are those diffe
Read more

An Electric Fiat X1/9

-
Image
For several years, there have been whispers that an electric X had been constructed in Tasmania's south.  However, no one seemed to know much about the car and how it had been built. That's not to say that it was some kind of skunkworks project; it seems to have simply been an under-the-radar affair, quietly put together by a bloke in his shed.  It was actually so U-T-R that I'd seen it at least twice without me realising that it'd been electrified. The car's since been sold but this is what I could glean from its current owner:  - It's a 1980 model and, as such, was delivered to Australia as a "Series 1.5," meaning that it originally had the Series 1's 1300 cc / four-speed in a Series 2 body with impact-absorbing bumpers and the higher engine compartment lid, as well as the latter's interior; - The motor is a 120 volt DC unit from US company Advanced Motors and Drives, rated at 10 HP / 7.355 kW ( http://evalbum.com/advdc , accessed 03 JUN 24);
Read more

Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

-
Image
  Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart.  It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard.  Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags.  And a hubcap went missing.  And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it.  And a mudguard got dented.  And rust set in.   I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla.  Somebody please save it before it's too late.  Nanna needs you to do it. Hello, reader! I've noticed that this seems to be a particularly popular post.  Something to do with Google's algorithms, I guess ... .  But it's not my best piece!  Sure, it's ok, but there are so, so many more interesting classic, sports and performance cars on this site - as well as car shows and motorsports events - for you t
Read more