The Green Lean Machine - 1974 Ford LTD Leaving the GGG

[eddyramrod]

And it's later, that front end and rear window suggest 1975-6 to me.

[Junkman]

Anyway, some important spare parts have been ordered from the Fourth Reich.

I hope they get posted before Kim the young un nukes it.

[AnthonyG]

That is superb, a good purchase. Look forward to seeing it in the metal one day. Does it still have all the emissions gear or has that been junked?

[Felly Magic]

Coals fine, but the ash melts your dustbin now.

Not if you make an ash cooling dump using breezeblocks and flagstones

[Guest Hooli]

Or just leave the ash in a metal bucket over night.

[DeeJay]

Or just piss on the fire before you go to bed.

[Junkman]

Today, Mr Conelrad, who has a lot more patience than me when it comes to these things, sifted through the truly massive history file of this car.
 
The evidence found, plus a bit of internet research, yielded the following:
 
On 8-6-74 (that's 06/08/1974 if you follow the correct convention of stating a date), the very day Grateful Dead performed live at the Roosevelt Stadium,

located at Droyer's Point in Jersey City, New Jersey,

 

 

Mr Thomas K. Graham and his lovely wife Libbie O., both born in 1898 at Canistota, McCook County, South Dakota and at the time still living there,

 

 

 

visited their friendly Ford dealer, Meyer Motor,

 

 

in nearby Bridgewater,

 

 

 

to buy this new Ford LTD,

 

 

Dark Yellow Green Metallic in colour.

 

 

Meyer Motor is a three generation family business started in 1946 by Melvin (Mel) Meyer who, in retirement, passed it on to his son, Ed Meyer.

Ed and his son Craig then fucked up so badly, that the business, which was a Ford franchised dealership from 1946, has merely operated

as a half arsed used car dealership since September of 2000.

During their ownership, which lasted until 1986, the car saw little use. Thomas and Libbie then either died, or worse, gave up driving while they were still alive,

so their elder son, Keith, became the temporary custodian of the car. In 1988 he sold the car to a Mr Paul Karlstad, who is living at St Paul, Minnesota.

 

 

Paul evidently was an entusiast, which is backed up by a truly staggering stash of receipts and invoices, suggesting he treated the car like a ming vase.

In 2013 he had the entire interior redone in original materials, which he sourced from a specialist company in Columbus, Ohio,

 

 

that supplied the NOS yardage for the seats.

 

He sold the car to the chap I bought it from, who had it shipped to the UK

 

 

in August 2015.

 

 

So I am the car's fifth and first Austrian owner FROM NEW and the 46k miles FROM NEW are certifiable correct.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

That's this week on...

 

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Heehee!

 

 

 

What a wonderful back story. That really adds to the appeal of the car.

[eddyramrod]

That post needs saving in its entirety for the eventual Doctor-style listing.  Yes I know it's likely to be several years away but the principle stands.  It's got to be worth a grand on the price!

 

Who do you know with a gravel driveway?

[Brodders]

Who do you know with a gravel driveway big enough?

EFA

[Junkman]

Who do you know with a gravel driveway?

 

Myself for one.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I love hood ornaments. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cleon-Fonte]

GR9 for impaling pedestrians who cross without looking.

[Junkman]

Nobody is not looking when you barrel down the street with it.

[eddyramrod]

If they try to cross in front of that, they deserve to die!

[Ghosty]

Barrel? I think you mean tanker.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Nobody is not looking when you barrel down the street with it.

Does the car move, or the earth rotate beneath it?

 

Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk

[Junkman]

Today I received a parcel with some important imported spares from that America, after paying her Majesty's Myrmidons a healthy ransom for the release.

 

 

 

So work began.

 

 

Out with that bodged shit, in with the pristine stuff.

 

 

These alone weigh about as much as a XUD cylinder head.

 

 

The resulting result is a result!

 

[cobblers]

This is amazing.

Ar you going to stick with with red indicators or rig some nice bright amber bulbs up in the reverse light holes?

[Junkman]

For now it's on full US spec.

I designed the wiring so it takes me ten minutes to stick amber bulbs into the reversers and wire it for separate indicator/brake lights for the OMGMOT.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

ACTION

 

[bub2006]

I was under the impression a car designed like yours will go through an mot using red light flashers. Could be wrong though. Looks good mr J .

[Junkman]

I want it to play exactly this music when the taillights are doing their thing!

[Junkman]

I was under the impression a car designed like yours will go through an mot using red light flashers. Could be wrong though. Looks good mr J .

 

You grossly overestimate the freedom one has in this country.

[bub2006]

Ahhh my apologies then. There is a couple of barges round this way running red tail light indicators with what looks like no way of having amber lights. The chevrolet i think said town car on it when i followed it the other day. Looked bloody huge!

[BorniteIdentity]

Murica!!!1!

 

Looking gr8 JM. Well done!

[barrett]

You need a new MoT man. Our Corvair, which frustrating was built mid way through 1960 and therefore cannot Sod MoT, has red flashers and sailed through. It also had one broken headlamp and a fuel leak, a non functioning horn and no screen washers, but my MoT man likes me.

 

I approve of the LTD. Although I really want a late 60s US barge I do love the later stuff too

[Junkman]

This is basically a facelifted '69.

They built this platform from September 1968 (1969 model year) until late 1978 and as Danthecapriman already pointed out elsewhere,

it's the second best selling platform in Ford history after the Model T.

[Junkman]

Ahhh my apologies then. There is a couple of barges round this way running red tail light indicators with what looks like no way of having amber lights. The chevrolet i think said town car on it when i followed it the other day. Looked bloody huge!

 

Well, there is at least one of them running around here with red indicators - mine.

This will be interrupted temporarily during the upcoming MoT test.

 

 

You need a new MoT man. Our Corvair, which frustrating was built mid way through 1960 and therefore cannot Sod MoT, has red flashers and sailed through. It also had one broken headlamp and a fuel leak, a non functioning horn and no screen washers, but my MoT man likes me.

 

I approve of the LTD. Although I really want a late 60s US barge I do love the later stuff too

 

Sadly I'm neither patient nor rich enough to try every MoT man in Greater Manchester until I find the one who doesn't fail it.

Hence I rather reconnect two wires, stick in two orange bulbs, and be done with it, which will also have a positive effect on my blood pressure and general wellbeing, since it already boils my piss that The Law requires me to deal with this MoT bollox at all.

 

Besides, whether red indicators are legal or not is not unambiguously specified in the regulations, but the actual point is that indicators and brake light combined is explicitly forbidden. The reason for this is that when you put on the hazard warning flashers of an Americanly wired car and then step on the brake, you only have brake lights on and no longer hazard warning flashers, plus the front indicators come on permanently for as long as you are on the brake.

 

After having gone through this for an estimated 1,000 times in my life (this figure holds true simple counting), it takes me a few minutes and I can do it blindfolded in my sleep, as Mr Conelrad has witnessed today.