10/30/2025
1978 Ford LTD Station Wagon
1978 was the last year before the Ford LTD switched to the smaller Panther platform, with the car shedding some significant size and weight beginning with the ’79 model, which was passed on to the station wagon lineup as well. If you’ve been in the market for one of the larger wagons from this period, this 1978 Ford LTD might be worth considering, as it’s claimed to be 100% rust-free. That’s not to say it doesn’t need some work, as we’ll see in a moment. Rocco B. spotted this one here on Craigslist in Redlands, California, and we’d like to thank him for making us aware of it! $4,900, and also mentions that trades are welcome. From the outside, there’s not much to complain about here, as the sheet metal appears to be in very nice condition. the Ford was a one-owner vehicle. Baby Blue was still a popular color during this era, and the paint has just the right amount of patina on the front section to be considered cool. There’s a roof rack on top, so some extra outside luggage space is available, and with a fresh set of wheel covers, this one’s ready to roll from my perspective. Moving to the interior, things begin to go downhill, as the front seats, carpet, headliner, and driver’s door panel are in tatters. I’m not sure what caused this, hopefully not critters of any sort, but the rear bench looks much better. Even further back, it’s great to see those optional extra seats facing each other, with the seller claiming that they have never been used. This one also has power windows, with all said to be working. Looking under the hood, things in the bay seem to still be in decent order, Having only been used for a relatively low 86,000 miles is a plus, as this hopefully means that there’s still some life remaining here. However, this one will need to be towed, due to the long amount of time it’s been sitting. The front area of the interior concerns me, but I’m liking most everything else about this 1978 Ford LTD station wagon.