http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/cs255/gducheny/ducheny.htmlThe Ford LTD was first offered in 1965 as a "trimmed" up Galaxie with a few more options as standard equipment. The famed 289-2V was the base engine, and supplied adaquate, but not extreme power. Other engines included the 352, 390, which were FE blocks.
1966 was a glorious year for the LTD. The same engines were offered as in '65, but a couple new ones were added to the list for balls out performance. This LTD was called the 7-litre. I will have to update the file, because I'm not sure on the codes. I believe there was a Q-code engine, but I'm not sure if it was the cammer or the cobra-jet. At any rate, the new engines were both FE blocks and they displaced 427 and 428 cubic inches respectively. Most of these 7-litres were 428 cobra-jets and were pretty damn fast, but a few managed to get the street animal, which can put a Hemi to shame, The 427 cammer. The cammer in 8V form boasted 658 horsepower and was the most powerful production engine to ever come out of Detroit.
1967 was a body change year, and I personally love the styling of the '67's. The motors stayed the same except for the dropping of the 352 from the line-up. I also believe that the 7-litre badges were also dropped, but the 428 was still available. I'm not sure on the cammer. (You know Ford, they probably made a handful to kick some Impala-butt).
The '68 LTD looked very much like the '67, but the tail-lites changed facia. The base engine changed in '68 to the 302. Since the change was during the production year, some '68's have 289's, but most have 302's.
The '69 LTD changed once again, but definately for the better. If you ever watch bad '70's cop shows like me, you can catch a glimpse of a '69 at the beginning of McMillan and Wife. I believe that most of the LTD's came with the all new small block, the famous 351W. I think that the '69 is one of the most stylish L's to date.
1970 was a great year for street thromping horsepower, but an ugly LTD. The '70 LTD was an only year body style, thank GOD! The base engine became the 351W, however, and in it's docile 2V form cranked out 250 gross horsepower. The '69-'71 windsor heads are very desireable because of their smaller combustion chamber and higher compression ratio. (I need a set for my '73 windsor.)
1971 was a glorious year for the LTD in the styling department. The lines were crisp, the front end came to an agressive point, and the tail lites were mounted in the mammoth rear bumper. Boy I miss Chrome! This is my favorite body style and I would love to own a '71-'72 LTD. Maybee in a couple of year when I have a real job. The '72 LTD had the same body style as the '71 and they are difficult to tell apart. The '72 was also the last year of the convertable LTD, what a shame. This was the first year of the M engines, being the 351M and the 400. The first half of '71, I was told from a reliable ford enthusiast, was the time that the M engines were the best. After that, the compression was dropped and they didn't seem to last as long. The 429 and the 460 were added to the engine option list.
1973 was a super year for LTD. Quiet LTD was their slogan and a quiet car is a well built car. I know, I had two '73's and they are nothing short of a modern miracle from a car manufacturer. You could order neat options like push button trunk, power mini-vent windows, power moon roof and high-back split bench seat, which I had in my brougham. My last '73 had quite a few options, including the 400-2V. I managed to squeeze 215,800 miles out of it before it started knockin'. Even up to the time I got rid of it, the engine was actually fast and I beat a built 350 powered '78 Malabu. (he, he, he). I just wonder if ford didn't go and experiment with the engine or something, because it was ver uncommon as far as power went.
The '74 LTD remained unchanged except for a few minor differences. One was that the parking light bezzels had four strips going across them instead of three. That is the easiest way to tell the two apart. Three cross bars for '73 and four for '74. The '74 LTD was the last year for the two door hardtop and the four door hardtop. It was also the last year for the Galaxie 500 and the base economy minded Custom 500.
The 1975 LTD was a body change year, but still kept the same basic lines. The front facia was changed, and the rear facia was also changed. Acording to the owner's manual for my '75, the 351M was the base engine and not the 351W. The 429 was also dropped from the lineup. The '75 LTD took the place of the Custom/Galaxie and the Brougham took the place of the LTD with the previous body style. A new LTD was created and it was called the Landau and it replaced the previous body style's LTD Brougham. The Landau was the top of the line Ford. This body style remained unchanged through '78, but the base engine changed from the 351M to the 302 in 1978.
LTD's changed body styles in 1979 and they became a bit smaller. The base engine was still the 302, making the car faster than the full size 1978. I never cared much for these cars, so I don't give them much attention.
LTD split lines in the mid eighties, creating a fairmont based fox platform LTD. The full sized LTD was called the LTD Crown Victoria. The Crown Vic had the 255 and the 302, the LTD came standard with a 2.3 liter four (what a shame). Optional engines included the 200 six and the new 3.8 V6. In 1985 the fairmont based LTD had an interesting option, the LTD LX, which was a four door model with the H.O. 302. The car also had beefed suspension components, including a huge anti-sway bar. They also came equipped with a factory tach, hand pump lumbar support, aluminum cast wheels, and bucket seats with console shift. One of my best friends, Eli Collins, has one of these cars and said that only a couple thou' were produced. Pretty interesting, eh? Time to beat bad late seventies 150 horse camaros that think they're hot ****.
LTD's now are once again cool. A new modular 4.6 liter V8 is standard, which is quite a bit more powerful than the 302. This new engine is an overhead cam design. The optional 4.6 has dual exhausts that are much less restrictive.
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this is my 1,000th post!! 
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