1970 LTD Hardtop
Member profile of James Kovacs and his 1970 LTD from the July 1998 issue of the Galaxie Gazette
| My 1970 LTD is number 167,656 out of 850,315 units built that year.
It was assembled and Oak Ville, Canada and then delivered to Grabski Ford Inc. on 8003 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland, 0hio. Believe it, or not, this dealership is still in business today. The original owner bought the car new on Aug. 13, 1970 for just 3722.15. It would spend the next 27 years in Euclid Ohio living a pretty pampered life. The owner only used her for summer vacations, and has never seen a winner. When not in use, he stored the car in a heated garage connected to his house. His family enjoyed the car for years, but eventually it became too much of a car for him to handle. His son moved on and had a family of his own, and saw no need for the car. Since there was no one else in the family to enjoy the car, it was put up for sale. I purchased the ivy yellow and green 1970 LTD 2 door hard top on July 2, 1997 from the original owner. He was delighted to sell the car to someone who would really appreciated, and take care of it as he had for the past 27 years. He was a bit surprise though, that a kid like me wanted it. Nevertheless, I bought it with only 52,000 miles on the odometer. I brought her home to Loraine, and did some maintenance work before she would do any further. The replace the original dry rotted fiberglass belted tires with new steel belts, put new shocks on, rebuilt the transmission, and both rear brakes, and then gave it a good tuneup. The body, interior, and engine are really clean and so they don't need additional work right now, just some detailing. My LTD has these features: a healthy 390 2V V-8, C-6 Cruise-O-Matic transmission, air conditioning that still works, power steering, power brakes, AM radio with reverberator, LTD Brougham deluxe chrome trim package, vinyl body side molding, full steel wheel covers, Galaxie 500-XL cloth vinyl interior groups, hideaway head lamps, dealer installed bumper guards, and a rare dealer installed "Auto Paralyzer" combination styled ignition lock. When's the last time you saw one of these? I haven't seen an anti-theft device like this for years, or the car either for that make matter. I really enjoy the car, and whenever the rather weather is nice, I take it out for a long drive. I have since removed the bumper guards though, they were just a bit too big, so I'll have to send a new photo. What a difference. I also purchased some new seals, whether stripping, and shop manuals through Auto Krafters. Other than that, I don't intend to do much more than just drive enjoy it. I would really enjoy seeing photos of other 1969 and 1970 Galaxie's, LTD's, convertibles, two doors, four doors, and wagons. Would any of you club members like to send me some?
Breakdown of total series production of 1970 Fords have always run in my family, from my grandparents, parents, stepfather, both my older brothers and now me. Throughout our family, we have owned these fine names: Galaxie, LTD, Fairlane, Torino, Thunderbird, Mustang, an even a few Ford trucks. My mom's father was the head mechanic for George May Ford in Loraine from the late '50s to the early '70s. He was once given the pleasure of delivering one of the first 289 AC Cobra's, from Columbus to Loraine. During his trip up, he blew away a brand in 1964 fuel injected 327 Corvette! Not much of a surprise really. If you can tell, we like having fun with our Fords too! It has been a family tradition to own a Ford, and I was going to live up to that tradition too. My love of cars came in a very early age, and thanks to my dear mother too. I was born on July 18, 1970. Soon after, the family Doctor took his vacation, and in his haste, gave my mom the wrong baby formula. Needless to say, I was pretty cranky those first two weeks. The only thing that would soothe me was the rumble of a Ford V8! That's right, my mom would take me for ride in our 1966 Ford Galaxie custom or in 1967 Fairlane 500. This always worked, and still does today. So I will always remember my mom for giving me my love for cars. Although she passed away in August of 1997, she knew that for me, owning and caring for an old Ford was one of the most enjoyable pastime. She will be forever missed. Growing up, I was surrounded by toy cars, books, watched my father build car models, and later my stepfather would teach me how to fix the family car. By this time, I had many model cars to build, but dreamed of having a real car to tinker with. Both of my older brothers owned cars and I wanted one too, a Ford of some kind. I got my wish in October of 1987, when I was a senior in high school. My great aunt gave me her 1974 Thunderbird with only 77,000 miles on it. We aptly named it Big Bird because it was pastel lemon-lime yellow and very big. I didn't even mind the color, I was so proud to have my first car - a Ford no less, powered by a 460 4 Barrel engine to! This was a dream come true. Unfortunately, the dream ended after five years of Ohio winters and salt, the body had rotted away. Newer, rust free body parts were extremely hard to find, not to mention expensive. So in 1991 I traded it in for a 1987 T-Bird, then in 1995, traded again for a 1994 LX V8 T-Bird. This is now my everyday driver, but I still wanted and old Ford though. I just hated to go to car shows without an old car to show off. Even more sickening, in this area, common all you see our Chevelles, Camaros, Olds 442's, GTO's, Mustang and MoPars. There are very few Galaxie's, and most of these are 1959 to 1965 models. I wanted something different, and began searching for a 1966-1970 Ford. I really wanted a convertible too, but around here they're very expensive, plus you only have about 4 1/2 months of good whether to enjoy one. I searched for couple of years, and looked at lots of old Fords, but when I saw what could be would be my 1970 LTD, I just had to have it. I frequent local car shows during the summer, and have seen many 1959 to 1965 Fords, a couple of 1966 to 67, and one 1968 Galaxie 500. I have never seen any 1969,70 or later Fords at these shows. I guess thats why I fell in love with this 1970 LTD, it's pretty unique, in the color nearly matches my first car too. Now I finally have an old Ford to drive to the Cruzin spots and shows. My LTD may not be very popular, but I have the only one like it! Now if I could only find a single girl who digs old Fords that would be a real dream come true. Someone to cruize with and go to car shows and just share good times together. Meanwhile, I guess I'll go on Loving To Drive my LTD!
James L. Kovacs |
