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My 1979 Ford Custom 500

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    #1

    My 1979 Ford Custom 500

    Here's my !979 Custom 500 Wagon.It only has 31,XXX KMs on the odometer and hasn't rolled over. I am the proud second owner of this beautiful Wagon. I got ahold of this right around 2011 at a estate sale. It only had 9,000 KMs on it. The original owner bought it brand new in June of 79 and unfortunately passed away the next month in July of the same year. Im guessing it stayed in the grange since around 91 (91 was the last year it was registered and stickered). This big beast has a couple of options in her. To start off it has the 351W (5.8L) option over the 302(5.0L). It also had the trailer package. It had the clock delete and the radio delete. But had a Pioneer AM,FM 8-Track radio installed afterwards. Its a numbers matching. All ORIGINAL down to the paint and mufflers. No RUST AT ALL. Here are some pictures of it. Note I know the pictures aren't the best so please kept that in mind.
    Attached Files
    Tags: 1979 to 2011, Box body, wagon
    #2
    Beautiful wagon. It is more basic than the one I had.

    Comment

      #3
      Welcome to the forum. Looks great.

      First time I have hear of this custom 500 moniker. What is the deal with that?
      ~David~

      My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
      My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

      Originally posted by ootdega
      My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
      But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

      Originally posted by gadget73
      my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.



      ​

      Comment

        #4
        Welcome, I'm glad to see you joined.
        For others' reference, I met the owner at a car show and we went over the car together in detail. It's super super nice.

        Keeping the old-school naming seems to have been a Canadian-market only thing. The dash badge does say Custom 500 instead of LTD and it fits the recessed rectangle in the dash perfectly.

        The Wikipedia page for the Ford Custom model lineage does mention it as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Custom

        The Custom was dropped after the 1972 model year,[11] while the Custom 500 continued. For 1975, all full-size Fords were consolidated around the LTD nameplate, but the Custom 500 was brought back a few months into the model year. From 1976 onward it was only available in the US for fleet customers.[10] The Custom 500 continued to be sold to retail customers in Canada and the nameplate was used there through 1981. In the United States, the Custom 500 was replaced on the new downsized Panther vehicles by the LTD "S."
        1979–1981 (Canada only)
        The 1979 Custom 500 for the Canadian market was completely redesigned with the advent of the Panther platform, and had the base-model 1979 Ford LTD front end (with single rectangular headlights and inboard parking lights on a grille distinct from the upper-trimmed LTD Landau/Crown Victoria). The standard powertrain in 1979 was a 302 cu in (5 L) V8 with SelectShift transmission, while a 351 cu in (5.8 L) Windsor V8 was optional. For 1980, to meet EPA CAFE standards, a 255 cu in (4.2 L) V8 was made standard, with the 302 and 351 V8 engines optional.
        So basically the same as the US LTD S. Clearly the absolute most basest-of-the-base models of Panther, which makes it pretty neat to see in such perfect condition.

        Definitely want to put mine beside this at an upcoming show if we can coordinate that.
        Last edited by kishy; 05-25-2022, 07:55 AM.

        Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS | 88 TC | 91 GM
        Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 92 Jaaag | 05 Focus
        Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM        ​ |​ Junkyards

        Comment

          #5
          Appreciate the information. Cool to know that about the early Canadian models.
          ~David~

          My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
          My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

          Originally posted by ootdega
          My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

          Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
          But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

          Originally posted by gadget73
          my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.



          ​

          Comment

            #6
            Wow!!! Just wax her up and shine up the engine a little; then bring that wagon on the car show circuit. Very nice!

            Comment

              #7
              Bonus on having both aero mirrors.

              Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
              rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

              Originally posted by gadget73
              ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

              Originally posted by dmccaig
              Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

              Comment

                #8
                Awesome! I don't think I've seen a Custom 500 / S model wagon before.

                '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

                Comment

                  #9
                  Originally posted by kishy View Post
                  Welcome, I'm glad to see you joined.
                  For others' reference, I met the owner at a car show and we went over the car together in detail. It's super super nice.

                  Keeping the old-school naming seems to have been a Canadian-market only thing. The dash badge does say Custom 500 instead of LTD and it fits the recessed rectangle in the dash perfectly.

                  The Wikipedia page for the Ford Custom model lineage does mention it as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Custom





                  So basically the same as the US LTD S. Clearly the absolute most basest-of-the-base models of Panther, which makes it pretty neat to see in such perfect condition.

                  Definitely want to put mine beside this at an upcoming show if we can coordinate that.
                  Could definitely arrange that

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Seen your ride on Kijiji. Wish I could swing it.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Wow. A Custom 500 wagon might just be one of the rarest Box Panthers out there. And to not only be in such good shape, but to have a 351W and tow package too. Delightful piece of history.

                      Have you looked into getting a Marti Report for it?
                      1985 LTD Crown Victoria
                      1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
                      1996 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, 360

                      Past: 1995 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Stocker View Post
                        Wow. A Custom 500 wagon might just be one of the rarest Box Panthers out there. And to not only be in such good shape, but to have a 351W and tow package too. Delightful piece of history.

                        Have you looked into getting a Marti Report for it?
                        Never heard of it

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Originally posted by 79CUSTOM500 View Post
                          Never heard of it
                          Marti Reports are pretty cool, and especially since you take yours to shows, you might want to look into it.
                          I do kind of wonder if they'll get any details wrong, such as it being an Oakville car...but only one way to find out.

                          Here's what it looks like for my wagon, as an example: http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...l=1#post831703

                          Marti Auto Works bought the production data from Ford, and sells this service of looking up all the data. If you have the original window sticker, the Marti Report isn't really that useful, but if you don't, it's nice to have. https://www.martiauto.com/

                          Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS | 88 TC | 91 GM
                          Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 92 Jaaag | 05 Focus
                          Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM                          ​ |​ Junkyards

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Lovely looking wagon. Very neat to see a base Canadian specific trim so well kept.


                            My Cars:
                            -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                            -1979 Ford LTD Landau (38K Miles) - New Cruiser                            ​
                            -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                            -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (343K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                            -1997 Grand Marquis LS (244K Miles) - March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner - Sold (05/2011 - 07/2024)

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Misleading liscense plate. =-)

                              Comment

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