1968 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon Rat Rod Patina Surf Wagon

This is a 1968 Ford Country Sedan 10 passenger wagon. 390 engine, C4 transmission, 9 inch rear end, factory front disc brakes, factory power steering, and factory A/C car.

Powertrain- This is an original 390 car but this is not the original 390. The owner I bought it from found a good 390 and had the C4 transmission rebuilt. The advantage of the motor being replaced is that the non-original 390 that was put in is a factory 4 barrel engine. This car would have originally came with a two barrel carb. Currently the engine has a 600cfm Edelbrock carb on it. It does fine for cruising. The previous owner went through a lot of trouble and found all original brackets, pulleys, and A/C compressor when he put the replacement 390 in. The only thing I have done is fix small issues such as replacing the water pump, replacing a stuck part in the carb, and cleaning up some wiring. Another plus the previous owner did when installing the engine was converting the original points style ignition to an Accell electronic ignition. The mechanical fuel pump went out while I had it so I added a electric fuel pump and replaced all of the soft fuel lines on the car. The A/C pump is on the car and turns freely. All the hoses are connected but I have never tried charging the system

I have replaced the bearing and seal in the 9 inches rear as well as the pumpkin gasket and yoke crush sleeve. The front and rear U joint have also been replaced on the drive shaft.

Transmission- The transmission has a drip from the pan from a simple mistake I made. I wanted to make sure there was no questions the transmission had fresh fluid and filter in it, even though the previous owner told me it was rebuilt (and I believe him, it looks it). When putting the pan gasket back on I used silicone gasket maker to hopefully ensure there would be no leaks. Oh course, the first time sitting after finishing the job there is a small drip on the floor. A professional mechanic later told me that most transmission pan gasket are designed to not have any rtv silicone used on them. So to stop the drip all it needs is a new pan gasket, I just have not found the time.

Brakes- When I bought the car the brakes were all original but it need of a lot of maintenance. All of the hard brake lines from the firewall back have been replaced. Both front soft brake lines and the single center soft line in the back have been replaced. In the rear, new shoes, hardware, and wheel cylinders were installed. The only thing original are the brake drums. In front, brand new rotors were installed along with bearings, seals, brake hardware, and pads. The brake master cylinder and booster were replaced to top off the brake upgrades. The only part I have not replaced on the front brakes are the calipers.

Suspension- As soon as I bought the car and got it back home, the first thing I did was take it to the alignment shop. I had a trusted mechanic who has been in business for decades go over the car and identify anything that was a safety concern and needed to be replaced. Lower ball joints, A arm bushing, front coil spring, and steering pitman arm were all replaced. I addition, I have replaced both pressure and return power steering hoses. The new springs I ordered were for a big block car without A/C. I did this with the hope that the front end would still sit nice and low. It ended up being perfect.

Body- The car wears mostly original paint. At some point in its life the hood and driver fender were replaced. The driver door as a dent in the bottom of the door, probably from whatever event caused a previous owner to replace the hood and driver fender. The body is very solid. The story I was told is that it was stored in a warehouse for many years. Some time in its life the rear floor pans were replaced. There is a small quarter size hole on the driver rear quarter panel, and another hole of the same size under the driver drip rail, both of which I have pictured. In the summer of 2015 I scuffed the car down and a buddy shot the car in Summit Racing Hot Rod satin clear coat. This way you don’t get surface rust on your hands or clothes and it helps keep the car from rusting further. Body wise this is all I have done. The driver front fender still needs adjustment but it has been that way since I bought it and is something I just have not gotten to. The car has a power window in the tailgate. When I bought the car it was not working. I was able to fix poor wire patch jobs from previous owners and get the power window working. You can control the windows up and down movement from the key in the gate or a switch in the dash. The car came original with a roof rack that is in very good condition. Great for loading a surfboard or cooler on top. I upgraded the headlight to clear units with modern h4 bulbs. These are much better performing than the old sealed beam headlight units.

Interior- The vast majority of the interior is original, especially the seat covers, headliner, and most of the dash. The third row seats are in good original condition and are the fun part of the car. The third row passengers sit facing each other in seats that fold out of the floor. The second and third row seats fold down and create enough space to put a 4x8 sheet of plywood. They don’t make cars like this anymore! The previous owner recovered the door panels but did not finish installing. There are a few small pieces that would need to be found or bought to finish this job. Again something I have just not focused on because of more pressing issues. I installed new black carpet, and attempted to restore the cracked dash pad. The repair didn’t completely work because the cracks came back through. But it has been painted black with interior paint and it looks better than it did, not perfect though. I added aftermarket gauges for water temp, volts, and oil pressure. I didn’t want them to just be hung under the dash so I took the dash apart, set the gauges in line with the speedo, and remade the clear plastic that covers the instruments. This is probably one of my favorite little projects on the car. I think it look like it should have been this way from the factory. I replaced the original steering wheel with a street rod style 15’’ wheel. I have the original that will go with the car.

Glass- All of the glass in the car is good. The rear window was broke out when I bought the car but it came with another to be installed. I did this while repairing the power tailgate wiring and motor. There are light scratches in the windshield from the wiper blades which could probably be buffed out, I just have not tried. The wipers do not work. There is a motor which looks like one someone bought and replaced the original with. Again this is an issue I haven’t paid much attention to. Rain X works too well.

Wheels- I replaced the original wheels with staggered width Ridler brand 18 inch wheels.I doubt these tires have much more than1000 miles on them. I found that the speedo was not hooked up when the transmission was reinstalled so I can’t tell for sure. The car only gets used in the summer. I use it as much as I can but in the end that ends up being fairly little.

Wiring- This car has been to the Mid-America Street Rod Nationals in Springfield MO, the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville KY, and numerous smaller shows and cruise-ins around my home town. For the shows a couple hours away I trailered the car. The one thing that’s kept me from really hitting the road for long distance trips is the original wiring. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with the wiring, there isn’t. It’s just that it’s from 1968, the wiring is as old as the car. I figured I have a truck and trailer, why not avoid and potential issues and just haul the car. I have cleaned up the wiring in places where fixes or repairs where done over the years, but otherwise it’s still functioning just as I did when it left the factory. I have had no electrical issues while owning the car. When I bought it the dash lights didn’t work and it just has not come up as something I’ve got to fixing yet. It doesn’t affect the drivability of the car and that was always my first concern.

What it needs and what you should consider- There are still several little projects the car needs to have done. Besides what I have mentioned in the description, there are several little pieces of trim that need to go back on that were off when I bought the car. When you are working on olds cars they are never fully done. I got the car where I’m happy with it and can enjoy it with my wife and daughters. I now have other projects that are taking my attention. It’s just time to move it to someone who will continue the process. I’ll be honest, my reserve is well below what I have in the car. That doesn’t necessarily concern me. I’ve always wanted a big station wagon with the wacky seats where you face each other or backwards. This was just an itch I had to scratch and I’ve had fun with it. That’s what it’s all about. I’ve got it where it drives nice, straight and smooth down the road, while looking pretty cool doing it. While I know this isn’t one of the iconic wagons with big fins from the 1950’s, it has a lot or desirable options that make it a far better car to actually drive. While originally looking for older wagons, I often found that most were manual steering, manual drum brakes, outdated suspension systems, had expensive to repair/replace motor and transmission combinations, and were rust buckets. This car came from the factory with power steering and power brakes with front discs. This means steering and braking are much closer to modern standards than cars even five years older. This car has front and rear coil sprung suspension, meaning it rides smoother than any of my vehicles from the 2000’s. The 390 engine and C4 suspension are new enough that you can go down to the local parts store to get what you need, not some expensive specialty dealer. The car is also very solid. I personally like the patina, which is why I had it covered in satin clear. However this car would be a great candidate for a fresh paint job. I’ve always been told by the old car guys that the more solid and straight the car is that you start with, the better the results will be.So if patina is not your thing, it’s a great starting point for starting a shiny paint job.

When selling a car it’s impossible to list every possible piece of info that someone might want to know. I’ve tried to list all of the important points or issues. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. If there are specific places you would like to see a photo of just ask and I can take a few more and send them to you.

The car is for sale locally. If the car has not met reserve, I reserve the right to end the auction at any time.

Thanks for looking.