I inspected this car yesterday at Carroll Street Autos in Dunbarton, NH. The inspection was done for One Guard / Road Ready Inspections for a client located in Texas. The inspection was completed within 48 hours of the request.
The car is a nice original example of Ford’s mid size car line, The car appears to have been well maintained and cared for and looks great as a “20 footer”. A closer look at the body reveals what I would consider ‘garage dings’ on several locations on the body. These are small dents that probably occurred as a result of interactions with lawn tools and kids bicycles. There had been previous attempts to cover scratches with touch up paint, The body is rock solid and does not show any signs of collision damage. There is a very small hint of surface rust that is on the bottom of the doors, other than that no other rust inside or outside of the body was observed.
The interior is in remarkably nice condition for a 48 year old car. Some mold is on the rear carpeting that needs to be cleaned. The front seat shows some wear on the drivers side but it’s not terrible. The front seat foam on the drivers side is wearing down and could stand to be replaced. I couldn’t get the radios or clock to work. The original AM radio sounded like it wanted to work but I couldn’t pick up a station in the dealers garage.
There was an attempt to revive the condition of the engine bay with some fresh Ford blue engine paint. The inner fenders and shock towers have been painted black. One of the things that I did notice was that the lower half of the motor is painted orange. This makes me wonder if this is the original motor or a re-built replacement. I was not able to observe engine numbers to verify this or not. Parts in the trunk suggest that the water pump and spark plugs have been replaced. A carburetor rebuild kit was also in the trunk and I believe that I was told that the radiator was also replaced.
In the trunk, the original mat and jack are in place. The finish inside the trunk looks to be original with sound deadener  and white paint sprayed somewhat carelessly around. No signs of rust anywhere in trunk. There is a homemade prop rod included for the trunk lid that does not want to stay up by itself.
The under carriage and suspension appeared to be in great original condition. There is undercoating on the floorpan and it is thick in some spots in the front wheel wells. It has been on there probably since the car was new as a dealer installed option. The metal underneath appears to be solid with no signs of rust. The only surface rust that was observed was on the rear leaf springs, nothing unusual there.
The engine starts right up and initially idled smoothly. After the road test as I pulled the car back into the building the engine started to idle rough. It seemed to occur just after I turned into the driveway, almost like it was starved for fuel. Assuming the carburetor was recently rebuilt, was the float level properly set? Other than that the road test was great. The suspension feels compliant and firm. The steering is predictable. The transmission shifts properly and firmly. The car accelerated well up to 60 mph and cruised nicely. Manual drum brakes – think before you brake!
Overall – Condition Grade 3