Selling a 1980s Ford LTD

What the 1983-1986 LTD was

For 1983 Ford split its LTD in two. The full-size car became the LTD Crown Victoria, and the LTD name moved to a mid-size car on the Fox platform that replaced the Granada. It rode a 105.6-inch wheelbase and came only as a four-door sedan or a five-door wagon.

Engines ran from a 2.3-liter four to a 5.0 V8. A 3.3 inline six was offered for 1983, then a 3.8 V6 replaced it for 1984. It was the first LTD with a manual transmission since 1971, though the four-cylinder sold slowly: just 485 in 1986, 0.7 percent of LTD and Squire sales that year. From mid-1984 through 1985 the LTD LX added the 5.0 V8 and an overdrive automatic. A police package brought bigger sway bars and brakes.

Ford built 647,509 of them: 155,758 for 1983, 213,742 for 1984, 205,526 for 1985 and 72,483 for 1986. The Taurus and Mercury Sable replaced it, and for part of 1986 Ford sold both. Atlanta built its last LTD on December 13, 1985, and Chicago built the final one on January 3, 1986.

What NHTSA has on file

The record is thin, as you'd expect for a car this old. Our count starts with the 1984 model year and finds 42 complaints through 1987. The electrical system leads with 18, then engine and engine cooling with 9. Twelve of the 42 report a fire.

All three recalls date from the cars' own era:

• 83V134, 1984. The shoulder belt's D-ring was bolted into material too weak to satisfy Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages." Dealers fitted stronger hardware. The campaign covered 530,000 vehicles across models.
• 85V068, 1985. Some brake booster rear shells had thin walls, so repeated braking could crack the shell and pull the booster apart. The fix was to "inspect and if necessary replace" the booster. The 14,008 figure is the whole campaign, which also took in 1985 Mustangs and Mercury Capris and Marquis.
• 85V077, 1984-1985 police cars. Heat shields on the catalytic converter outlet pipes were left off at the factory. After "high speed pursuit," the pipes could get hot enough to set some kinds of ground cover alight.

The single 1987 complaint is filed under a year after the last LTD was built.

Fix it, or sell it?

On a car this age, price the whole job before you start, not just the first part. Our guide to a car sitting for years covers the flat tires, dead battery and lapsed registration that tend to come with it. If the list outgrows what the car is worth to you, selling it whole is the shorter road.

Getting it picked up

1. Find the title, and write down the VIN.
2. Ask for an offer, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Say where it sits, in a barn, under a carport or out in a field, and whether it rolls.
4. Keep it in one piece. Already missing something? Read missing parts and tell us up front.

Related Fords: the Taurus that replaced it, the Crown Victoria, the Thunderbird, or every Ford we cover.