1966 Ford Country Squire

By Murilee Martin, 9:00 AM on Sat Aug 22 2009, 3,169 views (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Would you believe these things were once as common as Explorers?

Well, maybe not quite as numerous as Ford's station wagon replacement is today, but the full-size Ford wagon ruled the family-hauler world during the 1960s and 1970s. While my family had a Chevy van instead of a station wagon, any kid growing up in the 70s was going to spend at least some time in a Country Squire.

This may be the lower-end Country Sedan or Ranch Wagon, but it appears that it has the mounting holes for the high-zoot Squire side trim, and budget-minded Ford wagon shoppers would have been unlikely to spring for the big-block 352 engine instead of the standard 240-cube six or 289 V8. The 9-passenger '66 Country Squire listed at $3,372, nearly 600 bucks more than the six-cylinder Ranch Wagon and 900 bucks more than the little '66 Falcon wagon. Nine passengers and (I'm guessing) 12 highway MPG- that holds up pretty well next to, say, a new Expedition (which only seats eight, albeit in greater luxury).

The real question here is: do you prefer this '66 or the '65 Country Squire Woody?