In 1970, Virgil A. “Skip” Chapman Jr. and his wife, Anne of Sacramento, California, visited their local dealer, Winter Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, to buy a new automobile. Mr. Chapman insisted upon a white vinyl roof; with nothing in stock to meet that requirement, Winter Ford arranged a trade with another nearby dealer, Harrold Ford. The car delivered was the grand LTD offered here, built at Los Angeles on 9 January 1970, in Medium Ivy Green Metallic with Ivy cloth and vinyl upholstery, and a host of optional features, including the 360-horsepower Thunder Jet V-8, Select Shift automatic transmission, electric clock, Visibility Light Group, power steering, SelectAire air conditioning, AM radio with dual rear speakers, full tinted glass, and Deluxe seatbelts. Mr. Chapman also opted for the optional 5-month, 50,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Mrs. Chapman recalled that her husband purchased the LTD to be their “road car” for trips and vacations, but that their work had kept them too busy for such frivolity. In addition, in 1975, the heavy solid wood door of the couple’s garage broke, soon after the couple bought a van for their business in which they would commute together. Thus, after being driven only 16,398 miles, the LTD was left inside the garage, unable to be easily retrieved.

In early 2012, Mrs. Chapman finally sold her beloved LTD to its second owner, Verle A. Smith. Upon retrieving the car, Mr. Smith noted that it still had “new car smell” inside, as is recorded in a detailed history that he wrote of the car. A thorough detailing, minor engine work and tuning, and a new radiator were all that was required to put the Chapmans’ LTD back on the road. Today the car continues to remain in excellent original, unrestored condition, and it is still in fine shape throughout, with fewer than 25,000 actual miles. It is accompanied here by a collection of original documentation from its sale when new, as well as by a Marti Report that verifies its original delivery, colors, options, and equipment.

The final full-size American sedans of the 1970s are rapidly gaining in popularity with a new generation of collectors who fondly remember being driven in them during their youth. The car here is undoubtedly among the few opportunities to acquire a 1970 LTD in exceptional original condition, and for a new owner to relive some of their own fond memories in Skip and Anne Chapman’s beloved “road car.”