1968 Ford XL Vin# 8 W 60 Y 192022
Door Plate 63C T 4D 24D 46 I U
1968 Wayne, MI XL V8 390 2BBL
I purchased this 1968 XL from an owner in North Tuscola, IL in June of 2002. I had the car inspected and shipped to California. When I received the car it ran, but not very well. It was also coated with a nice spattering of oil from the cars stored above it in transport.
I cleaned the car and immediately rebuilt the carburetor, replaced the points and rotor, plugs, wires and that got the car running. It was very frustrating at first because everything I attempted to loosen broke first rather than coming loose- it was obvious that the car sat for a while. I replaced the air cleaner assembly, obtained and refurbished some valve covers, and restored everything from the radiator forward. Upon inspection I noticed that the “clean” frame was rusted pretty bad on the driver’s side, especially closer to the engine. I bit the bullet and had the body pulled off the frame and had the entire driver’s side frame rail replaced with a clean one from CA. Next came the brakes- which were completely shot, so I had a shop replace everything- lines, drums, pads, wheel cylinders, etc. That was pretty much it for my initial budget- and you could hardly tell the difference just looking at the car.
I then started working more with the local and national members to get parts and advice. I obtained a beautiful rear bumper from Mark Reynolds. The entire grill was replaced with a near-NOS one I found on the national site. All 5 emblems have also been replaced from members and eBay. I also refinished some interior parts that needed it- door handles, interior screws, pillar lights, interior windshield molding, etc. I also installed a tilt steering wheel and a set of Sunpro engine temp and oil pressure gauges. I then cleaned up the trunk, placed in a mat, and finally got the reverse lights working with a new neutral safety switch.
In this last year I have looked to improve the performance of the car. I replaced the stock 2 BBL carb and intake with a correct-year Autolite 4100 650 cfm carb from Pony carbs, along with a correct year intake. I also purchased a set of Magnum 500s for the car and put them inside a set of BF Goodrich Radial TAs. I could never get the brakes to stop pulling so I finally upgraded the front brakes to 12” discs. And I ran 3” pipes from the manifold back finished off with a set of Borla stainless steel mufflers.
The car is running awesome now, and will get up and go when you step on it. I drive it 2-3 times a week to work, and am really starting to fall in love with the car. I have put about 10000 miles on it in the 2.5 years I have owned her.
