The Ford Custom 500 is a car model name that was used by the Ford Motor Company both in the United States and Canada from 1964 to 1978. It usually came equipped with a small block V8 engine (289 cid in the early years, up to 351 by the mid- to late-1970s).
Specs:
Wheelbase = 119"
Length = 210"
Width = 77.4"
Turning radius = 41 ft.
Frame = Perimeter frame with five crossmembers
Brake = 11"
The Custom 500 nameplate represented a slightly better trimmed version of the low-priced, economy models of Ford's full-sized car range, which also included the Ford Galaxie 500 and LTD. Most customers of this model purchased them for taxi and police fleets, although the car appealed to many private customers who wanted a no frills automobile with a lot of seating room and the power of a V-8 engine. The name survived in Canada until 1981 on a low priced version of the then current Ford LTD.
A brown 1971 Custom 500 4-door sedan with a blue interior, equipped with a 429 Police Interceptor/Cobra Jet engine and black steel wheels with Cooper Tire Wide Runner Polyglas tires, appeared in the 1973 Burt Reynolds film White Lightning and is perhaps the most famous Custom 500 ever. Unusually, scenes of the movie depict the cars (several were wrecked during filming, including the barge jumping scene) with either a manual or automatic transmissions.
Police Forces ordered up many 1974–1978 Custom 500 (POLICE PACKAGES), motors ranged from 351M's to 460 Police Interceptors.
Approximately 7,850,000 full-size Fords and Mercurys were sold over 1969-78. This makes it the tenth best selling automobile platform in history.
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—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)