There have been a lot of whispers, rumors, myths, and folklore circulating in and around Fordhistory for generations. One such mythical whisper centers around a classic muscle wagon. You see, if you ask the right old-school gearhead, they'll swear a handful of unsuspecting family wagons rolled out of Dearborn packing a race-bred big block that had no business living under a wood-paneled hood.However, others insist the story is nothing more than garage-talk folklore, a legend that refuses to die because it's just too wild to let go. And that's the problem with this tale: the deeper you dig, the blurrier it gets. There's no clear factory documentation, nor a clean paper trail. But one thing here is certain. If the legend is true, this wasn't just another '60s wagon; it was one of the most outrageous muscle machines of its era. Buckle up because you're about to meet one of the rarest big block unicorns of the 1960s. The Ford Country Squire 427 Packed 425 Horsepower Back In 1964 via Bring A TrailerBy the early 1960s, the Ford Country Squire had already carved out a comfortable niche as the family wagon America trusted. Americans relied on this Ford wagon for everything from carpools and weekend hardware-store runs to long, scenic road trips. You see, the Ford Country Squire was a staple in American culture, debuting back in 1950 and staying in production until 1991.The fifth generation ran from 1960 to 1964. This iteration of the Country Squire leaned heavily into that classic wood-grain-on-steel look everyone associates with vintage wagons. Most of these Country Squires left the factory with mild V8s designed for smooth, quiet cruising. But for one brief moment in 1964, Ford did something completely and totally outrageous. Yep, as you might suspect, in a stunning decision, Ford actually let buyers stuff the full-blown 427 High Performance V8 under the hood of the 1964 Ford Country Squire.via Bring A Trailer And, no, this wasn't the detuned version. It was the same NASCAR-bred, drag-ready big block that Ford used in the Galaxie 500 Lightweight program.With 425 hp and around 480 lb-ft of torque, the 427 turned the Country Squire into one of the wildest unicorn sleepers of the decade. Sure, this wagon still looks like the classic wood-paneled family shuttle. But under the hood, it packed the power that allowed it to run with some of the era's most serious muscle cars. Simply put, the 1964 Ford Country Squire 427 is a true unicorn wagon from a time when automakers had no problem dropping race engines into everyday cars. How A 4,000-Pound Family Wagon Ended Up With A 425-HP Race Engine via Bring A TrailerThe 1964 Ford Country Squire didn't start out as a muscle wagon. In standard form, it was a full-size family cruiser built on Ford's familiar body-on-frame layout. These family cruisers rode on a long 119-inch wheelbase and weighed over 4,000 pounds, with slight weight variations depending on options.Most buyers of the era chose comfort over power. Thus, the Country Squire's base engine was the 223-cubic-inch inline-six, which made a modest 138 horsepower. From there, buyers could upgrade to a small-block 289 V8 that produced 195 horsepower. If they wanted to go even further, buyers could step it up another notch by outfitting their family wagon with one of Ford's big blocks. The two most common options were the 352 V8 with 250 horsepower or the 390 V8 with 300 horsepower. These engines were smooth, reliable, and ideally suited to highway miles, vacation trips, daily errands, and some even gave enough punch to make a gearhead's heart sing.via Bring A TrailerIn the 1964 Ford Country Squire, the few buyers who knew how to work the ordering system could get the full-fat 425-horsepower 427 V8 version. However, keep in mind that these are unicorn wagons of the 1960s, and almost live on exclusively in gearhead folklore and myth alone. So how do we know it exists?While no factory documentation has surfaced to verify this specific build, a gearhead by the name of Keith Curry shared some information about his 1964 Ford Country Squire 427 on Barn Finds. According to Curry, his '64 Country Squire came straight from the factory with a 427, also sharing that he had been told that it was one of six that were ever built.Thus, it is believed that only a handful of these beauties ever rolled out of the Ford factory because ordering a 427 required checking the right boxes through fleet and special-order channels. So, what makes the 427-equipped Squire legendary isn't just the fact that it's a fast wagon. No, what makes this unicorn of a family hauler iconic is that it was one of the most outrageous special-order sleepers Ford ever let gearheads order. Why Pricing A 427 Country Squire Is Almost Impossible Today via Bring A TrailerIf you're looking to get your hands on a real, genuine 1964 Ford Country Squire 427, well, good luck, and let us know if you find one, because when we say these are unicorn wagons, we mean it. The documentation is sparse, but gearheads among us testify that they do indeed exist.So, at the end of the day, if you've still got that fire in your belly when it comes to owning a '64 Country Squire, you'll have better luck settling for a variant that was produced in much higher numbers. The MSRP of a 1964 Ford Country Squire base model sat at $3,138. Today, J.D. Power notes that the average retail price of one of these vintage family wagons now sits at $32,400. In addition, examples on the lower end of the spectrum sit around the $19,500 mark, while high retail examples soar closer to $58,000.via Bring A TrailerRecent auction data collected by Classic.com tells a similar story. The average auction price of a '64 Country Squire has been $27,888 over the last five years. The price across models has proven to be pretty consistent, too. The lowest sale recorded by Classic.com was $26,000, and the highest was $29,500.For reference, check out this beige-finished '64 model that recently sold on Bring A Trailer. This 1964 Ford Country Squire features a 352 V8 and has about 63,000 miles on the odometer. One lucky gearhead got their hands on this 352 V8 variation for just $28,163. And while it's no 427 option, it still packs some serious punch for a '60s wagon with 250 horsepower. Two Rare 1960s Muscle Wagons With Real Paper Trails via Bring A TrailerAs wild as the mythical Country Squire 427 sounds, it wasn't the only long-roof that flirted with muscle-car madness in the 1960s. The difference is that the next two wagons aren't just whispers or garage folklore. They're well-documented builds with real option codes, paper trails, and auction listings to back up the bragging rights. If you're hunting for proof that Detroit absolutely would drop serious big blocks into family haulers, these two are Exhibit A and B. The 1964 Pontiac Tempest LeMans Safari With GTO Power Bring A TrailerPontiac didn't just invent the GTO. They quietly built what many call the world's first muscle wagon when they stuffed the same 389-cubic-inch V8 into a Tempest LeMans Safari. Under the skin, it shared a ton with the '64 GTO, right down to the 389 rated at about 325 horsepower.On the outside, it still looked like a respectable mid-size wagon hauling kids and camping gear. Under the hood, it was every bit the rebel, with big torque, dual exhaust, and the kind of mid-range pull that made merging onto the freeway feel like a quarter-mile pass in disguise. Today, these cars are a gearhead's dream, especially among Pontiac fans, as they blend early GTO performance with true wagon practicality. It's the perfect "have your muscle and haul it too" combo. The One-Of-One 1967 Ford Country Squire With A 428 And Four-Speed via Bring A TrailerIf you want a Ford wagon that's not mythical, you go a few years past 1964 and land on the special-order 1967 Ford Country Squire with a Q-code 428 and a four-speed. This car is fully documented with an Elite Marti Report confirming it as the only '67 Country Squire built with that exact combo: 428 big block, floor-shifted four-speed, bucket seats, and console. Plus, just a few years back, this one-of-one muscle wagon was up for grabs on Bring A Trailer. It ended up selling for $47,750.From the factory, the 428 was rated around 345 horsepower and offered a mountain of torque that was officially meant for big Fords and performance models, not grocery runs. Yet this Squire left the line as a true one-of-one hot-rod wagon. It's everything gearheads wish the 427 Country Squire had been: documented, verified, and still able to burn rubber while wearing woodgrain and a luggage rack. For Blue Oval diehards, it's the ultimate proof that sometimes the wildest builds really did happen.Sources: Barn Finds, Classic.com, Bring A Trailer, J.D. Power.