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Old 10-25-2014, 03:37 PM
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Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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Bought my first car this week!

My internship this summer proved fairly lucrative so I decided to put the bulk of my earnings in to finally getting a car of my own. My radio silence for the last ~month was my way of squeezing enough time out of the busy schedule my college classes demand to do some car shopping.

While I'd have preferred to buy something from the 40's or 50's the only options in my budget would have either been complete basket cases or would have left me with no gas/insurance money. So I went with (to me) the most appealing available car in my budget a 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V.













With just under 58K on the clock of the 460ci(7.5L) V8 it runs quite well, and the interior is in good shape. It is quite interesting getting the hang of driving such a large car. It has a lot of nice options: sun roof, heated side mirrors, full power seats, vanity mirrors in the sun flaps, digital miles to empty gauge (a historically interesting feature), auto dimming brights (the last two could use some work). One option it does not have that I wish it did was the optional Quardasonic 8 track radio option....Although in researching it I found that a stereo 8 track car radio without any makers marks I have had kicking around for several years was actually one of the factory options for the next model year, and now I'm seriously considering installing it (if I don't buy one of the quad units). If I keep it more than a year I'm probably going to have the vinyl top replaced and the body repainted as the paint is a bit worn in places and there is some surface rust forming at the bottom edge of the vinyl (which is especially bad on the passenger side).

It was built in October of 1977 so there is a 1/21 chance it was built exactly 14 years before I was born (assuming a 5 day work week).

There is something about late 70's Lincolns I've always liked. They have a sort of anachronistic opulence that in the case of the Mark V mixes with muscle car and pimp mobile vibes in ways no other car could pull off half as well.
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Last edited by Electronic M; 12-16-2015 at 05:31 PM.
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Old 10-25-2014, 04:31 PM
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Those are nice cars, 78 was the for last year the big Lincoln with the 460. I have two of the 8-track radios that fit that car, one of them says its the quad, they probably need work, but you can have them if you want them.

Last edited by Adam; 05-14-2016 at 02:34 AM.
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Old 10-25-2014, 05:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam View Post
Those are nice cars, 78 was the for last year the big Lincoln with the 460. I have two of the 8-track radios that fit that car, one of them says its the quad, they probably need work, but you can have them if you want them.
Sweet!
Can you give me a price/shipping quote on the quad unit? My zip is 53072.
I'd almost ask for the stereo unit as well, but then I would have two, and that lingering crazy idea I had about equipping the riding lawnmower with a car radio might start keeping me up at night again.

I have a healthy collection 8-tracks (including a few quad cartridges), and some cassette to 8-track adapters...And I've been pondering what else I could potentially play if a popped a 1/8" phone jack to cassette adapter into one of those cassette to 8 track adapters.....I seem to recall a 70's sony reel to reel with a 12V power input laying around in the basement.
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Old 10-28-2014, 02:03 PM
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[QUOTE=Electronic M;3117990]Sweet!
Can you give me a price/shipping quote on the quad unit? My zip is 53072.
I'd almost ask for the stereo unit as well, but then I would have two, and that lingering crazy idea I had about equipping the riding lawnmower with a car radio might start keeping me up at night again.

You have no room left in your pm box…

...

I always like to put dual exhaust on my cars, I don't know if I'll ever do it to the 03 Grand Marquis I'm currently driving, but I did it to my 72 Impala and 72 Buick.

They were designing OHC big block V8s in the late-60s / early-70s. Buick and Olds had an OHC big block V8, Cadillac had an OHC V12 in the works. They never made it into production. I'm a big fan of the 71-74 GM cars (tend to think of 75-76 as kind of lesser versions of the 71-74), but think the 77-90 were such a disappointment compared to what might have been.

Similarly, I think Ford and Chrysler made their big cars through 78. And I think there were still some big Lincolns in 79 - but not with the 460. And Cadillac still made the full-size Eldo with a 425 instead of the 500 in 77-78.

I kind of liked the 91-96 GM full size models, and the Ford big cars 92-11 (I like the 03 Grand Marquis I have now - it has a small 281 ci OHC V8 and still drives a lot like the older cars) Whereas (Ford 79-91, GM 77-90) were just smaller, slower and boxier looking than the earlier 70s cars, (91-96 GM , 92-11 Ford) were a a bit of an improvement over (Ford 79-91, GM 77-90), a little faster, a little sleeker looking. Now nobody makes a full size rwd V8 car, and all of the cars look way out of proportion to me (too high, not wide or long enough).

To me the real golden age of auto manufacture was (57-)59-74(-79). Looks peaked with the 59-60 GM models, mechanically cars peaked around 71-74 when you could get a full size car with one of the larger big block V8s: 440, 454, 455, 460, 472, 500 (without too much of that smog crapola tacked on yet), and most cars came with AC and all the other various power accessories.

Last edited by Adam; 10-28-2014 at 02:32 PM.
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Old 10-25-2014, 06:01 PM
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HA HA HA ! ! ! You can imagine me reading your description and reasonings for chosing
that car with a really big smile ! ! ! It sure does say " You've arrived ! ! "

Under the dash near the radio it looks like 2 red toggle switches...... They
don't by chance raise and lower the suspension....?..?...???

A shovel in the trunk ??? WOW So when we gunna go crusin in dat ??

.
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Old 10-25-2014, 06:49 PM
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i cut my teeth on lincolns.smoothest ride,unlimited power and well engineered.i saw an episode of fast and loud that had a 72 mark.the alleged"master mechanic" cut and bagged it for a "better ride and nasty stance".idiot!how could you change anything on a lincoln?nothing needed,an almost perfect piece of
american engineering and manufacture.beautiful car!

Last edited by sampson159; 12-12-2015 at 09:34 PM.
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Old 10-25-2014, 09:14 PM
Paul Knaack Paul Knaack is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sampson159 View Post
smoothest ride,unlimited power and well engineered.i saw an episode of fast and loud that had a 72 mark.the alleged"master mechanic" cut and bagged it for a "better ride and nasty stance".idiot!how could use change anything on a lincoln?nothing needed,an almost perfect piece of
american engineering and manufacture.beautiful car!
I agree completely, Those cars were smooth and quiet. Great choice. If you don't push that 460 too hard the gas milage wouldn't be horrible. Does it have the Holly carb or the Autolite?
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Old 10-26-2014, 04:40 AM
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This was the '79 Continental 4 door I had back in 2004. It was a Sunday cruiser, used to take the family out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and everyone would almost fall asleep on the way home with full tummies .

Mine had a 400 2 barrel, which was I guess Lincoln's temporary answer to the high gas prices until the smaller 1980 models came out. The one thing I loved about the car were the brakes. Instead of working off engine vacuum, they worked off the hydraulic power steering system (hydroboost). They had such a cool yet luxurious feel to them. It was definitely in a class of its own.

Ended up giving the car to a friend in Ohio who hit hard times, his engine blew in his car and he'd just started a new job. Only problem those cars had en masse (around here) was rear frame rot. Lots of Lincolns around missing their rear bumpers....
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  #9  
Old 10-25-2014, 07:53 PM
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Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Username1 View Post
HA HA HA ! ! ! You can imagine me reading your description and reasonings for chosing
that car with a really big smile ! ! ! It sure does say " You've arrived ! ! "

Under the dash near the radio it looks like 2 red toggle switches...... They
don't by chance raise and lower the suspension....?..?...???

A shovel in the trunk ??? WOW So when we gunna go crusin in dat ??

.
Glad I brought a smile to ya. Them red things are wire nuts...I gather that whenever one of the previous owners accidently cut a wire they repaired it by using two wire nuts to splice another short piece of wire in. There is another repair like that in the trunk on the wire that moves with the lid hinge...Otherwise' ignoring a newer looking horn, the electrical looks unmolested.

As much as I can see someone else installing a hydraulic/pneumatic suspension on one of these, It is not really my thing...I like most cars better stock. About the only cosmetic changes I could see my self doing are to maybe repaint it a different factory color and change it's wheels to the factory optional turbine rims (that I think look better).

No shovel in the trunk since I ain't been asked to "whack" nobody in ages...Though if business picks up I suppose I could transport two or three at once in that trunk...

As fo dat cruise, I probably won't be visiting nu yak or texazz anytime soon since I'm wanted there (okay time to turn off the fake mafia accent (though I'm part Italian so it ought to be convincing)), rather I'm scared of ElectronicBola...If it comes to Milwaukee EVERYONE at my college will get it as no one stays home sick if they can still move and come close to rational thought.

EDIT: One extra witicisim to make ya laugh. I've concluded given that the 460 continued to be deployed in pickups and 12,000Lb RVs into the 90's, it weighs 4600Lb (according to what I've read), it's nearly 20' long (a good portion of that being hood), and it's black...It all adds up to a simple realization: That Lincoln is basically a pickup truck in a tux!
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Last edited by Electronic M; 10-26-2014 at 12:10 AM.
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Old 10-25-2014, 08:01 PM
Chip Chester Chip Chester is offline
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Make sure you get the application for your own zip code sent in right away.


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Old 10-25-2014, 08:23 PM
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That car is totally you.

I would keep an older car stock as well. The 8-track stereo on the right I believe is 1973 only, the first year for AM-FM 8-track. I have six (!) Ford AM-FM 8-track stereos, none of them quad though. I'm picky about what they look like and always liked those with AM - FM - STEREO - TAPE on the tape door. Manufacturing of Ford AM-FM 8-track stereos changed hands a couple of times and they were made simultaneously by different companies depending on the model.

Last edited by Jon A.; 10-25-2014 at 08:27 PM.
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Old 10-25-2014, 08:34 PM
jstout66 jstout66 is offline
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Love it!
I had a 78 Town Car which I miss to this day.
However... and not sure if it was MY car specifically.. but it was the WORSE handling car in the snow. I nicknamed mine "the spinning car of death". I wasn't worried about me.. but the look of horror I'd see on the other drivers faces if it went into a spin and was heading their way. I was lucky and never crashed it tho. Yours hopefully will get better gas mileage than mine did. Mine was a bit underpowered as it had a 400. Mine got 7mpg in town and about 11mpg on the highway.
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Old 10-26-2014, 09:51 AM
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"Its Evidental, I LOVE my Continental"... Altho I prefer the ones w/the funny doors, the LAST series of Jumbotron Lincolns had a certain charm to them, as well. "Pickups w/Tuxedos"... Very apt description. My '67 Pervertable Sedan, the suspension components on it CERTAINLY would NOT look out of place on a modern F-350 tonne Super Duty... There's enuff metal in the HOODS of these things to hammer out a couple, maybe 3, Smart Cars.. Modern motors really don't impress too much-Sure, they're getting 2, 3X the horsepower that these emissions strangled 400s & 460s put out.... But they have to run RPMs that sound like they're SCREAMING to do it, & one suspects the old mastodons were HIGHLY underrated-You want MORE power, Jasper ? No problem, just stomp on the "Loud" pedal a little harder.... We'll handle the rest..
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Old 10-26-2014, 11:56 AM
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It sure sounds like a newer smaller engine is screaming when it is putting out it's top
power, But you gotta remember they are aluminum, thinner walls, Sound penetrates
the walls much easier, tuned intake and less flow restricted exhaust, and often
multi-valves per cylinder. Many of those older engines had a top rpm limited
by the moving mass of the parts, and poor breathing capability of the intake and
exhaust. A lot of the older engines made a lot of noise, very cool sounding noise,
but from the factory, poor performers compared to today...

And I think 4 valves per cylinder was the biggest thing.... Can you imagine the old
302 v8 with 4 valves per cylinder...HOT ! ! !

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Last edited by Username1; 10-26-2014 at 12:08 PM.
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Old 10-26-2014, 12:33 PM
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I love the loud noises the old 1.6 Liter Mercury Lynx engine makes. There isn't much low-end torque, but whatever.

It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

The Aussie Falcon in my avatar, 351 Clevo powered.
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