83 Lincoln Continental

[Adam]

I wanted something to drive in traffic to work every morning other than my 84 Firebird. I don't like putting the miles on it (It's up to 45.5K from 44 already), and while I like the 5-speed, driving a 5-speed in heavy traffic on the highway every morning at 6AM isn't so great. And I wanted something with AC. I was looking for a truck or a van (for hauling TVs), but came across this Lincoln on craigslist yesterday and couldn't pass it up.

It's got the 302 (with the tbi) and a 4-speed auto, disc brakes on all 4 wheels, and these weird aluminum/spoke wheels (those aren't hubcaps). It's not very big for a Lincoln, I'm almost positive its built on the same chassis as an 86 T-Bird I used to have. It's also low milage for its age (88k). I like the unusual colors (the two tone gold and yellow/cream-color). Its got every accessory known to man: power door locks, windows (2 out of 4 work), seats, trunk (not working), gas cap, mirrors, antenna, cruise control, tilt wheel, leather seats, ps, pb, ac, rear window defroster, light-up thermometer mounted on the side mirror, fully digital dash with this clock/ milage calculating computer in the center.

The stereo (with cassette) is the best sounding in any car I've ever had. The controls are scratchy though. I haven't tried the cassette yet - I probably won't until I take the radio out to clean the controls rather than just putting in a tape and probably watching it get eaten.

It's got some minor issues: I had to put a new battery (It almost didn't start back up after stopping at a gas station when I was driving it home.) The parking break won't stay engaged unless I push some lever way up under the dash, and won't release unless I pull it. And I sometimes hear this awful high-pitched whining sound from behind the dash (only if the car is in forward gear). I'm wondering if these issues aren't related and there's some kind of leaky vacuum operated switch that releases the parking break when the car is in drive.

pics...

[Sandy G]

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Lincoln Ownership. All the nigglin' problems you mention are likely nothing serious. Just be glad that Ferd Motor Co. doesn't install the back doors Bassackwards like they did on my 3-'69 sedan, '67 convertible, & '65 Limo...

[old_tv_nut]

Nice luxe-boat for the commute!

[SpaceAge]

Power doors?

[crt89]

Nice. Thermometer sounds interesting. My parents had an 88 Town Car but I don't remember that, although theirs wasn't nearly as fancy as your Continental.

[Adam]

I meant power door locks

I've always liked those suicide door era Lincolns, and with that 462 they'd run circles around mine with only a 302. My favorite Lincolns have got to be the 58-60 models though, great looking cars.

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by Adam

.... The stereo (with cassette) is the best sounding in any car I've ever had .....

I agree about the stock Lincoln sound systems , they really do sound great and got better & better as the years went on . While my 89 Firebird is my #1 daily driver , I also have an 03 Towncar Cartier for rainy days with ALL the bells & whistles including the premium JBL sound system with factory subwoofer , this Lincoln was the first car I ever owned that I absolutely loved the factory stereo in

[fixmeplease]

I think the tranny is called AOD, automatic over drive. they were the predicessor to that piece of crap computer operated one they started using in 1991??? in trucks, unsure of when in cars. Ive been told they were similar to the C4, and about the same toughness. Not as good as a C6 but ok.

Good cars. you may have trouble with electronics but mechanics are good. I would figure out that vacuum leak pronto is its related to the tranny. The AOD's are great if not abused but those kinds of problems can be pretty serious if not fixed.

Theres some crazy cable... I think it goes from the carb to the tranny. (my memory is foggy) Make sure you never leave it unhooked as it wrecks the tranny if unhooked.

im jealous. I'd love one of those cars. Im fond of any large Ford.

[Sandy G]

"It's Evidental, I LOVE my Continental..."

[bgadow]

A very rare car today! I'd actually forgotten about this version. I used to have a customer that loved the car that replaced this; he owned several. Yours reminds me of an updated Versailles.

Will the power windows run at all? The typical failure mode is the motor would run but nothing moved. The clutch mechanism in that motor consists of a 3 nylon "bushings" that will self destruct. You can buy replacements for a reasonable price. At the shop we would buy them in a box of a dozen.

[davet753]

Originally Posted by fixmeplease

Theres some crazy cable... I think it goes from the carb to the tranny. (my memory is foggy) Make sure you never leave it unhooked as it wrecks the tranny if unhooked.
.

The cable runs from the throttle linkage down to the transmission, and controls transmission pressure. If left loose, the transmission will be toast in less than 40 miles.

The cables themselves don't go bad, what breaks is the little plastic fitting on the throttle body linkage that the control line attaches to. The replacement is brass with a metal "c" clip to hold it on (so it never goes bad). Most 80's models have already had this part replaced with the updated version by now. If the plastic part breaks, it's easy to tell because the accelerator pedal will suddenly become really easy to push, and the transmission will shift through all the gears by the time you get to 20 MPH.

I've replaced many of them on the Town Cars I've drove down through the years.

[Adam]

"If the plastic part breaks, it's easy to tell because the accelerator pedal will suddenly become really easy to push, and the transmission will shift through all the gears by the time you get to 20 MPH. "

It's not doing this at all, so at least I know that cable's fine. A little googling did confirm that it does use a vacuum switch to disengage the parking brake when you shift into drive, so I'm betting that leaking is the source of that awful sound. I'm also hearing something rattling around under the car. It drives fine, so I'm betting it's just a loose exhaust pipe banging against the bottom of the car. I also just noticed there's a sticker on the window saying when the oil was last changed -- in 2012! But it's only been driven about ~2k miles since. I have the week after next off, so I'll have time then to work on this (I'll definitely be changing the oil) - and maybe also figure out why one of the headlight motors quit working in my Firebird.


"The typical failure mode is the motor would run but nothing moved. The clutch mechanism in that motor consists of a 3 nylon "bushings" that will self destruct. "

That's exactly what's happening, but I'm lucky in that the drivers window is one of the ones that are working.


"I agree about the stock Lincoln sound systems , they really do sound great and got better & better as the years went on . While my 89 Firebird is my #1 daily driver , I also have an 03 Towncar Cartier"

I love my 84 Firebird, I'll never sell it, and plan to eventually put a 350 in it ... but I'm so tired of driving a stick in stop and go traffic 5 days a week and having no AC in 100+ degrees . The stereo in the '03 Grand Marquis I had was also very good, but I think the one in this Lincoln sounds better.


"Im fond of any large Ford."

I've always considered myself more of a GM guy, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a great car like this one. Of all the Ford products I've had: 65 Mustang, this 83 Lincoln, 86 T-bird, and the 03 Grand Marquis, this is my favorite by far (the Grand Marquis is the runner-up). It's weird... back in the 90s when I first got into cars I didn't like the digital dashes and only wanted cars with all analog gauges, but now I think the digital dash is really neat. The letters that say "continental" over the glove box even light up in green to match the rest of the dash at night.

[Electronic M]

I'm surprised they even put parking brakes on cars with automatics...The park position has never failed or even malfunctioned on any car I've been in, and most cars the parking brakes even when new have so little effect that you'd probably still hit whatever you were stopping for if your regular brakes failed and you remembered to engage the parking brake...

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I'm surprised they even put parking brakes on cars with automatics...The park position has never failed or even malfunctioned on any car I've been in, and most cars the parking brakes even when new have so little effect that you'd probably still hit whatever you were stopping for if your regular brakes failed and you remembered to engage the parking brake...

The reason is this ;

If you park on an extreme hill without using the parking brake the pressure of the car trying to roll down the hill can be so great as to jam the park pawl and make it impossible to shift out of park . Whenever parking on an extreme hill your supposed to set the (properly maintained & working) parking brake first , and then put it in park . Conversely , your supposed to take it out of park before releasing the parking brake when leaving .

On the hills that 99% of us drive and park on this will never be a problem , but I'll bet drivers in places like San Francisco are very well versed in parking brake use with automatic shift cars

[fixmeplease]

Thanks for the right description of the cable davet753. its been a long while since i saw one.

The parking brake is for the reason init4fun wrote, plus in case of full or close to full brake failure. Also Ford had issues with trannies popping out of park into reverse so some people used the brake everytime they parked there autos. Unsure if other makes had that problem. There may be other reasons too.