1978 Lincoln Continental Town Car 400, 6.6L from North America

Summary:

A luxury, pleasureful car to drive

Faults:

Carburetor.

General Comments:

Great freeway car, awesome on trips. This Lincoln has had the kinda doggy 400, 6.6 ltr engine with the 2 bbl carb, smog engine. Driving on mountain grades was not good, so I did some engine work right after I bought this beauty. I put in a new Melling RV camshaft, lifters and pushrods, put in a timing gear set from a 1971 non-smog 400, put on an Edelbrock performer 4 bbl carb intake manifold and a 625 CFM carter AFB carb, and took off the 2 catalytic converters, since here in Nevada, 1981 up needs catalytic converter.

The torque and power is amazing, it will out perform a 460 of the same era. The torque of this engine will snap you head back now.

My gas mileage improved, from 17.5 MPG to a flat 20 MPG on the freeway, and the 400 is easier to work on than the 460.

I love her more now that she rolls like a locomotive down the road.

This is my 6th Lincoln Continental from the '70s, and my favorite also.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 7th November, 2017

9th Nov 2017, 17:00

I also own a 78 Continental and love it to death! I’ve owned an ultra classic 61 Continental in the past, and although that car was nice and well built, the 78 Continental hands down is the better car. It has the best ride quality, its interior space is unmatched and it’s overall way more comfortable to drive compared to the 61, and surprisingly the quality of the exterior trim of the 78 Lincoln is really good for being a late 70s vehicle.

Apologies for the rambling. Congrats on your purchase!

12th Nov 2017, 03:29

Nice review!

You did all the good stuff to the 400 to wake it up :)

Watch your oil pressure - the Cleveland/Modified needs lots of it to keep the bottom-end alive - 60 PSI minimum, and if you are winding it, 80 PSI is not unreasonable. This is is not a small-block Chevy - for better and worse ;)

Enjoy!!!

11th May 2018, 03:54

Thank you.

11th May 2018, 03:57

Yes, thank you. I was told about the oil pressure, that's why I put in an oil pressure gauge, so I don't have to worry about the dash oil light.

1978 Lincoln Continental Cartier 460 CUID (7.8 Liter??) 4 barrel carb from North America

Summary:

Good old DETROIT steel that lasts

Faults:

Carburetor.

Several starters.

Brake Hydro-boost.

Radiator.

Power steering high pressure line.

General items like brakes, tires, battery...

General Comments:

I bought this car right out of college. 87k miles and it cost me $1200 in 1988. I drove it for 5 or 7 years and ended up selling it at around 213k miles. I saw it 3 years later on the road (I could tell because of the 2 bumper stickers I had) and it was still going. Very little rust, no leaking fluids, no burning oil, and still passed the emissions tests back then.

It was an old car when I got it, and while I owned it a few things broke. I had multiple starters because the local auto parts store rebuilt starters were not that great. I went through about 5 in 3 months. One lasted 3 starts. When I brought that one in they said they switched to a new supplier and that was the last starter I ever needed.

I replaced the starter, the radiator, and the carb myself. Easy to work on and cheap parts (found the radiator at a junk yard).

What can I say? It's a freaking BOAT that got 9 or 10 MPG. The A/C was ICE COLD and the heat was great. A smooth ride. I backed over a metal garbage can and dragged it down the block as it was stuck under my rear bumper and I didn't even know it. A person walking their dog tapped on my windows and said "Did you know there is a garbage can stuck under your bumper?"

A great car for taking your friends out. I could fit 7 people total in the car. 3 in front and 4 in the back. Street parking was difficult in the city.

It did have a nice 460 V8 with a 4 barrel carb. It was not much off the line, but once it got moving it would pass anything except a gas station.

It felt safe too. Like being in a German Tiger Tank. Hondas and Subarus just bounce off this thing. I accidentally dozed off one night when driving and clipped some of those metal construction horses with the little flashing light. I bumped liked 2 or 3 going 40 and no damage to the massive chrome bumpers. It was smooth like riding on glass.

Mine had a trailering package which included a 3 core radiator, 4 wheel disc brakes, and a posi-traction rear end. It was great in the snow. The extreme weight along with the better rear end meant I never got stuck. It didn't fishtale very easily either, but once it did, watch out. Lots of weight = lots of momentum.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th December, 2016

22nd Dec 2016, 01:00

I lived in America for three years and I loved Lincoln cars. TBH the Town Car was the only one we had and I wish I could get one in UK... I mean not at the ridiculous price they are over here.

23rd Dec 2016, 04:31

Never meet your heroes.

26th Dec 2016, 04:16

Good review.

FYI - If the heat shield is missing from the starter, no matter what quality level of the starter you put in, it will die a premature death. The Ford 385-Series V8 (370/429/460) V8 is a heat factory. Good thing you got the 3 core radiator :).

Does your car have dual catalytic converters? Some late-70s Ford/Lincoln/Mercury V8s do. If so, you can legally run a true dual exhaust - both fuel economy and performance improve :)

The 460s LOVE big carburetors - E.G. Bigger than stock (600 CFM). Problem is, most aftermarket carbs that flow better (E.G. 750 CFM) do not mix fuel and air well enough to keep the catalytic converters happy - very sloppy fuel/air mixture control :(

27th Dec 2016, 16:47

I put starter heat shield wrap on my cars to prevent heat soak. Especially if a big block or headers are present. Cheap and very effective.