17th Apr 2010, 17:18
In year 2000, I inherited from my father a black 2-door 1977 Mercury Marquis Brougham with the 460 cubic inch (7.5 L) V8 engine and C6 transmission, etc, which is very similar to the 1977 and 1978 Lincoln Town Cars, etc, with a lower profile.
When I was a young teenager, my rich uncle purchased two brand new 4-door Lincoln Town Cars in succession, and I will always remember sitting alone in the luxurious back seat of that brand new cream-colored 4-door 1977 Lincoln Town Car with my dad sitting up front and my rich uncle driving. I believe that my rich uncle paid about $26,000.00 cash for that brand new 1977 Lincoln Town Car.
Anyway, the production run of this type of "Merc" (and likely these Lincoln Town Cars too) ran from years 1975 to 1978. All are AWESOME CARS with the 460 cubic inch "Drink'in Lincoln" engine, which I believe is a 1/4 inch stroked-out "429".
During these years, I believe the compression ratio was lowered to an 8.5 to 1 compression ratio, and if you were to swap-out this AWESOME 460 V8 engine's "top-end", etc, with the higher compression "Edelbrock" top-end package (or similar), this AWESOME 460 V8 engine would produce close to 500 horsepower and 500 ft. lbs. of torque. It has a relatively BIGGER BORE and SHORTER STROKE when compared to a "GM 454" and should be capable of reving higher? Marine applications are still running today. Bullet proof. Simple technology. Inexpensive parts, if and when necessary. Easy to maintain. Easy to work on.
I am currently considering the purchase of an inexpensive 1977 to 1979 Lincoln Town Car, in both the 2-door or 4-door configurations, preferably with the 460 cubic inch "Drink'in Lincoln" engine. Any thoughts ? ~ Mark ~
18th Apr 2010, 12:31
Lincoln produced the full-sized Continental and Mark V through 1979, a year longer than the other Ford marks. They debuted the down-sized Town Car and Mark VI in 1980.
29th Apr 2010, 00:23
There sure are a few real nice low mileage 1977 to 1979 Lincoln Continental Town Cars and Mark V's available out there when you invest the time to search. Awesome value. Awesome vehicle. ~ Mark ~
15th Jun 2010, 17:27
I bought a 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Car from a dealer in Memphis, TN. I live in Sweden.
It's a one-owner car and in a spectacular condition! My problem, I cannot get the engine to run properly. It is difficult to start after sitting overnight, and stalls easily even when I drive at 50 mph. It will start right up again once I've come to a complete stop.
I just drove 155 miles over the past week and it used up 6.5 gal! The fuel pump, spark plugs, filters and oil etc are all new. What could be wrong?
Regards
peder.g@telia.com.
21st Jun 2010, 18:09
To the gentleman from Sweden.
I'm sorry to say friend, that you have carburetor woes. I recommend you junk the old Motorcraft and pick up an Edelbrock or Holly carb.
Also, while your car will not get too much better than that economy, it is getting a little too low MPG. Just remember these cars are from a time when fuel economy was on the dawn of importance for the American consumer. Style was paramount, not things like engineering, safety or even build quality.
Good luck, and if you have any questions, email me at miketastic1982@yahoo.com
29th Jun 2010, 18:39
I am 18 and currently looking at this '77 Lincoln Continental Town Car Sedan, and it has the green leather interior and green exterior. I absolutely love that scheme. The top has rust were it meets the body, and I'm hoping not to run into anything severely damaging. It has the 460, and needs some tranny work, but I love these cars! Any pointers would be great. :)
30th Jun 2010, 21:19
To poster 18:39.
Tell us more about the trans? Do you know which gears it doesn't work in? This car could become a big project by the sound of it. I've owned a '79 Town Car for the past two years now. I've already spent more $ in parts & labour than the car's actual market value. The repairs were mostly done by professionals, which is a big factor to consider.
You should e-mail me (psplayer@hotmail.com) if you would like to know more about what to expect when buying one of these classics :)
6th Jul 2010, 20:22
The 1978 Continental was possibly the best built car of the 70's.
The interiors hold up like iron! The fit, finish and material quality was astounding. 1978 was the year of the "new" dashboard which was much better looking than previous years. The seats were comfortable, driving positions were endless and that view down the long hood and tall fenders was wonderful!
The exterior styling was cleaned up for 78 with the removal of those full rear skirts. My 1978 Town Coupe was factory ordered, "delete vinyl roof and delete coach lamps" and let me tell you how dramatic it looked with the metal roof. Slick top is the term for it.
I bought my 78 Town Coupe from an estate in 1986 with about 75,000 miles on it. I traded it in 1992 for for a Mark VII LSC. At that time my Town Coupe had 163,000 miles on it and it looked showroom new. Not a tear, rip, worn spot or flaw inside. Perfect dash, carpets, door panels, etc. The exterior was still shiny, rust free and everything on it worked! This car was a daily driver for me, Chicago salt filled streets in the winter and sun scorching summers. I washed that car once a week, by hand.
I loved that car. Just loved it. I've owned more than 40 cars so far and that car is my favorite. I wish I still had it.
On a long road trip with the air conditioning on, that car was the most comfortable thing on the road. I used to call it a living room on wheels.
I periodically check EPAY through the nose. Errr I mean EBAY for 1978 Town Coupes. Someday, just someday I may need to make some room in the garage.
Oh, her name was MaryAnn, I got her a new pair of shoes half way through ownership. I found her a set of the Lincoln Aluminum Turbine rims to replace the steel wheels/stainless hubcaps set up she had since new. Since MaryAnn was white with the red velour interior, I back painted the rims dark red a la the collector series set up. Stunning! Got more compliments on that. Her all steel arctic white body with factory painted stripe made her look so understated elegant. The amount of chrome and bright metal on this car astounding but it was still tasteful.
One more thing, 1978 was the last year for the 460/C6, that engine and trans were bullet proof. Ran on 87 octane, had plenty of power. Horsepower was low but torque was still up there.
28th Dec 2008, 19:17
The eyeballs for the headlights will stay open if you do not regularly drive the vehicle. The check valve located on the firewall is usually the blame. Soak it in some light machine oil and then drain completely. The membrane in the check valve is the culprit. It gets stiff and doesn't move to hold the vacuum and hold the headlight doors shut. Before I soaked it in oil, I did seal all seams on the check valve with red silicone. It can take a lot of under the hood heat. You can buy it at your local oil burner parts store.