3rd Feb 2013, 17:30

The Continental had the same dash all the way through its life cycle (I believe 70-79). The Mark IV and V had a similar dash design to the large Mercurys and Fords, but the Continental had a straight horizontal dash that went largely unchanged up until 1980, when the new down-sized models were introduced.

4th Feb 2013, 00:29

Well the 78 was the only one that I found online locally, and I got it for $1,000. For the price I paid, I think I did good. I do wish I was able to sit inside a 77 so I could get a feel of the dash quality. The only thing is, I personally feel that the 77 on down Lincoln dashes look a little plain. While the 78 uses the Mercury dash, it looks more stylish to me, and I like the silver whitish faceplate and speedo design over the 77 dash, it looks luxurious. The 79's used too much wood-grain in place of the whitish-silver finish of the 78's, that looked cheap and cheesy IMO.

What I do love about the older dashes is how they have Temp, Oil, and ALT gauges. The 78-79's use dummy lights, which I hate so much! You don't know what the heck is going on with the car until it's too late.

I've gotten used to the dash over time, and I am not going to sell my 78 after the work I put into it, and get a 77 just for the dash alone.

I wonder how Cadillac's interior's were during the same era. Usually the older the better, but in this case, early 70's Cadillac interiors were crappy, boring, dull, and cheap looking, while the 74-76 Caddy Deville's improved inside the car. Caddy door panels though tended to crack, Lincoln used a thicker material on there door panels that resisted door panel arm rest cracking, but could split at the seams and start coming apart from there. But it isn't all that common in Lincolns though.

My old 72 Cadillac Deville's door panels all had cracks in them, and the door pull straps were loose and flimsy. Plus for some reason, that car rattled over bumps and pot holes badly, and wasn't nearly as isolated feeling as my 78 Continental.