At $9,988, Is This 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV a Pretty Big Deal?
There are two ads on Craigslist for today’s Nice Price or No Dice Mark IV, one at the price we will be considering and another at almost double that. Let’s see if we think it really should be just one and done.
The most interesting thing about the Dodge Viper and Viper-powered trucks like the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 we looked at yesterday, is how the Viper V10 has long since been eclipsed by the supercharged Hemi V8 in the various Hellcats. That has perhaps dulled the ardor for the earlier performance machines since, well, what have they done for us lately? At $26,800, yesterday’s rowdy Ram wasn’t crazily priced, but apparently, for most of you, it wasn’t a deal either. That asking earned it a 63 percent No Dice loss.
At 460 cubic inches, the big block V8 in today’s 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV isn’t quite as large as the V10 in yesterday’s Ram, but at 228 inches long, the car it powers stretches over two feet more in length. All of that is in overhang since the two vehicles, while otherwise totally dissimilar, do share almost the exact same 120-inch wheelbase.
Resurrected as the Mark III in 1969 after Lee Iacocca instructed Ford designer Gene Bordinat to put a Rolls Royce grille on a Thunderbird, the big Lincoln Continental coupe was arguably the most flamboyant of all Lincoln models. The Mark IV arrived in 1972, again sharing much of its design with the lesser Ford Thunderbird. A few design cues separated the models. For instance, in place of the T-bird’s landau bars the Mark IV received opera windows. The Lincoln also featured the “Continental spare” in the trunk lid as well as hidden headlamps and the de rigueur Rolls-aping grille.
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All that came in a car that tipped the scales at well over two and a half tons. This was an era when Ford would advertise their cars as having “road-hugging weight,” and apparently none hugged tighter than the big Lincolns. All that excess needed a big motor to move and the Mark IV acquits itself on that account too.
Under the flight deck… er, hood lies a 460 CID V8, still with a four-barrel carb. That mill was factory rated at 212 horsepower (this was the first year that manufacturers were required to report net) and was backed up by a C6 three-speed automatic.
This car is interesting on two accounts. The first, obviously, is that it appears to be a survivor. The second is that the seller has posted two almost identical ads for it with wildly different price tags on each. Naturally, we’re going for the lower number.
According to the ad(s), the Lincoln has done 97,000 miles and has seen an engine rebuild at some point along the way. Now it’s said to “start right up,” and to run “smooth and quiet.” The only other update noted in the ad is a reworked exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. Other than that it seems to be just how the factory and Lee Iacocca intended it to be.
The car’s paint is Medium Brown Metallic and that’s matched to a dark brown leather interior with tufted upholstery and lots of fake woodgrain on the dash and doors. It looks like an English private club’s smoking parlor but the overall look is marred somewhat by a steering column that’s out of a different car and is missing its lower half. Did the Lincoln lose its key at some point requiring a replacement ignition and column?
There are also a couple of knobs missing, but that’s somewhat countered by the 8-track stereo which is about as badass a thing to have as you can imagine. Aside from all that, the cabin looks very nice and comfortable, and the car apparently has working A/C and a sunroof, both rarities on American cars of this age.
Per the ad, this Mark IV is part of a collection that is being culled by the owner. It presently has a clean title and wears Nevada historic plates.
What might something this big and impressive be worth? Well, not the $18,500 asked in the second ad, that’s for sure. But is it worth the $9,988 asked in the first? Let’s find out.
What do you think? Is this Lincoln worth that $9,988 asking as presented in the ad? Or, does that price completely miss the Mark?
You decide!
Las Vegas, Nevada, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Sam Ziegler for the hookup!
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