At $15,500, Is This 1979 Lincoln Mark V a Baroque Bargain?
Winter is coming, and according to the ad for today’s Nice Price or No Dice Mark V, the car’s present owner needs the Lincoln gone before the snowy season starts. Let’s see if it’s priced to take the fall.
Monday’s 1952 MG TD Midget may have had both a folding top and a folding windscreen, but neither of those attributes was enough to warrant breaking out the billfold at the little Brit’s $18,000 asking price. That was owed to the car’s modifications, which included a Triumph drivetrain that necessitated the removal of one of the engine side panels. Despite the seller seeing that as an improvement, many of you felt otherwise, sending the MG back to its Morris Garage in a 64 percent No Dice loss.
Back in the day, MG made its name by building small and simple sports cars. They were the kind of cars that offered simple driving enjoyment but not much else. Today we’re going to counter that with a 1979 Lincoln Mark V, a car that offers copious amounts of just about everything, save perhaps for that simple driving enjoyment.
The Mark V was the last of the Nimitz-class Continentals, with the Mark VI that followed both numerically and sequentially being substantially smaller, as was the custom at the time. That makes this Lincoln among the last of the old-school models that equated luxury with length and ostentatious opulence with, well, opera windows.
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As far as driving engagement is concerned? Well, there’s little to be concerned about that actually, since these creampuff cars typically steer, handle, and ride in a manner that attempts to isolate the driver from the bourgeois realities of things like road feel, cornering dynamics, and exhaust note. Lay down an open stretch of highway, however, and you should find this Lincoln in its element.
Of course, it won’t be too quick about it. With two and a half tons to haul around, neither the car’s standard 179 horsepower 400 V8 nor its optional 208 horse 460 will make it chirp those white walls. The ad doesn’t say which engine this car has, but there’s plenty of room for it under the hood for either big block. A standard three-speed C6 automatic with column shift completes the drivetrain.
That may be none too exciting, but taken for what this Lincoln is—a big cruiser with style— perhaps that’s all ok. And this one, with just 53,000 miles on the clock, looks to wear its gargantuan dimensions and baroque styling with aplomb.
According to the ad, the car was in storage for 10 years before being pulled out and brought back to life. The work to do so involved the replacement of the fuel system, including the 25-gallon (!) gas tank, and a rebuild of the Motorcraft carburetor. The belts were also replaced, and it looks like it rocks a new battery as well.
Visually, the years in storage don’t seem to have affected the car all that much. The Diamond Blue paint still holds a shine, while the landau roof is just as padded as always. Inside, things are just as well kept. This is really what old-school luxury was all about, what with all the fake wood, bright-backed instruments, and the super-skinny steering wheel. The best part of the cabin, though, has got to be the head unit for the sound system. That offers a futuristic for the time digital display as well as both FM stereo and a quadrasonic 8-track tape player for all your listening pleasures.
It’s not all museum quality here, though. The seller notes that the driver’s side window works when it wants to, and there are a few visual blemishes, notably in the carpet on the driver’s door and a crack in the plastic on one of the steering wheel spokes. There is also a missing emblem on one of the faux wire wheels covers which serves as the singular exterior issue.
Per the pictures, the underside of the car is a little oily but otherwise looks solid. The title is listed as clean, although the car is not shown wearing plates of any kind nor is there any mention made of the current registration status.
Thankfully for our intentions, the seller does communicate the price, which is $15,500. Apparently, the seller wants the car gone before winter sets in. Perhaps the car is owned by a bear that is settling its matters before hibernation. Who knows?
What do you say about this Lincoln and that $15,500 Price tag? Does that seem like a deal for a boat of this size? Or, is that too much tuition for so old-school a ride?
You decide!
Allentown, Pennsylvania, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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