1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car: Last Call for Uncompromised Size!
I’ve written up several cars from my attendance at the LCOC Mid-America Meet, held last September 23. It was a great show, and I took approximately 830 pictures over the course of the day. And that was just at the Lincoln show.
The trip also included visiting the Route 66 Festival held downtown the same day, but that particular show netted 413 photos—I just checked both on my computer. It was also a reminder that I still need to do a column on the Bicentennial Edition 1976 Eldorado convertible that was on display. But I digress!
It’s interesting that the all-new 1970 Lincoln Continental basically lasted through the decade. While it received facelifts in 1972, 1974, and a more major one in 1975, it was the same basic car beneath the new sheetmetal. The final styling fillips were the Mark V-style grille in 1977 and the new instrument panel (borrowed from the Marquis, but with more simulated wood trim and silver-faced gauges) and smaller fender skirts in 1978.
But 1979 was last call. A lot had changed during the ’70s, and the days of truly full-sized and unaltered land yachts were just about over. In 1977, GM shrunk all of its B- and C-body cars, from the Chevy Impala to the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. The Nimitz-class Toronado and Eldorado lingered through 1978, as did the Chrysler Newport and New Yorker Brougham. Ford’s LTD and Marquis also stood pat for one last model year.
But come 1979, Lincoln stood alone for new car shoppers who wanted a BIG car. The LTD and Marquis had migrated to the smaller Panther chassis, following GM’s lead in downsizing. And the majestic New Yorkers, which spent much of the ’70s exhibiting rampant Broughamage, moved to a smaller, boxier form on the former B-body midsize chassis.
And so it was that Lincoln had one last fling as an unapologetic BIG car with road-holding weight and remarkable stretch-out space. It wasn’t quite the same, however, as now all Lincolns (save the smaller Versailles) had the 400-cubic inch V-8. The majestic 460-cubic inch engine, which became optional in 1978, was no longer available at any price.
Friends of mine who have owned and driven 1979 Lincolns have told me that while the 400 wasn’t exactly gutless. Rather, it was, shall we say, sedate? You’d get there, you’d be comfortable, but don’t be in a hurry.
In its 1979 form, the 400 V-8 had a 4.00 x 4.00 bore and stroke and 159 horsepower. That sounds worse than it actually was, as it had 315 lb-ft of torque. But it was still motivating a 4843-lb luxury sedan on a 127.2-inch wheelbase.
But really, it wasn’t that big of a deal. See, in 1979, luxury cars were luxurious. There was none of the modern claptrap that domestic rolling stock should have hard seats, tight handling and only come in silver silvermist, dark black, or refrigerator white.
Heavens to Betsy, no! What 1979 luxury car buyers wanted was a plush living room, with deeply padded and preferably floating-pillow style or button-tufted velour or leather, and lots of trunk space, and a smooth, quiet ride.
Oh and did I mention colors? Oh yes indeed! Among the selections in 1979 were Wedgewood Blue, Cordovan Metallic, Jubilee Gold Metallic, Crystal Apricot Metallic, Cream, and Dove Gray. Of course basic black (Lincoln simply called it Black, go figure) with black leather befitted such a car. Though personally your author would prefer a red leather interior to contrast the Black exterior.
For its final foray in undiminished dimensions, the Continental came in $10,985 coupe and $11,200 sedan models, with the Town Coupé and Town Car packages available for an extra fee. Curb weight was 4639 lbs for the two-door and 4649 lbs for the four-door.
The sedan was by far the most popular, with 76,458 built for the model year. The coupe was much less seen on the city streets and Interstates, with 16,142 sold. And while we’re discussing figures for ’79 Lincolns, the Continental Mark V was $13,067 and the Versailles $12,939. Production of same was 75,939 and 21,007, respectively.
Town Car extras included Twin Comfort Lounge seats in Valleao velour or leather, with full power and front passenger recliner, power vent windows, Town Car/Town Coupé badging on the exterior and instrument panel, 12 ounce cut-pile carpeting, and more.
Also standard per my 1979 brochure were a full vinyl roof and integrated coach lamps. A coach roof with crossover molding, covering only the back half of the roof, was extra but extremely popular.
Which brings us to today’s featured example, which clearly has a ‘slick top’ and no coach lamps. I have seen a few 1975-79 Continentals with no oval opera windows and no vinyl roof, but they’re pretty rare. And I’d never previously seen one so-equipped with the Town Car package.
It was fantastic. I loved the combination of the subtle but elegant black on black color combo, slick top, no opera windows and the most excellent optional turbine aluminum wheels. The owner, a nice gentleman from Indiana, told me of the car’s extremely low mileage (I don’t recall the actual number) and that he took off the original tires so he could drive it safely to the show!
This was the swan song for vehicles like this. As the dealer brochure confided, “Pleasurable and practical. That’s the Lincoln Continental Town Car, whether you’re pursuing your hobby or transporting business colleagues. Its carpeted luggage compartment is cavernous. A full six-passengers roomy, and very, very comfortable.”
I want to go back.
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
decadence at its best, or at least one of the best examples. one of my nephews owns a ’76 town car. says it’s the last year to have 4 wheel disc brakes. it has a drivability issue and while scouring the local picaparts, he came across a rare auxiliary 7.2 gal fuel tank. at 11 mpg, should be considered a reserve tank. sad how many i once saw in the picaparts/bone yards. so true for many other vehicles…
I’m not a “big car” guy but that front end is just so damn handsome.
I am a total Ford man. Ever since I was a kid in the 60s I have loved American cars. Up until then my family only drove Chryslers, every model at one time or another, even a few Imperial. In 1976 my parents bought a new Lincoln Town Car. It of course still came with the mighty 460. It was Dark Red Moondust Metallic with matching thick padded half vinyl top with coach lamps on the B pillars. The interior had dark red velour seats with red thick shagg carpet, as one of the other commenters put it, it was a whole lot of red all in one place. The trunk was huge and completely carpeted in red. it did have a bordello look about. It did have a bordello look about it, but we’re Italian, so it was required to drive a Lincoln Continental Town Car. IMO, the mid-70s Lincolns captured the traditional Lincolnesck look of the 60s, but with the mandatory 5 mile bumpers adding about 5 inches to the front and rear, I think Lincoln did a great job blending them into the overall styling, much better than Cadillac did. I even had the windows tinted in “limo-tint” to finish off the Mafioso look. It had a real presence about it. In 1990, with just 58,000 miles on the clock, it was passed to my uncle Bob when my parents bought a new Lincoln Town Car Signature Series. It was Dark blue metallic, with light blue leather interior. It was a completely different car than the ’76. It had the injected 5.0 used in the Mustang GTs, duel exhaust and rear air load leveling suspension that always kept the car level no matter how many Italians were on board. That same year, I bought a black with black leather Mark VII LSC. Then in 1995, I bought a black with black leather Town Car, every option available, including a Moonroof. That one turned out to be one of my all-time favorites. It looked like royalty, the narrower headlights and the waterfall grill was just what it needed. On Sundays when the entire family would gather for dinner, and that was every Sunday, all those Lincolns in the driveway I think worried the neighbors, it turned heads at a minimum.
I just came across this article, 2 weeks late. I bought a beautiful 1979 Town Car in 1985. It was triple red with a coach roof and no opera windows. Fully equipped, including a factory CB radio built into the dash.
Totally stunning car. I had it for 10 years until it was crushed when the roof of the storage shed collapsed under two feet of snow. 😢. I enjoyed the ride!