America is a big place, and it was once populated with commensurately big cars, as demonstrated by today’s Nice Price or No Dice Lincoln. Let’s decide if this big car demands a contrastingly small price.
In Ode to a Grecian Urn, Keats wrote, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,–that is all.” Truth be told, cars like the 1980 BMW 635CSi we considered last Friday are arguably beautiful. At $6,750, our beauty’s price proved very attractive as well, earning the big-boy coupe a solid 76 percent Nice Price win.
OK, I want you to keep Friday’s BMW in mind for just a moment longer. Now compare that car to today’s 1979 Lincoln Continental. It’s quite a distinct difference, isn’t it? Consider: these were contemporary offerings. And while the 635 was big for BMW standards at the time, the Lincoln was just plain big. Not only was this edition of the Continental the longest standard production automobile in Ford’s history, it was the biggest car on the market, bar none.
In addition to being big—233 inches long on a 127-inch wheelbase—this Lincoln is also ostentatious and audacious. The exterior design is fairly clean, although the half-landau roof, opera windows, and Doric column fender caps do give the car a healthy dose of ’70s gravitas.
It’s the interior, however, where the car’s excesses are allowed to run rampant. This was the era of color-coordinated interiors, and this Continental doesn’t disappoint with its full-send bordello-red trappings. The throw-pillow seats look alarmingly comfortable and are as flat as Kansas, so the only issue getting in and out would be emotional. Fake wood and lots of silver trim add to the old-school vibe.
Most everything on the car is claimed in the ad to be original, and if the pictures are to be believed, it’s all in amazingly nice condition. There’s even a factory 8-track stereo in the dash and a period-correct Citizen’s Band radio mounted below that.
The only discordant element of the interior is an aftermarket triple gauge unit mounted next to the CB. That’s a practical addition, so we shouldn’t ding the car too much for that.
This was the last year for this generation of Continental. The model saw significant shrinky-dinking for the 1980 model year with the switch to the more modern Panther platform. That also spelled the end for big block engines in the Continental.
For this swan song, however, big was all you could get as the standard and only engine offering for 1979 was Ford’s 400 CID (6.6 liter) 335-Series V8. Sapped of its strength by emissions and fuel economy demands, the 2-barrel-equipped engine offered 179 horsepower and, more notably, 315 lb-ft of torque. That’s paired with a three-speed C6 automatic with set-it-and-forget-it column shift.
Everything looks complete under the hood, right down to the coffee can vacuum canister for the headlight doors and the GM-sourced Delco AC compressor.
According to the ad, this Lincoln has just 83,062 miles under its baroque belt and, based on its presentation, should be considered a “9 out of 10 condition classic.” It comes with a clean title and what appear to be current plates. The asking price is $8,200.
Yes, that’s more than was asked for our comparison BMW, but then with this, you’re getting a heck of a lot more car. I mean, this thing weighs half again more than the 6 Series and has two more doors, so rightfully, it should cost a bit more, right?
Well, that’s just what we’re here to find out. What’s your take on this original gangster of a Lincoln and that $8,200 asking? Does that feel fair, at least on a price-per-pound scale? Or is that asking nothing but a big dud?
You decide!
Denver, Colorado, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!
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