I couldn’t resist this big Town Coupe posted by nifticus. It might be a ’76; I can’t tell the difference.
But I can tell it’s not quite as unblemished as it might appear at first glance.
There’s some of that nasty cancer working its way to the surface. And this is a British Columbia car, so not from the Rust Belt. But then Fords in the 60s and well into the 70s were notorious rusters, because management was too cheap to install the E-Coat process that it invented.
I assume that bumper is drooping a bit. Hopefully not because the support bracket is rusty.
Considering its age, it’s in pretty good shape.
Cool survivor. Definitely an archeological specimen; you just don’t see these on the road anymore.
I wonder if that rust sprung up fairly recently. The vinyl top looks nearly new. If it’s not, then this thing was probably garaged and driven lightly. It might be grandpa’s old car that recently changed hands.
When I photographed this I had a feeling of dread: Car that had probably been taken care of for many years and now with a new owner and needing some TLC. I hope that this was not sold cheap to someone who will drive it into the ground and that it will not end up in a junkyard within a few months.
Sadly, that’s the vibe I got. I just don’t know who would put money into one of these old malaisey boats, cool and unique as the few that are left are.
Considering it’s location I have to say that the photos of it look pretty good especially the area immediately next to the padded vinyl roof…if this had been a GM product from the same era there would be massive rust areas next to the vinyl roof…. a few years ago I bought a 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille as a parts car, it had spent alot of time in Missouri..the car had extensive rust out immediately adjacent to the vinyl roof, the rust was so bad that in spots you could literally put your entire hand through the rusted out areas…as bad as Fords from the 70’s may have been in regards to rust the GM’s were even worse in my opinion…
In the universe of 1970s FoMoCo cars, these were far more resistant to rust than most of them. I suspect that Wixom got e-coat before other plants, but even then these were notably less rust-prone than the Mark IV was.
Once the Age Of The Opera Window hit in 1975, I liked these better as a 2 door than as a 4 door (except for maybe those rare sedans that came sans opera window). Might this have been the last really good looking really big 2 door car?
It (and the Mark V) was the last really big 2 door car, good-looking or otherwise. I also think the ’76 Olds Delta 88 and 98 look graceful as 2 doors.
Another nice if BIG cruiser survivor! .
Get it up in the air and make sure it’s safe then tune it and drive the wheels off it ~ not enough young folks will ever get a chance to experience motoring like this .
All my various Foster boys have loved my old jalopies and taking trips in them .
Take your grand kids for ice cream this Sunday, give the local kids walking home from school a lift to their house if it’s on your block, etc., etc. ~ show them life isn’t all anger and fighting videos .
I remember epic rides in the back of old pickup trucks and dangling my feet off the open tailgate of my uncles then new 1954 Ford station wagon on the sandy unpaved roads of Maine….
Children by nature are always looking to expand their boundaries, -YOU- can make a big difference in their lives and the future .
-Nate
I came close to buying one of these a few years ago. It was triple black with low miles,
excellent shape, and just had gravitas. Took it on a pretty long test drive, and it felt
heavy, real heavy. Complete isolation from the road, in a good way, it just gently
undulated over road imperfections. The motor had that high torque, low HP grunt that
was almost electric in linear quality. Really liked it but we had differing figures in mind.
That is some kind of overhang out back.
5400 pounds of pure heft and might, likely with a 460 under the hood.
I couldn’t immediately find a length on the net, but it’s up in the 220 inch region, it would appear.
What a beast! A car approaching 50 years of service is to be saluted, in this not too bad condition it’s in.
Bi-bumpered bloatmobile Cadillacs were 100″ more than their wheelbase, and Lincolns were at least as big, so 230+”. The Imperial peaked at 235″, longest of all non-limos. The 98 was longer than a DeVille.
Like an old Werther’s Original caramel found, partially unwrapped and with a little lint stuck to it, in the pocket of a winter coat just brought out of storage, there’s also something hesitantly appealing about this like-colored Lincoln.
Joe’s always got the right simile up his sleeve…
Joe, don’t eat it. They still make them and they are better fresh. The one I ate a few years ago didn’t have lint stuck on it but the rich brown color had faded to a milky coffee hue. The flavor suffered too. It might have been better with lint stuck on it?
It is hard to imagine that there was once a time when cars as big as this Lincoln were so commonplace as to be unremarkable. I got my driver’s license in 1970, and I was anticipating one of these large luxury cars. I got to drive my Dad’s ’63 Lincoln at this time. In the years after high school I bought a ’64 Cadillac convertible, ’66 Lincoln sedan, ’70 Coupe de Ville, then a ’57 Sedan de Ville while in my extended college process. Yes, I was a real big car fan, and these were quite affordable and plentiful at the time. A lot of people will ask, “how can you drive something so big in city traffic?” A late model Ford F150 Crew Cab varies in length between 232 to 244 in.over all length. Kind of puts a 225 in. long Cadillac to shame.
The two gas shortages that followed made these cars pretty unpopular, but remember that tractor trailer rigs cover almost every street and alley of our Country. If they can make it through, then so can these cars. Easily.
I’m right there with you, having owned and driven a 63 Cad Fleetwood Sixty Special, a 77 New Yorker Brougham, a 64 Imperial Crown Coupe, and I think the 68 Newport Custom was in the same general size class. Cars like a Galaxie 500 or a Fury III were downright petite.
Yes, high gas prices were a problem but my timing was good so that I had a slant 6 Plymouth Scamp during the worst of 1980-83. When people would remark on how big a Panther or a post 1976 B/C body was, I could only chuckle. My mother bought an 85 Crown Vic when I owned the 77 Chrysler and I remember thinking “what a cute little ‘big car'”.
I have two of these. Both 77 town coupes and both with 460 engines. One is dove gray and the other dark Cordovan metallic. They rust below the back windows. And at the edges of the lights, etc. Drive and enjoy them. Today’s equivalent is an f150 extended cab truck.
Great survivor, for sure. I just never understood the concept of such grand luxury cars only having 2 doors.