(first posted 2/19/2013) For those of you out of the loop, I have a thing for 1950s to 1970s “big old American cars” in aqua. Whether the bright turquoise of a 1955 Thunderbird or the light-metallic aqua of a 1966 Olds Ninety-Eight, I will go out of my way to check it out once spotted. And if the car has a white or aqua interior, well, just try to drag me away! So when I saw this lovely boat of a Lincoln on eBay recently, I had to share the joy.
According to the auction listing, this car is all original and only has 67K on the clock. Being a ’79, it does have the 400CID V8 and not the more desirable 460, but still–what a car!
Paul recently shared a mammoth 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75, but that was a limo. This Connie is just a sedan. But what a sedan. What space, what style! What a car! New Lincolns, you say? MK-what? Sorry, not the same. Not by a long shot…
Besides the obvious luxury one of these cars provided–space, comfort, a cosseting ride–you also had a wide palette of colors to choose from. In addition to this one, in beautiful Medium Turquoise Metallic, you had such cool colors as Crystal Apricot Metallic, Midnight Blue Metallic, and Cordovan Metallic, not to mention the other 15 available colors.
Just look at all those colors. Quite the difference from today’s silvers, grays, black and whites, eh? And that’s not counting the many different vinyl roof and interior colors that were also available.
But that’s not all! No, this Connie is not just aqua on the outside! We also have plush aqua velour with wall-to-wall aqua carpet inside. The only thing that would make this better would be if it was leather instead of velour. There’s a scent to vintage Lincoln leather upholstery that I just love. I remember it well from Grandpa Bob’s ’77 Mark V and ’87 Continental.
The only demerit I have on the 1978-79 Continentals is that sparse instrument panel. The 1970-77 dash was much, MUCH cooler looking. This one is more of a gilded LTD dash than a Lincoln’s, though I do dig the Quadrasonic stereo with 8-track this one has.
The 1978-79 dash does look appropriate for a big brash American luxury car, though, with all the simulated woodgrain and chrome “Lincoln Town Car” script above the glovebox. If you got a basic Continental, the script said, appropriately enough, “Lincoln Continental.” Interestingly though, the top-of-the-line 1979 Collector’s Series Continental was NOT a Town Car, despite having the Town Car seat style, albeit in “Kasman II luxury cloth” instead of velour.
The back seat, if anything, has even more room than the front. With the ride this Lincoln provides and the acres of aquaness, you could be forgiven if you thought you were out to sea while riding in the back. Perhaps on a trip to Europe on the QE Blue?
Well, I can say with authority that this is the coolest thing I’ve seen on ebay in months. Hope it goes to a good home. For the Broughamic-minded, what could be better than this?
All images are from the original ebay listing.
My father in law just pulled a 1979 town car, turquoise, out of a garage he uses for storage…he is the original owner, less than 10,000 miles, been in garage forever!!…any idea of the value?
Update to this post – it is a 2-door, it has less than 1500, yes 15 hundred, miles on it. It does seem to need a new fuel tank as the fuel has leaked out (been parked in same garage since 1980). Any idea on value would be helpful as he is 87 and if he hasn’t driven it in 40 years, he’s certainly not driving it now! Thanks!
Tricia, it is impossible to say without some really good pictures or better yet an examination.
I would suggest contacting the Lincoln And Continental Owner’s Club (LCOC). They should be able to put you in touch with a member in your area who might be able to either talk to you about it or maybe take a look at it.
A car that has sat for that long will likely have numerous issues to address, and factors like humidity can play havoc with chrome plating. I would absolutely not try starting it until fluids have been changed and possibly some oil has been allowed to soak in the cylinders. Good Luck!
JP: I totally agree. Although super low miles cars are “fun” to find and see, I tend to stay clear of them. Mostly for the exact reasons you list and more. It’s my belief that a well cared for car with100,000 miles is better to buy than a storage car that has been mostly neglected. Most of the older cars I’ve purchased over the years have been 60 to100K and been quite good. The lowest miles old car I’ve ever purchased was in 2004 and it was a 1985 Eldorado Biaritz in triple white with 1,800 miles. It was well cared for and didn’t need a thing, but I was afraid to drive it anywhere. More recently, I picked up a 1986 Cadillac Seville from the daughter of the original owner. The car was loved till he died and it stayed in the garage covered till I purchased it last year with 23,400 miles. I’ve had to do a couple minor things, but have gotten lucky on this one.
I see this is an old post but maybe someone can help me! I just picked up this cars twin. What is the name of the color/paint code? I saw the paint codes above and have found others but nothing seems to quite match!?
I saw this aqua town car for sale about a year ago in MJC classic cars and wish I had bought it. Anyone know if it was sold??
OMG…I have a very close cousin of this car! Absolutely love it to the moon & back 🙂
Even though I am more of a Cadillac man, I really liked this generation of Town Car. Beautiful color on this one too. The ’79’s were not as desirable as the ’78 and older Town Car’s highly regarded 460 was replaced by the anemic 400. I wondered if the actual fuel economy was any better as it seemed the accelerator pedal spent a lot of time on the floor in a 400 cube Town Car. Making matters worse was the contemporary ’79 Fleetwood Brougham was lighter than a Town Car and the Caddy’s 425 made about 40 H.P. more than the Lincoln’s 400, making the Fleetwood quite a bit faster. Nonetheless, the ’79 Town Car was a fine automobile. The 1980 Panther-based Town Cars to me were always a bit underwhelming compared to these.
Out of 20 available paint colors, 15 are not on the greyscale. This is not a 2024 model…
The ’75-’76 was peak ’70s Continental (all a single generation though with two major facelifts and a few minor ones). I like the more subdued grille before the ’77’s fake R-R style, and as many here have noted the Lincoln-specific dashboard was replaced with an LTD/Marquis dash in ’78, and the 460 was dropped in ’79. Still, these Connies (and the Mark V) were your last chance to buy a really humongous new American car – although the “downsized” Cadillacs, Chrysler New Yorkers, and Town Cars that replaced them by 1980 still seem huge by today’s standards.
I like how the belt webbing matched the trim codes then, not just generic black for everything.
It’s hard to believe in this era of luxury CUVs, a car this huge ever existed.
Of course, there’s always the Lincoln Navigator ‘L’, I suppose. It even comes in green with a green interior!
I briefly had a ‘mint ’75. Lovely car but unless you’re almost always on the Interstate they’re just TOO big. And this coming for one who loves big cars and had ’74 and ’76 Olds 98s and a ’75 Cadillac SdV. The GM cars’ handling made their big cars feel smaller than they were. Not so the Lincoln. Too much of a good thing.
What a stunning car. Having been 11 years ago, I wonder where this lovely car went and if it’s still looking that good.
As a young boy, my uncle owned a small used car lot about 4 miles up the road from our farm in NW Illinois (he was just over the line in Wisconsin). He always loved driving big luxury cars from Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick and Chrysler and it always gave me joy to see what uncle Al would be driving next. One day they pulled up in a one year old 1979 Continental Collector Series sedan in dark blue with matching blue leather. That was the day I fell in love with Lincoln. Too bad Lincoln is such a nothing brand today.
Beautiful car with real presence! There were some nice Lincolns in the 80s and 90s, but I don’t think they’ve even tried to make something as imposing since, or that managed to look like a truly rich man’s car – that wouldn’t look humble parked next to a mix of Mercedes, Rolls, Bentleys, etc. The 400 is a good motor, but doesn’t make sense in this car. It’s like buying a mansion and keeping the heat and AC turned down to save on the utility bills. I love the color for the exterior, but I have to say I’m not sure I’d appreciate the interior for the long term – still, I’m glad they offered that kind of thing for the people who could live with it.
Lincoln of today (and most mainstream makes really) won’t even think of such a controversial interior: if only 5% of buyers would consider it, it’s a no-go, and it doesn’t matter how much those people would love it. I feel like Lincoln is assuming Mercury’s role these days, and is just there for the Ford man who aspires to something fancy. All they need to do is build a new body-on-frame car (they’ve already got all the components – just hit the F-150 parts bin) with their (relatively) new 7.3 OHV, and make it look pretty much like this. Oh, but the interior CAN’T share anything you see or touch with a Ford, and it can’t be a mass of screens! The instrument cluster in particular should remind you of a Swiss watch. I just looked at some new Lincoln interiors – UGH! Real luxury isn’t the biggest touch screen and most seat adjustments and heat/cool features! It’s the best quality materials and bits and pieces you see and touch, tied together ornately, while not overdone. That’s where this Town Car stumbles rounding third base, but overall it belongs in another league compared with today’s Lincolns; I guarantee the guy who bought this one has more taste than the guy buying a new Lincoln.
Where’s my napkin…?
However, for a new Lincoln I would need an amphetamine.