(first posted 10/13/2014) Pity the poor Lincoln Versailles. Built to a price by the powers-that-be in Dearborn, the resulting Seville-fighter (not really) was a well-made car, the first car with factory clearcoat, the first car with halogen headlamps. It even had four-wheel disc brakes–a rarity on Detroit cars at that time. It was a fine car. Comfortable. Right-sized. But it was still a Granada, and very overpriced. And there lies the rub.
The Lincoln Versailles owes a debt of gratitude to its arch-rival Cadillac, for introducing the 1982 Cimarron. That made the Versailles look good and become less of a joke, though it had been out of production for a year when the “Cadvalier” appeared. I mean, the Versailles at least looked like a Lincoln. A Granada-based, rather cynical Lincoln perhaps, but still a Lincoln.
Despite all of it, I still like the Versailles. Part of it may have been due to a friend of my dad’s who had a boat on the same dock as ours back in the ’80s. He had a pristine white ’77 Versailles with dark red leather and the polished chrome wheels. I thought it looked great. He still has the car, to this day, though it is a nice day cruiser now. Now, I wouldn’t have bought one new–these things cost more than a Town Car or a Continental Mark V, can you believe it?!–but I bet they would have made a plush daily driver after depreciation had their way with them in, let’s say, 1983 or so?
One thing that helped was the more formal, Lincoln-like roof added for 1979. The original 1977-78 version had the exact same C-pillar as its more plebeian Granada/Monarch siblings, which of course didn’t help. I can imagine local Cadillac dealers pulling up to the local L-M dealer in a brand-new Seville, pointing at the Versailles out front, laughing, and driving off.
But the ’79 changes made the car look better. It probably should have gotten that roof from the beginning. Compare the Wedgewood Blue ’77 above with the Black and Silver two-tone ’80 below–the 1980 clearly looks more luxurious. Especially to folks who would shop Cadillacs and Lincolns.
However you personally feel about these cars, they certainly must have made money for Ford, with the Granada origins and inflated price tag! I haven’t seen one on the road for years, but spotted this one out in back of a little car lot downtown. A rather solid, if somewhat neglected example. I could do without the tacky wire wheels, but the oddest thing was the Mercedes-Benz hood ornament. Was the owner being ironic, or just misguided?
This one also appeared to have aftermarket upholstery. I have never seen this floating-pillow seating in a Versailles, and while the style may be debatable, it appears to have been professionally done. This car has the optional bucket seats, which added a console, but the Select-Shift gear lever remained on the column.
All 1977-80 Versailles sedans had this classic style of vertical pleating, either in Luxury cloth or leather. I find them much more appealing than the thrones installed in our CC!
While looking pretty sound, it did have a common malady for ’70s luxury cars: a receding hairline vinyl roof. I rather like the black and silver two-tone paint, however. Although those taillights are different from those found on Granadas and Monarchs, I always thought they still looked too “Granada-ey.” In the 1977-80 period, all the other Lincolns had vertical taillights. I’ve often wondered how the Versailles would have looked with vertical taillights and a more vertical rear quarter panel. Along with the 1979-80 roof, I think it would have helped hide the Granada origins.
Note the leather-wrapped steering wheel. The instrument panel was also leather-wrapped on these cars. That upholstery material reminds me of couches I sat on back in the ’80s. Probably about the same time this car got the custom interior. And if it’s not immediately apparent in the pictures, there were CURTAINS, in the same material, for the rear windows. Perfect for when you “vant to be alone!”
Yes, the Versailles was not one of Lincoln’s best efforts, but the replacement for it, the 1982 Continental, was a lot more convincing, and with its Fox-based goodness beneath, a pretty nice car. And it didn’t look like its kid brother Fairmont!
Related: 1977 Lincoln Versailles 1986 Lincoln Continental 1978 Cadillac Seville
The 9 inch rear end with disc brakes on these used to be in demand with street rodders, but now 8.8 inch Explorer rears are better.
I’ve always thought the original-roof version looked better, or at least less worse. The formal roof looked like a crude lashup, I’m not sure if it was actually sent to ASC for post-stamping modification like the Chrysler Fifth Avenue was but it looks the part especially with the formal landau roof. Of course, the modified rear door frames weren’t cheap especially without a Granada wagon which would’ve been their highest and best use in the line to amortize them.
You could get almost the same car by buying a Granada Ghia and specifying the Luxury Decor Package (LDO) which included most of the Versailles’ goodies – leather bucket seats, thick carpeting, center console, full-length door armrests with woodgrain tops, woodgrain steering wheel with speed control buttons, digital clock, two-color paint, fancy wheels, etc., with the halogen headlights and 4 wheel disk brakes optional. Amongst the few Versailles exclusives were thicker dash top panelling, silver speedometer gauge, and quad headlamps. There was plenty of 1960 Falcon hiding under the Versailles.
Dressing up a Granada and trying to pass it off as a Lincoln is on par with GM dressing up a Chevy Cavalier and trying to pass it off as a Cadillac.
The 1986 Fox based Continental was a more honest approach. It sure didn’t look like any Fairmont, and the quality of execution was much higher. I find these quite distinctive and attractive. I checked one out at a used car lot a few years ago, they seem to have all disappeared.
The 1982 Fox based Continental was a far better effort than the Lincoln Granada IMO. The mistake Ford made with this car was the engine lineup in it’s first year. Two carbureted engines, one a 112 HP 3.8 liter V6 and the other a carbed 302 with 132 HP. They corrected this in 1983 by killing the 3.8 and making the TBI 302 std but with only 130 HP performance was not great. The 1986 version got the SFI 150 HP 302 which ran much better.
IMO Lincoln should have done more with the exterior body panels on the Versailles, stiffened the body structure better and given it something a little more exciting under the hood like a 4BBL 302 or HP 351 especially for the much higher price tag being asked.