5,310 Miles and Showroom Perfect: 1979 Lincoln Mark V
If the past month on Barn Finds is any indication, it appears that seventies luxury cars in mint condition are falling out of the sky. Every day it seems we profile a well-preserved vehicle from this very special, and very large subset of the market. It appears reader PRA4SNW has found the nicest one yet. Take a look at this Wedgewood Blue 1979 Lincoln Mark V for sale on Craigslist in Austin, Texas. This amazingly well-kept Lincoln has just 5,310 miles on the odometer and is offered at a reasonable $17,999. Is this the luxury barge you have been waiting for?
Let’s start with the story on this car, or lack of a story in this case. The seller tells us that they are out of storage space for this big Lincoln. More vehicles are coming in, so room has to be made. From the look of the car in the pictures, we can all understand how this car could take up a lot of square footage. You could fit a Prius or three in its footprint. The seller has decided to move it quickly and has set the price at what should be a reasonable amount.
The selling point is the mileage and condition. The odometer reads just 5,310 miles and there is no reason to believe that is not correct. Looking carefully at the pictures reveals no flaws whatsoever. Many times we find that cars like this are owned by folks in the twilight of their life. As coordination, vision, and a strong sense of caution leave them, accidents happen. We often see these cars with dented chrome, scrapes in otherwise perfect paint, and the telltale signs of “back until you bump” in the rear appendages.
It would be great to see a back story on this car. Being from Austin, was it owned by a rich Texas oil tycoon? A well-connected politician with a huge Stetson hat? Regardless of the back story, we do know a little about Mark Vs. They were produced from 1977 to 1979 and were the longest coupes Ford ever produced. They were 230 inches long, and the Lincoln Town Cars of the same vintage were the longest sedans produced in Ford’s history. They were longer than the coupes by 3 whopping inches.
The interior pictures in the ad show that Ford was still struggling with the concept of efficient space utilization. A modern vehicle of this size could hold an NFL team with enough room left over for a water boy and the now-always-required lawyer. Regardless, it is obvious that this was a comfortable place to spend some time. Curiously, this car does not have a leather interior. I can feel this particular corduroy-type cloth by just looking at the picture. It is very similar to the upholstery in my 1989 Ford Ranger I used to have.
Under the hood is the 400 cubic inch V-8 that Ford was forced into putting under the hood by CAFE standards. The 460 passed the way of the dodo bird the year before. Backing it up was the ubiquitous C6 automatic transmission with three forward speeds. The engine generated 179 horsepower and 329 ft. lbs. of torque. This was enough to hustle this behemoth down the road with some authority, but if you are going to burn a lot of fuel anyway, the 460 would have been a better choice. Too bad CAFE standards took that option off the table.
It is hard not to like this car. Nice color, low miles, and a reasonable price given the condition. Hopefully, someone in the Barn Finds family picks this one up. The only question would be what would you do with it?
If you purchased this car, would you drive it a lot or keep it cocooned away in the garage? Please let us know what you would do in the comments.
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Comments
Good write-up Jeff. Like you said, another outstanding old luxury barge. I really like the blue/white theme. It has obviously had little use and has been babied. A great example of a type of car no longer in vogue. The new owner should have some fun with it.
So wish I could bring this one home.
I keep waiting for someone to stuff a 3.5 Ecoboost/10sp combo into one of these barges. Might as well be me.
Even a Coyote conversion would probably allow this thing to get 25mpg on the highway.
Don’t count on it, this land barge is heavy, that’s the way they got them to ride so we’ll back then, you might see 15-16 mpg which is better than the 11-13 that it gets.
All right ! My kind of car ! This is one beautiful car that I would love to own . The way I look at it – keep it original , keep it mint and ENJOY it! They have been saved , pampered , well cared for and NOW – is the time to drive them. I would take meticulous care of this LAST YEAR of All American Luxury Coupe. 1979 was it folks. Pretty decent price for a classic 1979 Lincoln Mark V especially with low miles. Great article.
Even though it’s a base model, and doesn’t have a 460, I still like it, and I hope it finds a good home where it’ll be preserved and enjoyed.
The 460 was not available in 1979. Only engine choice was the 400.
Damn shame this car has the cheap base interior. Car would look much better with the optional matching leather or upgrade cloth interior. Seat design is much better looking!
Torque is expressed in lbs.ft. not ft.lbs.
Not where I come from….always ft.lbs for torque, and these days it’s now Nm (Newton metres). Just saying…
What happened to the opera window?
No Opera Window when you ordered the Carriage Roof option.
I like the car, but I smell a rat here. It appears to have been re-sprayed, and the mileage doesn’t match the patina under the hood, on the firewall and the fenders under the hood. Where’s the service records, to back up the mileage?
I noted the same, re: engine bay.
If you were fortunate enough to live in a state w/o a smog inspection,putting a 460 in wouldn’t be a problem,or a 70-71 429.would give her about 220 more hp and least another 50-60ft lbs of torque,more suitable for this land yacht,sailing the open road.
It seems that we are seeing a lot of nice blue with blue interior cars on Barn Find lately. A great color combination in my opinion, and a color that will probably never come back around again.
I too smell a rat. If it´s too good to be true, it usually is. A car with such low mileage usually has a history to back up the claim. Also the interior is blahhhhh on every level. Nope, pass.
This one is questionable but these are wonderful cars, I drove many way back. I had a 79 with the moon roof. I am not sure why everyone hates the 400. I have one in an 82 F350 and a 72 Mercury and they are great trouble free units. 460s are nice but I won’t complain about a nicely kept 400.