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After careful consideration... I've decided..

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    After careful consideration... I've decided..

    Okay, you guys know I'm 18 years old.. When I was first getting into cars, I was about 11 to 12, and I was on autotrader classics, before it was autotrader classics lol and I stumbled upon, Classic Cars of South Carolina.. I was browsing through the inventory and I found this gigantic green 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Car Sedan. It was love at first sight. Now I realize now how much I love this car because my Marquis is fantastic, but I still want this continental. It needs so much work and will cost so much to maintain and keep fueled, but I am getting this year, as a graduation present. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep my marquis, because I drive my parents cars anyways. I've watched this car for 6 years and I know that that wet South Carolina weather is ruining that car more and more and I can't let it go to waste. Green is my favorite color and this car is green aplenty. What do you guys think? Am I dumb?
    "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

    #2
    If there's rust issues, the big question to me is how bad the rust is and what skills and tools you have for repairing that. a new engine, transmission, bumper, interior parts, those are all relatively easy. Rust though, it's kind of the one thing that can truly kill a car.

    I think if it's not too rusty, meaning it doesn't need whole new panels (which they don't make yet for them), and you have the means to have both it and the grand marq or another newer and cheaper per mile car on the road, go for it.

    Of course, if it needs everything BUT rust repair, then I'd steer clear too.

    I gather this is a car that has been sitting for years at a dealership?
    This means it's probably overpriced, and will definetely need new gaskets, and brakes assuming it's sat outside.

    It's hard to say much more without a better idea of the condition of the Lincoln.

    I would add that those cars aren't that hard to find, so if that one is in bad condition and/or overpriced don't be afraid to look for another similar model that doesn't need as much attention. Buying the cheapest example of a given year or model car doesn't usually end up being cheaper in the end.

    85 4 door 351 Civi Crown Victoria - Summer daily driver, sleeper in the making, and wildly inappropriate autocross machine
    160KMs 600cfm holley, shorty headers, 2.5" catted exhaust, 255/295 tires, cop shocks, cop swaybars, underdrive pulley, 2.73L gears.
    waiting for install: 3.27's, Poly bushings, boxed rear arms, 2500 stall converter, ported e7's, etc

    06 Mazda 3 hatch 2.3L 5AT (winter beater that cost more than my summer car)

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      #3
      Well, it has some rust.. from the pictures it needs a new top and there's rust around there. The transmission needs work, it probably needs all the gaskets and hoses and lines hah. I would use it as a daily though for a good while though, if I sold the marquis. I have seen other green ones, but this one just looks sad, like it was once so prestigious and proud, but now it's rotting away. Here's the link for the car..http://www.autotraderclassics.com/cl...ationId=280180
      "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

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        #4
        I'm with Johnunit. Engines and transmissions are easy to replace, and not that expensive. Suspension bits are easy to upgrade or rebuild. Do your best to find a car with a body and interior you can live with!
        2012 Mazda5 Touring | Finally working on the LTD again!

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          #5
          That rust around the top is really bad. The interior looks to be decent, although you will need to find the proper green steering column, as the one in the car obviously was replaced with the wrong color. That light green color isn't going to be easy to find. I look at these cars alot on Ebay/Craigs and have only seen that green once or twice. The darker green was more common. IMHO you can find a nice driving, decent bodied 77-79 Continentals for under 10K anytime. To bring this particular car back I think you could spend that and more.

          Here is a nice example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1976-...item2eb33f7c08
          2020 Volvo XC90 T6 Momentum (Ice White / Blonde)
          2022 Ram 1500 4x4 5.7 Etorque, Built to Serve Edition, (Granite Crystal / Black)
          Past Panthers
          1989 Grand Marquis LS (Cabernet/Grey), 1989 Lincoln Town Car SS (White/Blue), 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate (White/Black)

          Originally posted by Lincolnmania
          if its got tits or tires it's bound to give you trouble

          Comment


            #6
            that rust around the vinyl top IS worrying.

            However, for 1000 bucks once you bargain, I'd probably take a chance IF you can get a look at that from behind from the inside of the car. If it's not rotted through, budget for some minor bodywork. The rest of the paint looks decent, and the interior looks good too. That's all assuming those are up-to-date pictures.

            85 4 door 351 Civi Crown Victoria - Summer daily driver, sleeper in the making, and wildly inappropriate autocross machine
            160KMs 600cfm holley, shorty headers, 2.5" catted exhaust, 255/295 tires, cop shocks, cop swaybars, underdrive pulley, 2.73L gears.
            waiting for install: 3.27's, Poly bushings, boxed rear arms, 2500 stall converter, ported e7's, etc

            06 Mazda 3 hatch 2.3L 5AT (winter beater that cost more than my summer car)

            Comment


              #7
              rust around vinyl is a bad sign. usally means something nasty hides under it. best thing to do? check it out, make a list of needs, number crunch. then you will be able to compare the numbers with buying a good condition car. but imo, find something that needs drive train, not body work. rust is always bigger when you get into it.

              1981 Mercury Marquis Brougham 2-Door 302/ 5-speed -special blend (GMGT)
              1987 Lincoln Mark VII 5-speed (Errand runner)
              1989 Mercury Grand Marquis (Base Runner)
              2007 Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited (Hustlyn)
              2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (Down with O.P.P)

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                #8
                You know what Rust is the worst thing that could happen. I realized this with my marquis, one little spot ended up being a gigantic hole. I may just buy it and garage it until I can go crazy with and restore the behemoth, at least then I'll know it's not going to get any worse. I'm probably just getting complacent because I have yet to be able to my marquis, and It's driving me mad. I've driven it 3 times since I bought it
                "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by marquisman View Post
                  rust around vinyl is a bad sign. usally means something nasty hides under it. best thing to do? check it out, make a list of needs, number crunch. then you will be able to compare the numbers with buying a good condition car. but imo, find something that needs drive train, not body work. rust is always bigger when you get into it.
                  Last time I did a number crunch for this car, I figured it would cost me about how much the car was new... $9,000... I thought it was worth it heh
                  "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

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                    #10
                    Jeez.... run away. Don't look back, just keep running. Unless you are in the car restoration business, and have a client paying 45k to restore it, its a money pit. A plane ticket to some place in the southwest, maybe Vegas or Arizona, even here in Alabama, and you could find one running daily without rust issues. I tried twice to restore cars that were rust buckets, and unless we are a body shop, it turns to crap. I sunk at least 8k into a 1969 Z28 that was a rusty Utah car. Every couple months more rust that was hidden would crumble somewhere and the paint would be gone. Oh... did I say run away?
                    sigpic
                    2009 GM, 45,000 miles
                    ADDCO Sway Bars, METCO Control arms & Watts link, KYB CVPI shocks, 3.27 Track Lock, GT500 wheels, Eagle F1 Supercar tires, Walker dual exhaust, AFE Cold Air intake, ADTR ported upper manifold, Stillen Sport Rotors, Hawk HPS pads, Hypertech Programmer, 93 tune.



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                      #11
                      boo... I know I should run, but I at least want to go look at it..
                      "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

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                        #12
                        It all depends on how bad the rust really is. My 78 LTD sat outside for 10 years in the woods neglected before I got it. Its got some SERIOUS rust issues. Ill post up pics later. The only reasons Im keeping it is because its a car thats been in the family since new. I have the build sheet. STRONG engine and trans. And it was FREE. Worst case scenario is if I do get in over my head, I have a bodyshop friend that is willing to take over that restores cars as a living. Ill post up pictures later of what you can expect underneath a vinyl topped car from the late 70s.Its NOT pretty.

                        Than again...you could just luck out with only minor issues.

                        I say buy it and drive it until you can afford the rust repairs. But talk that guy down. I still drive mine 2 days out of the week...would be more except for the gas...
                        Last edited by Jon; 02-16-2011, 03:21 PM.

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                          #13
                          I want it! I mean it would be a very big, fun toy :p But I'd love to see the pics! I need to prepare myself. DId you have rust go all the way through?
                          "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by tyler_hubbard2003 View Post
                            boo... I know I should run, but I at least want to go look at it..
                            Don't give up on a 70s Continental, just this one. Save up and get a decent one that you can enjoy and tinker with. I had a 79 Town Coupe and I loved it. I used it as a beater for to and from work. This was over 10 years ago and gas was a lot cheaper.

                            Keep searching there are plenty of these cars that older people bought and stashed away. Like the others said, if you find a solid example with a nice interior the mechanicals are the easy part compared to working on the body.
                            2020 Volvo XC90 T6 Momentum (Ice White / Blonde)
                            2022 Ram 1500 4x4 5.7 Etorque, Built to Serve Edition, (Granite Crystal / Black)
                            Past Panthers
                            1989 Grand Marquis LS (Cabernet/Grey), 1989 Lincoln Town Car SS (White/Blue), 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate (White/Black)

                            Originally posted by Lincolnmania
                            if its got tits or tires it's bound to give you trouble

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I don't look at the other ones the same though. I always go for the worst cars... I don't know why.
                              "Charleston" the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan

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