Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Questions regarding "barge" body Lincolns....

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Originally posted by RyPow View Post
    If that's true, it must apply to '78-79 only. I've read through the '77 order guide and the opera windows were optional on the base Continental and Town Car (not sure about Williamsburg or the other oddball versions). The were just so popular at the time that nearly every Continental was ordered/built with them.
    I'm apparently kludging the Continental with the Mark on this one. The Marks are clearly standard with opera windows '73-79, with only '72 being optional. The Continental brochure for 1975 says the opera windows are standard equipment (sedans). But to your point, the 1976-1979 Continental brochures makes them optional, so a bit of talkin' out my ass on the Conti opera windows.

    Originally posted by RyPow View Post
    IMHO, the only barge-era Lincoln that has potential for this is the Mark V. In stock form, I feel they are vastly superior in handling to the Continental.
    Agreed. The Mark IV and the entire line up of '70s Continentals are wallowing messes; the Mark V is not much better, but just maintaining the stock front end rubber and linkage and putting in new shocks--keeping everything stock--the Mark V has a surprising handling ability to compared to the other '70s barge Lincolns.

    Comment


      #17
      Originally posted by Hearsesrock427 View Post
      Curious how the top of the line Collecters Series didn't come with the opera windows. You'd think a car like the '79 Collectors Series would come with them standard.

      Explains why they're not too common, and why certain combinations (such as a designer series without the opera windows) is next to unheard of.

      That makes sense; rear wheels kick water and other corrosives backwards, up into the wheel wells and/or bumper supports. Water has nowhere to go, so it makes its own path.

      I'd rather be safe than sorry with regards to body work. And while I won't subject any of my cars to winter, I will subject them to summer. Which means they will see at least a little bit of rain. Granted, upstate NY is pretty mellow compared to other parts of the globe in this regard. I'd still rather be safe than sorry. So I'll pony up and get the work done to fix the problem preventatively, so it'll never ever be an issue. Also helps that most of these practical fixes are aesthetically pleasing to me (slicktopped box panthers and barges FTW!). So it's a win-win. Car looks sexier, AND I can hoon with ironclad confidence, rain or shine. It's silly to sideline a car on behalf of some easily preventable water trap issues IMO. I'd rather not miss out on opportunities to practice drifting and donuts in nondescript parking lots, haha. I'll do that until the rain lets up and the roads dry off a bit. Once they do, it's back to ripping around the twisty roads!

      Nate bought it in mid to late December, probably the week before X-mas. The '81 is 100% rust free, just some small dents and scrapes. Runs like a top- no lopo knock or anything. All for $900. I was equal parts amazed, proud, and jealous when he told me this, haha.

      ...The barges fail to deliver on the second condition. The only way I could see a barge being a corner-carving beast is lots of custom suspension parts. Which means more money flying out of the window. Throwing on police spec LTD suspension parts is just a band-aid fix.... to paraphrase Jaws. "I think we're gonna need a bigger band-aid!" In other words, going really fast in a straight line is not enough for me. I want have my cake, and eat it too.
      In regards to what was standard and optional, check this site out!
      http://oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Lincoln
      I love it, most times they've got what I'm looking for in there but it's not complete. People can help with that though. Wasted hours on that site and more time in the future I'm sure.

      I knew I should've bought that '81! Was a damn fine deal, I was shocked the guy didn't sell it sooner. 2dr bare bones LTD. I don't like bare bones but would certainly look past that because of the rarity of 2 doors. Plus as a back up car the less stuff that can go wrong the better.

      A word on corrosion.. You sound like my pops, "Argh, if it rusts, I'll fix it!" Well with the old crap there wasn't Ecoat, just maybe iron phosphate. Then by the mid 80's pretty much everything went to good ole lead based Ecoat. Unless whoever does the work utilizes a dip clean process followed by ecoat that repair will rot away even faster than what rust was there before. Ecoat goes over zinc phosphate, which acts as a sacrificial layer. This layer tries it's damndest to stop the spread of corrosion. Most repair shops just cut out the old metal, grind the not to nasty stuff back, weld on patch, fill in the uneven parts with filler, wipe clean with naptha & a tack rag and then prime. That offers little in the way of corrosion protection, even if you use zinc rich primer. The old stuff was notorius for rusting through because of the lack of ecoat and poor pretreatment technology. There was anodic Ecoat but that sucked too. The guys could only put paint where they could see- phosphates are nothing without paint to protect them, which is also why newer cars still rust. Ecoat is electrically applied, so tubes and recessed cavities only get their extremeties coated, all the bracing and insides are phosphate only so if moisture gets in, rot shall reign. Just look at the rockers of late grand prixs and stuff... This all adds up to why I suggest if you're going to repair something, do not expose it to salt. Rain water won't be that big a deal unless it's allowed to pool up. Firebird was driven through salt probably 3 years of its life and rain for 16 years (took me a year of driving it in the rain to realize I needed to stop haha) and it's holding up just fine.

      Why do you want a barge to handle? Cadillacs and Lincolns were meant to have pillowly rides! If I change the springs on the Motorcade car it's to make them softer! Sway bars maybe but that's it. I don't want to feel a damn thing when I'm driving in that car lol. If I want performance, I'll switch to the Firebird
      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

      Comment


        #18
        @RyPow: Derp, should've explained more about water getting kicked up. That's definitely a bumper bracket issue, not a vinyl top issue. I see similar problems with water traps in box Chevies. The vinyl roof leaks around the corners, or even along the pillar bases.... couple years later you wonder WTF happened to the metal that was there, haha.

        Ah, I see now. Got the engine families confused, haha. I've really only read up on the Windsors. So we have the 385-429-460 "Big Block" family, the 351-351-400 "Michigan-Cleveland" family. and the 255-302-351 "Windsor" family. Bada-bing.

        They even have four-wheel disc brakes. On top of all that stuff you mentioned, which I didn't think the Mark 5 had either. Straight up, of all the cars I expected to have sporty stuff like that, the Mark V was toward the bottom of said list. I expected it to use drums in the rear like the Mark 6. Imagine my surprise when I learned it was the opposite..... that the Mark 5s came with four wheel discs. FACTORY!!!!!! No wonder why people hated the Mark 6 so much; Lincoln took a couple steps backwards with the chassis and suspension design. Was lighter than the outgoing Mark 5, but you can't hide a missing sway bar and drum brakes. Even with hundreds of fewer pounds.

        @DerekTheGreat: Good stuff- I compared the chassis and suspension setups for the Mark 5 to the Mark 6. Pretty incredible how they went backwards with the Mark 6. Then there's the whole eye candy appeal, seeing how cars used to be advertised. Was both aesthetically pleasing and practically useful.

        There should be more once the summer kicks in. It's project car buying season around here now. But I can definitely relate to that regret, and having trouble finding cars like that. Shit, the only places I can easily find clean '87 and earlier panthers is on Copart and at demolition derbies. And I haven't seen a panther coupe from EITHER source in years.

        I've read a bit about issues like that, replacing panels. They almost never last as long as the stuff that came factory. Mainly because the repairs aren't done properly. You touched on pretty much all the ways body work can go wrong: not applying stuff properly, not in the right order, not applying enough of it, or not applying it all (you'd be amazed how many people use POR-15 without any priming or prep work. Then they wonder why it doesn't work. Haha.) I've seen that problem on cars- clean quarters but super ultra nasty rockers. See that in Fbodys too, actually.

        Because racecar! Haha. It's a personal preference. I want all my cars to corner and brake really well. (Trucks also- especiallly if I can ever find a clean '80s or early '90s Chevy/Ford for cheap.) I too have considered buying something sporty to suit my need for extreme speed and extreme handling. But unless I save up for years, it's just not happening. I'd much rather pick up cheap fun projects, like panthers and trick them out. I will get a real sports car and make it epic. But not until after I amass a bunch of other cheaper things first. By the time I reach that point, I'll be making more money anyhow, and can afford to be spendier with projects. Which means F-bodys, C3 and C4 Corvettes, 1st gen RX-7s, Mark 7s, Mark 8s, E36 Bimmers, E34 Bimmers, etc.
        Last edited by Hearsesrock427; 04-14-2015, 10:32 PM. Reason: Cleaned up the format.
        '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
        '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
        '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

        Comment


          #19
          I was impressed to learn about MK V underpinnings, I really like those cars but would prefer a Town Car coupe and then see if the sway bar plus rear out of a MK V would be a direct swap. Didn't know they went backwards with the Mk. VI, that is a shame. Nothing special about a MK VI to me other than they're two door.

          That's why I'm always leary of body work. The cleaner you start with, they better off you'll be. People try to fix rust over here but they don't understand corrosion protection, it really is a science. Ashley and I always have fun chisling away at the bondo'd up cars we find in the junkyard. It always puts a smile on my face when finding how far the rust has wicked into the repair. Rockers are usually the first to go since they don't usually have drain holes or just poor circulation followed by anywhere you've got stone chips or edges. Wheel lips are also a trouble spot.

          I would trade my TC for a nice MK. VII. With all the work I want to do to the TC it would be cheaper to buy a MK VII...
          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

          Comment

          Working...
          X