Lincoln Mark VI

gkarg

I'm finding it more and more difficult to get any parts for this classic car. It seems like the only parts available are for the engine and drivetrain. I've ordered from the Lincoln Salvage places and that is a crapshoot.

I finally got the engine running its best that it ever has. I bought the car in 1991 and have been trying to figure out what it needed. The diagnostic computers the mechanics used said everything was fine. Finally I ordered a $50 Oxygen Sensor and replaced it. I also put a true dual exhaust on the car. Both things improved the way the car runs 100%. I went from 12-15 MPG at best to the last tank of mixed city/hwy driving (mostly hwy) at 19.3 MPG. That's pretty decent for a 20 year old car with original everything and 127,000 miles on the clock!

grbeck

Try some of the Lincoln clubs. Members often have good leads on parts supplies or even parts cars. Also try www.blueovalnews.com. One of the site's forums is a discussion thread for Lincoln; members of Lincoln clubs have posted there in the past. You should also check out the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA); it may be able to give you a lead on some Lincoln clubs. Cars at AACA shows have to be at least 25 years old, so you can't show your Lincoln yet.

About two weeks ago I stopped at the local Lincoln-Mercury dealer to check out the 2003 Town Car. (It was after hours.) Parked along the side was a Mark VI coupe waiting for service; I think it was a 1983 model. It looked a little worn, but otherwise driveable. Prior to that, I hadn't seen a Mark VI in years!

jrosasmc

Did the Mark VI come with an all-digital dashboard as standard equipment, even in the early '80s?

Mr_Shiftright

I think you will have to be realistic about keeping up the Mark VI or any of the big modern Lincolns, as there will not be a large supporting aftermarket.

This has always been true in the old car business. It is ten times harder to restore a Studebaker than a Chevrolet from the 30s, and ten times harder to restore a Chevrolet than a Ford from the 1930s.

Inasmuch as your car is not widely collected and wasn't built in huge numbers to begin with, I suspect you will find parts getting more and more difficult to find.

So if you really love the car and want to keep it a long long time, you have to become a serious hoarder of parts right now, and invest accordingly in time and money to find these parts. Because one day there won't be any, anywhere except for the occasional rare find. Even wrecking yards will not keep these cars, they will be recycled.

So my advice is to act fast and get what you can while you can!

andre1969

...was kind of a weird beast, in that it was offered both as a 4-door sedan and a 2-door coupe. IIRC, the 4-door sedan rode the regular 117.3" wheelbase of regular Lincolns, while the Mark VI coupe was on a shorter 114.3" wb, same as the LTD/Marquis. I think they had a cheaper coupe as well, that was just a Lincoln, that rode the longer 117.3" wb.

If anybody's interested, here's a link to an '82 Mark VI sedan for sale, in really nice condition. Lots o' pictures to give you a good feel for the car.

andre1969

Guess it usually helps to post the url! Turns out you can't go right to the car, but the page for the company is http://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/

From there, you can navigate to cars for sale, and find the '82 under "Lincoln". They have lots of other cars for sale too, with plenty of pics to really give you a feel for the car and what it was like.

gkarg

I don't know about the standard Mark VI's, but my car is the Cartier version and is absolutely loaded to the tilt with everything they had available at the time. Some things include:

- Complete digital dash with trip computer (that works basically flawlessly - punch in your destination and it tells you everything you want to know, including what time you'll arrive & it works well!)

- Heated power mirrors, auto climate control, electric moonroof, 6-way power 50/50 split bench front seats, tilt, cruise, digital - 6 speaker premium stereo with cassette, Ford CB radio - wired to the front speakers, power windows/locks, etc, etc, etc. It even has the high-mount rear brake light in the rear window. (That had to have been a first for Ford.)

Of course most of those things are standard today - but back in the early 80's they definitely weren't!

This thing is just loaded with everything imagineable. The problem is that when something quits (ie the driver's door power lock motor...) I can't get a 'new' Ford part. I know I can probably get one from a salvage yard, but the life expectancy for that part can't be guaranteed to last at all.

I have been trying to buy and order whatever parts I possibly can (examples: weatherstipping, prop rods from hood and trunk, etc.) but have found that Ford no longer carries them. I was able to order weatherstripping from JC Whitney that was a close enough match to the original.

I know I have a real battle on my hands and thanks for the advice given so far. I will keep those ideas in mind - when I need my next part or start to hoard extras (which I've already begun to do...)

Mr_Shiftright

Ebay is a great place for parts hoarders. I've grabbed tons of stuff for my 1980 Mercedes 300D at bargain prices.

I'd go for the trim pieces and lenses. The "hard parts", that is, basic mechanicals, should be around for a while longer, but little chrome bits, handles, door trim, grill parts, etc--you should grab those as they will be hell to find soon enough. I have a complete extra set of lenses, foglights, grille shell, all door and fender trim and side view mirrors. Also the chrome lettering and insignias. In case of an accident, these will come in very handy for repairs.

ghulet

...in the early '80s, I seem to remember these cars were virtually indistinguishable from each other. That is, the Mark VI looked just like the TC except for the 'spare tire' hump in the trunk. Anyone know what the price and standard equipment differences were at the time?

I kinda have a soft spot for these '80s Lincolns. The father of my best friend (who lived across the street, but dad didn't) had an '85 or '86 Town Car briefly, it was burgandy with tan leather, I think alloys and a moonroof. It was *quite* swank for the time. I loved that car, it was super-comfy.

andre1969

...for example, some of them have an oval opera window built into the thick C-pillar, reminiscent of the older Mark IV and Mark V, while some of them just have the slim vertical opera window, like what was used right up through the aero design. I'm guessing the Mark VI had the ovals, and the lesser models had the vertical windows.

I've also noticed that some of them have fake vents on the fenders, Chrysler 5th-Ave style, right behind the front wheels. Maybe that was another Mark VI distinguishing feature?

ghulet

...there were a few others, notably the opera windows you mentioned, also the Mark had hidden headlights and the trim was a bit more 'upscale'.

jrosasmc

And the Mark was a very expensive car, even for the early '80s.

andre1969

For some reason, I was thinking that all of 'em had hidden headlights from '80-83. I vaguely remember some variant that had exposed headlights, but they weren't conventional rectangular quad headlights like on the later Town Cars. I seem to remember single round headlights that looked like they were actually imbedded in the flip-up covers!

gkarg

Yes, The 80-83 Mark had the oval opera windows, fake side vents & hidden headlamps. Only, the headlamps look horrific when they're on, in the daylight (it looks messy in there...)

It also has the LARGE fake wheel wheel which is probably its most distinguishable "marks."

Is there any way to find out the original selling price for a particular car?

grbeck

Andre: I think there was an option for the Mark VI that put what looked like a large, single headlight on the headlight doors. I don't know if this "light" actually worked or not, but it really gave the car a "Superfly" look...kind of a last gasp for late 1970s garishness.

andre1969

...at least now I know I wasn't imagining things! It is kinda odd that they'd take a car with hidden headlights though, which I'd always considered a luxury/sporty distingquishing feature, and then mess it up with trying to expose the lights again! That'd be just plain sick, to make a piece of ornamentation that looks like a light, but then not have it work! I wouldn't put it past 'em though!

I actually saw a Mark VI 4-door sedan on the way to work this morning. Dark, brownish color. Except for the vast expanse of primer paint on the rear 1/4 panel, it looked like it was still in okay shape. Driven by a young kid, maybe 18-20. So either he's into big old cars like that and really appreciates it, or he got Dad's (or Granddad's) old hand-me down, and is having dreams of a Civic with a fart-can!

grbeck

In some ways the late 1970s (when this car was conceived) were as excessive as the late 1950s. I can see Ford putting phony headlights on the headlight doors.

The Mark VI sedan was relatively rare even when new. The downsized 1980 Town Car, Town Coupe and Mark VI were initially sales duds - which is ironic in view of the sales boom the Town Car experienced later in the decade.