5th Feb 2010, 21:48
I am 16 years old and just bought my first car, a 79 Lincoln Continental Mark V. Beautiful and the envy of all my friends. Perfect condition, inside and out. This care has a beautiful all-white vinyl top red body/interior with all working electronics. Bought it for a steal, and the only thing to change was the master cylinder. Anyways, gets a lot of positive and jealous glances in the school parking lot. Definitely a picture perfect yearbook-maker.
24th May 2010, 20:03
To Poster 21.48. Keep that Mark V. It is the last of the really full size Lincolns. Due to government corporate gas mileage limits, from 1980 on the Lincolns were downsized. The gas mileage hurts, but like you say, it sure draws some envious looks. It is a pleasure to own and drive.
5th Jun 2010, 19:13
I need help. I have a 79 Mark V Bill Blass. She has been starting easily for some time, but yesterday she wouldn't even turn over. When I turn the key, there is no power inside the car and no clicking and starting not turning. After removing the battery, I tried jumping from another vehicle directly to the solenoid. I get clicking, but no cranking of the starter. I also get interior power.
Is this an indication the solenoid is bad? As I mentioned, the car has been starting easily on a "few times a week" basis and there was not indication the starter was going bad.
BTW - I was averaging 13 MPG with hwy and city driving.
Robert.
7th Jun 2010, 22:30
Robert.
How old are the plugs, wires and ignition coil? If these parts are quite old, they will prevent the car from starting easily, especially on a rainy day. A solenoid is cheap to replace, so buy another if you have doubts about the current one.
21st Jun 2010, 20:08
I inherited my 79 Mark V from my dad who passed away in 2005. It sat for 3 years after that, then I decided to restore it. It has a new body and original color paint, sky blue, and it looks gorgeous. I have spent $2000.00 on shocks, springs and a tune-up, $7000.00 on the body and paint, $80.00 on original hubcaps. I have spent another $300.00 tune-up this week and the carburetor had a blown gasket. The ride is wonderful, and I get compliments all the time. Only twice did it not start up, showing the same symptom as an earlier comment. It still has the original 8 track, but it doesn't hold a radio station very well, so I want to change that for something that will play my iPod. The gas gauge is out of whack. I fill it up but it shows only 3/4 full. So 2 questions: what is the starting issue and how can the gas gauge be fixed? Also, I have a door ajar light on.
Thanks,
Kerry.
27th Jun 2010, 20:57
To poster 20:08 (Kerry)
The starting issue is most likely a worn out or defective solenoid. It's an inexpensive part to replace. The mounting point is on the passenger side inner fender (near the battery) and can be switched out easily.
2nd Feb 2011, 14:12
Hello, I have a 79 Lincoln Mark V. I need help with the vacuum diagram. Can anyone send me a picture of either their lines or the diagram under the hood please? Thank you.
John, email me at onesicilian4u@aol.com thanks.
13th Mar 2011, 20:03
Hello, I owned a 1977 Mark V, which I had restored to pristine condition. These are great road cars, and they float down the highway like no other car. After all, they are almost 20 feet long!
I love the long nose on it with the Lincoln emblem.
I traded it a number of years ago for a perfect 1985 Cadillac, but regretted it afterwards, since it could not compare to the Mark V, even though it was a full sized Fleetwood.
I am thinking about buying a 1977 Mark V now, which is gray, exactly like the one I used to own. The only difference is that it has the 460 instead of the 400 engine. It appears to be in pristine condition, but the price is listed at 12,995. Does anyone know where to find a fine Mark V for a reasonable price? Please answer this if you do.
Thanks from Wisconsin!
15th Aug 2011, 19:57
Kudos to the guy that did the swap from the 400 to a 460, that's a smokin' deal.
I've seen a '77 with a 460 do 11 seconds. WOW.
Anyways. I own a white on white 1979 Lincoln Mark V, with the blue interior.
I'm 21 and I've been working on it for almost 2 years. Paid $600 with 82,000km on it.
Power everything, and it all works. A classy 8-track player, a sunroof, and a big block V-8? Who the hell wouldn't want one?
Oh well, I still get giddy when I blast past the punks in their Civics and 5 litre s**tstangs, thinking they can take my boat off the line.
If you're a new owner, this is the list of my problems so far that caused it to be sat.
Moisture in the ignition switch on the top of the steering problem (replaced).
Master cylinder was toast, and the lines to the rear were corroded (when doing your brake lines, be careful for the fuel lines, which run under the driver's door with the brake lines.. these will probably be corroded and fragile).
A fried solenoid.
The alternator went, and also... gah, I forget what it's called... but it failed with the alternator.. It's locating under the hood near the passenger headlight. Wires going in and out of it.
Also the exhaust flange was dried and letting fumes escape.
Those were the cheap fixes.
I just replaced the carb with a 2-barrel from a 1984 Ltd; the newer carbs are much better. Didn't have the vapour lock issues which can cause a stall.
And now I'm converting it from the manifold system to headers, and duals out the back.
17th Aug 2011, 17:43
Sweet ride man!
I have a 1977, 78, and two 79s. LOVE em!
BTW I'm only 29, and yeah, done right, these cars can be VERY fast!
25th Jan 2012, 19:53
There is a 1979 Lincoln Continental Collector's series for sale from me just down the road, and it's been my dream car since I was a little kid. Weird right? Well I'm 24 now, and money is tight.
I dunno much about it, besides I know it has the 400 in it, which stinks I hear? And it isn't the coupe or anything, it's the 4 door sedan, dark blue. Has the 8-track player, the CB, and the interior and exterior LOOK fantastic.
But I haven't checked underneath, and I know a couple of the gadgets inside, windows and electrical stuff, don't function quite right. But god do I want it.. But the sticker price is 5k, when I visited they said take it for 3k, but I said no. It is at a dealership. I haven't test driven it, started it, brought in a mechanic, or ANYTHING, and I wanna see if I can go in offering 1k for it.
I don't know ANYTHING about how to fix cars. So if it's in rough shape, I'll spend a fortune getting things professionally done, so I dunno if it is worth it. 68k miles on it, looks like maybe it was garaged? I'm in New England, so you'd think it would be rusted out.
Is 1,000 a reasonable low ball offer for a car like this? I know they have no re-sale value, and with gas at 3.40 and rising.. (To maybe 5 or 6 this summer) I dunno...
10th Oct 2009, 22:03
I just bought a 79 Mark V Collector Series, Midnight Blue with leather interior. I'm probably the only one on earth with a 460 in it. The 400 had a knock in it when I got it, but still ran smooth, but I found a 77 with 60000 miles on it that had just been totaled, and bought the engine for $200.00. I need a carburetor for it and haven't driven it yet. I should have it running by next Friday 10-16-09. I'm not at all worried about gas mileage. This is my dream car from childhood.