LES PROPOSITIONS
RECUES pour la Lincoln Coupe de
Réalmont
- 1-
GILLES
B
le 25/11/06 : 1980/81
Continental
- 2 -
STEPHANE
le 10/12/06 : moteur V8 de
5L
- 3 -
DANSE
(AVEC LES ROUES)
le 18/12/06 : lincoln continental
série Cartier de 1980
+ Via le
propriétaire Jean-François T : 1980
Continental Mark VI Mark VI
Production: 1980-1983 - Body style:
2-door coupe, 4-door sedan - Engine:
302 in? (4.9 L) V8 ou 351 in? (5.8
L) V8
The 1980 design revision and change to the Panther platform
significantly reduced the size of
the vehicle-the new model was 14 inches shorter and
rode on a wheelbase 6 inches shorter
than before-and the new car was 500 pounds
lighter. Nevertheless, aside from being the only
Mark series ever available as a
4-door sedan, the Mark VI retained most of the styling cues
of the 1977 Mark V. Even though the
car was significantly smaller, it kept the
hallmark opera windows, Rolls-Royce
style grille and the (empty) tire hump on the
deck lid.
As with other 1980 Lincolns, the Mark of that year was
available with significantly
increased levels of, at the time, high-technology
electronic equipment. A digital
instrument cluster using Vacuum Fluorescent
Displays, pushbutton keyless entry,
Automatic Overdrive (AOD) 4-speed automatic
transmission, and fuel injection on the 302 in?
(4.9 L) engine were all new
introductions for 1980. Reliability of these
systems was problematic for the
first few years, which earned these cars a poor
reliability record for 1980, 1981
and 1982. Revisions and modifications to the electronics
improved the cars' reliability
record for 1983.
With the old boats, Continental and Mark V, retired after
1979, the new Lincolns for 1980 were
highly anticipated cars. When Ford introduced
the downsized Lincolns to the press,
they were an immediate hit, being more
efficient and more spacious than the
corresponding Cadillacs of the same
year, which had been downsized for 1977. The new
Lincoln's used new assembly
techniques, and had aluminum pieces in the body
and mechanicals to lighten the cars,
in addition to the eight-hundred pound weight loss
(---Note: Previous commentary states
500 lbs. saved. Advisable to further confirm
this information) they received from
the redesign. The old 460cid V8 was history,
replaced by a fuel-injected version of Ford's
302cid (5.0 liter) V8, and a
carbureted version of the 351cid V8, though the
latter lasted only for 1980.
The basic body was shared between Town Car and Mk VI, but
the Mark bore more resemblance to
the Mark V, with hidden headamps, the spare tire bulge on
the trunk, the vinyl top and opera
windows, etc. For the first and only time,
the Mark series was offered as a four door sedan,
but both Marks were dropped after
'83 in favor of a new Mark VII, and a small Continental
sedan (meant to replace Lincoln's
unsuccessful Versailles mid-size). A super-rare
car, of potential interest to collectors, is the
'80-'81 Town Coupe, which sold only
about 3000 copies before being consigned to the pages of
history. The Town Car and Town Coupe
bore more resemblance to the old standard
Continentals of the seventies, but were
thoroughly modern. The success of
the Mk VI, however, effectively killed off
interest in the Town Coupe. The Town
Car, however, continued to be Lincoln's best seller for the
rest of the 1980s. All told, these
Lincolns are quiet, reliable, roomy
cars.
-4-
MARC
(Cnd)
le 26/12/06 : 1980/82 Town
Coupe
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