(first posted 9/15/2016) The Continental Mark V has received considerable attention here as the epitome of the 1970s Brougham Era of American cars, including as “The Mayor of Brougham City” by one of our writers and as the car of the family patriarch in the quintessential TV show of the late 1970s, Jock Ewing of Dallas. Mark Vs can be spotted on city and suburban streets with some frequency, having been sold in large numbers and collected by many when new, and at least one has made its way all the way to Australia where one of our writers saw it. Seeing one roaming the wide open highways of the American West does not happen often, though. I had the good fortune to encounter a Mark V used in exactly this way in August and of course had to share the sighting here with fans of Brougham Era cars.
The drivers of this Mark V were Adam and Lon, brothers who grew up in Pittsburgh. As fans of classic cars, they were quite familiar with Curbside Classic and as a result did not regard me as weird (I think) when I approached them in the parking lot of Arches National Park in Utah (shown here) and asked if they were interested in having their car featured on the site. It turned out that Adam now lives less than five miles away from me in northern Virginia, so we were able to meet up later and chat further about cars and our road trips.
Adam and Lon bought the car locally in Pittsburgh intending to make an epic road trip out west. Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Arches National Park, the Grand Canyon, Texas, and too many places along the way to list were all on their intended route. They were only halfway through their journey when I met them and photographed this growing map of souvenir state magnets on their dashboard. With both wide open desert highways in August heat and winding roads through the mountains ahead of them, they had a mechanic friend, Donald Dambaugh, look over the engine, brakes and other major systems in preparation for the trip. Donnie, who has been around long enough to remember these cars well from when they were new, spent numerous evening and weekends helping Adam and Lon to get the car ready.
The Mark V chosen for this road trip was a Collector’s Series, the penultimate Mark V, the commemorative edition made in the last year before Ford finally followed GM’s lead and downsized its full size cars. As Adam explained, it began its life in the Midnight Blue color used on most of the Mark V Collector’s Series, but at some point it received a repaint in silver, as used on only an ultra-rare late model year run of 125 cars. These small numbers in “Light Silver Moondust Metallic,” along with a similarly small late model year run in “Diamond Blue Moondust Metallic,” were the only Collector’s Series Mark Vs not in Midnight Blue.
Whatever one thinks of the Mark V and other cars of its type, one has to agree that this car would be a very comfortable place for two people to spend a long road trip. With plush seats, plenty of space in front (maybe not in back, but with only two people, it doesn’t matter), and extreme quiet, it was made to be a peaceful place on long highway drives. A huge sliding glass sunroof and those clever little power vent windows exclusive to Lincolns and other high-end full size Fords of the 1970s and 1980s give plenty of sun and fresh air when wanted, without the unwanted wind noise of a convertible.
Cornering and braking on mountain switchback roads may be cause for concern, and gas mileage would not be good in an approximately 5,000 pound car with a 400 cubic inch V8, but not trying to drive it like a sports car and a sufficient budget for gas address those concerns.
Trying to be inconspicuous on a road trip with a car like this Mark V is impossible. With rental SUVs and sedans and groups of Harley-Davidsons dominating the highways and national parks, a long, wide and low Mark V cannot help but stand out. Budgeting extra time at each stop to answer questions and talk about the car is essential. You become an instant celebrity of sorts, for better or worse.
Adam and Lon certainly had the celebrity experience with their Mark V. The many German tourists visiting the national parks of the Southwest were especially captivated with it. Here, a German family’s two teenage sons are enjoying the experience of sitting behind the wheel of one of the enormous classic American cars that they have heard about and may have seen at classic car events back in Germany. A few years from now, they may become some of the thousands of Germans buying up our unloved old land yachts and giving them new lives as exotic, coveted classics in Europe.
If you are standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and a girl (my Lord) in a flatbed Ford slows down to take a look at you, it may have helped to be standing in front of a Lincoln Mark V.
I wish that I could report that Adam and Lon had a perfect road trip in their classic Lincoln, but unfortunately, years of hidden, unseen wear asserted themselves to bring the trip to a halt after most of the mileage had passed well. In Texas, in Wichita Falls between Amarillo and Dallas, the 400 V-8’s fiber timing gear gave out 4,100 miles into the road trip. No doubt a contributor to the quiet running expected of a Lincoln, the use of fiber instead of steel timing gears created a problem after 37 years. With the engine dead over 1,200 miles from home, Adam and Lon had to leave the car behind in Texas and figure out what to do with it. About a week later, they rented a pickup truck and drove it all the way back to Texas to recover the Mark V.
The recovery of the Mark V was made possible by the assistance of friends who had helped to get Adam and Lon interested in classic cars years ago. They acquired their interest after high school while working at Meyer’s Tire Service in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, and they remained good friends with the Meyers more than a decade after working there. When Paul Meyer learned of Adam and Lon’s situation, he actually arranged to buy a trailer in Wichita Falls, Texas that they could pick up and use to tow the Lincoln, instead of towing a trailer all the way from the Pittsburgh area for the task, saying that he already wanted to buy a new one. The Mark V is now safely home back in the Pittsburgh area, soon to be repaired and put back on the road for its next adventure.
Covering over 4,000 miles and 13 states, and including many of the country’s greatest national parks, this road trip out West was the sort that some of us have done and almost everyone would like to do. Doing it in a 37 year old American classic of the 1970s required vision and commitment, and Adam and Lon had it, along with the ability to deal with the adversity that the trip threw at them. Perhaps this story, along with that of the CC Nashville Meet-Up earlier this year and other road trip stories here, will inspire you to do something similar.
All photos except 2 through 5 are by Adam Baehr.
Great story! It would be tough to find a better car of that vintage and type than a Mark V, although I suspect that a 77-78 with the 460 might have been more pleasant in the mountains.
Crud, a timing gear failure would be tough. I don’t suppose it would be all that helpful to get a tow into the local Lincoln dealer to have this fixed up in a day.
Don’t know if it COULD be fixed in a day. I don’t know about the Ford 400…is it an interference engine? Many OHV timing-gear engines were; the Chrysler LA 273/318/340/360 and its V6 derivative, for one. If the timing gear went, the engine would need replacement of bent valves and pushrods. Excessive play between crank and camshaft/distributor could warn of a problem. I replaced the timing gear on a 150,000 mile 318 in a Valiant, with all-metal and a new heavier-duty chain, available from Chrysler as performance/durability parts used in the police-package engines, when I spotted this. The plastic tips on the gear were thin and had cracks in them and were just about to give up.
I’m pretty sure that this particular Ford V-8 isn’t an interference engine.
When I had my 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, I remember hearing from other club members that failure of the timing gear at around 100,000 miles was fairly common on various GM V-8s from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Apparently these engines used nylon (?) timing gears, which were susceptible to wear. This failure, however, did not result in a ruined the engine.
The next major failure was usually the oil pump, all clogged up with nylon from what used to be the timing gear.
That sounds like what happened to my friend’s 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme V-6.
Yep, my 77 Chevelle’s 305 had the fiber timing gear on the cam, and it died on me on the way home from a 200 mile road trip. I coasted it to the side of the road and a friend of mine lived not too far away, we towed it there, and the next day I put a timing chain on it. It’s gone another 100,000 miles now with nothing else done to the internals of the engine. I’m guessing its got about 230,000 miles on it.
The timing set has nylon coated teeth on the cam sprocket. They are not fibre gears. Nylon coated teeth on the cam sprocket was common practice on American V8 engines of the era, not just the Ford 400. This was done to reduce noise. A 1979 400 Ford has such low compression, such a massive deck clearance on it’s pistons and such a mild low lift cam that I highly doubt any valve train damage occurred.
Changing a timing chain probably could have been done easily in a day at a competent shop. Typically you have to drop the front of the oil pan to do the job, but there is a way to “cheat” the front cover back on without dropping the oil pan that saves a lot of time that I learned from a 351C expert (the 400 is the same engine family).
I changed out a 400 timing set a couple years ago on a high mileage 400, and replaced it with a double roller steel set (as a preventative measure). Attached is a pic of a Ford OEM 351C/400 timing set with the nylon gears. If you look closely the nylon teeth on the sprocket are quite obvious. This one is surprisingly good shape considering it had something like 147K on it at the time. Typically the teeth are all broken off and end up in the oil pan. FWIW, the double roller set I installed after the fact made no noticeable difference in engine noise.
Yeah while you are supposed to drop the pan to R&R the chain on most of the big 3’s V8s and a lot of their other engines I’ve never met one that I couldn’t leave the pan in place and many of the timing cover gasket sets come with oil pan gasket stubs just for that purpose.
As far as getting it done the big hurdle would be finding someone familiar with engines of this era.
Within the first month of buying my 410 Mercury and 360 F100 I had the front cover off to replace the timing set with a double roller. Already knew of their tendency to loose teeth way back in 1974 when I took my 302 Cougar engine apart. The 410 wasn’t bad but the 360 had enough teeth missing that I needed to pull the pan to clear out the oil pickup screen. Did the same to the 410 since these pans are easy.
Very few of the Big 3’s engines that used the nylon teeth on the timing gear were interference engines. I changed way more of them than I could count back in the day.
Yes turning the crank back and forth while watching the rotor is how to see if the timing set is on it’s last legs. IF a mechanic who had been a mechanic back in the day had checked the car out he almost certainly would have checked that and suggest its replacement before such a trip.
The fiber timing gear in my ’66 F100 broke too, at the dump. It’s the only mechanical engine failure with it in 29 years, so I can’t complain too much. I put in a HD steel gear set (no chains on the six) for a truck, and it sounds like a blower now.
Stephanie rope-pulled me home from the transfer station with the Forester!
When I retured from American Airlines based in Miami I loaded up my 1977 Continental Mark V and headed out to Oregon. It was a wonderful drive. My car likes it’s new home. Only problem I had was the gas guage malfunctioned in Colorado. That was it.
Awesome. Great photos too. The southwest really is something else.
Great story and especially cool how the owners already knew about Curbside Classic. Some of those desert shots are amazing too!
Too bad about the hiccup, but it’s part of the adventure.
Beautiful photos, beautiful car.
The inside shots over the hood remind me a great deal of my 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis. That Mercury was my last stand in traditional RWD drive V-8 American goodness. I had considered moving on to something more modern, but the test drive, with that big straight hood and ornament bobbing up and down in the foreground, was too tempting, and I took it home. I managed to enjoy a few scenic memories over that hood while I owned it.
Big car, small world!
The opening photo is just amazing! These cars were built for this kind of trip and when new, these cars were used this way. Back in the day my old buddy’s Dad bought a new ’56 Cadillac SDV and drove the family to Mexico City for vacation. Talk about travelling first class. Those nylon tooth timing chain failures were pretty common. When I removed the chain cover to replace the front oil seal on my ’71 Riviera I found that the gear was losing some teeth. It was an easy replacement. These gears would last around 30-40 thousand miles, or about when the first valve job was required. Back then, how many original owners kept their cars that long?
No way THAT is the America of my dreams!
That’s the goal with my ’57 Chevy Handyman, but with modern running gear to make it as stress-free a trip as an exciting one.
I live west of Pittsburgh…but am familiar with Zelienople (“ZILL-y-nop-le” as the locals call it) north of the city in Butler County, where there’s a pretty vibrant car culture. (Butler is the birthplace of the Bantam Jeep)
Four decades ago I was going broke selling Fuller Brush products door-to-door in Zelie and nearby Harmony, where I’ll ALWAYS remember the ’50 Buick I saw parked on the main drag.
Boss: Did you get the sale from Mrs. Reeb?
Me: No, but I saw the coolest 1950 Buick on the street…
No that conversation didn’t really happen…but that’s how my CC mind works.
Your comment about Fuller Brush brings back memories. From the late ’70s to the mid ’80s my Dad tried just about every direct sales company there was to earn some extra income. Fuller Brush, Shakley, Amway & Rawleigh’s. The one I liked best was Rawleigh’s since their medicated ointment was great. We also lived for the better part of 2 months the winter of 1986 on a big can of their instant chicken soup mix – those were tough years, and not prosperous for everyone.
That Lincoln is gorgeous, I always liked these cars. They are relics from a bygone age we’ll never see again.
I absolutely love the look of this car – love the two-tone silver/dark blue color, love the plain C-pillar, love that the tire hump isn’t covered in blue vinyl, love the turbine wheels.
In my eyes this is the perfect Mark V (a car many take pride in despising but I love as the peak of its aesthetic).
Man, that sounds like the way to travel. Other than the gas bill, what a car to cover long distances through America’s wide open spaces! Shame about the timing gear failure (who thought that building such a crucial part out of fiber was a good idea?) but at least it happened toward the end of the trip and they had plenty of time to make memories beforehand.
Hard to believe these cars are so ancient now – it doesn’t seem all that long ago when my Dad bought this 78 Cartier edition new and used it for cross-country trips in retirement. His car had the 460 and delivered fairly reasonable mileage on the interstates (@16MPG IIRC). That engine was very smooth and silent at all times. These really were two-person cars as the back seats were not that comfortable and one could not see out, even with the “opera windows.” Sorry these guys were unable to complete the trip in the Mark but glad the ending was positive.
There is nothing like a big, classic, American car for a road trip. With a decent stereo, and a lack of the gizmos that I find rather annoying on modern vehicles, the Lincoln would be an excellent choice to see the country.
I spy a paper map wedged between the seat and console, apropos for this endeavor.
I still buy a road atlas every few years and keep it in the car for general route planning, but I certainly don’t miss the days of trying read the map and find road signs that may or may not be there on the fly. A phablet on a dash or windshield mount with Google maps and a GPS navigation app (no cell connection or data required, the maps are downloaded) is a godsend to me in my travels. I’ve learned to double check the suggested route for common sense of course. Then again, the driver here has his brother to look and navigate so he can stay focused on driving this boat.
Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome! So cool to see this car out cruising the great American highways! Beautiful locations too–the family and I spent some time this summer in Utah, and it was spectacular.
Interesting to see the silver Collector’s Series–I did not know that color was ever even offered (I thought they were all dark blue or white). Do you know if the vinyl landau top remained Midnight Blue on those factory produced limited run cars, or was it a matching shade?
Adam and Lon, so glad you are really enjoying this special car–please keep us up-to-date on the Lincoln’s next adventures.
The landau roof remained dark blue on the silver and diamond blue models, and was white on the white body-colored models. Personally, I prefer the all midnight blue versions.
Even though I really like the looks of the Mark V, I’d much rather have the Town Car version of the Collector’s Series. Yes, it was “boxier” and maybe not as flashy, but it had more of a formal stature, which I liked.
GN, the 79 collectors series came primarily in the dark blue with the blue top, or white with a white top. The standard was the blue cahmere blend cloth which ours has but ifyou chose leather the removed the console and you could chose blue or white leather. Most equipped with leather have the collectors series cards and other cashmere blend wrapped interior panels but i have seen a triple white one that basically has the bill blass interior in all white with the exception of the dash and carpets/trunck kit which was awesome. I also saw a blue one with the complete CS interior with the exception of white leather seats which is also cool looking.
In White i have seen all white exterior with blue wheels and door / bumper molding and all white with gold wheel and bumper moldings as well as all white with blue wheels and white door bumpers. I love the customization you could order back then; some of the white collectors series cars are most likely one of one.
There were just over 3000 blue one and just under 3000 white. 197 light blue and 125 silver. The livht blue and silver came exclusivly with the dark blue top and tire hump cover.
Ours started ots life in dark blue and was repainted by the sixth owner to the silver and the tire hump cover was removed. I saw an old photo of it when he was done and he had done a silver vinyl top on it. Before we bought it however someone put the top back to blue which is very sharp. If it were an original silver car i may not have take. It on that journey but its great as it is, its far enough from perfect that we dont worry about driving it but close enough that we can still be proud of it! It is a florida car, still has the original brake lines on it which you dont often see on a car that age in our neck of the woods.
I’m a loyal reader but cannot let this go unmentioned: The car is a Continental Mark V, NOT a “Lincoln Mark V”. You ought to be calling these cars what Ford called them, even if it’s a silly distinction.
After the quick demise of Ford’s Continental Division that was created to produce the Continental Mark II coupe in 1956-57, all the Mark-series cars were distinguished by the complete absence of the Lincoln name, on the cars themselves as well as in the ads and brochures. This distinction began with the 1958-60 Mark III-IV-V series and recommenced in 1968 with the Mark III coupe, continuing through the Mark IV, V, VI, and even the first few years of the VII in the 1980s. (I first noticed this in 1972 at a L-M dealership owned by a family friend, where the showroom featured a Lincoln Continental and a Continental Mark IV.)
It wasn’t until the 1986 model year that the designation was changed from Continental Mark VII to Lincoln Mark VII. That’s nearly three decades of Ford making a real (if perhaps idiotic) effort to pretend that a Continental Division still existed.
Legally and technically it’s a Lincoln Continental Mark V. We always use the brand name first, before the model name. I’ve amended the headline and text.
Thanks – as a professional copy editor for 30+ years, I truly appreciate it.
gottacook – here’s the window sticker for my Dad’s car that designates it a Continental Mark V. It is difficult to keep Lincoln out of the name though, as in the case of [Chrysler] Imperial in 1955.
Saw a Toyota Lexus the other day, passing a Honda Acura.
I would have thought tilt steering column and speed control would have been standard on a top of the line model?. No wonder Jap imports took over the market as they had them included..
CC effect, I saw the same car, except not a Collector Series and in my favourite light blue, yesterday on a quick 900 kms bike trip. Saw it twice 8 hours apart at about the same spot going the opposite direction. It was probably just commuting but it had two guys in it that easily could have been father and son. Definitely the oldest and biggest car I saw floating down the highway.
Speaking of road trips, with yesterday’s trip I just put over 10,000 kms on my 33 year old Honda bike this summer. My big trip went east as far as Thunder Bay, ON but side tripping north to Flin Flon, MB on the way there and south to Williston, ND on the way back. Crossed 5 provinces and 2 states.
I think I put 5500 kms on it that trip but I don’t know for sure as my speedometer broke and it took me a week to rustle up the necessary parts. It never left me on the side of the road but I had to replace wheel bearings on the trip and the valve covers are leaking quite a bit of oil now.
Here’s a pic of it at the end of Highway 23 yesterday, 320 kms without a gas station. Highly recommended to any fellow motorcyclists, a little rough in spots though.
Fantastic photos! Sounds like an amazing trip even with the mechanical hiccup. Props to them.
I’m drooling… Robert, thank you for this wonderful write-up. The title shot (all of them great photos) made me gasp – I thought for sure it was from a sales brochure.
“Epic” (your word) aptly describes these brothers’ road trip. Thanks for taking us along.
I also I thought that opening shot was from a brochure.
Great car, great pics, great story!
Excellent article, superb photography.
I’m glad that Adam and Lon were bold enough to take the sort of trip that most of us only dream about. And while it didn’t end ideally, it is reassuring to read that they’re not discouraged and are planning more adventures in the Lincoln.
I love the picture of the German tourists photographing the Lincoln. It makes me smile to think of folks who travelled thousands of miles to see the natural wonders of the Western US, and then become completely captivated by a 37-year-old car in a parking lot. I’m smiling thinking that if I were ever in Germany, I’d probably do the same thing.
When we visited Zion & Bryce Canyon, German tourists were also thick on the ground. Many rent RVs & drive all over, US fuel being cheap for them. Maybe I need not regret taking high school German instead of Spanish.
My daughter was impressed when I needed directions & asked some Germans in their language where the Visitor Center was. Embarrassing, but I hadn’t been to the Grand Canyon in a long time.
Gorgeous car! This is the kind of road trip I really must take before I become TDO (too doggone old).
I’m a little fuzzy on the whole plastic timing gear thing. I know that on engines with timing ‘belts’ instead of chains, the factory recommends they be changed at specific intervals. Was there any sort of similar recommendation for the nylon gear on this 400? And was the nylon gear used with a steel chain instead of a belt? If so, that does sound like it’s just asking for trouble somewhere down the line.
As to the rationale of it all, would a nylon timing gear really be that more quiet than a steel one, enough to warrant having the potential of disabling the engine when enough miles have accumulated?
Engine problems aside, that’s a very nice Mark V. In fact, the photography was so good, I thought the lead photo was something out of brochure.
Many V8s of the 60s/70s used the fiber tipped gears. There was no recommendation for change, as they were typically good for about 70,000 miles, and who thought anyone would have the car that long back then?
As an aside, while in the Navy (1975 I think) a friend picked up a mint 1967 GTO, Gold, Black vinyl top, Black interior, from a Lt. Commander on the base. He’d bought it new, and was only selling it because his mechanic told him it needed a new engine. My friend had it pulled to the base shop, changed the gears, (a matter of a few hours and a timing set) and drove it back to the (ex) owner’;s house to pick up the title! To say the original owner was a bit ticked off at his mechanic would be an understatement.
It was well known that, especially if you had a Pontiac, you were going to be putting in a timing set at 70,000 miles.
In the 400 and most American V8 it is a chain and sprockets. The normally cited reason for the nylon is the noise level but in all the ones that I put aftermarket timing sets in back in the day I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference in noise over all the other noises going on and not once did a customer complain that the engine was noisier.
Now in engines that came with fiber reinforced Phenolic cam *gears* that are replaced with standard aftermarket parts I have heard a difference. Yet engines that came from the factory with both gears made of metal there is no gear whine. I attribute this to the aftermarket gears sharing the same tooth profile as the factory gears rather than gears optimized for noise in all metal. For example the engines in my Internationals use all metal gears and there is no gear whine.
While there wasn’t a specified replacement interval they typically would last 100-120K miles and in that era with carbs and the quality of oil the conventional wisdom was that the engine was due for a rebuild by that time anyway.
“In the 400 and most American V8 it is a chain and sprockets….Now in engines that came with fiber reinforced Phenolic cam *gears*”
Thank you for again pointing out the difference. It seems people are mixing up the two different types of timing sets.
So why didn’t they just use two (or three) gears?
It came down to a few factors. The nylon toothed sprockets/fiber reinforced phenolic gears did in fact reduce noise, they were very low cost and they were “good enough” to make the average life span of a typical engine of that era. Keep in mind age has a big role in these original parts breaking down today, not just mileage. And sometimes they lasted longer than expected, like the photo I posted above of an original nylon coated sprocket with nearly 150K miles on it. In that particular engine, even though the teeth were still intact the chain had stretched enough to warrant change of the timing set anyway.
We had a great trip! It was wonderful to meet Robert out there and we were very excited for him to write the article.
On a side, we actually tried to get the car fixed in texas but believe it or not the dealership would not touch it; they said thier estimating books only went back to 1981 and im sure the car was older than the service advisor i spoke with. Keep an eye out for us our trip to vegas next year!
I believe it. I had a ’67 Lincoln Continental in the not-so-distant past and when I drove it to Palm Beach Lincoln Mercury in the early 2000s for a tune-up the mechanics there were scared of it. Wouldn’t touch it out of fear they’d mess something up they’d not know how to fix. Maybe because they couldn’t hook up a computer diagnostic machine to it that it freaked them out!
That’s a very nice 37-year-old beastie and 4,100 miles is a fair piece of driving down the roads of America so despite the setback you did travel quite a long way in your ’79.
Thank you! We got the timing gear and chain replaced along with the water pump and fuel pump and adjusted the timing. Its like a new car. I am so impressed with the thing… we are unsure of the miles on it, it had a jaded past. We are the 8th owners and it was abandoned in florida 3 years ago, thats when it was painted silver by owner number 5 and it changed hands twice before we bought it with 103 k on a non working odometer. All that said, I put in a new odometer with 56 k on it before we left and the thing runs like thats all it has. Uses no fluids of anykind and did not overheat once in the 95 degree weather running along at 10 mph in and out of all of those parks. My brother and I just love that car.
Good on you for keeping her on the road! Have you/will you make any suspension mods?
My mom got her licence at 15 in Texas, and learned to drive on my grampa’s 64 Lincoln Continental – she tells stories of her pops putting her behind the wheel on the Pacific Coast Highway going on a cross-country trip. I cannot imagine being a fifteen year old tryong to navigate those curves, and in a car the size of yours?! I was 18 in a GTI when I first drove those switchbacks, and that was damn harrowing. How’d it do in the twisties?
We had planned on adding air shocks but did not have time for that trip. This year we will though and some better front brakes, the parts store standard does not quite cut it on a car that big.
All in all it did good, the majority of the trip was wide open highway and thats where she shines!
So they couldn’t estimate that changing the timing gear on a 400 would take about the same time as any other V8?
Great to see you enjoying the car!
I still have my ’77 Mark V, a veteran of many road trips. Despite the styling excesses, its a great long-distance hauler. The comfort, quiet interior effortless power and great straight-line stability mean less fatigue on long trips than anything else Ive owned.
Remarkably, its very quiet at speed with the windows down, too. I don’t think this was a beliberate goal, rather a byproduct of the long hood and bluff front.
My Mark was absolutely reliable. Nothing went wrong ever. No beakdowns or failures of any kind. All in all, a great car
Nice Mike, and a good reminder that many American cars of the ’70s were not as unreliable as the haters want to remember them as. Have you replaced the timing chain and sprockets in your Mark?
One of my all time favorite cars-the Mark V.
This article brings back fond memories of my uncle, who owned a 74 Mark IV and then a 77 Mark V both in white with red interior. Sharpest looking cars ever. And smooth. If I only had the money and place to park one. Sigh……….
What a great trip! What a great story (other than the mechanical hiccup)!
I’ve dreamed of making a long cross-country trip ever since I first read William Least Heat Moon’s ‘Blue Highways’. The closest I’ve come so far is a long train trip from Ohio to Missouri…
Having been on the side of the road in a broken vintage car a long way from home, this timing belt is indeed a true bummer.
What a great car to take on a tour of the vast western US! For me, this is the best looking Lincoln of the 1970s and one of the best post WW2. May you continue to have many terrific adventures in this amazing Lincoln.
Partly related thought: Visiting John Day National Park in Oregon in 2010, the number of German tourists was enough to warrant the informational pamphlets being printed in German.
First, what great pictures and an absolutely gorgeous Mark V. They are my favorites in this color, light blue, navy, or Bill Blass. I don’t know if they made a Williamsburg package for the Mark V in ’79 but I’d love one.
As for vintage touring, and vintage breakdowns, like Jason, I know the feeling–though not yet as severe an issue. When I took my ’75 Ninety Eight Regency down south in spring 2015, a misfire caused both my ignition module and, with a tremendous backfire, my muffler, to blow. I was out in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina. Luckily I did have AAA and flatbedded it to the nearest Chevy dealership. Most of the mechanics there were also younger than me…and I was 31 at the time. However, they were not reluctant to work on it, summoned a new module from the nearest O’Reilly’s, fixed the short that caused the issue, welded on a new muffler, and I was on the road again 4 hours later. I’ve never been so thankful it was Saturday instead of Sunday or I would have had to stay in a local motel kind of like the one Don Draper stays in before he gives his Coupe DeVille to the kid in the penultimate episode of Mad Men. My gawkers, rather than Germans, in the Carolinas were (a) elderly couples who remembered the car and stopped me wherever it was parked (b) a young black man with his wife and two children staying in my hotel. She had to call him from their room on his cell phone to get him to stop checking out the car—we talked for a good hour and she and the kids wanted dinner! (c) Joining (b) was a somewhat disheveled 50 something guy who seemed local but was at the hotel anyway, possibly for an assignation of some kind? (b) and (c) together talked my ear off for about 2 hours, checking out every component on the car. Finally, (d) every freaking Tar Heel fan within 50 miles because it’s Horizon Blue “don’t you drive her through Durham, now, someone’ll key her”
I’m bringing the car down to the city in another week or so from Connecticut for my next road trip—a ‘blue highway’ tour of steel and coal country Pa., also John O’Hara and John Updike land—after driving through the prettiest parts of western NJ, subsequent stops to be made in Bethlehem, Reading, Pottsville and points nearby such as abandoned Centralia. Minimal use of Interstates or divided highways, sticking to old state and U.S. routes through the towns. I think the Ninety Eight will fit right in.
Glad you got her back home and fixed and hope you will post pictures if you take her on another journey.
That attention is almost scary. I was driving a good condition, nicely optioned ’67 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe in 1985. At the time, it seemed to draw just the right amount of attention. Enough to be fun, but not enough to feel like I needed a security detail.
As a fellow Olds fan, I’m delighted that you are using and enjoying your car.
Beautiful scenery, wonderful car, great story — this is why I love reading CC. Thank you Mr Kim.
Thanks for the article and the images. Gold star to the owners for for their commitment to the classic cause. That Mk V is a beautiful example of the breed and I’m sure all who see the beast will wish it a speedy return to service.
One of my recurring post lottery winning fantasies involves a similar itinerary in a Mk II. Letting it roam in its natural habitat for the amusement of passengers, and onlookers too it seems.
Good luck with your next adventure, Continentalists.
I sped read the article at work today, and thought later (as noted in the article), hey, that’s a Collector’s Series car. A feature of which is the lack of an oval opera window in the C pillar.
While the opera window was a pillar of the ’70s Mark experience, the solid sail panel on this car is actually very becoming.
This car would have been an interesting segway to the Mark VI if they ditched the opera window on the Mark VI altogether. I’ve long been convinced that certain tweaks to the Mark VI would have made it a lot more successful, distilling the Mark V to a Panther coupe wasn’t it.
A chance encounter turns into a great story. Many of us have fantasies about cross country tours in favorite older cars. Maybe someday for me.
This was a great story, and, as others have said, that first photo could have been taken straight from a Lincoln brochure. These cars are huge, but manage to wear their size well. And I’ve always preferred the Lincoln Continental Marks IV and V over the Cadillac Eldorados of the 1970s.
It was my good fortune to run into Adam and Lon on the road, and being able to convey their road trip story is a great pleasure. The photographs and the personal details behind the road trip and the recovery of the car made the story, and all of those were from Adam and Lon. All of the good photos were theirs, and the dull ones were mine.
This same Continental Mark V cruising around Las Vegas next year should be a great sight. Maybe a “Casino” theme will be appropriate for it?
We are shoping for large amber sunglasses and wide lapel jackets in preparation.
We feel truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet you! Thanks for everything!
I always loved these cars and still do. They are truly a thing of the past. Total luxury and decadence. Great story, too. I’m glad they were able to make 4000 miles before an incident occurred. That alone is a truly remarkable feat!
Hi, is there any way to get a bigger first picture ? It’s marvelous
Thanks
Click on it and it will pop up to the largest size we support (1200 pixels width)
Wow, what a car, what places, what great sounding people all round.
True CC!
Awesome car!
I love the desert and long road trips. Enjoyed this feature and the photos while wondering when I will ever to get southern Utah. Making the trek in a big Mark would be an experience like no other.
What better way to go touring than in the grandest of Grand Tourers? Lucky the unhappy breakdown didn’t land them at a Psycho-type motel.
Great story! I just purchased a 78 Mark V this year. Worked on her all summer. Not a collectors edition or anything but a rare hard top and the 460. It was the original owner’s ” I finally made it car ” and I respect that. Only has 48,000 miles. Tweaked the timing through distributor to 10 before T.D.C as is displayed on the valve covers and I think she runs worse, hard to start. Already has new Edelbrock as well as other maintenance. I should look at that chain. Great car otherwise. Designs we will never see again.
Great article! The 2nd paragraph hits oddly close to home. I am originally from Pittsburgh, currently in the Army stationed in Utah, and spent the previous six years stationed in Northern Virginia. Keep up the great work!
I love that I just got pinged with your response this morning. What I difference 6 years has made in the world. My brother and I still take our annual trips, but the past couple years we have transitioned to new automobiles… this year a mega cab. I am so grateful for the years before the pandemic… things were different then… national parks were Not packed to the gills or by appointment only:-)
We spent most of this years trip in Colorado… Gunnison National park is amazing and wildly under rated. If you have not been through the parks of Utah, or had a chance to off road Moab (check out the sand flats recreation park)… the world is your oyster! The southern half of Utah is like being on an other planet for those of us who originate from the east.