I finally found a genuine CC Mark III, at the Bi-Mart parking lot, no less. The last one I found, which led to a proper CC write-up, was five years ago on a trailer out at the coast. And here’s this one, being used as a daily driver to haul home the weekly shopping, a dozen blocks from my house. So I’m not going to repeat myself in-depth, but stick to a few details, like the not-quite closed headlight covers, a common Mark III old-age malady.
Once its owner finished loading up his goods in the Mark’s fairly ample trunk, he let me look inside and told me thta he’d bought it about a year ago. One thing is clear: what looked like a mighty big car in 1968 looks downright petite fifty years later. My, how we’ve all grown, along with our cars. This is the anti-CUV: long, low and very modest interior space.
And what was pretty much the most “luxurious” interior 50 years ago looks pretty hum-drum now. But that was then, and in 1968, the Mark was hot stuff. Unless you had already succumbed to the lure of Mercedes, which was happening to a whole lot of the Mark III’s demographic, at least on the coasts.
Sorry, but I could never warm up to fake spare tire humps, of any sort. Just not my thing…
The longer I look at it, the stranger it looks. But it sure had a powerful attraction to lots of folks, for a long time.
The Mark III was a big hit hit for Lincoln, and its daddy, Lee Iaccoca. The original concept lacked the classic grille on the front, and supposedly looked pretty weak (I can’t find any images of it on the web).
But then Lee had a sudden inspiration, either from likely having seen Virgil Exner’s 1966 Duesenberg renderings (or the earlier Stutz revival), which were very influential at the time, or from a bad dream, or something he ate, or a bolt of lightning from heaven. Whatever it was, slapping that classical grille transformed the car and delighted Henry Ford II. And thus was launched not just a car, but the beginning of an era.
Due to a common old-age malady of a leaking vacuum reservoir, the headlight covers tend not to stay closed all the way. The owner wanted to show me how it’s really supposed to look, so took to starting the engine. Which turned out to be easier said than done. i was getting a bit worried. Actually, I wish I had turned on my video, so that the repeated efforts to crank the big 460 V8 could have been enjoyed by all.It seemed like the started didn’t want to stay engaged more than a couple of seconds. Or maybe that was the owner’s doing.
Yes, it did finally start. And yes, the eyelids closed up. And suddenly fifty years ago seems like an eternity, not the wink of an eye.
That wonky starter was one of the many problems my father’s 1970 Mark III had back around 1971. Sometimes it would start to crank then let go and wind down with a groan, and sometimes you would just get the groan.
The tire hump was certainly defining on these and I would argue that none of the other versions got the hump as right as this one. I will confess that I am less in love with the shape of these than I used to be and find that there are a few awkward angles. I am coming to the opinion that the Mark V may have been better executed, but it is a close call.
A fabulous find!
That’s exactly what it was doing: cranking a bit, then giving up with a moan. And the cranking wasn’t long enough to get it started. it took about a dozen tries.
Not me. The Mark III looks just right, from the lack of opera windows, to no hood ornament out front, to the non-5mph bumpers. The later Marks were okay, too (well, except for the ‘shorty’ Fox-chassis Mark VI, including its weird driving lights on the headlight covers).
The Mark III was priced high, so it filled Ford’s coffers at GM-like levels, as well. Iacocca really had ‘the touch’ back in the day.
I love the Mark III too – the Mark IV looked bloated by comparison and the Mark V was sleek but a little too busy in the details. I once saw a white Mark III with a painted roof – it was available without vinyl until the 1970 model year. It was gorgeous.
Whats wrong with hood ornaments? When i drive my caddy thats one of the sweetest things to see, the wreath and crest floating on the hood.
Did these suffer like LTDs where the plastic bit holding the shifter in park would fail and you had to pull it up to allow the starter to engage?
My father only had his for two years and did not experience that one.
They finally recalled them and replaced the plastic pin with a metal one. I was parking cars at the time and it was a common problem on big Fords.
I don’t know about the Mark III but my parents had a ’68 Mercury Marquis and a ’69 Fairlane which suffered from the malady.
“One thing is clear: what looked like a mighty big car in 1968 looks downright petite fifty years later.”
Sighting local malaise-era iron out in the wild recently sure drove this home to me. These old boats are positively diminutive next to the massive pickups, SUVs and such that crowd (literally!) our roads and parking lots today. My how we’ve all grown, indeed!
And yet the width of parking places has scarcely budged.
I just saw a new Chevy Traverse in a parking lot. I don’t know the specs, but I honestly think it’s as big as the old Suburban used to be.
I have a 77 Malibu Classic sedan, and back in the day it was a relatively largish car for a midsizer. Today it’s long and low, but most cars tower over it, and it’s not that much longer than most minivans or cars on the road – well save for a Smart car which isn’t any longer than the hood is.
Yep, long and low, especially on saggy decades-old suspension. Even more of a contrast to the four wheeled skyscrapers everybody drives nowadays (me included!).
US passenger car and light trucks widths were capped at 80 nominal inches (exc mirrors, bumpers etc) by various state laws around 1959. Anything wider was subject to classification as a commercial vehicle, although no one checked closely. Pre downsizing, full size cars were near that limit, as were 72-79 midsize Ford products. Full size trucks have stayed about that wide, exc DRWs.
I love seeing older cars in a modern context, and when I recently saw this ’75 Cutlass Supreme (hopefully my next CC) in a parking lot, it was hard not to think the same thing regarding the relative size of cars.
The Mercedes next to the Cutlass seems pretty standard for modern car-size, and the Cutlass’s roof barely comes up to its windows. Not too long ago, folks would refer to 1970s cars as behemoths, but not so much any more. They really just don’t seem large.
The driver of this car was a 20-year-old woman. It was her uncle’s car, and she drives it occasionally. She mentioned what takes getting used to the most is the steering — how (in her words) “you move the steering wheel and not much happens.” But the car’s size didn’t unnerve her at all. When I was her age, a lot of young drivers were terrified of older cars because they seemed so huge… that’s probably not the case any longer.
I guess they aren’t making cars you can pee over today.
All I can do is picture Fernando Rey at the wheel. Don’t forget to check the rocker panels!
In its day the Chevy wagon was a behemoth. Not so much anymore.
Even these Lincolns with more hood than necessary still had decent trunk openings. I know they will never return, but how about some liftbacks? And, NO, I don’t want a SUV!
Tom Halter did a superb write-up on a Mark iii about a year ago and your article is an excellent complement to Tom’s article. My parents owned a 1969 model for 7 years. As I mentioned to Tom I always found the rear lamp fiber optic monitoring system fascinating and never could understand why more cars did not offer this.
Thanks for the HT. I’ll give this guy credit for using his as a DD: The gas mileage is terrible! I get about 10mpg on mine.
I recently photographed this 69 at the UCLA Faculty Center. I believe this car is a one owner, in wonderful original condition. I didn’t catch enough details to know if this is an early 69 but the exposed wipers, along with some other cues, indicate it is a 69. I love this color combination. The Mark III seems to take on a different character in the lighter colors. And the wheel covers are beautifully detailed. The headlight doors were properly closed.
My Dad’s 1978 Mark V Cartier model, bought new, had problems with the headlight doors/vacuum lines almost from the beginning and they were fixed many times over the years of ownership.
Another shot.
Interior
The spare tire hump was one of the most distinguished design elements of this car – I love it! It was nicely integrated, not “tacked-on” like those ’50s Continental Kits. For had a real sales winner with this one.
I think the interior still looks pretty luxurious with lots of high-quality materials – and not a stupid touch screen in sight either!
I’m with Tom Halter. This is the type of vehicle I could enjoy as a daily driver to the grocery store. Provided I could buy groceries…after filling the tank…with premium no doubt.
Just looked it up. Premium unleaded here in Peterborough is $6.29 a gallon. Times that by 20 imperial (Lincoln??) gallons gives you $125.80 for a tank.
Which doesn’t sound bad until you figure you would be doing that every couple hundred miles.
Still, I would rather be paying that to run this Lincoln than any modern SUV or pickup.
+1
$6.29 a gallon?? Here it’s around $3.09 a gallon
I think he ran the conversion factor in reverse:
$CA 1.29 per liter x 3.78 liters per gallon x $US .78 per $CA = $US 3.80 per gal right now.
Still a very recognisable car from a definite time – I can see why so many memories are coming back on a post like this.
Great find! I usually prefer 60’s designs, but this is one model that I like the 70’s and 80’s versions better.
Interesting about the headlights. I know covered headlights were considered a premium feature at the time, but the front end would have lent itself to a nice exposed headlight scheme very well. This would have saved many owners some headaches and prevented the loss of regard for Ford from the public seeing so many malfunctioning headlight covers on Ford products.
I remember how impressed I was when these were introduced. The neo classic touches were it’s best feature along with the Lincoln build quality. I liked them and thought that these would become treasured and valuable Classics in the future. GM already had the market covered with a wide range of models, the Riviera had been around since 1963, the Toronado since 1966, and the FWD Eldorado since 1967. GM’s cars didn’t reference back to the Classic era, they were more modern in design. I liked the spare tire bulge though, all the way to the Mark VII.
“what looked like a mighty big car in 1968 looks downright petite fifty years later”
I’m not sure it approaches petite status! The Golf next door is slightly taller, but… Even the wagon posted by MrEdCT above takes up a lot more real estate than the Camry next door. SUV’s are a different story of course, but the real big ones (other than the Germans) are North America only.
Great to see this car still in regular use! I think on balance not driving cars to ‘save’ them causes more problems than using them.
I don’t think I’ve seen a Mark III in the metal, but it’s still a pretty car. For a daily driver, it looks rather well taken care of, and I have to admit, I have to give the owner credit for making this his daily driver.
Though, I have to ask. Maybe Tom Halter can chime in, is there a way to replace the vacuum system for the headlight covers with something else? With all the notoriety regarding vacuum operated headlight covers, I figured maybe someone has done an aftermarket conversion to an electrical or even mechanical system in place of the stock vacuum reservoir, but I don’t know. I only ask because my interest in owning a Mark V has me asking that question, even if it’s still quite a ways away.
I got my vacuum actuators rebuilt without the return-to-open springs. The doors still open just fine without the springs (there is more than enough vacuum to lift the doors), but without the springs, they will never bleed open, even if parked for years.
I believe later Marks (IV and on) also ditched the springs to eliminate the bleed open effect.
The electric ones as used by Chrysler in the 70s had their own problems. It was a common practice to disconnect the power from them in the winter (open, of course) because the headlight doors would jam from a buildup of snow and ice and make the most awful sounds before blowing a fuse.
There are electric motor conversions available for C3 Corvettes, so I guess something similar could be done….I always think of the chase in The French Connection when I see these Lincolns…..
Love this car.
I have the utmost respect for people that drive these yachts as daily drivers.
I am somewhat surprised that the car`s dimensions fit perfectly within the parking lines drawn on the tarmac. I would have expected it to outsize them. Alas….the SUV craze…
I love the car especially in all black.
Agree! Menacing!
I loved the Mark III, and my Hot Wheels version too.
Speaking of ordinary shopping in a not-so-ordinary car, I spotted this Lincoln Continental in a Wal-mart parking garage the other day (I’m going to attempt to post photos…here goes…)
And here’s the back….
Not so much the chase in French Connection, more the strip search.