Living my Dad's dream

[L4740]

I realize there are other forums designed for this, but I just thought some of you would appreciate this even though it isn't orange. It does however, now, share a pole barn with my Kubota's.
My Dad (God rest his soul) always wanted one but they were always out of his reach. He always told me, son, if you ever get one, just make sure you get a '78 or older. Since '78 was the last year of the 460 ci engine. I've always thought that if I was ever in a position in life that I could get one, I would. After a lengthy search, I found one on auction 30 miles from home. So I bought it and brought it home. Well, the towing company brought it home! Since at that time you couldn't stop it or steer it, but 3 weeks later and some time in the shop, it is now on the road again. It still has some problems, but we'll work through those as time permits. This is a 1976 Lincoln town car. 1976 is special to my wife and I since that is the year we both graduated high school. That tells you about how old I am. The last time it was on the road prior to this week, was 1995. Since then it was stored in a garage with a cover over it. A lot of cleaning and some air fresheners and I think it is ready for prime time. BTW, that is my Dad's hat that I just couldn't get rid of yet. Matches pretty well!

 

[08quadram]

Very sweet car. I had a '78 Thunderbird Landau with 351m. Loved that car. Glad you were able to finish his dream.

Mike

 

[Tooljunkie]

Very sweet car. I had a '78 Thunderbird Landau with 351m. Loved that car. Glad you were able to finish his dream.

Mike

My uncle had a Galaxie 500? Or a Meteor.
Was a similar colour.unsure of year. One of the few fords i took a liking to. Used to cruise around in the summer all the windows down- rear window that went down behind the seat fascinated me.

Any time i see a car that colour i think of that car.

 

[jnldr]

That's cool!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TripleR]

That brought back memories, my father in law was a dyed in the wool Chevy man until he bought a lightly used Lincoln just like that from a friend in need. He liked it so much, he bought a new 1979 Lincoln. He liked the 76 better and the 79, so it stayed in the garage most of the time until someone T-boned and totaled the 76. My six year old daughter was asleep in the back and didn't even wake up, man that thing was solid. He never bought anything but Lincoln Continentals after that, but preferred the older models.

He bought a new 1999 and died in Jan 2000; sure miss him.

 

[skeets]

Outstanding!! Just make sure you drive it and take Pap along when ever you go

 

[car compulsive]

Very nice. I hope you're gonna wake up that engine, as it was rated at 202 HP stock.

 

[Pizzaguy]

Very nice. I like the "ribbon" speedometers in the old Lincolns. I took my Dad's '73 to prom and also owned a '78 that came from my wife's Aunt & Uncle.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Very nice. I hope you're gonna wake up that engine, as it was rated at 202 HP stock.

My '76 trans am was 200 hp box stock 455. That is, with all accessories on and under load. 76 was the year the gov't changed the way hp ratings were determined. But the big thing was all the anti-smog stuff.

 

[L4740]

Very nice. I hope you're gonna wake up that engine, as it was rated at 202 HP stock.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I was hoping this post would bring back memories. We all remember cars from our past. This is the one that we never had growing up. But Dad talked about it often. And you are correct 202 hp straight off the show room floor. But it needed a lot of ponies. The curb weight is 5300 lbs. It has a gvwr of most 1/2 ton pick ups. Waking up the big block was not the issue. This has a Ford rebuild 460 with approx. 2000 miles on it. The paint isn't even burned off it yet. It took a tank of 91 octane non-oxygenated gas with some additives to get the water and varnish out of the 10 year old gas, but wake up she did. My biggest problem was not getting from 0-60, but safely getting from 60-0. The power steering sector was leaking so badly we couldn't keep power steering fluid in it. This land yacht has hydro assist power brakes. So with no power steering pressure, I also had no power brakes. Stopping and steering was quite a feat until we got the new steering sector in it. While we were at it, we did a complete brake job and replaced a couple of rotten out brake lines.
It also needs tires before I take it out on the interstate and see what she'll do. After all it's been sitting for 10 years on a concrete floor. But that will all come in time. Right now, it does just fine taking us to burger night at the local Legion Hall and an occasional tour of our local town. In a few weeks it will be going back into storage for about 6 months. And believe me, it will be a long 6 months.

 

[skeets]

OH YEAH... winter is a good time to rub out the paint, and clean all the insides and trunk and buff up the chrome. Ya done good keeping the dream alive

 

[car compulsive]

... This has a Ford rebuild 460 with approx. 2000 miles on it. The paint isn't even burned off it yet. It took a tank of 91 octane non-oxygenated gas with some additives to get the water and varnish out of the 10 year old gas, but wake up she did...

Be sure to add a good additive pack to the oil. Modern oils, including (especially) synthetics, just don't work well in these old engines. When I bought an '81 Vette with 30K miles, my independent GM mechanic who runs an engine shop fed it dino oil with an additive pack with zinc. The next owner of the car brought it to him to wake up the engine with some head work and he discovered a lot of internal wear from the past owner's "loving" oil changes with modern synthetic and probably short winter starts.

 

[botaskinner]

Congrats on your Detroit iron!

My boss bought one brand new in 1978, light metallic green over dark green. I drove it a couple of times, and it was the complete opposite of the 3 Lamborghini Countachs he had! But he liked the comfort, and it was a really cushy ride.

One thing's for certain, you're going to get very popular with your local filling stations!

I took it on the freeway one time and the gas gauge needle didn't stay put for very long

 

[ehenry]

L4740, You, our wives and I graduated high school the same year. My folks had a town car just like that only a different color. I cant put in this forum the memories I have from that whale tail land barge but I can promise you they're are all good!

Enjoy it and know your Dad is smiling down on ya!

 

[L4740]

Congrats on your Detroit iron!

My boss bought one brand new in 1978, light metallic green over dark green. I drove it a couple of times, and it was the complete opposite of the 3 Lamborghini Countachs he had! But he liked the comfort, and it was a really cushy ride.

One thing's for certain, you're going to get very popular with your local filling stations!

I took it on the freeway one time and the gas gauge needle didn't stay put for very long

I know but I didn't buy it for fuel economy! Since I have it insured as a collectible car I am limited to 2500 miles per year. Or in my case, 6 months since the other 6 months it will be in storage. I figure at 10mpg that would be 250 gallons of gas per year. Multiply that by today's price of the 91 octane and I figure that equals about one lease payment on new car. And I wouldn't have as much fun in a new car!