As is often the case, I was perusing the FB group Finding Future Classic Cars, which prides itself on showing interesting old cars for sale, rather than the usual Mustangs, Corvettes and Camaros. Anyway, I recently spotted this one and had to share it to the group: A 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Car, in a most unusual color combination.
It’s no secret I love these ’70s mastodons, but the color combo on this one really popped out at me. It appears to be Rose Metallic, a color I see usually on the 1976 Mark IV with the Red/Rose Luxury Group. But before now I couldn’t recall ever seeing a Continental sedan in this hue.
As it turns out, Rose Diamond Fire was an optional color on the 1977 Mark V, but was not available on the Continental sedan or coupe, so this is a special-order color. You can tell because on all special-paint Ford products, the bumper fillers were painted silver, as on this car.
It’s certainly a matter of taste, but I love it, it’s so unapologetically bold, unlike most new cars seen today, in safe, boring shades of black, gray and white.
Anyway, it’s for sale in Marion, Iowa, just north of Cedar Rapids. According to the seller: “The paint is faded and beginning to flake off. Inside still looks like it is 1977! Runs great….Heater works, power windows, locks, cruise. Near new tires. The owner said he purchased out of an estate.”
Not exactly a show car, then, but she still presents well, and ’77 was the last year these biggie Connies had the cool dash. Starting in ’78, it got a slightly more gilded version of the LTD/Marquis dash, and was much less cool.
So there you have it. It’s old, it’s giant, it probably needs some TLC. Oh, and it seriously sucks gas. But I still love it.