1983 Lincoln Continental Valentino Designer Edition: Must…Not…Buy…

“Geez, Klockau, another one? Already?”

Yes! I can’t hold back and I can’t help it. There I was, lunchtime today, innocently checking out Facebook and my friend Dustin Carpenter sent me a link. To this majestic Continental.

Ye gods. I’ve always loved these. For the few, the brave who continue to monitor RG after Jack moved on (mostly) to the new site, you may recall my grandfather, Bob Klockau, whose last new car was a Rose Quartz 1987 Continental with a moonroof.

He ordered it after his vision began going, so my grandma Ruby was pretty much the only person who drove it, but he enjoyed that car, riding in it. He never retired, and she drove him to the law firm and picked him up at 5:00 PM on the dot.

So I love these. And love this one. The ad was short and sweet:

“Make: Lincoln
Model: Continental
Trim: Valentino Designer Series
Color: Gold
Interior Color: Tan
5.0L v8
CLEAN TITLE NO RUST LOW MILES
MILES: 94,380
$8k Cash OBO”

But damn, she looks good. Even the leather steering wheel, a notorious weak point, looks great.

I sent the link to Jack, but also to buddy Jayson Coombes, who said “Sure looks good. Has MN plates so I’m trying to convince myself it’s too salt rusted underneath to consider. Lol.”

He’s been looking for a cheap ’80s luxocruiser since he got rid of his Seville Elegante, due to a melted fuse box and replacements being hard to find and pricy. He still hasn’t gotten anything, so I bug him all the time with classifieds, bwahaha.

Anyway, looks good. Hope she goes to a good home!

And to the 3 people still checking this website, I thank you.

17 Replies to “1983 Lincoln Continental Valentino Designer Edition: Must…Not…Buy…”

  1. Erik

    Tom, I’m certainly not one to try to talk you out of it. But, to be honest, I never got this gen of Continental. To me, they were ranked three of three in the Bustleback competition. The Imperial being first. Again, to me, they just look a bit, ummm, ungainly. Is it just the sentimental value of good family memories, or is there something about these that I missed?

    Reply
    • Manfred Hangtooth

      I completely get your love for these. My high school English teacher had an ’86 Continental. She lived near my folks and I used to cadge rides home when I could. That car was magnificent. I’d love to park this in my garage.

      Reply
    • Erik

      Certainly not arguing the point. You and I seem to have about a 95% overlap in the cars we love, so when it’s something I don’t get, I try to understand what I’m missing.

      Reply
      • Jack Baruth

        It was the best executed bustleback. Seville had the most engineering but was plagued with dire engine choices. Imperial had the swagger but it didn’t work or hold up. The continental just worked.

        Reply
  2. LynnG

    “And to the three people still checking this website, I thank you.”
    Tom that is a little of an understatement, sort of a take on under promise and over deliver. There has got to be at least six or seven people still reading Riverside Green. 🙂 🙂 🙂
    And as someone once said, it is not the quanity of readership, it is the quality. 🙂 🙂 🙂
    Keep the classics coming…. it is always amazing to see that a number of the 1970’s cars not named Camaro, Corvette, or Mustang are still out there….

    Reply
  3. John C.

    I am still here too, for better or worse. Tom have you tracked how the views have held up post Jack. Your later ones still seem to have plenty of Facebook shares.

    On the Continental. I would have preferred if the model had kept the Versailles name or perhaps Zephyr that was freeing up that year. That puts the car in the context of the long history of sensibly sized Lincolns. Using the Continental name, tells the buyer to compare instead to the land of plenty models up to 1979. The Zephyr name would have been great for you Tom, As the Z in your MKZ would have reminded of your Grandfather and following his example.

    Reply
  4. Sobro

    Nobody tell Sajeev about this car. Considering his trials and tribulations with his “Project Valentino” he might want it just for parts.

    Reply
  5. Gene B

    One thing readers might not know is that these Contis were beautifully finished and styled inside, well above the quality norms of the time. One of my friend’s fathers had one – he was a famous brain surgeon in Taiwan, and always wanted the best. I was old enough to look at the quality of the cars back then and was always impressed.

    Reply
  6. Frightastic

    Paging Sajeev (Sanjeev’s evil twin) Mehta. And this makes me the eighth or ninth reader of Tom in the post substack period?

    Reply
  7. JMcG

    I love Tom’s posts and I think he should get this car.
    Also, I think a couple of late summer cocktails would be good.

    Reply
    • Tom Klockau Post author

      Had a couple gin and tonics out on the deck yesterday after work. Pretty nice, even though I got chomped a couple times by mosquitos…

      Reply
  8. Keydon

    Beautiful car! I had a blue 83’ loaded, shag, and I put a sound system that smacked and thumped so hard I was told to turn it down a mile from the house because the walls would rattle. I loved the car enough I bought a 84’ for my wife at the time. Not long after that I bought my 3rd, a 66’ clean, 80,000 original miles. Some of that was towed behind an rv. Parked in a barn most it’s life. Mmmm life was good! So I say get while the gettins good. Life’s short and can change in an instant. Enjoy what you can.

    Reply

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