1978 LINCOLN TOWN CAR- 1 OWNER- 50K ACTUAL MILES-BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL CAR!

1978 Lincoln Town Car Additional Info:

1978 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL TOWN CAR
The Opportunity: A superb, 1 LADY OWNER, ORIGINAL, UNRESTORED EXTREMELY WELL MAINTAINED EXAMPLE WITH JUST 50,200 ACTUAL MILES. THIS LINCOLN IS A TRUE SURVIVOR.
Resplendent in "Cinnamon Gold Moondust" metallic paint with "Chamois" Leather twin-comfort lounge seats and sporting a Chamois "pigskin grain" vinyl Coach roof complete with coach lamps and opera windows. Rounded off by polished cast-aluminum wheels and painted brown factory pinstripes. And of course, that most impressive 77-9 Lincoln nose with concealed headlamps highlighting the imposing grille.
THE INTRODUCTION: I've been involved with Lincoln automobiles for 45 years. And with the 70s vintage examples of Lincolns and Continentals in a big way; my first new Lincoln as a "driver" was my own '78 Town Car in Ice Blue Moondust. By 2001 I was a partner in a franchise; then I became a classic car dealer with full restoration facilities, and during that tenure bought and sold literally dozens of these cars. (I am retired now) I mention this as a bona-fides so that a prospective buyer can be confident that the description of this car is made by someone who knows these cars inside and out. This is why the son of the woman who owned the car has called on me to lend a hand finding this special car a new home.
THE HISTORY: This car, Wixom-produced 1978 Lincoln Continental with Town Car option was built late in the model year (06/78), and received vin 8Y82A951038. It was sold new at the Lincoln Mercury franchise in Gary Indiana to the woman who owned and cared for the car until her passing in 11/2018. Her son moved the car out to his home in the Palm Springs area where it resides awaiting a new home. A copy of the monroni window sticker is pictured so you can see the options list.
THE CONDITION: I would rate this car in the top 10% of extant examples of this vintage Lincoln product. It is an extremely nice, mostly untouched original car that shows a pampered history by a loving owner. I've always said that a sale is made when the prospective owner first sees the car from 20 ft away; a superlative car just seems to exude the aura where a serious buyer knows this is a car that will surely please.
OVERALL: This is just simply a BEAUTIFUL car. It's condition is SUPERB. Keep in mind this important reality check as a caveat: this is NOT a 100 point mint restored vehicle nor is it a less-than-20k miles garage queen. What the car IS, is a 41 model year old car that was owned by someone who knew the importance of fastidious maintenance, and it is evident that the car was always garaged, and not driven in the Chicagoland area winters. This is an ORIGINAL car. Mostly untouched.
1) THE EXTERIOR: One finds the CINAMMON GOLD MOONDUST paint in extremely nice condition. The car is mostly original paint, and it shows very nice. There is no de-lamination of the clearcoat at this time. The car does show history of repairs in the left rear door below the stripe; probably from a parking lot encounter. There is slight overspray on the door handle rubber on both l/h doors indicating these have been refinished at some point. There is also a silver-dollar sized dent on the left quarter panel up fairly high no doubt from something falling on the car. A good paintless dent remover could possibly repair it without the need for spot repairs. There is no evidence of a complete repaint- with no overspray found other than that indicated above, so if there was other refinishing it was done with moldings removed. The pinstripes are painted on just as they should be from the factory. Orange peel, depth of finish are consistent with original paint. Also on inner areas (inner front fenders, trunklid etc) the original paint qc inspection stamps are visible with no overspray on bolts, etc. The vehicle was rustproofed when new- this is evident from the plugged holes in the door jambs where the rustproofing was applied. Typical to cars from the "salt belt".
The "premium bodyside moldings" are fine. The vinyl "coach roof" is the original "Chamois" pigskin grain; it is soft and supple with no cracks; there is some fading on the very top horizontal area which is to be expected. The chrome bumpers are fine. The chromed heavy die-cast grille is fine-no pits to speak of. The glass is all ok.
2) THE INTERIOR: Just as you'd expect a 41 year old luxury car owned by a careful lady to be; in a word-SUPERB! The car has a very pleasant "old car smell". The original "Chamois" leather twin-comfort lounge seats are just beautiful. Still soft and supple. No rips, tears, seams popped, burns, etc. The leather used in the cars of this era was so superior to the junk that is out there now it still amazes me what cars were, and what they've become. And these Lincoln Town Cars had the "ultimate" in lounge interiors- pillows AND undersewn tuck & roll! Do you realize how many hides of leather it takes to do one of these interiors? And the labor-intensive job? You literally HAVE to buy an excellent original example of one of these cars! That said, the leather is just beautiful. To be critical, there is some color-changing of the leather areas to vinyl areas, and this was a problem of the dye in the chamois color. Other colors didn't do it as much. See the photos and you'll know what I mean. The door panels, headliner, dash are just fine. No cracks, rips, tears, etc. (Oh, this is a non-smoker car, by the way, an important thing!) The "Shag" carpet is still beautiful and the original rubber/carpet combo floor mats are still in place.
3) THE MECHANICAL: The car runs and drives out just as one would expect for a 41 year old version of Cleopatra's barge. These Lincolns are majestic but they are wallowing barges. And this car is no exception. But, for those of us who love them, would be have it any other way? I mean really, being now in Palm Springs, Rat Pack land.....this car is right at home!
Issues noted: 1) the air conditioning does NOT blow cold and it is the owner's prerogative that the new owner address that issue. The asking price of the car reflects that. Everything is there, it just hasn't been used enough to keep it functioning "ice cold". 2) A weak point of these Lincolns is that the vacuum door lock actuators always broke. This one is no exception. Those actuators need to be replaced.
Good news: The vacuum headlight doors stay shut (Hooray), the cruise works in all functions; the power vent windows work just fine; the power seats work just fine; the power antenna works just fine; and the am/fm (no tape) stereo works just fine.
ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL MARK LEASE AT (505) 699 7125 and I'll be glad to talk with you in depth about this fine car.
TERMS & CONDITIONS OF THE SALE: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY SO THAT THERE ARE NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS:
1) AS-IS: This car is represented, described and sold on a strict "AS-IS" and "WHERE IS" basis. Absolutely no guarantee of fitness or warranty is made by either myself, representing the seller, or the seller himself. You WILL be given a Vehicle Sales agreement and Bill of sale which you must sign and return to the seller. This seller is NOT a dealer sale. It is between the seller, an individual person, and you, the buyer. Please pay close attention to the photos provided as they do serve as a legal part of the overall description of the vehicle offered. These photos are of the exact vehicle advertised.
2) PAYMENT: Payment must be made by BANK WIRE TRANSFER. Or, cash in person at Cathedral City, California. NO PAYPAL for this sale, and NO Cashier's checks. Payment IS DUE WITHIN 7 DAYS of your commitment on BUY-IT-NOW. No excptions. We will message you with wire transfer instructions.
3) TITLE: This vehicle has a CLEAR and TRANSFERABLE INDIANA TITLE with Historic exempt Indiana license plates.
4) SHIPPING: You are responsible for all shipping arrangements for this vehicle. We will not get involved with shipping as that liability rests with whatever agreement you make with your transport company. The car MUST be picked up, either by you, or by transport contactors here, at Cathedral City, California. We will NOT deliver the vehicle anywhere as our insurance liability will end immediately upon your payment for the vehicle and your receipt of the title.