Memorial Day Photos

[hydralique]

This afternoon - Memorial Day - an old friend of mine went down to Ft. Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso to see the flags and decorations displayed on Memorial Day. He comes from a military family and his parents are buried there so it was more than a casual visit for him, luckily he lives nearby. In honor of them he drove the Lincoln Continental his father ordered new in 1977. It’s a lovely old car and looks so nice against the flags and blue sky that I thought others might enjoy the photos as well.

 

BTW this Lincoln is not a Town Car, that was a trim option in ‘77 and mandated a vinyl top that his father specifically did not want. The Mark V was another car altogether so this is simply a Continental coupe. It is used sparingly these days but sometimes still works for a living: out of the five cars my buddy owns this one has the largest trunk by far so gets pressed into service whenever he has something really big that needs to be carted around, it has swallowed whole barbeques without complaint.

 

[supersuds]

Nice that he kept the car. It isn't always easy to find room for a Lincoln. (Voice of experience.)

I think by then 4 wheel discs were at least optional. I wonder if they were still using the 460. It had been the standard engine when this body style debuted, but as I recall by the later Seventies they went down to a 400 cu. inch engine.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I have never seen a cemetery with pavers between and over the graves. Interesting.

 

[countryguy]

My dad had a '78 Town Car in maroon with the 1/2 landau roof, oval opera windows, etc. It was a fun car to drive...like floating on air. You could seat 6 adults comfortably including all their luggage. It was so long that the tail end would stick out of the carport.

Gary

 

[whirlcool]

Weren't these known as the Town Coupe model?

 

[circlew]

Nice car. My mom's cousin Ila Rhea had one of these in a medium Green color.

 

[hydralique]

This Lincoln is not a Town Car or Town Coupe. Those were trim groups applied to the basic full size Continental and have vinyl tops and other trim differences, this is just a Continental coupe which is distinct from the Continental Mark V. For a number of years almost every Lincoln had the Continental nameplate somewhere leading to a lot of confusion.

 

It has the 400M engine that was rare in ‘77 although standard for ‘78, most ‘77s have the 460. My friend has had to argue on occasion when buying parts that it does not have the 460 and has even been told that a “previous owner” must have swapped engines! His father ordered the 400 in preference to the 460 as he could see no need for the larger engine. IIRC the car has a bit over 130,000 miles and still runs quietly and smoothly so the 400 has worked out well. I don’t think it has four wheel disc brakes but disc front and drum rear.