Lawrence Street Sighting: Lincoln Mark V

Lawrence has quite a few hidden gems, and every so often, said gems reveal themselves in the most unlikely places. Just off 6th Street, a rather poor section of Lawrence between LMH and Old West Lawrence lurks; not much crime, and not much income, but classic cars are not all that far or few between; this mostly means pre-1986 Chevrolet Caprices and Impalas, but there are some Ford products here, too. Aside from all the various RWD ex-copcar GMs and Fords, I did find one lone Lincoln; and it's one of the cooler FoMoCo cars I've shot.

I've always liked this bodystyle, and to me, this is the two door Lincoln to have if you must have one. I like the sightly different Town Coupes (more luxurious and based on a different car) as well, but these are my favorites; with the help of a friend on a car forum, I have narrowed this one down to being a 1977 car in Rose Crystal Metallic or a 1979 car in Light Red Metallic. Was pink not manly enough for this big Lincoln? Although, I suppose if Lincoln  had called it pink, they would've given it more power so it can outrun the insults?

So, obviously these brutes weren't meant to be powerhouses, and the powertrain reflects that; a 400 with 208 horses and 396 ft/lbs of torque isn't going to make a big car into a drag car and the small 400 made even less power--179 horses and 329 ft/lbs. I suppose a 3 spd automatic being the only trans available had something to do with that. Then again, who would order a big car in a stick? Not many people. So Ford didn't even try.

As one would expect, the hot, dry summers have taken their toll on this once magnificent Lincoln; although the red over pink exterior is quite my cup of tea, I bet it was a striking vehicle when it was new--and to be quite frank, it still is. I like these cars, and I try to shoot every one I come across, and I've never seen one in this color combination. I have to say--I like it if only for the nostalgia factor.

I will say right now that I love the turbine wheels on these, and I hate the full-face wheelcovers; they make the car look underwheeled and cheap, whereas these turbine wheel look great. And Ford knew it, too, because these were in service until 1991 or 1992.

I am glad I found this car, because despite the "girly" color scheme, this is probably my favorite Mark spotting yet--and that's saying something.