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.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Fiat X/19 five speed

I don't know whether this counts as cheating or not, but I will be sporadically posting cars from a friend's collection here on The Automotive Way. He has decided not to disclose his age, nor how long he's been into the hobby, or what he does for a living, but his collection of cars is immense, ranging from the eclectic to the downright sublime. All of his cars are foreign,and a vast majority of them are Italian, and fall under one major automotive group, with the exception of a scant few.

What you see here is what he calls a "summer toy"; it's a 1979 Fiat X1/9 by Bertone, and its not the first one of the breed he's owned--and it certainly isn't his first Fiat. Fiats from this era are finicky cars--either they run or they don't. But that's what makes the car hobby fun for my friend; while other people spend the winter snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, or just being in the snow, my friend spends his winters looking for project cars that he can get running over the winter; over a typical winter, his collection grows by four or five cars. Since I've known him, he's gained about ten vehicles that he's kept.

Onto the car, though, it was found via craigslist, and it was acquired for a measly $400 thanks to some redneck who simply wanted it gone. It ran, and drove fine, it wasn't wanted on the property any longer. How cool is that? I wish I could score a running and driving car for that little! Damn.

In these pictures, the paint appears to be flat, but with an afternoon with clay, this things shines right up. The decals are cracking a little bit, but that's to be expected in a car this old. The wheels, the trim, everything is in good order, save for a taillight lense. Other than that, this little X1/9 is pretty awesome. I've ridden in it a few times, and sitting so low, you feel like you're going twice as fast as what you actually are. Even though the power these put out is relatively lame by today's standards, these aren't bad cars. I just wish rust wouldn't have eaten so many of them.

I obviously had fun shooting this car, and I can't wait to feature more of this collection!

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Mustang

Introduced in 1964, Ford's Mustang became an instant success story for Ford. A variety of engines and trimlines meant there was a Mustang for everyone--mild to wild, grocery-getter to dragstrip-star. In the 196s, even the base Mustangs looked decent, but as time wore on, the base cars got further and further down the chain of "economy car with a name", rather than a cheapened muscle car. In the 1970s, the Mustang gave way to the Mustang II, and since 1974, base Mustangs have never been looked at in the same light.
In 1979, the Fox-body Mustang made its debut. Although there were V8 cars, the less-stellar six-cylinder and four cylinders made up the brunt of production. Going on the fact this car has no trim badging, full-faced wheelcovers (hubcaps), and is painted a rather pedestrian color, I'm going to assume that this packs the oh so wonderful 85 horse straight six. Yes, you read that right. EIGHT-FIVE STAMPING HORSES.
While I am a fan of the Fox in all of its iterations, be it Lincoln Mark VIIs, Ford Fairmonts, Ford LTDs, Mercury Capri, or whatever, the early four-eyed Mustangs look the best of them all. Not too many are around anymore, so I'll take any four-eye I can feasibly find. I'd love to find a Cobra, a Mustang GT, or any shape of Capri, but the likelihood of that is probably nil. I guess I'll make do with the economy special I shot instead.









As far as Malaise-era base models go, this Mustang isn't too bad. Full-faced wheelcovers are so much a part of this car as is the 1980s-era detailing. Flat body, simplistic trim, and very few creases and styling theme mark a time when cars were drawn on paper, and complex surfacing wasn't yet the "in" thing. While most would criticize this Mustang for looking too plain.. you have to remember that cars as a whole looked quite a bit boxier and generic than they do today--okay maybe that's debatable--and as result, used decaling and add-on trim to look sporty, Mustang included.
This is the opposite of a sports car though. Caked in all its bare glory, this little pony was intended for school runs, grocery shopping, and in-town driving, and not much more. After all, what else do you expect from a lousy 3.3L six with barely enough torque to spin one rear tire.
I usually don't fawn over base model cars, but for some odd reason, this little 'stang has just enough going for it to be featured here. These models aren't seen very often, much less is more-or-less decent condition. No doubt I'll snap another if I see it.