Some Questions from new owner of a 1981 Mark VI

[englevakten]

First off, Hello to all being new to this Forum and to Lincoln.

I have always dreamed of buying a '80's Town car, and my questions apply to the Town Car and the Mark Vi series.
As I live in Europe I cannot acquire information elsewhere then on the internet.

Today I fell for purchasing a 4 door 1981 Mark VI, and will be greatly appreciative if my questions could be answered. wondering:

1) What purpose do the flairs in the front fenders serve?
- if none, would they be interchangeable between the 1981 Mark VI and 82-89 Town Car to remove the flairs?

2) What are the Big main differences between the Mark VI and the Town Car?
- As far as I can see the Mark is based on the Continental? Is it a different platform? Different Size etc.?

3) Are the front signal lenses interchangeable between the 1981 Mark VI and 82-89 Town Car (or other models) ?
- Mine has a broken / missing left signal lense
-

(believe it's the standard 302 from '81)

4) Is the front seat the same or interchangeable between the two?
- The leather is ripped in two places

5) Is the front grill the same or interchangeable between the two?
- I was wanting to get hold of a custom grill. Are they possible to find, or does someone make them?

6) Where do you purchase your spare parts for these automotives ?
- I mainly thinking of maintanance parts, like filters etc. plus I need rear window motors

7) Where could I go about getting custom parts for these automotives (preferably on the internet as I'm not in the US) ?
- I allways like to personalize my ride, having something a little smoother than stock

8) Are there simple upgrades to be done for ride, comfort etc.,
- This car Need's to be lowered. It's looking a little to much grandpa.

9) Are there maintenance issues that generally need addressing because of neglect ?
- It has 102k 1 owner miles (hopefully).

10) What kind of oil and fluids does one use on these cars. Coolant, engine oil, differential oil, transmission oil etc.


Thank you to all whom take the time to help me out!

Englevakten

 

[Mark VI]

Nice looking Mark VI. I have a 4 door 1983 Continental Signature Series with all the options. A lot of parts can still be found online. This model is the Panther platform. Some parts, such as your broken turn signal lense, can be found on E-bay. There was one listed a few days ago for about $100 to $150.00 US. As for as interchangability goes, some are and some are not. It would be best to check on-line with a Lincoln dealer in the U.S.A., to see what is available and what is interchangable. Some things are getting hard to find.

 

[postmodernrecyclers]

1) The flairs serve no functional purpose. Supposedly they do allow some venting of the engine compartment, but it would be insubstantial. Any fender panel from an '80-84 Town Car would work in its place--I've actually seen a car like this before--but you'd have to match/blend paint of course. Probably the '85-89 Town Car would be interchangeable, too, since it was just the front and rear lamp housing panels that were restyled and not the sheetmetal. Somebody would have to confirm that.

2) The Mark VI is just a fancy Town Car. Same size, power, ride--everything. Most of the sheetmetal is even the same except for the deck lids, header panels, fender flairs, and the C-pillar opera windows. Underneath, the Town Car and Mark VI are the same Panther chassis and 302/AOD drivetrain. Inside, the Mark VI has different woodgrain and upholstery patterns, and the designer/Signature trim feels much more upgraded over the plainer Town Car interiors.

3) The front signal lenses are the same between the 1980-84 Town Car and all Mark VI's. The '85+ Town Car has a totally different header w/restyled signal lamps and those years will not fit on a Mark VI. 80-84 cars the right and left lenses are the same (not specific to a side).

4) The front seats would be interchangeable but will not come in the same upholstery patterns between the different models.

5) The front grills look different, but the '80-84 Town Car grill will interchange with the Mark VI grill. The 85+ Town Car grill may have changed for the later "aerodynamic" front clip--not sure if these years would work on a Mark VI header or not.

6) Not sure in Europe, but in the US, maintenance and mechanical parts are abundant and cheap because of the popular Panther platform. I use rockauto.com for internet purchases, and my local Napa store. Cosmetic parts are getting very hard to find, though.

9) The transmission on this car is a major weak spot. It was Ford's first generation automatic overdrive and they tend to bomb out before 100k miles. The EEC-3 computer ignition can be fussy to work on, but when it works it is fine. Mine have all run very reliably, but a lot of people really hate EEC-3. Otherwise, I find these very bullet proof cars that don't have a ton of "usual problems" outside of typical maintenance.