The ’70s and ’80s brought us some interesting partnerships between designer brands and American automakers. The Oleg Cassini Matador. The Fila Thunderbird. The Cartier Town Car. And this Mark VII Bill Blass Designer Edition. Although Mr. Blass passed away in 2002, his brand lives on, selling designer shoes, bags, and more. Back in 1984, there was enough cachet in the name to sell some swanky Continentals in Earthtones such as “Goldenrod Glamour.” While many think of the Mark VII as the neo-“Hot Rod Lincoln,” quite a few whitewall-tired luxoboats were also sold. Brand new in 1984, the Mark VII is definitely a collectible Lincoln these days, and the seller on eBay in Connecticut claims that this refurbished Bill Blass Mark has “approximately 40,000 miles” on it (an odometer glitch and some CarFax analysis leads to that claim). With a current high bid of $5,100, this car might be the right ride for those who fondly remember ’80s fashion trends.
On the other hand, I don’t think of the ’80s as being a particularly restrained decade, so this tasteful interior doesn’t quite correlate with the zeitgeist that comes to mind when I think of TV shows such as Miami Vice and Dynasty. The interior of this Mark is almost perfect, and everything works, even the power and heated seats, power antenna, automatic climate control, and keyless entry. The Bill Blass was a $24,807 car back in 1984, so you can be sure that Lincoln threw everything they could at it.
Ford’s trusty 302 was found under the hood of most Mark VIIs, although a BMW turbo-diesel six was also an option. The 302 was of the throttle-body injected variety, producing 140 horsepower and 250 lb.-ft. of torque at a truck-like 1600 rpm. It was the same engine you’d expect to see in your garden-variety Crown Vics, Grand Marquis, and T-Birds, and this one has been treated to a rebuilt throttle body, including injectors and pressure regulator. The fuel system has been cleaned out as a result of being in storage for several years, the cooling system has also been flushed, belts and hoses replaced.
Perhaps most importantly, the air suspension works well with its new air compressor, and there are no leaks in the system. Back when these were cycling down through the used car market, I saw many of them riding on the bump stops because the owners couldn’t afford to repair them or didn’t care to. The seller has also installed brand new tires, brake hoses, and a master cylinder, in addition to treating it to a full brake job. The only potential flaw I see is that the passenger door doesn’t seem to quite match the quarter panel, and it’s slightly out of adjustment, perhaps the result of a long-ago fender bender (door bender?).
I’ve long read that the styling of the Mark VII is polarizing, but I’ve always liked its muscular appearance. There were really two Mark VIIs available back in the ’80s, the executive hot rod (the LSC) and the designer luxury car such as this Bill Blass Edition. I prefer the LSC myself, but if you’re a fan of these aerodynamic coupes from a bygone era, it would be hard to find one more original than this one.
These were very very nice back then. The throttle body 302 although not a power house was utterly reliable and if the fuel, cooling and brakes were flushed out and tended to this will last forever. I noticed a hydraboost brake system, common to many Ford’s of the era. It’s not an LSC but should make a nice sunday machine for outing’s with wifey
The references to the LSC are interesting. This is a nice VII, and it is my observation that for the first few years of its run, the Designer cars were the top of the heap. But it seems that later in the run, the harder-edged, more performance-oriented LSC seems to have taken the crown. It’s the model that generates the most interest today.
That said, this is a great example of an 80’s specialty model.
(Aside: take a deep breath before you read the ALL CAPS, single-paragraph ebay ad.)
Nice elegant cruising luxury coupe.
Thanks Toth, never knew a diesel was offered. Wonder how many takers there were on that option.. 🤔
I had one of the diesel powered Continentals. Never did a drag race with anyone. But it didn’t run out of speed on the interstates. With the electronic speedo
I had no guess how fast I was moving. After 85 the speedometer just flashed in protest. Great fuel mileage, however.
The owner did a lot of work to get this car “right” so I think that’s reason enough to believe the miles to be what he says. Seems to be an earnest presentation.
Beautiful color combo on this car with the unusual option back then of heated seats. Should sell fairly fast.
Lovely looking car. I’ve always loved the Continental MkVII.
My guess is the owner spent the $5,000 current bid just bringing the car back from its slumber miles read error and owner even says it jumped to 105k before the error code I recall these being problematic with the air ride and other electronics if you like messing with those gremlins this car is for you. I’m not going to buy it but if I was the owner the drive train would be pulled and going to something else some of the other parts would be sold off before it was scraped all because the air suspension and electrical bugs basically mechanically total the car.
I had one exactly like this. In 1990, the instrument cluster failed, and needed replacement. When I got it back, the odometer had the nearest number to the mileage, but there was an “s” in front of the miles. The dealer said that was to alert the future owner(s) that the cluster had been replaced and the mileage wasn’t exact. So, when I did go to sell it, I had “some ‘splainin’ to do.”
I think it is a good thing that dealerships do that when replacing odometers. I hope that they provide a signed letter or invoice that states the mileage when the replacement occurred so that the owner has evidence of true mileage when they go to sell it.
Some cars have inherited problems. This car isn’t the first air suspension car with this problem. It’s a expensive buzz kill. Nice cars other wise.