Taupe is the color most of us think is on the car clogging the left lane all the time. I’m counting at least 25 Taupe-related colors available on the 1984 through 1992 Lincoln Mark VII, according to this website. One of you will know what this actual color is, since the seller doesn’t post a photo of the data tag. This 1986 Lincoln Mark VII is posted here on craigslist in Kirkland, Washington, and the seller is asking what seems like a very reasonable $4,995. Here is the original listing, and thanks to… hey wait a minute, I found this tip!
I’m assuming this color is Sandstone, but one of you will know. Whatever color it is, and it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, this car looks fantastic. Less than $5,000 for a two-door Lincoln with a 302 V8? Yes, please. The seller has provided 24 great photos, and I don’t see a flaw on the exterior, do you? They only came with two doors, but I did a four-door sedan in blue a while ago; here it is.
I would probably add period-correct white wall tires, but otherwise I wouldn’t do a thing to the exterior of this beauty. Lincoln offered the Mark VII from 1986 through 1992, and they were known as the Continental Mark VII for 1984 and 1985. The third brake light was new for the Lincoln introduction in 1986, and this doesn’t appear to be the high-zoot LSC edition, but it would work just fine for me. Hagerty is at $9,200 for a #3 good-condition car, so $4,995 for this one seems like a steal. Why is it so cheap?
Most of us expected to see leather seats, I’m sure. I know I did. These velour seats look great both front and rear, and the gray piping is a little unusual but a nice detail. The interior also looks perfect, other than some wear on the console area where the two power window switches are. I believe that the keyhole is to lock the center console. The trunk also looks clean, and clearly this seller has detailed vehicles regularly. The seller doesn’t give any specific info on this car for some reason; they don’t even list the mileage or show the odometer.
The engine is a 5.0-liter OHV fuel-injected V8, which would have been rated at 150 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque when new. Backed by a four-speed automatic sending power to the rear wheels, they don’t say how it runs, but if it runs as good as the rest of the car looks, I’m guessing it’s a peach. I would love to have this car, and that asking price seems like a steal to me. What do you think?
Back in the mid 90’s I worked with a guy ( my age) who had one of these. Same color too. I asked him how he came about it . True story, he told me he was at his local Ford dealer ordering a brand new T Bird ( something I could see a mid 20’s guy driving). An older woman was at the desk next to him ordering a new car and trading in her Mark VII. He saw her pull up in it. When he heard the price they offered her for a trade in….. He cut his salesman short turned to her and said…. Heck, I’ll give you that much for the car. She hesitantly said “Ok”. And he paid her on the spot and got the title. He always laughed at just how miffed his salesman was!!!!. I think he paid way less than it should have gone for. Anyways, this one looks terrific and will make a great comfortable cruiser with that fuel injected 302 for sure.
I’ve always liked this generation of Marks. Not too big, luxurious but not over-the-top gaudy, enough power, nicely trimmed. This Sandstone (?) example looks kind of plain, especially with the blackwalls. But overall it seems fine. And cheap.
That four-door photoshop looks… perfectly believable.
Good work Scotty.
Why are all the good cars in Washington?
We have good taste.
Guarantees comfortable effortless cruises.
I’ve always loved the Mark VIIs. I almost bought an 89 LSC, black with tan leather, when it was 3 or 4 years old, low mileage, great shape, all options. The sale didn’t go through because the salesman was an arrogant AH, and after the way he treated me, I wouldn’t have bought anything from him. Now that I think about it, almost any car salesman I ever dealt with was a lying AH. It always was strange to me. If he doesn’t make a sale, he gets no commission. If he makes a sale, he earns money. Why not treat customers decently?
I would certainly buy this Lincoln. Tested a Lincoln media LSC back in the day for a week. Great highway cruiser, interesting 80’s tech and very comfortable. Even though the featured car isn’t an LSC its still a looker and collectable.
Hopefully, there are no mechanical issues.
A friend of mine bought one of these new, a 1986 LSC, black with a black interior. He went into the dealership to order a Cougar XR7, and by the time he had loaded it up with options, it wasn’t that much more to buy the LSC. So he did. It was a beautiful car, and like all his cars, he maintained it with kid gloves. But as it aged, electrical problems became more and more numerous. Apparently, that was a known issue with these cars, even when relatively new. He was skilled enough to fix his own cars most of the time, but the electrical problems became so overwhelming he just couldn’t keep up with them anymore. So he sold it in 1997. He did disclose that he’d been having electrical issues with it, but it looked so good cosmetically that a couple of guys at his workplace literally got into a fistfight over who would buy the car. Both wanted it THAT badly.
What’s that old saying? Be careful what you wish for…
I see this car as being too cheap rather than at all inexpensive. My opinion might be different if the car was offered by a private seller. The phrases ‘FINANCING AVAILABLE!’ and ‘YOUR JOB IS YOUR CREDIT!’ indicate buy-here/pay-here interest rates. If the deal is too good to be believed, it probably isn’t.
Nice Gentleman’s Mustang. I’d be seeking out a set of OEM aluminum wheels for it though – the hubcaps aren’t really doing it for me. I wonder if dog dishes would look good on these bodies…
Danno, Lincoln referred to those wheels as “Wire Spoke Aluminum Wheels,” and I thought they were actual aluminum wheels, but I think you’re right, and they’re wheel covers. The other three options were referred to as “Cast Aluminum.” They’re shown on page 12 of this brochure:
https://xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/1986-Lincoln-Mark-VII.pdf
Curiousity is getting the best of me now. Found this on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/156117746404
Brochure states that these are aluminum wheels, not hubcaps.
I’m not seeing a link to a brochure in this article? I recall some of the aluminum wheels on the VII kinda looking like this, on the LSC I think? Not quite the same. Hagerty thinks they’re fakes wire-wheel hubcaps:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/why-its-time-to-think-about-the-1984-92-lincoln-continental-mark-vii/
Edit : Just saw your post below on the “Bill Blass Edition”, thanks. Wonder why Ford would make an lauminum wheel that looks like a hucap LOL?
Thanks again, jsb! I thought they were aluminum wheels, but when the others were listed as “cast aluminum”, I thought maybe these were aluminum wheel covers.
I always liked the styling of this gen Lincoln and the T-Bird. This spring I saw two of these roll in at that had been modified at a car show . At a minimum the exhaust was up graded to headers and they were both lowered. Truly
“Hot Rod Lincolns”.
There is a dealer website listed on the Craig’s List ad. According to the dealer website listing they request inquiry about the mileage. Definately worth a deeper dive before pulling the trigger on this one.
And the odometer is??????
It needs whitewall tires badly!
White letter BFG T/A.
Any issue with sourcing parts for this era?
This is actually a Bill Blass edition, with Ultrasuede seats in Sand Beige to match the Sandalwood Metallic paint. Notice the embroidered double B on each of the backrests. Those wire-spoke aluminum wheels were standard on the Bill Blass.
Arrrrgh, I thought it might be, jsb, thanks! I was cringing for quite a while on whether to say it’s a Bill Blass edition or not. It can be harrowing in the comments section to be wrong… which I am fairly often.
This is the first MK VII I have seen with cloth Interior. I suspect the mileage is not listed because it is high. If highway driven, and cared for these engines go 300,000 with no issues. (I have had 4 5.0 Mustangs go that far with that kind of mileage) And yes, these are alloy wheels. (Really tough to keep them looking good!) I would not hesitate to purchase this car as long as an inspection didn’t show any accident history.
Dave These came with factory tubing headers, but were barely better than the factory cast iron manifolds because of the primary pipe size. Make sure that this doesn’t have the air ride suspension. Those parts are really hard to find.
As I get older, as much as I like my ’02 GT Bullitt Mach 1 Cobra convertible, (it’s a conglomeration of factory parts), anymore, I’d rather have this.
The LSC Lincolns were very attractive cars once you got passed the air suspension issues.