“For 1978, an American luxury car designed for the discriminating driver who will settle for nothing less than an unmistakable blend of elegance, comfort, and engineering distinction.” So says a 1978 Lincoln Versailles brochure. This baby beauty is listed here on eBay in Mount Clemens, Michigan and the bids have reached $4,000 with no reserve, so this one is going home with a new owner.
Lincoln offered this three-feet-shorter Lincoln sedan for only four years, 1977 through 1980 and they were meant to be a competitor to Cadillac’s new and very successful small car, the Seville. Sadly for FoMoCo, the Seville outsold the Versailles three to one in 1977. The Seville takes heat for what some say is just being a re-bodied Nova, which isn’t exactly true. The Versailles takes heat for looking too much like a gussied-up Mercury Monarch or Ford Granada, which may have been its downfall.
Ford/Lincoln really did give the Versailles some extra engineering to smooth out the ride and make it more of a Lincoln than a Granada or Monarch. The driveshaft isn’t just a tube with a couple of u-joints on it, Lincoln engineers added a “double coupling” to the balanced driveshaft for even more refinement. With just a 110-inch wheelbase, they really did ride better than a Granada or Monarch. The trunk was equally luxurious and this one looks almost like new, aside from the plush carpet needing a bit of adjustment.
The seller bought this beauty from a gentleman in Tennessee, which he says explains how it’s so solid compared to a lot of other examples. The exterior does look great, but the interior is showing its age. While the back seat looks like new, the dash is pretty faded, and the driver’s seat leather needs some major work. It would be a fun winter restoration project to restore it back to like new again.
The engine is Ford’s 302-cu.in. OHV V8, which was factory-rated at 133 horsepower and 243 lb-ft of torque. The seller has done a lot of work to bring this one back after buying it in Tennessee, including a new gas tank and cleaning all of the fuel lines, a new water pump, a new carburetor, a new battery, a full tune-up, the radiator was flushed, and leaking valve cover gaskets were replaced, along with a very nice detailing job on the engine and engine compartment. This looks like a very nice example. Hagerty is at $6,900 for a #3 good-condition car and this is all of that. Someone may be getting a bargain here. Have any of you owned a Versailles?
My dad had a company car that was identical to this. As a kid, I thought it was amazing. The fact that it had ash trays with electric lighters in those tiny back doors made it seem like the apex of sophistication!
Yep…My dad’s granada, even the same color. And mom’s had a Fairmount haha.
When I was in college, the old man bought, sight unseen, a similar vintage well worn Monarch, from a buddy of his who ran a mechanic’s shop.
I lived on a farm; to which you could only get via rock and dirt roads. I took a buddy back home one day. He had an 80s perm and must’ve used a lot of stuff in his hair, cause when we emerged from the Monarch his dark hair had turned blonde – the color of Kansas limestone dust that wafted into the car via every crack/seam/rust hole you can imagine.
I’ll never forget the image of my friend looking like he’s rolled in dirt. And the old man returned the car post haste; nothing worked on the dang thing anyway.
I really don’t know why people don’t like these cars. I drove one from Salt Lake to Northern California when I was 20 years old and probably the most comfortable ride I’ve ever been on even to today’s standards. I really like the car and wish my finances were better situated to buy this one cuz I would love to have it. And this one’s a beauty too. Somebody took great care of it and didn’t put a lot of miles on it. I envy the person that gets this one.
The best things about the Versailles were the 4-wheel disc brakes, and Ford 9-inch rear. These items were gleefully pilfered by Ford enthusiasts once they got to the junkyard.
This was based on the ancient 1960 Falcon platform, just like the Grenada and Monarch, obviously. So these parts would fit on any 1964-70 Mustang, which is really what this car largely is underneath, interestingly enough.
Came for the 9 inch rear end with disc brakes and wasn’t disappointed again!
This was so commonly known back in the day, almost like you knew a Coke can had a tab, or something. But I don’t think the young ‘uns today know that.
😍 Gorgeous Versailles. Love to pop in a coyoteV8 and a keep that column shift.
I agree. Had a 69 Mach 1 clone. Bought the Lincoln rear end for $150. It was a direct bolt on. Took about 4 hours to install. The hardest part of the install was hooking up the emergency brake. It would stop on a dime.
Anybody remember the TV commercial with the two diamond cutters in the back, performing a cut on an expensive diamond, as supposed proof of how smooth and stable the ride was?
And the Saturday Night Live parody, with two mohels performing a bris?
I think that was a Mercury Marquis. Another classy Ford product you never see, or hear much about. Hawaii Five O’s Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) traded-in his uber rare ’68 Park Lane for one circa, 1974. “Green Acre’s” Oliver Douglas traded a ’67 Lincoln Continental convertible for a ’69 Mercury Marquis drop-top, another very rare bird.
Nice movie reference. Give my regards to Scotty.
That SNL skit was done in a 4dr Cougar, thinking 1977.
Yes I remember the Saturday Night live parody. That was so funny!!
This one deserves the full “Hot Rod Lincoln” treatment.
As I remember, the Seville got the benefit of the doubt while this got more of a point-and-laugh reaction. It doesn’t look too bad all these years on. The problem was, in 1978, there was an approximately 100% chance that if you saw one, you’d see a Granada or Monarch near it or next to it, and it was pretty obvious what it was, and nobody was fooled. All-in-all though, much better example of badge engineering than a Cimmaron.
That’s worth looking up on YouTube. Hilarious.
Anyone want to provide this to an old man for a daily driver? You could have a lien on the title so when the estate is settled you would get it back. I’m already circumcised so you needn’t worry about the back seat…
The Versailles does have a couple of historical firsts to its credit, though the rear discs are not one of them. It was the first American car fitted with both halogen headlights and clear-coat as standard equipment. But back to the cons for a mite: Its obvious Granada/Monarch roots were not the only thing that spoiled the Versailles. Its engine was fitted with quite possibly the worst piece of technology Lincoln employed since the LiquaMatic: The infamous variable-venturi carburetor. For those who don’t know, it was one of many desperate tricks employed to improve fuel-economy, especially with the imminent arrival of the government’s CAFE mandates. It would alter the sizes of the barrels as demand called. Nice in theory, but in practice it was a nightmare: The carburetor was touchy on a good day; outright junk on any other day. One source I read stated that for 1980 the engineers finally ditched it for a TBI unit. If true, then I cannot fathom why they would bring it back for the 1982 humpback Continental (the Versailles’ replacement)!! In that car it was just as much junk as it was in ’77; I dare say worse, because it was tied into the entire computer system, making the digital dash go completely haywire. They finally wised up and trashed it for good in favor (again) of TBI starting with the ’83 models.
At least the seller of this car apparently saw fit to install a new carburetor on the engine. Depending on what kind it is, hopefully this car will be liberated from its worst engineering flaw.
[As a side note, I never considered the Seville of that time to be a gussied-up Nova. The Buick Apollo was a gussied-up Nova. The Seville of the ’70s looked more to me like a gussied-up ’80s-series Cutlass. It wouldn’t surprise me if GM stylists just handed the old Seville design (after coming up with the flat-back replacement in 1980) to the lower divisions.]
You are quite correct, that both customers and many technicians hated the VV carb.
One the other hand, there were a few technicians who understood them and came to love them. Why? Because once they had the VV figured out, the shops would assign all of those work orders to them and they could beat the flat rate while fixing them. Ford also made some material improvements to the repair parts as well.
As far as the concept, consider this, the famous British S.U. carburetor used on cars ranging from the Mini to Rolls Royce was technically a variable venturi carburetor.
I heard a story that there was a technician who was proficient at servicing the Ford VV carb who ran two of them atop a high rise manifold on his drag racer.
And according to those who understood them, when working right they got better fuel economy than port fuel injection.
That said, no doubt Ford lost a lot of customers over the VV.
…and the old nickname for the British SU carburetors was ‘Seldom Understood’ … and having suffered through a pair of the P.O.S’s on a on an otherwise enjoyable (didn’t even have to deal with the usual British electronics — everything actually worked!) TR3A I agree 100%.
I had a VV in a fleet LTD. If they were set up correctly, they were fine. There was a specific sequence you needed to follow to get right.
I think that in 1978 the Variable Venturi carb was only on the California emissions cars. Not positive, but I had a 78 Fairmont, and the 49 states cars had a real 2 barrel while I had the VV
I believe you are correct. I bought a 77 Maverick from an estate in CA on eBay and was surprised when it had a vv on it. They weren’t like that in MN.
Yup, halogen lights and clear coat. Coupled with the 9-inch and brakes, those were its big things. The 4-wheel disc brakes were also offered on the Monarch and Granada in the later years, though very, very rare (I’ve never seen one).
I’ve been a semi-professional junkyard scrounger for about 30 years now and in all my years of pilfering, I’ve never seen a 9″ Versailles rearend in the junkyards even thought I saw plenty of the cars in the early years. Never saw a Monarch or a Granada with them either.
Lincoln also offered rear discs on the Mark V in the late ’70s and I used to see a fair amount of them in the yards – still occasionally do. They were too big for the Mustangs, etc., but were pretty popular for our Broncos back in the day.
I started in the aftermarket parts in 1986 and I remember we would hand write the part number of the best regular 2bbl carb to replace the VV. You had to tell the customer upfront that we couldn’t take the VV carb back for the core but every few months a garage would call to get a carb to replace the damn VV.
Tony your wrong GM came out in 76′ with not only halogen headlamps but dual halogen head lamps in the Cadillac Chevrolet Buicks Pontiacs in Oldsmobiles
I was never able to not see the Nova in the Sevilles, although no one would deny the Sevilles had a beautiful design. Even though it was built on a Nova, it was definitely a Cadillac. The other Nova spin-offs from Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac, the Nova heritage was obviaous. As for the Versailles I think Ford could have and should have done a better job of making it look like a Lincoln. Admittedly the headlights and grill are very Lincolnesck looking, but the rear end doesn’t quite make it. I’m a total Ford fan and can always find ways to see the Ford Motor Company goodness in their vehicles. The taillights don’t work at all for me. They don’t look like a Lincoln or any Ford or Mercury model. I usually love Ford dashboards but with the Versailles not so much. No gauges and way to plain. The rest of the interior is done very well, like what a Lincoln should be. Unlike the Seville, which actually drove and rode like a Cadillac, I never drove or rode in a Versailles, but if they were anything like a Granada or Monarch they had that going for them. At the end of the day I think it was all about the Versailles being just another Granada, or Monarch, and that’s really the Versailles biggest problem. I believe if the Versailles resembled a Lincoln rather than a Ford or a Mercury, it would have had a much better run, and that was too bad because smaller luxury cars, like the PLCs were very popular, and had a great market share. I wonder how Lee Iaccoca allowed the Versailles to hit the streets looking the way it did?
Iacocca was a cheapskate! He was overjoyed at the number of parts you could puck from a Granada and use on this car. I don’t blame him – Ford wasn’t doing too well in the late ‘70s and the margin on this car was probably astronomical considering the R&D took place when it was the 1960 Falcon. And he was in love with this chassis – Falcon, Mustang, Maverick, Granada – got 20 years out of it!
Not to mention the Cougar, Comet and Monarch!
I always thought that the Seville was more likely built off the A-Body (Chevelle)
One of the ugliest years and models that Lincoln ever produced IMO. The Seville in 77 was way better than this glorified Monarch or Granada. Agree that it’s a good source for parts for other builds, buts that’s about all. It is fairly clean though.
Glorified Ford Granada but still had a nice ride never really liked the looks poor man’s Lincoln.
Put a hump on the trunk and call it a Lincoln.
At least it looked better than the Cimmaron/Cavalier Caddy tried to pass off.
A fancy looking Ford Granada
Auction update: this beauty sold for $7,000!
That’s a lot to pay for a 9-inch Ford rear axle assembly with disc brakes…