As a Rockford Files fan of long standing, ever since I watched old reruns after school in the early ’90s, this 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe makes me think of one thing: bad guys. I’m not so interested that I’m going to pore through the series to count, but I’d be unsurprised if 1970s Continentals didn’t outnumber all other luxury cars driven by Rockford antagonists. And although I’m not a superfan of big ’70s Lincolns, this one is great. It’s a two-door, which is relatively uncommon (27,440 sold versus 68,160 sedans), and its color is—wait for it—Light Jade Diamond Fire. Plus, it’s a faded-paint original with a great interior and a zip code of its own, so how could you not be a little intrigued? You can find it here on eBay in Bolingbrook, Illinois, where the high bid of just $530 has not met the reserve.
I’ll never understand why sellers fail to include engine compartment pictures, especially on the auction sites, but unfortunately this has been the case with this Town Coupe. The seller does say that it has the 179-horsepower 400, which became the Continental’s standard engine later in the model year. The mileage is listed as 92,609, and the seller has included a list of recent maintenance and updates, including the following:
- New carburetor (a two-barrel in the case of the 400)
- New fuel lines and filter
- New “high-performance” radiator (aluminum, I assume)
- New power steering pump
- New belts and hoses
After all this, the Connie “runs and drives great” and “floats down the road.”
But really, it’s the interior that we’re all here to see, with optional green “Twin Comfort Lounge Seats” with “loose pillow seat appearance.” Of course, it has a good helping of the power options, such as windows and seats, but that gloriously gaudy upholstery looks immaculate.
The dashboard, with its standard “high gloss walnut woodgrain applique,” is surprisingly well-instrumented for a luxury car. Yes, it has its share of warning lights, but there are gauges for oil pressure and alternator output, too. That’s not always a given in old Ford Motor Company products.
The “coach” vinyl roof appears to be “Dark Jade,” although a complementary “Light Jade” was also available (as was Dark Jade Metallic paint that closely resembled this vinyl top).
But this gorgeous Light Jade Diamond Fire paint is what makes this houseboat-on-wheels so appealing. The paint is clearly faded and thinning, but it would be a shame to do anything to this car aside from polishing what you can and enjoying the ride. A 1977 Continental might not make a lot of sense with gas prices being what they are, but the upfront price is likely to be attractive enough (we hope), that you’ll have a little extra in the cookie jar to fill the tank this summer. After all, what price looking like a 1970s PI-show heavy?
What a great Lincoln!!! My Dad had a friend with a late 70’s 4 door Lincoln in dark jade with this color interior. Its a beautiful color in person. I really like this light Jade. I’m torn. It would look phenomenal repainted and it would go great with the interior. On the other hand, its only original once, maybe just polish very carefully whats there and leave it and enjoy it. I always thought these really needed the 460 4 barrel. But with the stricter MPG standards Ford had to do what they had to do utilizing the 400 2 barrel ( I didn’t know it was a 2 barrel, I always thought it was a 4 barrel). Either way, a great way to “glide” effortlessly to a Cars and Coffee event. Very nice one Aaron, I enjoyed it.