A first-year Versailles in Midnight Blue for less than five grand? Yes, please. You’d have a tough time gathering a crowd any faster at any cars and coffee-type event, unless you were driving an orange Pinto wagon maybe. The seller has this blue beauty posted here on craigslist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and they’re asking what seems like a reasonable $4,800 or offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
Why do I like these cars so much, does anyone know? Do I need counseling? Am I just an oddball who likes his vehicles a little or a lot outside of the boundaries of what everyone else likes? Maybe all of the above. The Lincoln Versailles was only made for four years, that’s hard to believe since nice ones keep turning up. This one, being a first-year model, is pretty appealing to me, although I would have preferred a two-tone color scheme.
Or is it two-tone? It’s hard to tell, but the blue under the body line sure looks lighter in the above photo, doesn’t it? If it was an actual two-tone, it would be Midnight Blue and Wedgewood Blue, a much lighter color, so it must just be a trick of light and shadow. Enough of the color, there is more to these small luxury cars than just nice colors. Ford offered a Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia edition a couple of years before this ’77 Versailles came out, and it played a role, as did Cadillac’s successful Seville, which had just come out a little over a year before this car was made.
The interior looks as nice as expected here, with maybe some wear and grime on the thick carpet. I’d want to take out those seats and remove the carpet and deep-clean it, but that’s just me. The optional Wedgewood Blue leather seats look good both front and rear, and the trunk looks appropriately luxurious. The seller mentions a few areas that need work, including the clock, both front power windows, parking brake, power antenna, and the fuel gauge.
The engine could use a few hours of detailing but it looks good as it is. It should be Ford’s 351-cu.in. Windsor OHV V8, which would have been factory-rated at 135 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque when new. It runs well and if a person were looking for a unique car to tinker with and still one that’s usable now, this could be it. Hagerty is at $3,600 for a #4 fair-condition car and $6,700 for a #3 good car. Any thoughts on this Versailles?
Fanciest Granada to come down the pike. Oh Lincoln, you were once so proud, look what you were reduced to. All the car makers were on this “down size” schtick, people like my old man, that loved big cars, were appalled. I think these were more than a Granada, with better suspension and an extra layer of insulation, but a mere shred of what Lincoln buyers wanted. Ford lost a lot of buyers with these, but Ford knew those folks were getting old anyway, and I thought the Granada was a great car. The “problems” listed are probably the tip of the iceberg, as auto electronics were in their infancy, and will drive you nuts. If you are a problem solver, by all means, this car is for you, otherwise, I’d stay clear, WAYYYY clear.
Howars, Caddilac one-upped Lincoln with their doozie … the Cimmaron
Ahh, yes, Ye ‘Ole Cimmaron, WHAT A POS F-G JOKE! So sad.
Grenada’s were under-powered heaps. Great ?. You must be joking.
And we owned a brand new top of the line Grenada Ghia, so I know
what I speak of Howie !
Lincoln made many other noteworthy cars btw after the Versaillies.
1st of all, calling me “Howie” has a derogatory inclination I don’t care for, and your “1 bad car therefore all those are bad” theory is bunk. You can’t possibly think Lincolns after this had the glitz of past Lincolns, and the Granada/Monarch was a very popular car. Over 2 MILLION Granadas were sold, and another 600,000 Monarchs, so you sir, are not worth listening to.
(replying to your comment at the end of this threat)
So in your logic, just because a great number of Granadas were sold….the car must have been great. And I sure you also believe McDonald’s serves the best hamburger & food in the nation. No sir….your comments are not with listening to.
Applause for a reasonable price and I am a sucker for triple blue. Though these malaise-era luxury compacts just lack any of the pizazz of the pre-downsize era. I’d resto-mod it and impress the geezers down at the golf course.
They had rear 9in with disc if I’m not mistaking.
RW’s on the right wavelength here.
That Ford 9-inch can take a lot more power than that stock 351 is going to put out. So it should be given more. Get that up to around 400-450hp with a cam that has enough vacuum to run the power brakes, then lounge in luxury as you smoke Mustangs with your unsuspecting Hot Rod Lincoln.
Folks spend a lot more than $4800 for restomod fodder. This could be a really cushy street bruiser.
I believe you may have to pull motor to change plugs in one of those models. At least that was I was told at one time. I definitely would look at that.
No it’s a small block in big car, you have been misinformed.
Confirmed. A standard spark plug socket (that has the hex pattern for a wrench) & angle + extension is all thats needed. I, the new owner can tell you that the plugs are on point!
Coyote swap?!?!
Ford did a nice Robins egg blue in this model. compared to a Granada this one has got it all. That disc brake 9 was once a good junkyard find.
Beautiful color – I’m surprised it’s still up at that price, even with its needs.
Nice one, Scotty! Yes, OK, it’s a Granada plus gingerbread, but the folks at Lincoln took it seriously. Rear discs, 9 inch, and look at those “let’s go 400 miles today” seats! That color scheme could rub out beautifully, and I’m with the sleeper crowd on this one. Warm up the 351, maybe even a light pressure turbo, and pick and choose when to use it. I’d drive it!
Street name for the cimmaron was Short Change..
As the owner of a restored Pinto Squire (wagon) with Orange Plaid seats, I can confirm that no other car attracts more attention wherever it goes! Thanks for the shout-out.
Lucky! (seriously, I’d love to have one)
Find a roller 5.8 out of a truck, freshen it up, add a mild cam & a free breathing exhaust. Hurt some feelings on a Friday night
Yeah that Cimmaron. A 4 cylinder overpriced joke, not even boosted.
I had a Grenada Ghia and it was an OK car. I have an old ’66 Fairlane XL with a 351 Windsor engine and I really like that engine. I can tell you that I have several old Ford and Mercury cars and none of the gas gauges work properly. Have taken them out of the car and serviced them on a workbench to get them working correctly only to have them fail once reinstalled in the cars.
Why the comparison to the Cimarron? Cadillac completely revamped the Nova and made the Seville in 1976. In 1977, Lincoln tried to mimic the success of the Seville with the Versailles, however it was not removed far enough from the Granada, and only lasted from 1977-1980. In 1982, Cadillac tried to recreate the magic they made with Seville and released the Cimarron, which totally missed the mark as what a buyer was expecting of a Cadillac.
The Seville was relatively successful, as a lot of people liked the humped back of it. The Versailles was not nearly as successful, as it didn’t have much to distinguish it, as just another boxy looking sedan.
The body of this, from the pics looks in great shape, and considering it’s a Northern car (salt, snow, ice) it must not have seen too many winters outside.
Appears rust free along the bottom body panels. Underneath who knows ?
Plus a 351 V8, so it should be ok with the power.
For what you see for $5k for today’s cars…..which is not much.
Steal if you like the boxy look of the era.
From what I’ve seen in the way of criticisms, I’m rather surprised that nobody mentioned this car’s worst mechanical flaw: The Variable-Venturi carburetor. That was one of Ford’s biggest mechanical mistakes ever, right up there with over-boring the Continental V12 in ’42 that caused cylinders to self-destruct just with normal use, or any other Ford gaffe one can think of. Though designed to give more flexible fuel-economy, it was unreliable at best, so much so that it contributed, along with the car’s uninspired styling, to kill the model fast. They apparently knew about the VV’s unreliability, too, because they ditched it after ’79 and gave the Versailles’ engine a TBI unit in ’80. But it was already too late to save the model. Then, for some inexplicable reason, they brought that piece-o’-junk back in the Versailles’ replacement, the humpback Continental, in ’82! Thankfully they ditched it after that year in favor of the steadier TBI unit they started using in ’80.
I suspect that is why this car’s pricing is so low, something the seller may not want to admit. As somebody else here already stated, if you’re a problem-solver (in this case a whiz at fixing carburetors with access to the blueprints of the Ford VV), then this is a steal. Otherwise, buyer beware.
That said, however, the Versailles has its place in automotive firsts. It was the first-ever American car to employ both hàlogen-core headlights and clear-coat paint as standard equipment; before then, if either feature was even offered by anyone else, it was an optional extra.
Plus, I really like the cursive script used to make the “Lincoln” nameplate on these cars; it exactly matched the script font used on the “Continental” nameplates since ’64. The Versailles was the only Lincoln model to flaunt that fancy nameplate.
I like this compared to some of the Versailles I have seen in the past. But I would replace the trunk lid with one from a Granada or Monarch. Really do not like the fake spare tire bump on any car of this era.
Two in one week, amazing to say the least. This car is a nice find, the mechanical problems are nill. The window motors likely need the nylon bushings replaced. All Ford window motors have clic,click, click from this Era. Antenna, another cheap motor easily fixed. The fuel gauge is likely the brass float has sunk, pop the sender and put a neoprene float from a newer car, lots of those laying out at the local pick-a-part. Once considered crap, hard times for cars then but compared to today, I’ll take it any day. These were much better than a lot of things then.
Ive been pretty impressed with the mechanicals. The accelerator pump diaphram was toast. It idles alot better *not* spraying fuel! Ha ha