I have heard many reasons why an enthusiast might choose to part with a classic, but the one behind this 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe is one of the more unusual. The seller purchased the car as an investment only to discover that it was too big to fit in their garage. Rather than leaving it exposed to the elements, they have decided it needs a new home with someone who can offer it the protection it richly deserves. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Mitchell G. for spotting this gentle giant.
Some paint and trim combinations somehow look “right” on a particular classic. The first owner teamed this Continental’s Medium Blue Metallic paint with a White Landau-style vinyl top, creating an appearance befitting a luxury car. The seller indicates it underwent a repaint while under the care of a previous owner, and it still presents nicely. The prone front body extremities are free from significant chips and marks, with the remaining painted surfaces holding an impressive shine. The panels are straight, although I did notice a small dent in the driver’s door. A reputable shop should have no trouble addressing this, but I would probably consult a paintless dent removal company first to see if they could provide a satisfactory solution. The top looks crisp and clean, and there are no issues with the trim or glass.
I’m always nervous when I find a classic with White interior trim. It is susceptible to stains and yellowing, and even classics with no rips or tears can look tired and shabby as a result. This Lincoln has avoided those problems, with its White leather as clean as you could hope to find. The “pillow” seats look comfortable and inviting, while the woodgrain, carpet, and the remaining upholstered surfaces are spotless. There is no UV damage and no evidence of aftermarket additions. The seller confirms that the air conditioning blows ice cold, while the buyer receives power windows, power seats, cruise control, a tilt wheel, and what appears to be an AM/FM radio/tape player.
The Fifth Generation Continental range was significant, as it represented what was essentially the last hurrah for the marque’s larger V8s. This Continental features the range-topping 460ci powerplant, generating 210hp and 357 ft/lbs of torque. Those figures were considered quite impressive for a vehicle produced during The Malaise Era, with the power feeding to the road via a three-speed C6 automatic transmission. The news for potential buyers seems nothing but positive. The seller doesn’t mention verifying evidence for the claimed odometer reading of 26,000 genuine miles. However, the car’s presentation makes the claim plausible. They don’t provide specific information about its mechanical health, but their use of terms like “excellent” and “very good” when describing the car’s overall condition suggests that this Lincoln is a turnkey proposition.
The physical dimensions of this 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe make it easy to understand why it might not fit into an average garage. The seller seems disappointed to part with a low-mile classic that should provide an enjoyable ownership experience. They have listed the Lincoln here on Craigslist in Tribeca, New York, with an asking price of $16,500. That figure gels with recent successful sales results, although the fact it has been on the market for over four weeks suggests they haven’t been swamped with inquiries. Are you tempted to change that trend, or is your garage also too small?
That’s gorgeous! That’s the exact reason I got rid of my ’66 Continental Coupe, it didn’t fit in our garage and I was paying $200 a month for a storage unit.
More Later, But years ago a neighbor had an old school garage. When his new car was too long to fit inside, he built an addition to the front just high enough for the front end to fit under it! American Enginuiy 🇺🇸 at its best.
@RickW
Hi GALYS member! I knew you’d be on top of this one.
My father did the same thing. We had a 200 year old farm house in the northern hills of New Jersey. The garage was a two car cinderblock structure probably built in the 1940s. Dad closed up one side making it a one car garage and using the other bay for his tools and machines. He was a machinist and mechanic so he had lots of large equipment. Come the 60s Cadillacs, and even the 70s Checkers, they didn’t fit so he blew out the back wall and made the garage big enough for a limousine as well as more counter and tool space. Then he built a carport next to the garage.
By the time he was done he tripled the garage space.
Interesting Angel,
About your father. In the 1980s I was a journeyman machinist. A group of coworkers helped me build a 30×48 building out of railroad ties. I had a friend that had a high position job at the railroad and they needed to get rid of them. When we were done it resembled a log cabin. We even put in a wood burning stove for heat. And without any heat it maintained a comfortable temperature.
Hello! You Gorgeous Angel DIVA! 👸. I originality left a message about the garage my father and a friend built at the family (Mom’s) 👪 homestead. (1900-1985 ) Built with concrete floor c. 53 it is still standing solid as a rock. In 85, after both parents were gone and I was established in my own home, I sold the place to a young couple. They have expanded the house and converted the garage into an office for their business. I visit often and enjoy those times, with a bit of melancholy. Can you believe peony plants planted by Grandma still flourish! Of course I have some peonies transplanted 3 times to my homes. AND today I finally cleared out my LAST storage unit 🙌! I once had 7 😲. Next up, eliminate the accumulated trash and treasures of a hoarding pack rat 🐀 😅!
Priced for perfection in a softening market. The seller should have checked his garage before he brought it home. Whose going to pay top dollar, sight unseen, then pay to ship it half way across the country. If the market for a car like this existed in Wichita he’d have it listed there.
Steve R
Gorgeous car, wish I could buy it.
Shortly after 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security gave out a huge number of grants to fire departments for “homeland defense”. Many of the recipients were volunteers on a shoestring, with old and typically small stations, whose newest apparatus was a 1960s medium duty truck-based apparatus. Now flush with grant money, many bought the biggest, baddest apparatus that they could afford (even taller with 4×4). I understand that there were numerous cases where the killer new apparatus wouldn’t fit in the station (some winding up parked outside). After my first close call with this, I always measured the apparatus bay prior to design discussions.
Our second house was an old century home in a small town. Had a one car garage. Mom had a ’66 Mercury Monterey fastback. First thing Dad did was add on to the back of that garage, to fit that beast, and give him more room for his tools.
I’ve had 3 Town Coupes in my lifetime. 78 dove gray/gray leather 78 white/ blue leather and 81 black/black leather. These cars show little to no wear if taken reasonable care of them and the 5 digit odometer also makes it inconceivable. So unless the seller has documentation of the mileage I would take it with a grain of salt.
While looking for a home in the Historic District of our town, I kept complaining about how few of them had garages or room on the property to build one. Then I realized that most of them were built prior to car ownership being common. 🫢
Hmm, given that the stated reason for selling the car is that it’s too big for the current owner’s garage, that owner could’ve done us ALL a considerable favor by STATING THE CAR’S LENGTH AND WIDTH in the advert to keep that same thing from happening again. Just my $0.02, of course.
G-o-o-g-l-e
That neighborhood with those houses and the garage ain’t big enough?
Had one…diamond blue same year. I was moving to Germany for a bit and actually considered taking her with me….WHAT WAS I THINKING ???? I must have had spacial paralysis.
Once owned a 78 Town Coupe. It was HUGE! It guzzled gas! It scared the birds! It polluted the air! Other cars parted like the Red Sea to get out of the way! How I LOVED it! Never should have let it go. I’ve had other Town Cars, including my current 2007 Town Car Signature Limited (just turned 75,000) the last gasp of traditional American Luxury sedans. Per my instructions, my cremains will be carried to my grave in It. Going out in style 😎.
LINCOLN, What a Luxury CAR should be and once WAS!
Far too long for my large single garage. Never mind that it’s full of motorbikes and 2CV stuff…
What a beauty, nice and big !
Look at that living room interior and super cushy back seat.
Big is what we all drove back in the 70’s and our Family car was a ’78 woodie Ford station wagon. It ran well, super comfortable and we loved it on trips.
Dad ordered the big & long wagon with the 460/4 barrel and dual exhaust (trailer tow pkg). Sounded great under wide open throttle. Had drive under garage so big was fine.
Nice ! Would love to own this Continental.
@ frog
I love it Frog! Yeah, we had railroad ties in piles all over the place. It was a small 5 acre farm in the country in the 50s, 60s, 70, through 2015. Back when you could store stuff like that on your property. Back when you could burn your own garbage in a barrel and burn your leaves in the fall. Sprinkle old motor oil on the dirt road to keep the dust down. God, I miss those days when you could actually live.
My father went through the depression with his 12 siblings so he never threw anything away. There was a reuse for everything.
He worked for JM (John’s Manville) as a machinist and as they would upgrade, he’d either buy or was given their old equipment. He had drills, lathes, grinders, sanders, everything. He had tens of thousands worth of professional equipment.
And of course as I got older laws got stricter and I couldn’t do half the stuff he did.
But as ugly as that garage was with all its mismatched extensions, it worked.
Angel, I live on a small acreage now and haven’t lost my liberties to store burn shoot or do anything except burn tires which some people do on a cloudy night. The only thing the county asked is use common sense and not burn on windy days and give a courtesy call and let them know ahead of time.
I forgot about another 77 Town Car 4 door I owned. It was a one owner with 5x,xxx k miles on it. Spotless white with red velour interior. I bought it from the daughter of the deceased owner. It was stored for a while in her garage and her boyfriend parked it in the yard on grass and dirt so he could store his junk cars in it. Go figure. As fate would have it the tin termite took a toll on the undercarriage and I ended up parting it out. In fact I still have parts off of it.
I’m always tempted to buy another one but I’m closer to 100 than I am to 30. These new plastic glued together hot wheel cars don’t appeal to me especially EVs.
But the EVs are doing what they can to offset the environment damage caused by “some people” burning tires (in the year 2024?). I thought that burning tires only happened in “furrin’” countries. Used tires are now used to manufacture road asphalt- a much better use than air pollution. I worked for a guy who used to oil the dirt for dust control. The environmental report that came back when he put it up for sale showed ground water pollution, making the cost of correction in the millions, and the property essentially unable to be sold.
Sounds like “some people” need to spearhead a program allowing folks to dispose of tires and such without a fee. I try to reuse and recycle everything I can get my hands on but it takes people with conviction. Burning tires is a cheap method of disposal.
John Eder and Nelson C I agree with you to point. Tire shops charge $3+ fee per tire for disposal. I’m not sure what the recycling business does with them. I’ll have to fact check you EVs. Bad concept even worse idea. People are short on patience and time and the charge time long outweighs the run time. When one of these cars catch fire it has to burn itself out and the road has to be repaired afterwards. So what about the pollution left behind? Methane gas emitted from cows? And flying cars? Fagitaboutit.