Big-block American V8s are a dying breed in new cars. Maybe the only thing dying off from American roads faster than these engines are the land yachts that were paired with them. Nowadays, old Big-Block land yachts are most often found in sheds and junk yards, and this one here is no exception.
Feast your eyes on this 1978 Lincoln Town Car, one of the very last Lincolns to sport what, to many people's minds, was the flagship of flagship engines the brand has ever had. This engine is, of course, the mighty 460-cubic inch (7.5-liter) iteration of the Ford 385.
For those not in the know, Ford decided in their infinite wisdom not to explicitly name the lineage of their V8 engines by their capacity in cubic inches. Instead, the 3.85-inch (98 mm) stroke of the commonly shared crankshaft in these big Ford engines is the genesis of the series unconventional naming schemes.
As for its history under the hood of a flagship Lincoln product more or less comes to an end with the crusty, rusting hulk of a 1978 Continental Town Car that one YouTuber brought before us. Coming forth via the up-and-coming Classic Ride Society YouTube channel, this 1978 Continental was a book-end for Lincoln whether their owners knew it or not.
For the penultimate model year of the fifth-gen Continental Town Car, Ford's Wixom, Michigan assembly plant tried a couple of new tricks to breathe life into what was by then a slowly sun-setting platform. For one thing, the interior is greatly changed from how it was when the model was brand-spanking new.
Photo: Classic Ride Society
Improvements began with an updated interior, starting with a new dashboard that borrowed heavily from the Mercery Grand Marquis birthed from the same chassis. Parts commonality was remarkably high for these models. This allowed the 460 V8 to be an uncannily easy engine to maintain with OEM parts.
Say what you will about the Rolls-Royce-like front grille, but it was a defining feature of Lincoln in this era in Ford's history. With this derelict example's strikingly missing grille, you get the feeling this "Conti" could make its monetary value back and then some as part of the background in a horror movie.
The way the iconic up-and-down swinging headlights are stuck in a strikingly human-like front-fascia adds the allure of this long-abandoned piece of American history. Moving to the interior, we get the impression this was an especially wonderful place to sit many years ago.
It's a space chocked full of lovely "loose pillow" style leather accented with soft-touch vinyl in spaces out of immediate eyesight. Even in such a sorry state, there's still an heir of luxury about this car that most American cars of the era lacked.
Photo: Classic Ride Society
It's hard to tell whether this Conti sported the optional illuminated key tumbler installed. But when that's a feature on modern vehicles, people will still call it pretty snazzy. One thing's for sure, the missing porthole window and its rusting frame make for a pretty spooky cross-section. The seemingly gouged-out rear Lincoln emblem completes the look.
But remember, this old 460 V8 can be repaired with basic tools and off-the-shelf parts from a variety of other Ford products. That said, this is not an impossible car to get running and driving again. You will have to take out the wheels that come with the late model-Ford sedan parked next to it, which is ostensibly much less worth saving than this old land ship.
We do very much hope that someone comes along and restores this old jalopy to life. Maybe find some aftermarket performance engine parts or even some nice new coilover/gas-shock suspension. You know, so it rides just as nice as it did when this Conti left the factory in May 1978.
Throw on some drilled and slotted brake rotors, some chunky tires, and a touch-screen infotainment stereo on the inside, and this could very well one day become a drool-worthy restomod. So please, somebody, come along and make this beauty shine again.
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