1976 Lincoln Continental

Lincoln introduced its fifth generation of styling for 1970 and remained in production through 1979, with an extensive revision occurring for 1975, coinciding with the introduction of the Mercury Grand Marquis. The 'suicide doors' of the 1960s were replaced by conventionally front-hinged doors for the 1970s, and body styles included a two-door hardtop and a four-door 'pillared hardtop' sedan. The vacuum-operated hidden headlamps were shared with the Mark series, and it used a longer-wheelbase version of the Mercury Marquis chassis, stretched from 124- to 127-inches. The 1974 through 1979 versions were even longer, with a 127.2-inch wheelbase. The front disc and rear drum brakes provided the stopping power, and from 1975, four-wheel disc brakes were available. Power was from a 460 cubic-inch V8. As fuel economy and emission standards became of greater importance, Lincoln added a 400 cubic-inch V8 for California for 1977, while the remaining 49 states used the 460 CID V8. The 400 CID V8 became standard for 1978 and the 460 was repositioned to the options list before it was discontinued for 1979. Both the 400 and 460 used the Ford C6 three-speed automatic transmission.

1976 Lincoln Continental
Since the Continental had been extensively redesigned for 1975, only mild updates were applied for 1976. The 1976 Continental was essentially identical to the previous year, which marked the first carryover styling year for Lincoln since 1963. Body styles included a two-door hardtop coupe (Town Coupe) with seating for six and priced at $9,140, and the four-door sedan (Town Car) priced at $9,300. These prices were lower than the previous year due to Lincoln removing several standard amenities and features and making them optional equipment. The overhead-valve V8 engine had a cast-iron block and head, hydraulic valve lifters, five main bearings, a four-barrel Motorcraft carburetor, and delivered just over 200 horsepower and 352 lb-ft of torque. The steering was by a recirculating ball and the suspension was independent in the front with coil springs, lower trailing links, and an anti-sway bar. In the back were a rigid axle with lower trailing radius arms, coil springs, transverse linkage, and upper oblique torque arms.

The Continental rested on a 127.2-inch wheelbase and measured 232.9-inches in length, while its higher-priced sibling - the Mark IV hardtop coupe - used a shorter 120.4-inch wheelbase and measured 228.1-inches in length.

The Continental styling included a wide six-section vertical-bar grille, flanked on either side by the hidden headlights, and above the slightly protruding wrap-around bumper. On the exterior door of the left-side headlamp was a'Continental' nameplate. Beside the headlamps were horizontally-ribbed clear wraparound parking and signal lights, built into the fender tips. The long hood held a Continental star stand-up hood ornament with a fold-down feature. The owner's initials were placed on a plaque on the front doors, and a gold Continental star was laminated into the glass of the two-door's fixed quarter windows. Town Cars wore special identification on the front fender, while the Town Coupe's was on the rear pillar. In the back, the vertical two-pod taillamp assembly had integral side marker light and reflector.

Four new exterior body colors joined the list of options, along with coach roofs for both body styles in fourteen color choices, two radio packages, forged aluminum wheels, a four-note horn, and a new optional opera window set on four-door body styles.

The list of standard equipment included leather seating surfaces and vinyl upholstery, Twin Comfort Louge seats optional in velour or leather and vinyl, an instrument panel with a simulated buried walnut applique, and a Cartier-signed digital clock.

The Town Sedan was the more popular of the two body styles, with 43,983 examples built, compared to 24,663 of the Town Coupe. The combined 68,646 examples produced accounted for approximately fifty-five percent of Lincoln's total 1976 production and was a rather significant increase over the previous year's total Continental production of 54,698 units.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2021