1979 Lincoln Continental

The Continental was produced by the Lincoln division of the Ford Motor Company from 1939 to 1948 and again from 1956 to 2002. Although it often shared its underpinnings with the less-expensive Fords during the later years, the Lincoln Continental remained a highly equipped luxury automobile with unique and elegant styling, retaining its perch atop the Lincoln model lineup during most of its existence.

The 1979 Lincoln Continental was the final year of what is known as the 'Fifth Generation' of styling, introduced many years earlier in 1970. Its relatively long lifespan speaks volumes to its appeal among consumers, enduring fuel shortages and newly introduced mandated Federal safety equipment, and ever-changing styling trends throughout the 1970s. Even in its final year of '5th Gen,' the Continental outsold its Versailles and Mark V siblings, and its combined sales of 92,600 exceeded the 88,087 units built the previous year and nearly reached the 95,600 units produced in 1977, the only year with higher production figures than the 1979 Continental.

The Fourth Generation of the Continental had also been very popular, with production lasting from 1961 through 1969. They were nearly fifteen inches shorter in length and 8-inch in their wheelbase than its predecessor and wore styling Elwood Engel. The highest level of '4th Gen' sales was in 1966 with 54,755 units sold. The modern styling and generous list of standard amenities made the '5th Gen', with styling by Buzz Grisinger, even more popular. The wheelbase of 127-inches (growing to 127.2-inches in 1974) was four inches longer than the 1961 through 1963 Continental, and two inches more than the 1964 through 1969 Continental. The length of the 4th Gen ranged from a low of 212.4-inches in 1961 and a high of 224.2-inches in 1969, but not as long as the 5th Gen of 225-inches. By the time production ended in 1979, with the addition of the mandated 5-mph bumpers, the (1977 through 1979) Continental was the longest production automobile ever produced by the Ford Motor Company. This generation of the Continental was also the first Lincoln, since 1957, to use body-on-frame construction. In efforts to reduce costs, the Continental used a stretched version of the Mercury Marquis chassis. The suspension was by coil springs, and initially, front disc and rear drum brakes provided the stopping power. From 1975 forward, four-wheel disc brakes were available on the Continental.

The interior offered a generous 38-inches of headroom (38.1-inches for the sedan, and 38.6-inches in the rear). The legroom measured approximately 42-inches in front and rear, and around 61-inches in shoulder room. The overall width was 79.6-inches for the coupe and 79.9-inches for the sedan. The coupes had a height of 55.2-inches and the sedans of 55.4-inches.

The Continental and Mark V were equipped with a 400 cubic-inch V8 with overhead valves, five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, a two-barrel Motorcraft carburetor, 8.0:1 compression, and delivered 159 horsepower at 3,400 RPM and 315 lb-ft of torque at 1,800 RPM. It was backed by a Select-shift automatic transmission, and standard features included power steering, power windows, power brakes (front disc, rear drum), automatic temperature control, dual-note horn, coolant recovery system, Michelin white sidewall steel-belted radial tires, a conventional spare tire, air-conditioning/heater, and tinted glass.

The styling was similar to the previous year, as the Continental entered its final year of 5th Gen production, and Lincoln engineers prepared for all-new sheet metal and styling introduced a year later. Some of the styling cues from the 1968 Mark V Diamond Jubilee Edition were applied to the 1979 Continental, including a gold-colored grille and special paint. The Town Car and Town Coupe options remained, and the Collector's Series was offered in a choice of midnight blue clearcoat metallic or white body paint. The coach roof was color-keyed to match the body and replaced the standard full vinyl roof. In the front were gold-painted vertical grille gars, and the bodyside wore unique paint stripes, the premium lower bodyside moldings matched the body color, and the turbine-style cast aluminum wheels were painted midnight blue between the spokes. The standard Continental had Corinthian grain vinyl insert in a selection of colors. The 'Collector Series' wore a special script on the lower corner of the rear pillar. The 'Town Car' script was not present, and there were no opera windows on the Collector's Series.

The interiors featured a fully-lined luggage compartment with spare tire cover, 18-ounce cut-pile carpeting in the passenger compartment, and Dorchester cloth bench seats with front and rear fold-down center armrest. There were door closing assist straps, luxury steering wheel, Deluxe color-keyed seats and shoulder belts, wood-tone instrument panel applique, and Cartier digital cloth. There were headlamp warning buzzers, a trip odometer, glove box light, luggage compartment light, door courtesy lights (front doors only on the sedans), and ashtray lights. The AM/FM Monaural radio had four speakers and a power antenna. A fuel warning light replaced the previous washer fluid light.

The interior choices on the Collector's Series included luxury cloth or leather-and-vinyl seat trim in midnight blue. Additional amenities included plush midnight blue Tiffany cut-pile carpeting, a leather-bound tool kit with tools, a wood-tone applique insert in the steering wheel rim and hub, and a unique hub ornament. The owner's manual was leather-bound, and there were power mini-vent windows, illuminated entry, a 63 ampere-hour maintenance-free battery, interval windshield wipers, speed control, and a remote-control garage door opener.

The Williamsburg Edition for the Town Car was available in a choice of seven dual-shade color combinations and had a full vinyl roof and either velour or leather-and-vinyl interior. The well-appointed interior included (among other amenities) Twin Comfort Lounge seats and power vent windows.

The 1979 Lincoln Continental had a base price of $10,985 for the hardtop coupe and $11,200 for the sedan. The sedan was much more popular with 76,458 examples produced, compared to 16,142 of the hardtop coupes. Buyers who wanted a hardtop coupe from the Lincoln line could also select the Mark V, which had nearly the same number of sales as the Continental sedan, with 75,939 units produced. The combined Continental and Versailles 'sedan' production was 97,465 units. The combined Mark V and Continental 'hardtop coupe' sales were 92,081. The total calendar year sales of all 1979 Lincolns by U.S. dealers was 131,271, a decline from the previous year's total of 188,487 units, and the 181,282 calendar year sales of 1977.

As the 1970s came to a close, the 1980s would welcome a new Continental, one that was smaller and lighter as it prepared to compete with the newly downsized Eldorado and the increasing trend for smaller and more fuel-friendly vehicles.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2021