1997 Lincoln Town Car Executive Series - "Charlene"

[Midnight Drifter]

Saved from the crusher!


That's an HPP with a small dent in it if anyone's interested. Looking for a steel 15 and decent tire to swap, maybe with $40 cash as well? Michelin HydroEdge tire with plenty of tread left.









So this car carries a good number of firsts for me;

-1st time adopting the previous owner's name for my car
-1st car I've ever owned with full leather seating (my Genesis Coupe had cloth inserts)
-1st time I've owned a car with factory-installed digital gauges
-1st car I've owned with digital gauges that ACTUALLY WORK
-1st Lincoln. Ever.
-1st car I've owned with air-ride suspension
-1st car with a keypad to open the doors. Man, I love keypads. Why don't more cars have them?
-1st time ever buying a car I've known for a good amount of time before pulling the trigger.
Oh, and
-1st used car I've ever bought that's OBD-II


The Good:
-NPI engine with revised heads that don't smoke like a chimney
-Better MPG than my Grand Marquis, based on owner history and fuel logs
-Meticulously maintained by PO - oil changed every other month, regardless of mileage
-A/C works AMAZING. SO COLD. Best air conditioning system I've ever experienced in a car I own
-Fresh shocks, fresh air pump, fresh air shocks, fresh greasable ball joints - suspension is proper
-In spite of body rot, the frame and underbelly are very clean

The Bad:
-REJECTED inspection sticker due to bad passenger side exhaust leak, MIL reporting a 'lean' condition - likely due to the leak throwing off the O2 sensor readings
-Heater core leaks bad and has been bypassed - and winter's right around the corner
-10-year old BF Goodrich Traction T/A's and Michelin X Radial have good tread but a lot of sidewall rot. Moderate chance of blowout on highway driving.
-Broken driver's rear window regulator. Has already been serviced, so at least the rivets were replaced with nuts and bolts.
-Driver's door bushing is shot. Gotta slam the door to close properly. And because of this, the handle is getting loose and may fall out.

The Ugly:
-Driver's corner lens is destroyed, need a new one
-Paint clear coat is shot
-Passenger's fender is rotted out, need a new one
-Driver's quarter panel behind the rear door has a rot hole

The cost:
Title swap for my 1993 Grand Marquis. No money exchanged hands.








So... did I make out a winner this time?

[AC75]

Looks nice from the pictures, love that interior color. Leather looks in good condition, too. Heater core will be the most fix-it-now issue, but still definitely an overall good choice. New plug wires!

[79lincolnlover]

Good luck with this aero!! Do you do a lot of highway driving?

[miamibob]

As far as a swap - it may be a "push"!

[Midnight Drifter]

Nah, no reason to swap anything into this car.

Except maybe a revised PI intake manifold and bullet intake.

This car is just way too cushy and nice to try to make fast. I have nothing to prove. You don't just show up in this car, you arrive.

Exhaust manifolds definitely have higher priority over the heater core, unfortunately. With that REJECTED sticker, the moment I register her, I've got 15 days to get her inspected. If she fails again, it's 30 days before they pull the car's registration. I've owned a Grand Marquis without heat in the past - wasn't fun. But getting a $250 ticket for "failure to make repairs" is even less fun than a frosty windshield.

The first thing I'm probably going to do is get rid of the wheel covers. 86vickylx can attest to how much of a racket those things make. They were originally on Trinity. Yeah, yeah, it'll reduce the car to "ghetto" status, but at least it won't drive me insane while driving. About 80% of my route is highway driving, I drive about 70 miles a day to and from work.

Oh, yeah. Couple questions:

Since she needs new exhaust manifolds, I've heard that shorty headers for a '96-98 Mustang will fit? If I'm going to spend all that labor money on a manifold job, I might as well get stainless steel so I never need to touch it again. They look awful close to the Lincoln logs, but I don't know for sure. Can anybody confirm fitment?
Heater core flow restrictor - good idea?

[Mainemantom]

You could find a set of Lincoln wheel covers pretty cheap like for a 90 TC. That would work until you find what you are looking for. I have 1971 Galaxie wheel covers on when I put my snow tires on. They look acceptable.

[sxcpotatoes]

Mmm, butterscotch leather... like the interior is made from Werther's Original -- but soft!

[SVT98t]

The headers fit, but they are not a direct fit. The downpipe to the cat has to be modified extensively.
Like cut, bend, weld, blah.
And the EGR tube has to be modded as well.

You may want to address those tires.
If it has moderate tire rot, it can fail for safety.
Usually, tires are good for six or eight years. (I can't remember which)


-ryan s.

[sly]

Discount Tire won't remount anything over 5 years old.

[Midnight Drifter]

New Jersey stopped doing safety inspections for non-commercial vehicles in July 2010. Emissions only. I'll just order the shitty Lincoln logs then.

[88Vic]

Yeah get stock manifolds, those will probably last as long as any aftermarket header. If it has stock stainless duals just throw on a pair of Magnaflows for the mileage plus a smooth, refined, quiet rumble. Then use those steelies for snow tires and get some alloys, all HPP's would look awesome, not sure if I've seen an Aero TC with HPP's.

Also take a closer pic of the tires if you can. My 4Runner has cracking tires and I've taken it past 75mph multiple times with no problems. Even the guy at the dealer said they're most than likely safe. Just check to see how old, I think 6 years is the max lifetime.

[AC75]

Google has everything these days. Town Car with HPPs! Looks great. I'd love a set on mine.

Click it!

[Midnight Drifter]

I'm actually on the lookout for base model '83-88 Town Car "smoothie" wheel covers. Those would look dope on my body style, I think.

Car has single exhaust.

Manifolds: Dorman, ATP or should I splurge on Motorcraft?

[sly]

the cheapos work fine unless they failed to surface them... but that's very rare.

[AC75]

I'm actually on the lookout for base model '83-88 Town Car "smoothie" wheel covers. Those would look dope on my body style, I think.

Car has single exhaust.

Manifolds: Dorman, ATP or should I splurge on Motorcraft?

Not sure I know what "smoothie" covers even are! If I was gonna go for any wheels from the 89 and older Town Car, it would be these beauties for sure. They're rims, not hubcaps, too. Probably only available in 15 inch though. The picture is of a Town Car from a member of LincolnsOnline. He posted them a while back (post link)