Thanks! I agree they are good-looking cars. Mine is quiet in the cabin, but it's a low-miles California car that's always been garaged. The weather-stripping is in good shape.
I had a 85 white & gray. The interior package with the window switches were on the door instead of the arm rest and didn't have the arm rest. Mine was the LS like yours. I could only run mine on super unleaded. There was a big difference in performance it would chug a lug with regular and didn't have as much power with acceleration. It clancked and weak. With super in it rode much better. That was back in the early 90s when super unleaded was $1.39 at mobile that was expensive lol I never let mine get less than half a tank. It also lasted longer with super it didn't burn as quickly as regular lol. I miss that car. Nothing ride's like a panther platform. iPads on wheels today don't give a nice ride like those did lol
Your '85 would have been CFI, not the EFI on mine. I've never owned a CFI car, but I hear they're finicky. I've ran premium in mine just for testing purposes, and my MPG was basically the same as with regular. Maybe I gained 1 MPG or something . . . No difference at all in the way she drives.
You can get the Marty report on that car it will tell you everything about that car when it was ordered & with what options and what the original owner ordered for that car. I get a Marty report on my crown vics and town cars I've had. It's good thing to have on the car u have
Yes, 1977 was the first year for the Turbine wheels...they were designed for the then new Mark V. The lug pattern changed in 1980, so the 1977-79 Turbines do not interchange with the 1980-92.
The luxury door panels were not as luxurious as the base models, especially in your case because if you got the leather interior you got the vinyl door panels instead of velour. The base ones had much more wood grain on them, but they didn't have the lights on them, which would get so hot they would burn your leg! Also, the little clips would break off and the lenses would fall out! I see one of yours has a screw in it to hold it on. I think I glued mine on. There were three option packages aka preferred equipment packages available on these, with the utmost containing most all options which yours seems to have, except for the pivoting vent windows which were only good if you smoked and wanted to flick your ashes out the vent, especially when your power window motor wouldn't work! Like you said, some options could have been deleted or ordered a la carte if not included with an option package, and I'd say 99% of them came with a preferred equipment package, A B or C, 1, 2, or 3...something like that. The only options that I can yours is missing is the Tripminder Computer built into the digital clock and the formal padded vinyl coach roof. I had basically the same car, solid dark smoke metallic with black top, gray leather interior. I drove it over 200,000 miles until one day it wouldn't start, and I think because the fuel pump finally went out on it. It was a very durable car. It was still running and shifting good on the original engine and transmission. The gray paint was flaking off bad down to the red primer. I think I had rubbed it all off because it got washed once a week and waxed at least twice a year. P.S. I also scrubbed the aluminum turbine wheels until the clear coat came off, which I didn't even know it had until clear plastic started flaking off the veins. I sold it for a few hundred dollars in 2002 to get it out of my way. I wouldn't mind having another one at all because I really like them still.
Thank you for the detailed comment! I've seen velour door panels with the exact same wood grain and lights as my vinyl ones. I assume you could choose between the "Luxury" vinyl or "Luxury" velour. And you are correct about those light lenses! The driver's side one I glued. The passenger side one was screwed in by the previous owner. Not my favorite repair . . . I like those vent windows! In previous years (and on the Lincoln Town Car for a few more years) you got the power mini-vent windows. The vent window would go down first, followed by the main window once the vent was all the way down. I had that on an '86 Town Car a few years ago, and I thought it was pretty cool! That's awesome you used to have a similar one! Was it also an '86? I 100% agree with you about them being durable. I've put 10k miles on mine in 3-ish years (I think) of ownership. I just took it to Duluth this July, and it ran like a top the whole way. You can still find them for reasonable prices if you're patient. $5k to $7.5k can get you a nice car.
Lovin that Merc man
Thanks!
I had a 1986. My most vivid memory of it is the very high wind noise. Handsome car, though.
Thanks! I agree they are good-looking cars.
Mine is quiet in the cabin, but it's a low-miles California car that's always been garaged. The weather-stripping is in good shape.
I had a 85 white & gray. The interior package with the window switches were on the door instead of the arm rest and didn't have the arm rest. Mine was the LS like yours. I could only run mine on super unleaded. There was a big difference in performance it would chug a lug with regular and didn't have as much power with acceleration. It clancked and weak. With super in it rode much better. That was back in the early 90s when super unleaded was $1.39 at mobile that was expensive lol I never let mine get less than half a tank. It also lasted longer with super it didn't burn as quickly as regular lol. I miss that car. Nothing ride's like a panther platform. iPads on wheels today don't give a nice ride like those did lol
Your '85 would have been CFI, not the EFI on mine. I've never owned a CFI car, but I hear they're finicky.
I've ran premium in mine just for testing purposes, and my MPG was basically the same as with regular. Maybe I gained 1 MPG or something . . . No difference at all in the way she drives.
You can get the Marty report on that car it will tell you everything about that car when it was ordered & with what options and what the original owner ordered for that car. I get a Marty report on my crown vics and town cars I've had. It's good thing to have on the car u have
I'll keep that in mind! Thank you.
Yes, 1977 was the first year for the Turbine wheels...they were designed for the then new Mark V. The lug pattern changed in 1980, so the 1977-79 Turbines do not interchange with the 1980-92.
The luxury door panels were not as luxurious as the base models, especially in your case because if you got the leather interior you got the vinyl door panels instead of velour. The base ones had much more wood grain on them, but they didn't have the lights on them, which would get so hot they would burn your leg! Also, the little clips would break off and the lenses would fall out! I see one of yours has a screw in it to hold it on. I think I glued mine on. There were three option packages aka preferred equipment packages available on these, with the utmost containing most all options which yours seems to have, except for the pivoting vent windows which were only good if you smoked and wanted to flick your ashes out the vent, especially when your power window motor wouldn't work! Like you said, some options could have been deleted or ordered a la carte if not included with an option package, and I'd say 99% of them came with a preferred equipment package, A B or C, 1, 2, or 3...something like that. The only options that I can yours is missing is the Tripminder Computer built into the digital clock and the formal padded vinyl coach roof. I had basically the same car, solid dark smoke metallic with black top, gray leather interior. I drove it over 200,000 miles until one day it wouldn't start, and I think because the fuel pump finally went out on it. It was a very durable car. It was still running and shifting good on the original engine and transmission. The gray paint was flaking off bad down to the red primer. I think I had rubbed it all off because it got washed once a week and waxed at least twice a year. P.S. I also scrubbed the aluminum turbine wheels until the clear coat came off, which I didn't even know it had until clear plastic started flaking off the veins. I sold it for a few hundred dollars in 2002 to get it out of my way. I wouldn't mind having another one at all because I really like them still.
Thank you for the detailed comment!
I've seen velour door panels with the exact same wood grain and lights as my vinyl ones. I assume you could choose between the "Luxury" vinyl or "Luxury" velour.
And you are correct about those light lenses! The driver's side one I glued. The passenger side one was screwed in by the previous owner. Not my favorite repair . . .
I like those vent windows! In previous years (and on the Lincoln Town Car for a few more years) you got the power mini-vent windows. The vent window would go down first, followed by the main window once the vent was all the way down. I had that on an '86 Town Car a few years ago, and I thought it was pretty cool!
That's awesome you used to have a similar one! Was it also an '86?
I 100% agree with you about them being durable. I've put 10k miles on mine in 3-ish years (I think) of ownership. I just took it to Duluth this July, and it ran like a top the whole way.
You can still find them for reasonable prices if you're patient. $5k to $7.5k can get you a nice car.
Message to youtube....a little warning that an ad is coming up would be nice