Which is more, III or IV?

"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44) 07/18/2019 at 10:33 • Filed to: None

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I love Lincoln “Mark” cars. They’re so classically silly with their outrageous bulk, fake Rolls Royce grill and mammoth engines. The Mark III and Mark IV may look similar but are pretty different in ethos and execution.

The III is a better car. I t just is. It has a pre-smog high-compression 460 that makes 365-hp, real wood and leather in the interior and an overall air of class that the MkIV simply does not have.

But there’s something charming about the sheer 1970s garish styling on the IV. The 460 had been smogged down to around 214 (net) hp by then and the interior was now lined with plastic wood and real leather had been replaced by vinyl and velour. It was also even larger than the III. So which do you prefer? The legitimately nicer III or the iconic and throughly 1970s, IV?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 10:39

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The IV is swoopier.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 10:42

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I went to craigslist to see what these are going for these days and nearly clicked on the “boats” category. lol

I prefer the III

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 07/18/2019 at 10:43

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Hmmmm

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/d/mukwonago-1969-lincoln-mark-iii-triple/6934333270.html

Not bad, not bad at all

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/18/2019 at 10:46

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It’s a more “dynamic” design and the III is more formal. 

fintail > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 10:52

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I think the III is more distinctive and maybe more “classic” , but the IV does seem to be more of an icon. IIRC, the III had some quality control problems early on, but I guess if it is still on the road 50 years later, it is OK. I have a suspicion they might eat suspension parts like 60s T-Birds could, as well.

The IV still makes me think “Thunderbird”, probably because my mom had a same-era Thunderbird when I was a little kid. I am pretty sure my dad called it a “budget Lincoln” or similar. She loved that car. 460, although emasculated, still had torque for days and cruised silently on the 55 mph interstates while barely breathing . White on white, because of course. But maybe typical for the era, the car was pretty worn out by 1985, and when it then developed some malady that year (I want to say timing chain issue or transmission), my dad refused to put money into it as it had depreciated to nothing , and the car was replaced, literally given away to a hot-rodder friend of my dad.

Milky > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 10:52

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Gonna be that person on the internet.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 10:52

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Unfortunately, the 5mph bumpers kind of ruin it. If it was my money and I were picking between a ‘72 Mark IV and a III, I’d be sorely tempted to go with the ‘72, but anything after that, the III... maybe. It’s hard to gauge, because either would be an impulse buy, and the IVs have better impulse-buy factors going  in.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Milky 07/18/2019 at 10:55

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Hello that person on the internet, I’m dad!

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/18/2019 at 11:01

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Yeah sadly, the impact bumpers kinda marred the looks of the MkIV but it’s still very dramatic. The one-year-only ‘72 model is the peak in my mind. 

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Milky 07/18/2019 at 11:09

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Cadillacs are better, also not affordable, and also not personal lux ury coupes.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > fintail 07/18/2019 at 11:10

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That’s cool! They shared a platform with the 4-door thunderbird from ‘69-’71 and shared a platform with the regular thunderbird from ‘72-’ 76

fintail > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:16

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I had forgotten that about the 69-71.

For a IV, it would need to be a 1972 car as was mentioned  - those big bumpers did the car no favors. I seem to recall the front bumper of the T-Bird being like a battering ram, and probably had more metal in it than a new Mirage.

You could also get into disco-chic and look at a V, but with an array of engines and options, finding the right car might be harder.

Milky > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/18/2019 at 11:17

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Milky > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:18

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But I just  wanna cruise in an old caddy with the top down tho.

Nothing > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:22

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III for me. My dad had a ‘76 Tbird with the 460. As cool as it is to look back on it now, at the time it was just a giant boat of a car. It was a big comfy cruiser. After the Tbird, my dad moved into various Grand Marquis and Crown Vics before moving back to Cougars and Tbirds.

I still prefer 60s styling overall to 70s styling

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:22

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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > fintail 07/18/2019 at 11:23

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I’ve thought of you in the past 48 hours whilst POTUS flames his latest outrage and Republican congresspeople run to lick  his shoes. I am dismayed.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:24

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ZHP Sparky, the 5th > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:27

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This is a good thread and great info. Just daydreaming, but I see these on CL quite often and they’re not priced in to the stratosphere...would be a pretty cool classic barge for weekend drives (again, just daydreaming...don’t think it would even fit lengthwise in my garage, or allow for a second car to fit next to it lol). 

fintail > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/18/2019 at 11:27

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Darkest dumbest timeline, we’re here.

2019 POTUS makes the POTUS when these Lincoln s were new (Tricky Dick) look like their namesake.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > fintail 07/18/2019 at 11:33

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I am scratching my head.

I feel trapped. Everything I might say, the Righties have some blowback, knee-jerk response for. As I’ve expressed, I’m not interested in slogans shouted across barricades, nor speaking engagements where people nod and cry, Amen! (or, Send her back! ) I am relegated to hoping for the system to work, though all the people in control of the system seem intent on destroying it. Dark times, indeed. And one on one, with people in the community, asking, do you really believe that this is not ultimately harmful to our society?

Meanwhile, Berkeley, California, is busy passing a law that all homes must be all electric.

fintail > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:35

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Forgot to add, for those who have never seen it, “The French Connection” has a lot of good scenes with a III, and is a good car spotting movie in general:

https://www.imcdb.org/v002340.html

Sovande > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 11:37

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The Mark III is the best.  I would love to own one.

fintail > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/18/2019 at 11:38

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Cars are a good distraction from all of the BS. In the near term, with so much gerrymandering and electoral college BS, not to mention regressive court appointees, I don’t have much optimism. Society is being harmed, no doubt about it. What seemed like the start of enlightened times when these Lincolns were made is long gone, those who marched against injustice now seem content to let things burn, if not throw fuel on the fire.  It is going to take a massive movement by voters to right this ship.

Most places I’ve lived have been all-electric, hydropower is cheap here.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > fintail 07/18/2019 at 11:44

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All of the positions — and slogans — are well rehearsed.

POTUS will either cement his position or cause a movement. Personally? I’ve got my eye on Mayor Pete. He’s not as progressive, but he might be young enough for the Progressives.

All this money being raised on all sides, someone must be getting rich.

I got a direct-mail piece from Eric Swalwell yesterday.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > fintail 07/18/2019 at 12:37

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I don’t want the V. It got more complex and less classic to me. 

shop-teacher > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 12:51

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Definitely the Mark III for me, just based on looks alone.

MM54 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 14:38

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I like the III personally, but either is a good option

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 16:52

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III

fintail > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 22:18

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Yeah, kind of “trashy luxury”.  I’d rather a 77-79 T-Bird with T-tops.

AMC/Renauledge > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/18/2019 at 23:18

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I think the III is prettier and it obviously performed better than the IV.

However, the IV is a much more advanced, complete design. It is much lower-looking, much smoother-looking, and its wheel-to-body relationship is far better than the III. The way they buried the cabin windows below the rear deck line, which was already quite low to begin with, really pushed the design forward. When I look at the III and IV, the III appears to be floating on air above its wheels. The IV looks far more planted. Too bad it didn’t drive like that.

The III looks better in overall terms. The IV looks better in the details and far more original in design terms . I like ‘em both. The V played it way too safe, but found incredible success, and don’t get me started on the VI.

AMC/Renauledge > AMC/Renauledge 07/18/2019 at 23:21

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Also, if I had to choose an American luxury car in this era, it’d be this.

fintail > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/19/2019 at 00:55

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Virtually a ny non-GOP choice would be better than the incumbent.

Someone is getting rich, the same who have been doing so for decades.