my lincoln mark story. July 09, 2010, 07:35:48 PM I think most of you know my girl's car by now. It was our first Mark, and started out as a 197k+ mile 89 bill blass, with gray cloth that had seen better days, a coil spring conversion, and a paint job that had all but fallen off years ago, we figured it was an ok deal at $800.The car took a little tweaking to make it road worthy. But with a good tune up and a few new parts, it was starting to actually be fun to drive. I noticed that it handled better than any other stock fox body I'd ever owned(and I've owned a few.) I quickly fell in love with that big ugly Mark VII, so much so that I actually got one of my own. An 88 LSC to be specific.But due to life getting in the way, my 88 was put on the back burner and started to collect dust. But as my frustration turned to nervous energy I had to start playing with her's. I modified the grill to make it look like the later SE grill, and put a nice satin black finish on the old LSC wheels. And when it was clean (and slightly wet, it looked surprisingly niceAfter washing it one day, while standing there looking at the clean wet car, I was pulled back to reality because as the car dried I was reminded how bad the paint really was. So with a stroke of genus I did what I knew I had to. I rattle bombed it satin black!I fell in love with it the moment It was done. This was the Mark VII I'd wanted, this was "Markinstein"! After that, It became my obsession to make this car in to the realization of all my sick and twisted fantasies. The kind that can only be had by a young man raised in the 80's and 90's and only living in the next generation because the calender forced me to.(my neighbors friends actually refer to me as an 80's baller!) The car would be "Mad Max" meats "The Car" crossed a bit with "Night Rider". It would be like Frankenstein's monster in an armani suit and a top hat. It would truly be "Markinstein". From there I had to add a bit of swagger to the my monster, It was starting to look the part, now it had to act. I found a set of 17 by 9" 2003 Mustang Cobra wheels for a good deal, wrapped in 275/40ZR17 Michelin tires, to give it some bite. with a pair of 5/16” spacers up front and a new set of locking lug nuts, the rubber met the road, and the change was astounding! The car hugged the road like it was 500lb lighter. but with added traction, came the realization that the old stock sway bars where not up the the task. I crawled under the car and found that the original rubber bushings where for the most part gone.So as my interest turned more to, well, turning, off came the stock bill blass sway bars and on went some 88 thunderbird turbo coupe sway bars. And yes I did say BAR'S plural. If you recall I mentioned that the car had been converted to coil spring before I got it. and in doing so they mucked it up so bags could never return to their rightful place. But in doing so they afforded me the opportunity to have (as far as I know) the first Mark VII with a turbo coupe rear sway bar. I may be wrong but have not been proven so as of yet.also here is the side by side of the BB and TC sway bars. If you can't tell the difference than you might not be cut out for messing with cars! The car by this point had become a new animal. I really cant begin to explain the change. Corners that had to be taken at 20mph can now be comfortably handled at 40. body roll is nonexistent. You are hard pressed to even get the tires to squeal through hard turn. But as it did with the new tires, the sway bars have now revieled the next weekest link. I have to do something about the stock bill blass open diff and highway gears. Back to the looks, I've also added a few touches to further make it a one of a kind, I shaved the badges, hood ornament, and the recessed VII emblem in the grill. added some respectable chrome exhaust tips and an aggressive rumble to the sound. installed some new speakers, Removed the mud flaps, polished the headlights, and pulled the nasty purple tint. I'm now in it for more than double the original cost of the car, but that's still not much. Next in line is a fresh steering rack, swapping out for an LSC rear end with posi, new tint, and a complete make over of the interior. But even after that It's still no where near done. I still have that old 5.0 to deal with, and am planning a few other things that will make you tilt your head and say hmm. This car was ment to be my girl's daily driver, but now she's starting to ask when I'm going to get her something to drive so she doesn't have to take it out in bad weather or park it at the grocery store and risk cartshiznitting it. But at this point I cant really blame her, I did make her a Monster!Oh and by the way my 88 LSC still hasn't been touched. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #1 – July 09, 2010, 09:03:22 PM I really like the satin black and cobra wheels on that car. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #2 – July 09, 2010, 10:21:26 PM Quote from: daminc;327849I really like the satin black and cobra wheels on that car.Agreed! Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #3 – July 09, 2010, 10:32:34 PM Why is it that your spray bomb paint jobs always look so good! PS, I liked the black rims/hubcaps, but then, I was never much for chrome. Still, it looks cool man, good job. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #4 – July 09, 2010, 11:01:10 PM Those chrome wheels look great on your Mark! I am a fan of these cars as much as the Birds and Cats...I am also loving that old boat tail Riviera in the background! Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #5 – July 10, 2010, 08:47:47 PM looks awesome... I am thinking about doing the same to my cougar... what exactly did you use? Did you put any clear coat on it? Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #6 – July 11, 2010, 11:10:56 AM no clear, I like things with less shine. I used Krylon satin black, and duplicolor wheel paint. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #8 – July 11, 2010, 08:14:44 PM thanks. I miss my bird, but this does help. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #9 – July 11, 2010, 08:23:54 PM Quote from: 4bangen;327986thanks. I miss my bird, but this does help.I like my Bird ,,,,but I miss my Mark Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #10 – July 12, 2010, 01:20:43 AM Quote from: 4bangen;327986thanks. I miss my bird, but this does help.You might miss your Bird but the Mark is such an awesome design to have which originally had a significant purpose. The Mark is THE original aero design concept that the Tbird and Cougar followed even though the Mark came to production a year later. The Mark design concept was quickly re-styled and presented to Ford management to look like a Tbird which production was pulled a year ahead of the Mark to help Ford save the luster to the Tbird & Cougar nameplates which was lost when the Box Birds and Cats failed to sell. So Lincoln returned the favor of the Thunderbird sacrificing it's original Engel penned formal design prototype of the early 60's which became the most famous Continental. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #11 – July 20, 2010, 12:19:22 PM I've finally made enough progress to post pictures of my interior. I got rid of all the nasty 80's fake wood grain, and replaced it with LSC peaces. Also as you can see almost all the filthy gray Bill Blass stuf is gone. I decided on raven blue gray and black for the replacement colors. And it goes well with the TC seats. I still need to find a nice black carpet, and buy the rest of the dash cap. Also you can tell that the inserts in the doors, and rear panels are missing those are still being worked on. I'll post more as I go. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #12 – July 20, 2010, 04:46:48 PM Um....those look like my seats. Nice choice. Glad to see you're making some progress. I need to get outside and work on the Sport.Maybe I will tomorrow after work. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #13 – July 20, 2010, 11:51:09 PM black interior would make your lincoln super sinister. Quote Selected
my lincoln mark story. Reply #14 – July 20, 2010, 11:57:41 PM Quote from: 4bangen;328940I've finally made enough progress to post pictures of my interior. I got rid of all the nasty 80's fake wood grain, and replaced it with LSC peaces. Also as you can see almost all the filthy gray Bill Blass stuf is gone. I decided on raven blue gray and black for the replacement colors. And it goes well with the TC seats. I still need to find a nice black carpet, and buy the rest of the dash cap. Also you can tell that the inserts in the doors, and rear panels are missing those are still being worked on. I'll post more as I go.What is your plan for the steering wheel? I was thinking you could easily paint the faux wood black unless you are planning something else to do with the wheel. If you are having trouble finding black carpet you can get it new from http://www.automotivecarpet.com/The prices are very reasonable and I highly recommend the thick backing. You can even order extra bulk yardage for the lower door panels, kick panels, lower console and rear window deck. I will be ordering from them soon so I can complete my interior. I think the Mark VII door panels are neat with the special seat switches that they use. Quote Selected
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