I may be the champion for cars from the 1970s and 1980s around here, but if you look at collector car trends, interest is growing in the cast-offs, the post-musclecar sleds that somehow survived demolition derbies, fourteen levels of ownership, and reckless abuse. The cars from the 1980s in particular are starting to get noticed and swept up, rebuilt, and made a thousand times better than Detroit made them. Seriously, we know of a guy who is fully restoring a 1981 Oldsmobile SportOmega and is shoving an LS4 and some kind of manual transaxle into the little front-drive X-body…how’s that for dedication? There are plenty of groups that cater to these machines…just on Facebook alone you have The Brougham Society and Malaise Motors, two groups that target two different arenas of tastes but both are havens for people who dig the sharp-edged boxes of the Decade of Excess.
Photo: Brad Zeider
Which brings up a question: what will qualify as a collectible 1980s machine? The obvious answers don’t really need to be stated: Fox bodies, F-bodies, turbo Mopars, Jeeps and trucks are all in good hands, and the truly unique vehicles like Eagle wagons and Pontiac Fieros are seeing renewed interest as well. But what about the “others”? What about the Imperials, the front-drivers, the K-cars, and such? Some of these machines could be considered “extinct” since most were sent to the trash heap long ago, so any remaining stragglers could actually be of interest. Someone out there could be hunting for a Dodge Omni 024, stripe package and all, with the drivetrain from a SRT-4 Neon ready and waiting.
Normally, I’d consider this a topic I’ve hammered on many times before…hell, too many times before, it seems…but I found a perfect case for discussion in the form of a 1981 Lincoln Mark VI coupe. I’ve seen a couple of these in person before…the guy I got the Imperial from had a matching pair parked near his house and there’s one just up a country road from BangShift Mid-West that I’ve looked at a time or two. Much like the Thunderbird and Cougar XR-7, the Mark VI is a case of simply shrinking the previous generation’s styling onto a smaller platform, only to find out that it isn’t working. The Mark VI is on the Panther platform (Crown Vic and Grand Marquis) and came with either a fuel-injected 302 or 351 with the variable venturi two-barrel carb, an AOD overdrive automatic. Yes, the horsepower ratings are dismal, but a 302 or 351 is a buildable block and having a four-speed automatic is a nice modern touch.
The Mark VI here is a nice car, and the mags and promise of potential from the engine means that it could make for a nice low-budget build that wouldn’t need much to make it entertaining. You also have Iacocca-era luxury, which means you have a seat that’ll rival any Lay-Z-Boy sofa. Would a car like this become collectible, or is it simple a nice version of something that truly should be walked by? As funky as I think this generation of Lincoln is, I think that someone would take notice of it…and I’m betting on that someone being younger than me. Digital dashes, angular styling and a sense of owning an older car from a time before they existed might be enough of a draw. But, as usual, that’s just off of the top of my head…
My Pappa said “Son…..
As a teen of of the mid 70s Crusty just can’t get over his hatred for “big bumper cars”. These started with the front bumpers in 73 and ran until the days of the first modern bumper fascia cars like we still have today.
I guess it was seeing how ugly these things made some carry over body styles that I liked as a youngin. (think 72 vs 73 Torino Sport Roof, or 72 vs 73 Chevy Nova)
While I can get into some previously un-loved cars, I can’t get over my disdain for the big bumper era.
A 80s Fleetwood with a turbo LS would rock.