Lincoln Mark VII DIESEL? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

retmil46 · #1 03-10-2010, 07:28 PM

OK, here's an odd one I found - gent has an '84 Lincoln Mark VII Bill Blass edition for sale - with a BMW 2.4 L inline six turbo diesel - that's how it came from the factory, one of 500 sold that year with the diesel option.

Anyone know anything about these cars and/or the engine? Considering the car still looks to be in excellent shape and the asking price, I'm starting to have those thoughts again....

snookwhaler · #2 03-10-2010, 07:35 PM

I drove one of those years ago. Not a bad driving car. I also had a friend that had a 524 TD. The BMW was a much nicer car to drive. The stick made it nice. I remember it being surprisingly fast.

Skippy · #3 03-10-2010, 07:44 PM

I remember reading a review of the diesel Lincoln from when they were new. The reviewer didn't like it, but I sensed quite a bit of anti-diesel bias.

I looked at a 524TD automatic once, but it wasn't running and I was getting ready to deploy, so I passed.

JB3 · #4 03-10-2010, 08:27 PM

same engine as the 84 and 85 524TD. I owned one for a while and loved it. The engine is powerful, and gets great fuel economy, and the air ride is pretty darn comfortable if its working properly. I got 30+ routinely in that lincoln, going 80 miles an hour.

Downsides- The basic car design is not as efficiently laid out as a mercedes, which may annoy you in comparison, and you either like the way it looks or not. It pretty low slung and sleek if handled nicely, and there are a ton of cool things you can do to it.
It may depend on the lincoln trim option, but mine was an 84, and I think a bill blass as well, and it had all digital gauges and only idiot lights. Very mid 80s futuristic, but a pain if there is a problem. All of mine worked, and the digital numerical speedometer kind of grew on me. Instead of a gauge, it just had 2 inch high digital numbers for speed display.
Interior finish is a little cheezy, lots and lots of fake wood paneling.

The reviewer probably did not like the lincoln diesel because the other engine option was a high horsepower V8 in the same platform. He probably regarded it the same way people regard those 4 cyl mustangs.

Engine is not as reliable as the mercedes, which may not be a problem if you like to tinker.

Trunk space sucks with a capitol S.

If its brown with gold wire spoke rims, and has had left front fender damage, or work done from a blow out on that fender, it might be mine, I sold it a couple years ago on ebay in MO and the guy drove off to the west towards OK and TX. Had something to do where he received free diesel fuel from his job, and wanted a car.

Id grab it if you had the chance, it was a very comfortable highway cruiser, way more comfortable than any similar year mercedes. Air ride is great when it works properly and the seats are miles better.

Hit Man X · #5 03-10-2010, 09:28 PM

They also used timing belts from memory...

I rarely see them for sale, I have never seen one on the road, never seen in a salvage yard. Whether it be the 524TD or the Mark VII. Finding spare parts will prove to be a challenge. And I have seen some weird stuff on the roads and in the yards... and own weird stuff!

Yes, expect high-ish fuel econ as the ZF 4HP22 has overdrive and a lock up converter... be warned, it loves to smoke the forward clutch pack aka the "A" clutch if mistreated. Do a search, if you know how to treat the trans it will last and last. There is no real filter in there either, so you need to put a big magnet in the pan to catch the crap and drain/refill once a year (the sump only holds about three quarts).

I would highly consider an inline filter from Magnefine and an external cooler, but that is me.

JB3 · #6 03-10-2010, 11:27 PM

heck, if he were to damage the auto, supposedly an 80s BMW getrag 5-speed will bolt right up!

There is also a good lincoln MKVII forum with a lot of info on it. From what I learned on there, apparently this was the ultra rare option on this ultra rare option!

Lincoln coupe with 5 speed bolt to a 6cyl diesel!

Also, they apparently dropped some of these BMW diesels in some of the 4 door lincolns as well, far less though.

this must have been when ford was flirting with what company to source light duty diesels from, cause I also owned a 1986 ford escort that then had a mazda diesel in it. That car may have been the greatest slug of all my car buying adventures. They ended up jumping into bed with mazda, probably BMW was way too pricey and *****y with comparable reliability and increased complication.

If it runs, buy it!

DeliveryValve · #7 03-10-2010, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropnosky

...
Lincoln coupe with 5 speed bolt to a 6cyl diesel!...!

I like that idea.

BTW - If you get it, I have a Rotunda Ford Tach/Timing meter for it.

.

JimFreeh · #8 03-11-2010, 07:11 AM

That 2.4 BMW diesel chews through heads at a rate that makes an early OM603 look as reliable as an OM617.

Jim

vwkess · #9 03-11-2010, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimFreeh

That 2.4 BMW diesel chews through heads at a rate that makes an early OM603 look as reliable as an OM617.

Jim

This is quite true. And yes, the parts cars are hard to find... probably because of the head issue (besides the fact not many were made)! If you are lucky, you just blow through gaskets instead.

But, it is cool nonetheless! If you can get a good deal on it and it is not your sole mode of transportation, I'd say go for it!

leathermang · #10 03-11-2010, 08:32 AM

IF only they had done that to the Mark II Lincoln...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Continental

"The Continental name was revived in 1955 as a separate Ford brand, with its sole model being the Continental Mark II. This version was a unique design with the highest quality control ever seen in the automobile industry. High-class luxury abound in the new Continental - and with very limited availability, it appeared even more exclusive than the original.

Continental for '56 was one of the most expensive cars in the world -- with a cost of $10,000, it rivaled Rolls-Royce. But despite its astronomical price tag, Ford Motor Company actually lost money on each one sold. On a side note, Cadillac suffered a similar financial loss with its own Continental rival, the four-door Eldorado Brougham. Vehicles such as these were image builders for the two companies, as well as test beds for new ideas and concepts. The Continental Mark II was sold for just two model years, with about 3,000 total units built. Between the tales of dealers turning potential buyers away because they were not deemed to be the right kind of people to own Continental, and its sticker price found affordable by only the world's wealthiest, the Continental became almost mythical.

Many celebrities drove them, including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Shah of Iran, Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger among others."

Will_w202 · #11 03-11-2010, 08:40 AM

Holy crap, post a pic or link to ad! I used to want one of these when I was a kid (minus the diesel, didnt know it existed). What a nerd I was.

How much is he asking? That's a future museum piece for sure (possibly beside a Pinto though)

odie · #12 03-11-2010, 10:42 AM

from what i've heard it's a good engine....the problem is they are so rare in the states that even regular maint parts are gonna be hard to come by.

tr1cky · #13 03-11-2010, 03:14 PM

I had an 89 Mark VII LSC that I purchased locally fairly cheap. It was a fun car. I enjoyed the way that it rode and drove.

Mine though was a 5.0 HO with an AOD, certainly not an economy car.

retmil46 · #14 03-11-2010, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropnosky

heck, if he were to damage the auto, supposedly an 80s BMW getrag 5-speed will bolt right up!

There is also a good lincoln MKVII forum with a lot of info on it. From what I learned on there, apparently this was the ultra rare option on this ultra rare option!

Lincoln coupe with 5 speed bolt to a 6cyl diesel!

Also, they apparently dropped some of these BMW diesels in some of the 4 door lincolns as well, far less though.

this must have been when ford was flirting with what company to source light duty diesels from, cause I also owned a 1986 ford escort that then had a mazda diesel in it. That car may have been the greatest slug of all my car buying adventures. They ended up jumping into bed with mazda, probably BMW was way too pricey and *****y with comparable reliability and increased complication.

If it runs, buy it!

Matter of fact, either wikipedia or the Mark VII owners club, said that of the 500 diesels, a grand total of ONE was delivered with a manual tranny - seems what you heard is right.

The Lincoln/Ford chassis parts wouldn't be hard to come by. It's the BMW engine parts that concern me. I've got a similar thread in Open Discussion, and one parts guy flat-out said that BMW no longer supports these engines. OReilly's actually carries all the necessary filters for the engine and tranny, but as far as injectors and the 60K mile replacement timing belt - no such luck so far. Only thing I found for injectors were aftermarket modifieds on two websites, listed as universal for that BMW engine, $620 EACH!!!!

That almost makes the common rail electronic injectors in the VM Motori diesel in my Jeep look cheap!

One good thing - the guy selling the car has a full set of shop manuals to go with it - including shop manual for the BMW engine. Perhaps crossing over the Ford P/N's might generate some results.

JB3 · #15 03-11-2010, 11:17 PM

if the engine is original, its probably got the 6cyl BMW plant stamped with a ford symbol on the valve cover. Mine was like that, I had trouble finding any part of the motor that gave away it was a BMW design, apart from it being totally identical!

There has to be some following for the 524TDs, maybe a forum that can help on engine parts locating. do you have a pic of it, id love to see one of them again.

One thing I loved was that mine had dual exhaust with chrome tips as the stock setup, something I don't think you could even get on the 524s with that weird central muffler.