This one is not Buick related except that the victor in this race shares a definite kinship to the fullsize Buicks that we all know and love. As a kid, I used to spend plenty of time just sitting out on the front porch with my old man watching the cars go buy and chatting. We country folk are prone to that sort of amusement. There were three or four young guys who were of driving age down the road from our house, and I was about 12 or so, but car crazy already. The gang down the road had taken into their possession a maroon '70 R/T with white vinyl top. It had a 383 / 727 combo, plus a blue front clip. These guys were out abusing the old Mopar, with open headers no less. They would sit out on the side of the road, wait until something came along, then pull out on the highway and try to impress themselves by leaving the approaching cars in a noisy display of Mopar power. This was 1978, and the R/T was just an old car, complete with the air shocks, slot mags, and all. We were amused, as we could hear them coming long before we could see them, as we lived at the end of a 3/4 mile long straightaway obscured by trees from the direction they approached from. They made a few passes without incident, or takers on their challenge to race. Then, as before, pop and I heard the R/T come alive and roar towards our house. As they approached, we noticed that the roar was now accompanied by a shrill squealing noise and a weird flapping sound that we had not heard before. Then, from the wooded side, flashed the R/T, trailing a new 460 powered baby blue '78 Lincoln Mark V! The Mark had the R/T in a death grip and was pulling away in a hurry. It seems that one of my father's friends was returning from town when he was challenged by the Mopar. The old guy was known to be hot headed, and he obliged the young uns and whooped them badly. The only sounds from the Mark V were the wind squealing from the mini vent windows, and the plastic bumper cladding flapping in the 120 mph wind, a by product of a broken bumper mldg clip. Upon seeing my father a few days later, the old guy was elated that my father had witnessed this battle. You see, we had a vested interest in this contest, as we also owned a 460 powered Mark V. I just bought this old car back after over 20 years of it being out of the family. Dad is gone now, but that old car and I are reunited. I can still see pop sitting in the driver's seat, promoting the big car performance that he had always known, starting with his '57 Buick Special so many years before. Thanks, Rudy E
Hey Rudy, I also have a 78 Mark V w/a 460. When I'm not at V8Buick.com I'm over here: http://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpbb/index.php baking
When I come to think of it, my girlfriend's mom has got one of these sitting in the garage. She hardly ever drives it, it's gold, and I've only seen it sitting there with the cover on. Don't know what mk it is or engine, but it is in really nice condition.
My old Mark V is a Bill Blass edition. For those unfamiliar with Lincolns, it is a sort of Maroonish Brown (officially Midnight Cordovan) with an Oxblood (dark Maroon) leather interior, and it used to sport a Champagne colored half vinyl top that was removed by the last owner. It is complete, but has rust issues around those little oval opera windows. It, and a low mileage pos parts car, resides in my shed awaiting some attention. My GN is a work in progress, so it may be a few months before I get to it. I just had to have it given that my dad bought it new. It was the first car that I ever drove. Thanks, Rudy E
