|
What I Drive
This car is a 1980 Lincoln Versailles. It was first introduced in
1977-1/2 as Ford’s answer to the successful Cadillac Seville. It
was the dawn of a new era of smaller luxury cars that were as well
equipped as their larger siblings and even cost more. 1980 was the
Versailles’ last year as this body (shared with the Ford Granada
and Mercury Monarch) was in its final run. Only 4,784 Versailles
were made this year, making it the rarest year. And, the car had a
few unique changes for this year that were not included in
previous years, such Twin Comfort Lounge Seats, 6-way power
driver’s seat, electronic day/date/elapsed time clock.
When I Bought It
I purchased this car in January 1998 from a private seller in
Oklahoma. The car spent its entire life in Oklahoma, with two
previous owners, prior to my purchase. Since then, I have lived in
Dallas and Charlotte. Original car shown below:
Why I Bought It
I purchased this car for two reasons: 1) to learn how to restore
cars with a model that had easy to find mechanical parts (trim
parts are hard to find though) and 2) to honor the memory of my
father who loved Lincolns
How I Restored and/or Modified It
The car was in great need of restoration inside and out. I changed
the original colors of grey and silver to a factory correct color
of triple Dark Cordovan. Instead of matching vinyl and leather on
the interior restoration, I used leather on all surfaces for a
perfect color and texture match. Mechanically, it’s all Ford
components and looks factory correct.
Later, I made some cosmetics modifications (reversible to return
the car to OEM specs) as part of a “What-If” experiment. What if
Lincoln made a Signature Series Versailles? What would it look
like? Following design cues from other Lincoln and Ford models, I
painted the inside grille slats, bumper rub strips and lacy spoke
wheels the same color as the exterior. I added a mini-console from
a bucket seat version of the Versailles with the 4 warning lights
and rear seat headrests. Finally I covered all interior pillar and
support plastics with headliner cloth so there would be no exposed
plastics.
Since finding a replacement and matching vinyl grain appliqués for
the dash was fruitless, I restored the dash panels with real wood
veneers matching the grain and cut of the original.
Where I Drive It
Besides the occasional Sunday drives and club events, I drive the
car to my tennis matches. I need to exercise the car more and take
advantage of living between the mountains and the beach.
|
