A trip to Capital Auto Auction for the WIN! Lincoln called their 1995 Town Car the "Ultimate Expression of Luxury", but this $3,000 'bargain' wasn't quite the experience I was expecting.
Hey Chris. I have been working on town cars for a decade. I own 5 of them of various years. 1995 was the last year of the non-plastic intake. The paint, interior leather, trim, and condition is worth whatever you paid for it. 1) The coolant leak - I noticed the upper rad hose was from 2014, so not so likely that. And you saw the low coolant...possible to have a coolant leak from the intake, or one of the heater hoses - hopefully you have a pressure tester you can use to check. 2) These cars have an electric pusher fan and a regular clutch fan - as you noted the clutch fan was not doing anything. Once the cooling fans are working properly, then you can check the AC pressures to get it properly set. 3) If it was overheating from the non working clutch fan, that would explain why it's leaking coolant (probably from the overflow/pressure jug). 4) Since this car is from NJ based on sticker in windshield - be sure to check for frame rot behind the passenger wheel on the cross brace. Where the AC drips. The panther body cars since 79/80 until 2002 have a problem with rotting out there badly with the AC dripping plus road salt. 5) Rust on these always shows at the bottom of the fenders (in front of and behind the wheels) down low. The dog logs behind the rear doors also rots body wise 6) The 91-95 4.6 was known to puff blue smoke from the valve seals not being made of Viton. Keep an eye on the oil levels. 7) Don't forget, soft close trunk - the electric motor will breka off if slammed, and the switch attached to it likes to fail with age - $25 from RockAuto. 8) These Lincolns could be had with a 3.08, 3.27 or a 3.55 depending on trim, package, etc. VIN tag should say the axle code. The base model executives usually have the 3.08. Signatures and Cartiers were usually with a 3.27. A 3.55 if they had the tow package or ride handling package. 9) Double check the ball joints - honestly they are great riding cars, but the 91-02 front ends are weaker compared to the 1990 and older models. Ball joints are super common, heavy wear items. And the rear air ride at that mileage, up north, could very likely be there- peaking through the wheel should show you a coil spring or an airbag.
Tow truck driver should've towed the car from the rear axle or removed the driveshaft. He might've damaged the automatic transmission by towing your car the way he did.
@@mph5896 If it was on a dolly, the rear wheels wouldn't have been turning. So either something was dragging on the ground causing sparks and through some freak set of events lit the body plastics up, the car had electrical issues that decided that was a good time to ignite.
These are some of the best cars ever made. Great buy man! I would love to own that Town Car. I currently own a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis GS with 77k miles. Showroom new.
Panther are fantastic. Last forever and are fairly cheap to maintain and repair. Enjoy that GM and thanks for watching the Lincoln video from this morning.
No straps at all? That is dangerous. As others have said yo need to check the transmission now. It was turning at highway speeds with no fluid pumping through it. The two driver should have picked the rear end. Maybe he is too young to know they made rear wheel drive cars before.
@@GeorgeLiquor No you can't. Any panic stop and that car will come right though the back of the truck. He was towing it in the highway at highway speeds. Weight transfer is no joke.
@@mexicanspec lol no it won't. I tow cars for a living. The only risk to towing without straps is making turns, and that's if you don't use enough tilt
Better yet towing from front with the air suspension you need to turn the air suspension switch off if not car is long in back draggin the bumber I am a 32 year heavy wrecker driver I tow cars to lol
Ive always loved these! Unbelievable bargains right now too. I'm curious, was there any damage from the tow truck driver towing it with the rear wheels DOWN? I thought on RWD drive cars you're supposed to lock the wheel and tow it in reverse (front wheels down)
Hey Chris. Love your car. I'll be by to pick it up! 😁 I have a 1997 Beige Signature. Love it. Got it from the original owner in 2015 with 68K miles on it and have logged 44K additional miles. I drove this body style 5 years as a full time limo driver
probably needs a fan clutch. These have a belt driven fan and an electric fan(AC only) at the radiator. Turning the steering wheel to full lock left or right on 2002 and older and getting a loud popping at full lock when you are backing out or pulling into a parking spot, you need to smear some grease on the bump stops. That car is a legit garage queen, no sun fade at all. If you get jerking at low speed under a very light load you probably need to add some friction modifier to the transmission fluid, or a feeling of running over rumble strips for 2-3 seconds as it shifts into OD, add friction modifier. $8 Towing with the drive wheels down over 50 miles can fry the transmission. Unrelated to the over heat issue, but the under intake heater hose pipe in the engine valley behind the alternator might be dry rotted. These are rock solid cars. Good for 500,000 miles easily. I have owned 4 1995 Town Cars and have 1 95 now and one 97.
Just found this channel. You seem like a top guy lots of enthusiasm. I also buy and sell cars in Manchester England. Keep rocking on my friend may god be with you and your family.
That's a 95? The front grill and headlights got to be 97. They still had the square look in 95. I had two a 95 and 97. The 95 was my favorite because I've got that car over 41mpg on a trip back to NYC from Birmingham AL overall 34mpg. Love the town cars legroom is everything..
I'm not an expert in Lincolns and so I'm going off the auction listing that says this Town Car is a 1995. I can't wait to spend some time behind the wheel and see what kinda mileage I can tweak out of it. Might make a good video too. Thanks man!
I used to have one of these town cars of this year model..loved it! rode like a dream! Maybe I'll try to buy another old town car like this soon lol. Tow truck driver didn't strap..you kidding me!! wow!
Haha, that gave me a nice laugh about the trash company. That whole area is industrial which is a bit of ashame 'cause it's right along the Delaware river which is pretty scenic.
1). Philly tow truck drivers… smh 2). On my grand marquis I had a similar ac issue. $2 bag of o-rings for the interior control vacuum manifold and about half an hour and it was fixed. New control modules cost in the hundreds for what is a very simple repair. Best of luck with the fan. This is hands down my favorite iteration of the panther platform.
Really hope there is no damage to the transmission due to the towing procedure. At least you have it on video if you need to take it up with the towing company!
The NH one is less than 15 minutes from me, pre-pandemic, their auctions were always live and in person. I don’t know how long it’s been Capital, but the place has been an auto auction place for decades.
@@hullinger They don't have the leaky manifold issue. (pre 96). They do get a clogged EGR crossover and bad valve seals (maybe they were replaced). Those cars can easily see 500K.
That tow truck driver was trifling AsF for towing that beautiful car like that. WTF wasn't she towed from the rear or atleast used the wheel dollies to get the back wheels off the ground. No sense in ruining a perfectly good 4R70W. This is by far my favorite Lincoln. I love the 97-98 Mark VIII but the 95-97 Town Car just melts my heart. I ran out of room in my garage and driveway but still jumped on a 97' Cartier in Ivory Pearlscent/Parchment that I've been wanting for years! I'm about to drive her now. I'm still on the hunt for a 95 or 96 Blk/Blk Signature w/moonroof. Or Dark Evergreen with this interior. So hard to find now. Used to be one every 50 feet in NYC lol
Grate looking car I always enjoy you videos and there very helpful you point out things that I sometimes over look when looking at a used car. .have fun with the new to you car. It looks like a keeper. And not a bad price. 😎😎😎
Chris, I really love your collections these days, congratulations man. I don't think the overheating will be a serious issue, waiting for the next video man.
around this time ford used a plastic intake manifold which was prone to cracking and causing coolant loss around the thermostat housing. had to replace the intake manifold on my late fathers 1997 ford crown victoria. hope this thing gets fixed
Aww man, you wanted that Lincoln too? Sucks to get outbid on something you want and I know exactly how that feels. Know though that I was done at $3k and it just so happens that where the bidding ended too.
Great Find! You NEVER Attempt To Drive a Car Home From a Junkyard (Auction) as chances are those cars Weren’t Driven There for a reason as we’ve seen here.
That is what makes life exciting. On these donated cars they could have been donated because there was a death in the family, so it might make it home. What you never do on an auction car is fill the tank. They always break down just after that.
@@rogueranger7989 I used to buy cars at the auction to sell and I learned my lesson the hard way. This happened to many cars so I just don't do it anymore. I see Randy at Auto Auction Rebuilds do it all the time and I cringe.
Those cheap cars are always fantastic to get especially when they were that old and they're taken care of by the older people looking to snag this Bonneville it's a 2005 if it's only got 46,000 miles on it they want they want 650 bucks for it
I gotta ask you can you find GmC or Dodge pickup trucks 1500 or 2500 4X4 preferred from the 1980s to the 1970s? & do you think it would cost lots to get them over to Canadian borders? They need to be in good condition
Looks like a real solid car needs a few (hopefully minor) issues to address. But the overall condition of the car appears to be excellent, colors inside and out are desireable. Question though at 3K for a 25 year old Lincoln even in great condition is there much room left to make any money? I mean tires (400?) plus the overheat issue let's say you end up at 3750 all in what do you think you can squeeze out of it? Don't get me wrong I love the car and the reliability but you can't keep and drive them all, LOL.
