For Sale 1998 Midnight Grey Mark VIII in Southern Louisiana

SouthernGemini

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Location
Abita Springs
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The time has come to let my 1998 midnight grey metallic Lincoln Mark VIII move on to the next caring soul. I am the third owner and for the last two years, it has been a dependable daily driver. Overall the car is in good condition with a nice interior and shiny original paint. For the 134k miles on it, it looks and rides better than many with ½ that many miles.

As soon as I got this car home I recorded the sound of the car along with the air suspension rising upon initial cold start up. (See my youtube channel) My Mark VIII also received some repairs and adjustments. I installed a lasagna repair, new neon ballast, had the exhaust adjusted, the VIN number etched in the glass, and purchased a nice car cover. Regarding the exhaust, the drone was too loud for me and from the looks of it, the pipe was a bit close to the bottom of the car. After the adjustment, the drone was reduced and the exhaust had a better sound. The former owner, Stang99 took excellent care of this Mark and upgraded the brakes to the Cobra version and more versatile 4.5 inch hubs.

Along with this car comes a desired cargo net AND car issued cellular phone. Yep, I even have the phone. You will be so cool holding this brick to your head while you sit in stop and go traffic. And if that isn’t enough, the tape deck still works in what I believe is the original stereo that came with the car. Play the Pretty in Pink soundtrack on magnetically coated plastic tape and when it finishes, it plays the other side. Auto reverse is in the house!

This beautiful and last year of the updated FN-10 platform is not perfect however. The fuel button in the driver’s door let go with the spring shooting out and all that jazz. I have the pieces but the button doesn’t want to stay in the retainer. The button looks like it is broken. The fuel door release is handled by pulling the cable in the trunk. The drivers door bezel also had a front clip that let go (it was previously fixed) so it pokes out a bit. I have a steering column ghost that hinders my ability to adjust the steering column when I would like to. Sometimes it responds, sometimes it doesn’t. Currently it is in a favorable position and I don’t mess with it. The ABS light stays on b/c my mechanic says the sensor on one of the back wheels has gone kaput and the passenger visor clip (not the visor, but the clip) broke and I couldn’t find one in grey so there is a tan one doing the job. To see some of the fixes I have done, search for my posts.

I am selling the car for a few reasons. One, I have two other vehicles (06 Nissan Titan and modified 93 Crown Victoria, see pics) and having three vehicles for me alone is a bit pricey. I take care of my cars so maintenance does play a factor. Two, an addition on the house is in the works and the proceeds from this sale will help pay for the concrete. Three, I have been pulled over twice in this car in less than 6 months. The car rides on air (air suspension, right?) and it enjoys high speed so I give it what it wants. Well, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway cops don’t care.

The car will come with a Blackvue WiFi DR500GW-HD car camera and a Coverking Car Cover. I am selling the car for $5,200 with the above mentioned accessories. Although I am not ‘locked’ into this price, I will not move from this price much b/c it is a great car with minor issues that I still drive about 1 or 2 times a week. See the video taken Aug 1st, 2015.

Who is this car good for? If you are an enthusiast and looking for an unmolested ride in what I think is the most beautiful color for the Mark VIII with a few issues that need attention, this may be your calling. Let me know if you have any questions and the former owner Stang99 is courteous enough to jump in to answer any questions that I can't. I simply have to contact him. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYRxWqCkGw&feature=youtu.be

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My other rides:
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For those of you that like pictures, I took some on the way to the office yesterday morning. In the second picture, the headlights look 'off' but I think that is the sun shining from over my right shoulder into the light giving it a funky brightness.

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Pics of the inside and car camera. The drivers side seat has seen 134k miles compared to the others seats.

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As the previous owner, I can verify everything he said. I bought the car in 2006 from a friend of mine. It had about 68k miles when I got it, and when I sold it Southern Gemini it had about 117000 on the clock if memory serves. So you can see that in the 7 years I owned it I barely did 35000 miles total. (At the time I was doing about 6k miles a year) I only sold it because a new job required extensive travel and I needed to blend in a little more so I had to have something more "common." It was a fabulous car, never once let me down. Air ride was smooth, headlights were clear, I absolutely loved that car. The car resided in Georgia for about 10 years of it's life. Being a later production car, it came from Ford with the LSC exhaust even though it wasn't an LSC model. If memory serves me, I think there were only about 300 produced in that color. Point being, the buyer of that car is going to get a vehicle that has been well cared for and meticulously serviced by all it's owners. I did most of the service that the owner prior to me had done as he was a friend of mine. I then did all the service while it was in my possession. I changed the oil with synthetic every 3-4 thousand miles. Can't go wrong here, and all the little things he mentioned being wrong are very minor things that could be fixed with a little legwork and a few trips to junkyards.
 
Posting an update and more recent mileage about the Mark. It finally got to me about the ABS light being on and occasionally the speedometer would act up from the speed sensor not working correctly. The car went months without working rear speed sensors and the speedometer worked fine but in Nov that changed. Thankfully on Ebay I found a guy selling two rear wheel speed sensors and had my mechanic put them on. Here is a link to the video from my mechanic showing all sensors work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SFJ5Q9Cwwc

Here is pic of the dash while driving showing the ABS light is off and updated mileage:
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The engine temp gauge does work but I took this video when I picked up the car and the engine was not at full operating temperature.

I did have an issue with the steering assembly though. I suppose I put a little too much pressure on the steering wheel one morning and dislocated the inner housing from the outer housing. The ball bearings came out of their sleeve and now there is motion in the steering assembly. Since the telescoping function didn't work anyway, I figure it is easier to replace the whole unit. The problem is finding one. I found one on Ebay, ordered it, received it and it has the same problem as mine. Thankfully the seller was a good guy and after sending him a video of its problems, refunded my money right away. Sooo, I'm looking for a working 97-98 steering assembly (ball bearings and all) to replace my currently broken one. The car still drives but it needs to be fixed.
 
Wow, it's been months since my last update. Where does the time go? So the steering assembly has been replaced but it doesn't like to adjust via the switch on the steering column every time. My mechanic plugged into the car and can adjust it via his computer and if the settings are set to move back and forward upon entry and exit of the vehicle, it will move accordingly. On occasion, I have been able to move it by the switch but I have no rhyme or reason as to why. Perhaps I should be using a different key fob or one of Jupiter's moons must be in direct linear alignment with an unknown adjacent galaxy.

This week I had the car inspected and picked up a two year sticker and I am about to hit 140k miles. I have been driving the car more since my truck is often hooked up to my trailer and I am too lazy to unhook it if I don't need to. :D
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My car is no longer for sale. I sold my mom's car creating one less car in my midst. I ordered some wheels and tires (ones with the correct offset) so I can lower the ride appropriately. I'll post pictures in the wheel section once I get them on.
 
You decided to keep it!?! Man I can't believe all the little things that are giving out. That steering colum ghost thing too.....I don't think I ever moved the wheel since it was set in a good spot for me when I got it. But if you have a chance post up some pictures of it! Love to see the old girl in all her old glory.
 
Brett! Good to hear from you man. Yes, kept her and now at 147k miles but driving it more b/c sold the Honda and using the truck for pulling trailers, etc. Friday, I put about 200 miles on the clock which would have been on the Honda. The new wheels are beautiful and with the lowering adjustment the stance is eye catching. I am still looking for a fuel release button but not trying hard and it is time for the tint to be redone but building a house sucks all available cash. Kinda like having kids! My plan is to have it fully detailed in the Spring, lets say April sometime and take a video along with pictures.
 
Brett! Good to hear from you man. Yes, kept her and now at 147k miles but driving it more b/c sold the Honda and using the truck for pulling trailers, etc. Friday, I put about 200 miles on the clock which would have been on the Honda. The new wheels are beautiful and with the lowering adjustment the stance is eye catching. I am still looking for a fuel release button but not trying hard and it is time for the tint to be redone but building a house sucks all available cash. Kinda like having kids! My plan is to have it fully detailed in the Spring, lets say April sometime and take a video along with pictures.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/331761013675
There's a button. I looked around my toolbox but I don't have one. I recall having a spare.....was there not one in the box of parts I gave you? I'll keep nosing around my shop and let you know if I find it.
 

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