QOTD: The $2,000 Question…

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

A game of Monopoly — a family friendly game if there ever was one /sarcasm — over the weekend gives rise to today’s question. There’s one minor adjustment, however: just like a corrupt fat cat CEO, we’re adding a zero to our paycheck.

With an extra $2,000, let’s call it a bank error in your favor — earmarked for purchasing a project car, what would it be? It took all of 21 seconds to select mine from the Craigslist quagmire.

It’s a Lincoln Mark VII, of course. Having sold my own example of Ford Fox-body finery as part of an ill-advised fleet reduction program back in 2009, I’ve been jonesing for another one ever since. The beige champagne Mark to which I held the keys for six excellent years was surely one of the world’s rattiest examples, but it cleaned up nicely and had an exhaust on it that uncorked the 5.0-liter V8 with impunity. If it wasn’t a hot rod Lincoln, it was at least a warm one.

This example, offered at $1,800 by a seller north of Yonkers, is a terrible color but is one of my favorite Mark VII model years. Both 1988 and 1989 combined a just-right set of gauges (I don’t like the font on the ’87s) with a non-lunchbox steering wheel and the tall headrests. The single Craigslist photo doesn’t reveal a helluva lot but the air suspension looks level-ish and there are factory turbine wheels. I even seems to have the stock Marchal fog lights, at least one of ’em anyway.

What’s your pick, given a $2,000 bank credit that must be spent on a new-to-you project car? We know our comments section sucks but if you want to paste a link to your find down below in the interest of conversation, that’d be alright with us.

Now, how much is a flight to New York?

[Image: © 2017 Sajeev Mehta]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Mar 26, 2019

    Most any V8 equipped full frame GM A/G-body coupe would fit the bill for me. Second choices being the GM B-body cars or Fords Panther series cars. Simple, cheap, easy to work on, reliable for the time and I know these things inside and out and know where to get certain parts for them. Getting hard to find rust free versions in the Upstate, NY area so a visit to PA/other southern states is a must.

  • Sheilacorvin298 Sheilacorvin298 on Sep 24, 2021

    Every single word you have written is just awesome and praiseable. You deserve respect and your writing deserve appreciationg.

  • Zerofoo Henrik Fisker is a very talented designer - the Fisker Karma is still one of the best looking cars ever made (in my opinion).Maybe car designers should stick to designing cars and not running car companies.
  • TheMrFreeze Techron actually works...I've personally seen Techron solve a fuel-related issue in one of my vehicles and have been using it for the last 20 years as a result. Add a bottle to the tank every time I do an oil change, have never had fuel delivery issues since.
  • Redapple2 Let me think here. Big 3 sell 10,000,000 cars in the US in the last x years. Volvo, Toyota, Honda, MB sell 1.000.000. Big 3 have ZERO cars on the hi mile list.Hum: What does that mean? I know what it means.
  • THX1136 That's so cool. This one is close to what I had accumulated with the 84 Shelby Charger I owned. Since it only had a 5 digit odo no one would know it had over 406k. I kept track of everyplace it turned over with only 2 still lodged in my 71 yo brain. If I had taken care of it cosmetically as well as I did mechanically I still think I could have gotten to 500k which was a goal I set for myself. The Toyota mentioned is quite impressive at over 900k. Thanks for the write up, Murilee!
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Nice to see. I like the Top 10 list and seeing "80s Mercedes" within.
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