My baby has an “ouchy.” Its driver side taillight is broken. He won’t stop crying. Help!
Mark V is practically a newborn (1977). We grew up together.
Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News, which is available at Barnes & Noble and (perhaps) at Borders. This magazine has a large number of ads for parts suppliers of every variety, as well as ads for collector cars.
Depending on the turnover at your local junkyard, they may still have some of these sitting around in there. My local junkyard never crushes anything, so they still have acres of cars from the 60’s and 70’s. Taillights can be hard to find, though, because that’s a common part people are looking for.
I’ve had good luck finding parts like that for my '64 Buick on eBay.
Hemmings is probably the best source. You might also find it on eBay or do a net search for “CTC Auto Ranch” in Denton, TX. They specialize in cars of this era and have acres and acres of the old stuff.
Have you asked at a decent auto scrapyard? They can put the request on their network if they don’t have one. What about asking at your brand’s dealer?
There are car shows that often have parts sellers, like the show in Carlyle, PA. If you are on the Right Coast, you might check out Carlisle. Move fast, though. The show is Oct. 3 through Oct. 7.
You can’t find parts for a '77 Lincoln? Have you tried looking on, oh, say, planet Earth? 
Nah, I’m just kidding, but there is Lincoln stuff of that vintage all over the place, in scrap yards and on eBay. In fact, if you hit up http://www.ebaymotors.com/ and search for “mark v tail” you will come up with at least 5 results, all under 50 bucks. The Mark V is a super-nice Lincoln, but I don’t think it’s time to call it antique yet.
Dang Josh, I searched all the places I can think of and there just ain’t anything. Looks like I’ll have to buy a cheap junker? Know of any?
Maybe this is a dumb question, but what about the dealer? Wouldn’t they still support a '77?
Try this. By the time this is posted the auction may be over, but you could try and contact them about a relist or off-site transaction.
I drove a 1977 Mark V for a couple of decades until at 274,000 miles the engine had developed a bad knock (and rust had started to take over the body). It was a great car. Anyway, although I got rid of the car 4 years ago I believe I still have a set of extra tailights in my garage that I never had to use (along with turn signal lenses and other misc items). I will check tonight when I get home–it would be good for these parts to be put to good use again.
Indeed I do have the taillight you need–you can have it if you can arrange to get it. Let me know if you still need it and include your email address or some other way for me to contact you.
I know of two that are in a yard in So. Oregon, want I should give you the contact information? Did you look at the eBay link I posted? Craigs List and http://www.car-part.com are your friends.
Trust me, I have a '72 F-100 and a '70 Chevy C20, I know it can be a paaaaaain to find parts for some vehicles, but I think you’ll pay out the nose if you buy NOS or repro parts for this car, especially when there are good used parts to be had.
My most recent experience is that salvage yards don’t have much that is more than 10 years old.
It’s very much a regional thing. I happen to live in a state with about 6 people per square mile, so it’s not like the junkyard is strapped for space. Cheap land means less incentive to crush, though scrap metal prices have been going up so much that it might change.
Hey Steve, that’s pure class on your part. Thanks from another classic car guy who spends a fair amount of time hunting “No Longer Available” OEM parts.