1990 has a different suspension and a whole different front end then '91+.... and, it has the 302 (5.0) instead of the 4.6.... which alone has it's own little cult following.... personally I prefer the 4.6/4R70W combo... but thats just me... oh, plus 1990 has full metal bumpers front and rear, '91+ they went to plastic bumper covers, look the same tho.
But, I am not sure if 1990 ride smoother per say, I will say if you want THE most softest-riding and most plush seats Lincoln since anything since the 70's, then you would want a '93-'94 Signature/Cartier, the '90-'94 suspension rides the smoothest and those seats are the best there was.
also, on '90-'94 the rear doors, the glass was framed out and had the smaller window within the door, which I think sorta looks odd because the Town Car already has the opra window.... but... the window goes down all the way, much like '94-'99 DeVille, I think that is really cool. '95-'97, like mine, is one-piece glass in the rear window, IMO it looks a whole lot better, more sleek, to go along with the sleeker '95-'97 style, but, the window, like most cars, only goes down about 2/3 the way due to clearance issues.
Based on what I read about the Town Cars, and what I remember riding in the '90-'94 style.... I'm willing to bet that a '90-'94 Town Car will ride smoother then any 90's Cadillac or Lexus.... '95-'97? I dunno.... I know any factory 90's era Fleetwood Brougham will ride smoother then my car.... but onto of the suspension being changed a bit in '95, my car has the handling package, so it isn't a real fair comparison.
Basically, if you want the flat out most overly soft riding and plushest Town Car, but something modern (not the 70's) then really look at '93/'94 Signature/Cartier... I am sure '90-'93 are just as good, I just hear people talking about those two years as being the most plush.... plus in '93 IIRC the grille was changed to not be AS bad as it was.
But, if you want a sleeker package that, IMO looks a whole lot better inside and out, as well as has more options and toys, then '95-'97 is the way to go... for me, between the, IMO very awesome interior, as well as the vastly improved front end, jewel-style headlights and neat grille... that alone was enough to get me into the newer era.
Dunno why, maybe because of the more bold look, but despite being the same car.... '90-'94 style seems to have more of the "mafia" thing going for it, while the '95-'97 is much sleeker and modern looking... still, either of them, especially black, is pretty much instant access into the Mafia anyway... I hear the comments from time to time.
Like any car, they have their quirks.... but these old Panther cars seem to have problems that don't require either a ton of money or the need to go to the dealer... maybe time consuming, but all doable.
-'90 with the 5.0 has the AOD trans and is known for going thru TV bushings, which, if not taken care of soon, will trash the trans.
-'91-'95 4.6 is known for valve steam seals going bad... car will still run, and really for quite a long time, it'll just burn oil, blue smoke and all.
'96/'97 4.6 had the cracking intake manifold, but improved valve steam seals to address the burning oil problem... hit or miss, most have probably been changed by now (mine was) but either way you can tell as soon as you pop the hood when looking at cars. despite all the bad said about the plastic intake manifold, is IS supposed to improve both performance and MPG over the older design.
Then of course pretty much across the board on the 90's TC... the rear air springs everyone loves to complain about... not all that much money nor very hard. Blend Door Acutators and heater cores both like to go out... the BDA is only about $70 and the heater core (use OEM!!!!!!!!!!!!) is about $50, but both require the dash to pretty much come out. Now that I've did it 3 times, it's not THAT bad, but really is imtinidating at first.... it goes back to those not expensive nor overly hard, but just time consuming... Ford wants about $1200 to replace the $70 BDA.
Also, for some reason these cars, like all Lincolns like to eat thru door hing pins and bushings... if a door is sagging, thats why.... Ford only sells the whole hinge, as it's really not serviceable... but to replace the $100 hinge, guess what you need to do? Remove the whole dash
Even then I still coudln't find the bolt inside.... soultion? buy a dremel, support the door, cut the pin in half, hammer out the 2 pieces and get the $8 HELP pin and bushing kit for a full size Bronce (forgot the p/n off hand) it goes right in, pin is slightly long but no biggie... perfect match.
Also, the power windows, Ford uses nylon plugs between the regulator gear and the motor shaft, these get trashed and then the window stops working and the motor still turns... multiple fixes for it, again, not too bad, worst part is, if it's the first time, you gotta drill out the rivets in the door, which isn't all that bad. I did all mine 3 times before I got a soultion that works, and will keep working.
As for the front end, the cars like to eat thru all front end parts, especially ball joints and sway bar links, next up would be idler arm, then tie-rods/pitman arm. Also, front rotors will warp, but '98+ brakes which have dual piston caliper instead of single, and 12" rotors instead of 10" not only put an end to warper rotors, but give the car one heck of a boost in stopping power. This swap is next on my list, but until the Isuzu is running, I really don't want to disable the car.
Thats pretty much it... may sound like a lot, but compared to engine replacements or expensive suspension systems or paying over $100/hr on labor because you can't even work on your own car... it's not too bad. Ask me how I know about all those common problems
Thats what put a sour taste of the car in my mouth for a while, ALL that, and then some, was wrong/broke on my car when I bought it.... previous owner(s) just let it all stock pile, then must have traded it in.
I can fix mechanical stuff tho, the biggest thing was, the car didn't (and dosen't) have a spec of rust on the underbody, it all looks new... coming from NY, that alone speaks more then words alone can describe. Also, there was no body damage, not even a door ding on the whole car... which, was impressive... and on top of that, with the exception of only 2 or 3 very small areas, there is no blemishes on the paint... interior... with the exception of some normal Lincoln wear on the driver seat, looks new...
And, looking back, yeah it stinks having to do all that work, but first, it wasn't a whole lot of money, but really... I know it is done, and done right, with the best quality parts avalible. What that means is, now with the car having 110k miles (most those repairs were done before 100k) and pretty much all the not only wear items, but common problem areas on these cars has now been addressed, hopefully my car has many more years and plenty of miles ahead of it until it needs something major... like I said, only exception is the brakes, which, when the Isuzu is running again, the car is getting a total brake-make-over.... then the cosmetic issues will get addressed, then the car retires from constant, non-stop daily driver duty
