Decisions, decisions. Is this a project that would be worth the time and money? One thing is reasonably certain. If you parked this Lincoln Mk II in your driveway, there’s not much chance that your neighbor is going to have one. Located in Chicago, Illinois, it is for sale here on eBay with a BIN of $26,500 or best offer. Once again a big shout-out must go out to David F for referring this find to us.
The Mk II was only in production for the 1956 and 1957 model years. These were hand-built and finished to the highest standard. They were available with only one option, which was air conditioning. Sadly this car is not fitted with that. However, everything else appears to be in place. The seller is very open and honest about the condition of the car, and gives the impression that the paintwork is original, and that what blemishes can be seen in the pictures have not been repaired so that potential buyers can be sure that they are seeing an honest car.
The seller does state that there are 3 small pieces of exterior trim missing. I agree with this, but also believe that a couple of the letters from the Continental badge on the hood may also be missing. The seller also states that all of the correct wheel covers are present and in great shape.
What an interior. The imported Scottish leather on the seats and other trim areas appears to be generally quite good. Unfortunately the leather on the top of the dash has a sizeable tear which may present some problems. There is also a tear in the back of the rear seat which may be able to be repaired. Sadly it is those 2 issues which really jar on me when I look at the pictures.
Here lurks the 368ci Y-Block heart of this magnificent machine. The seller states that he has owned the car for 15 years, but that the engine has not been started for 6 years. He also states that it is not frozen, and will turn over by hand. Of greater concern to me is the fact that the distributor appears to be missing, and that the opening for it has been left uncovered. This raises questions about where the distributor is, how long it’s been missing, and how long the opening has been left the way it is. I hate the thought of dust, dirt and who knows what else entering that magnificent engine. The seller is also very open about the paint peeling on the firewall, but states that there is no corrosion present there.
So, do you consider this to be a viable and desirable project, or are there just enough questions there to make it a “no”? For me the attraction of owning a car that is different would be very tempting.
The open hole you are referring to is where the oil fill tube should be, the distributor on a 368 is located at the back of the engine visually obstructed under the air cleaner.
Yes, so often these parts had a flare for losing their swage.
Thanks for that Jeff. My bad. I realized that after the article was posted.
Actually, it was a Continental which was a stand alone division of Ford, not a Lincoln.
Ah, but did it use a Fram PH8A oil filter that every Ford seemed to use back in the day?
That’s true, I don’t think it said “Lincoln” anywhere on this car. When introduced, it was the most expensive car offered by US automakers in 1956 @ $9,695.( over $91,000 today) It only had one option, A/C @ $595, a $5,500 option today.
Thank you, Gazzer. I have given up trying to correct all the endless references to these cars as “Lincolns.” It’s sad that so many alleged “car guys” can’t understand the history of this shirt-lived division of Ford Motor Company.
26k for a car that hasn’t ran for 6 years pass for me
It would probably be cheaper to fix this one up.
https://barnfinds.com/meet-connie-1956-continental-mark-ii/
IMHO rare rust 1 vs. no rust 1 = buy no rust 1
He’s a couple I would consider before this one. There in the same price range
https://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/d/1957-continental-mark-11/6639918084.html
https://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/cto/d/1956-lincoln-continental/6634189021.html
couldn’t agree with you more. especially the one on Staten Island
IIRC Ford Motor Co said that they lost money on every Continental they sold because there was so much hand work involved in making the short run of Continentals that they made.
So Continental owners can claim to own a hand made car (partly hand made, at least).
Dolphin & Barn Find readers,
When FoMoCo realized what the car would realistically sell for, they also knew the production numbers would never allow them to approach the break even point. A/C was going to be standard, but in an effort to keep the car’s retail price under $10,000, they made A/C an option.
As originally envisioned, what became the Ford Skyliner [retractable hardtop], was slated to be the Continental convertible. Figuring in the high development costs around 1954, the break even cost for the Continental retractable convertible was estimated to exceed $20,000 PER CAR, so they wisely decided to mass-market it as a Ford. In doing it this way, Ford didn’t lose as much money as they would have on the Continental convertible retract.
Already gone, love these, best looking continental ever I think too bad only made 2 years parts are probably super expensive and hard to find
In 1998 I looked at a ’57 Continental. It was missing all 4 wheel covers. I decided not to buy the car when I discovered the wheel covers were Continental only, and the current value for a complete wheel cover [they have something like 40 pieces PER WHEEL COVER], was over $1,000, IF you can find one.
Worth restoring…no matter what.
Best of luck to the new owner. It’s absolutely a worthy project.
As a long time FLME fan, I do wish I had the money. Fantastic cars, and if that is the real paint I would make it safe and drive it as a survivor. I might install A/C.
I like it but $27 k for a non running project? No. You can get a pretty good running TBird for that
Not even comparable to a Tbird anybody can have a Tbird . I was looking after one of these a few years ago and I always felt a bit special at the time
These have struggled to find true love for decades and there isn’t much upside. As much as I don’t generally recommend it for rare cars, I think the restomod route is the way I’d go.
A restomod? Why not?
One glance at the Continental and you immediately perceive that it was a car ahead of its time.
I have to believe that the designers of this cost-no-object car would appreciate, and approve of, the carefully considered addition of technological updates by owners as they became available.
If today’s braking and powertrain systems existed in 1956, they would have been put into this car at the factory. I say go ahead and put them in yourself.
i think you could buy one at auction in better shape for less
Believe this is a quick flip. Was 7500 i believe in califonia craigslist.
Had a 56/57 hubcap once ….sold it to Amos Minter….who proudly displays it – for sale – at the Pate Swap meet – across from me. Love the car and love the profit I got on that hubcap !
Truly a luxury car, not a performance car. Last post on one of these stated it took one to leap from 0 to 60 in 14 seconds.