The owner of this 1957 Lincoln Premiere describes the vehicle as an original survivor, and it certainly shows a lot of promise for the next potential owner. It is a luxury car in the true spirit of the 1950s, and I have to say a huge thank you to Barn Finder Ikey H for referring the Premiere to us. If you would like to secure your own slice of luxury, you will find the Lincoln located in San Francisco, California, and listed for sale here on Craigslist. Any way that you look at it, this is a whole lot of car for the asking price of $17,000.
The Lincoln has spent its entire life in California, and that means that I’m not surprised to learn that this is a rust-free vehicle. The owner supplies a few clear photos of the floors and frame, and it looks clean and solid. The car is finished in a combination of Saturn Gold with a Starmist White top, and the paint looks to be in very good condition. There are no major scratches or scrapes, while the are also no obvious dings or dents in the panels. The external trim and chrome, along with the tinted glass, all appear to be in first-rate condition, while the wide white-wall tires give the car the perfect look. You look at this car and have no trouble in identifying that it was produced during a period of excess and confidence within the motor industry because it is a car with an enormous amount of presence. This is best exemplified by the size of the bumpers. I certainly wouldn’t want to be forced to carry the rear bumper any great distance by hand, because I suspect that it is not a light piece of kit.
The Gold and White theme continues inside the Premiere, with the majority of the trim being finished in these colors. There are a couple of issues that would need to be addressed if the interior were to be made to present flawlessly. The first and most obvious is the state of the cover on the front seat. The leather is looking very tired, and I think that it has deteriorated beyond a restorable state. A new cover will almost certainly be on the agenda, but I suspect that getting the colors to perfectly match the rear seat might be something of a battle. If that is the case, new covers might be on the cards, both front and rear. The other issues revolve around some deterioration of the dash pad. It hasn’t split, but the cover is lifting from the padding. I think that a competent upholsterer would be able to rectify this without having to resort to replacement. One aspect of the interior that I find fascinating surrounds the windows. These have power operation, but I can’t get over the size of the handles for the vent windows, because they look enormous. As well as power windows, the Lincoln is fitted with a power front seat, a power antenna, and a radio.
At 4,630lbs, the Premiere is by no means a light car, so it will take some decent horsepower to get it moving respectably. In this case, the engine is the 368ci Y-Block, producing 300hp. Naturally, the transmission is a 3-speed automatic, while the car is also equipped with power steering and power brakes. Performance figures are quite surprising, because getting such a heavy car through the ¼ mile in a whisker under 17 seconds is no mean feat. The owner states that the Lincoln has recently been treated to a rebuild of the brake booster and that the car runs and drives really well. One thing that I will say is that the presentation of the engine bay is quite impressive for a vehicle of this age. There are no obvious signs of any oil leaks, while there are also no coolant stains that might be indicators of previous overheating issues.
This 1957 Lincoln Premiere is an attractive looking car, and it doesn’t appear as though it will require major work to return it to its absolute best. The most expensive issue to address will be the seat covers, but they aren’t urgent. When you take into account the overall condition of the vehicle, and then compare it with both what is out in the market at present, along with recent sales results, it would appear that this is quite a reasonable buy at the asking price.
Looks like a fun driver.
Plus, a family of five could live in the trunk!
Man, what a ride! I can’t believe this is worth less than a 57 Chevy. Sad.
Well it’s a lot uglier than a 57 Chevy that would be my guess.
The 57 Chevy is like Stairway To Heaven: If I wanna hear it? I think of it. And I never wanna hear it again. Just like the Chevy.
For a survivor it’s in excellent shape. If the cracked leather on the front seat is the worst of it, that’s not bad at all. Back seat looks almost unused. Overall, I call this a bargain for a solid `57. Even mildly restored these bring over $30K. I like it.
Way back in the early noughties I had a car valeting company and dealers used to send me Mercedes cars where the seats looked very similar to this Lincoln seat. I would remove the seats and send them to another company that would restore the texture of the leather and then die the seats back to their original colour. The cost was minimal in comparison to new leather covers and the lasting results were unbelievable.
I agree- don’t think these seats are too far gone for a competent leather restorer. And you’ll still be able to proclaim complete originality. This old girl is a steal.
My fourth grade elementary school teacher had one of these, only in pink. It got traded in for a 1961 black, “suicide door” one! :-)
If your teacher was a man then I’m not surprised it got traded in for a black car of any kind. You guys are so lucky to be able to acquire such beautiful cars.
The Continental Mark II gets all the attention but the ‘56 and ‘57 Lincolns are simply amazing cars with great details. Pictures don’t do these justice.
I understand Ford’s need to keep up with the fin and quad headlamp crazes of the era, but to my eye, the ’56 is a much more stylish car.
https://www.bing.com/th?id=OIP.TgcZVdvu0_jlKBoYloPAhAHaEo&pid=Api&rs=1
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZX7bgnEm6lk/maxresdefault.jpg
I understand Ford’s need to keep up with the fin and quad headlamp crazes of the era, but to my eye, the ’56 is a much more stylish car.
https://www.bing.com/th?id=OIP.TgcZVdvu0_jlKBoYloPAhAHaEo&pid=Api&rs=1
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZX7bgnEm6lk/maxresdefault.jpg
@scottymac. It looks too much like a Packard to me.
A stunning car in and out! This has to be one of the nicest survivors we’ve had the pleasure of viewing. The price seems very fair for such a beautiful example of Ford’s prestige brand. I agree with ken tilly UK and Fred W, restore the original leather as best you can to keep this beauty as original as possible. They’re only original once.
My Uncle Bill had one of these when I was very young. His was a 4 door hardtop, with a glossy black paint job
with a black and white interior. Talk about presence? That car had it in spades! If any large car of the ’50s said
Mafia staff car, that car was it. And power brakes? Very touchy indeed! My
Mom borrowed Uncle Bill’s Lincoln one
Sunday to take us to church while our
’53 Nash was in the shop. We picked up
an elderly couple and their 80 year old
family member. After the service let out,
we piled into the Lincoln for the ride home when some clown in a ’56 Buick cut Mom off and she stomped on those
power brakes and sent Mrs. Brown into
the windshield! Both Mom and Mrs B
were shaken up along with Mrs.B getting
a small cut on her head from hitting the
windshield. It shook Mom up so badly that Brother Piper had to drive the car back to my Uncle’s house after that. Me,
I found out about zero gravity being flung
off the back seat and onto the floor while
holding onto my kid sister to keep her from getting hurt. And the Lincoln? It
stayed on awhile before my uncle traded
it for a safe new ’61 Chevy Impala 4 door
hardtop–with manual brakes of course.
Nada says average price 13,000 and
high retail is 46,000.
This is way better than average and its condition is amazing.
Its a steal at 17
Even more of a steal when it sold on eBay a few months back for high $12k- prior to the brake work…,
This is one of the best deals I have seen on BF. If…… it is always if!
Ken Tilly UK, (couldn’t do a direct response???)
You make that sound like a bad thing? I’d trade half my fleet for a ’55 or ’56 Caribbean or 400.
Nothing derogatory implied Scottymac, only commenting on the similarity between the two. I also would love to own a Packard of ANY type.
Worth every penny!! Looks rust free!! Paint looks good!! No signs of a repaint with any overspray on anything!! Great power and torque with the Y block!! How can you go wrong?????
I agree with scottymac. I like the 1956 styling better than the 57. However, this is a good deal for a great turnpike cruiser for its time. It will pass everything except gas stations.
If this had a/c, I would seriously take a look at it.
I agree. And I also want to know where the battery is located.
The battery is under the passenger floor in the 56, so perhaps it is there in the 57 too.
Lincoln was certainly looking ahead with the stacked headlamps.
Adam, the gigantic window handles are actually the door handles for the car if I remember correctly.
It’s a lovely car at this price, or even more generous. They are lovely on the road, never mind the gas mileage, which is frightening.Watch for window seals; the car has a tendency to leak at the B pillar, where the quarter window and the door windows meet. It’s also drafty. It’s nothing to fix. Steele Rubber or any of the parts Puppies in Hemmings in the Lincoln Section.
Happy Season to Barn Finders and Owners.
You are correct. The big handles are the door handles. Our 1960 Mark V had the same very big style to its door handles also. I can’t tell, but suppose that this car has power vent windows. I can still remember the high pitched whine of the motors that opened the vents on our Mark V… it was so sweet.