We recently saw a ’56 Mark II and the seller mentioned maybe it was more suited to creating a restomod rather than doing a full restoration on it. This 1957 Continental Mark II appears to have had that restomod, at least partially. It can be found here on craigslist in Preston, Connecticut with a $19,950 asking price. Thanks to Roger for sending in this tip!
This beauty hasn’t been modified too much, just visually from what I can tell and the seller mentions new disc brakes. These were really elegant cars, especially for 1956 and 1957, the only two model years when they were available. Normally these wide whitewall tires aren’t my favorite on such a sleek, low and modern-looking car as a Continental Mark II, they seem more suited to a “regular” (round) 1950s car, but I don’t mind them here. Thoughts?
The tri-tone paint scheme seems to work well, in my opinion. I would have preferred a solid black car to hide some of the bodywork on the lower parts of the car, or maybe my eyes are deceiving me and that isn’t bodywork, just a trick of the camera or shadows? They say that it’s fairly rust-free so there will be some work to do. 1957 was the last year for these incredible cars and as we heard on the 1956 Mark II post yesterday, Hagerty is at $104,000 for a #2 excellent condition car. It sure seems like a person could turn this example into that for $80,000, doesn’t it?
The interior looks good and well-used like a 62-year-old car should look. I’m glad that they kept it original, or mostly original. Is that light gray trim piece new?
The engine is Lincoln’s 368 cubic-inch V8 which for 1957 had 300 hp compared to 285 hp in 1956. The seller says that this car has a new gas tank, fresh chrome on the bumpers, and new disc brakes. They say that it runs, but that isn’t super confidence inspiring. Still, running is better than not running and 99% of Barn Finds readers could have this beauty running perfectly. It’s too late to ask “restore or restomod”, or maybe it isn’t. Would you keep this car working great and drive it as is, or would you slowly restore it back to original-spec?
I like what I can see, keeping in mind that “fairly rust free” can mean different things to different people. I wonder if that leather upholstery can respond well to reconditioning.
The passenger door seems a little weird – doesn’t fit flush with the opening, which may be a sign of collision damage and/or rust problems. Proper repairs and repaint could easily add $5-10k to the price, so something to consider…
In the low right side view from the front, the door looks better fitting; I wonder if they just didn’t fully close it?
Not crazy about the wheels or paint, but at least it’s together.
The price makes it very tempting , these are just awsome cars. The smart buyer would go look at, to try and insure how nice it really is, if it is what the seller says, i would take it in a heart beat and try to get by with a very nice cosmetic restoration
I’m not a fan of the multicolor paintjob, even if it is grayscale. And I don’t like the little strip of chrome separating the colors down the sides, either. To me, the immense appeal of these has always been how sleek, clean, unadorned, and elegant they were and how stark a contrast they were to the gaudy excesses of that era of American design. I love the rocketship ’50s kitsch with a passion, but these are one of the purest designs of all time — they must’ve been simply shocking when they were new. Even the interior is shockingly simple and clean, relative to the competition.
Classy — my first purchase if I ever win the lottery, just not this one.
Not the biggest fan of the tire/wheel combo either, however the car itself looks good. I’d prefer the roof in the same gray as the lower body though. This is a good example of a clever way to build a Mark II without breaking the bank or ruin a rare car
This Continental is highly desirable and potentially a 6 figure car but now carries the overused “R” word; resto-mod. Why? Because they upgraded to a tri-color paint scheme and disc brakes? In this case, both are reversible and the “R” word would go away and theoretically increases the cars value. If I bought the Continental, I would paint it ALL black, leave the Disc Brakes and add AC and love the heck out of my disquised restoration-mod.
Fantastic car for the money. The cool factor exceeds the asking price.
I think the paint job is interesting and I might leave it. I would change the wheels back to stock, add A/C and do what else it needs. These cars have a good upside and the longer you hold on to it the better off you will be. And you get the enjoyment of driving it.
Like the car but the paint and tires take away immensely from it’s appearance.
Nice car, the paint, ww tires ruin it,
I would leave it. I am a fan of the Wide White & Round hub caps. If I could have found the same as this Lincoln. I would have put them on my 04 Chevrolet SSR. If engine is good? Rebuild with some more power or get a Lincoln 430ci
I have always liked these cars, very sleek compared to the more boxy mainstream cars. I would love it in a dark burgundy color, with maybe wire wheels that would have been available at the time (a la Buick Skylark). No wide whites. I’d also investigate what color it was originally, and potentially go back to that. I’d probably keep the discs if I felt like I was going to drive it frequently, but would source original replacements just in case….
These are rare cars that were mostly bought by the rich and famous at this time!! Regardless of the stuff you can nitpick at on the car it’s hard to find even harder running and driving!! They are 6 figure cars when done correctly!! The price may reflect the restoration of the vehicle and it may need to be redone but it’s still a good find and not something normally seen at car shows!!! I personally would paint it all black and not that two tone grey on the bottom!!!
this example has plenty of appeal to me. I like the color combination, just need to do something with the seats. Must be careful in the seat area, I had a 75 Lincoln Mark IV with white leather seats, they became cracked in need of work so I took it to an upholstery shop, Instead of putting in leather the guy put in some kind of leatherette stuff which looked okay, but was no where near as comfortable as the original. Live and learn.
God bless America
Black is fine if you have someone to keep it clean.
Had a black car once, a 1946 Wolseley 14/60. This was in 72. Every time I took it out or it rained, it looked dirty and I had to wash it.
Black? You can keep black.
Handsome car, other than the whites. Whites, another keep-clean time sponge.
I’m not a fan of the paint scheme, but with blackwall tires it might actually look decent, even with these wheels. It doesn’t look too messed-with otherwise, and the interior isn’t bad at all. And there are at least two of the original wheel covers in the trunk, a very good thing. Depending on what “fairly rust-free” means, this could be good value.
Correct tires, wheels and paint and she will be one beautiful car again.
Restomod? This car is a “Jestomod”. First thing I’d do is liberate it from it’s low rent tires, wheels and paint.
“Come home Darling, come back to the right side of the tracks”…