If this car can even remotely be considered restrained, by 1960 the Lincoln Continental Mark V had been toned down a bit from the 1958 and 1959 models. This gorgeous example is listed on eBay with bids that make me cringe, mainly because they’re so low, at $8,000, and there’s no reserve! It’s located in Los Angeles, California.
David Frank showed us a couple of cars from this same seller recently and man, what a collection this owner had! So many giant cars, no wonder he had to store them in enclosed car trailers. Here is this car being backed out of its resting spot. I’m a huge fan of gaudy, oddball vehicles, and believe it or not, by 1960, Lincoln had toned down the design and details of the Continental Mark series, at least a little bit. It was still the longest unibody car ever made at the time, at just a hair under 19-feet long. Here’s a short YouTube video of the car tooling down the street. Listen to that sweet rumble, very nice. The 1960 Mark V was the MPG champ for the Lincoln Continental, at least between the 1958 Mark III, the 1959 Mark IV, and the 1960 Mark V – adding a whopping 2 mpg over the 1959 Mark IV models. Of course, it lost 35 hp from the 1959 model and I’m not sure if that was a good trade-off or not.
It’s hard to argue with that crazy grille! The former owner reportedly restored this car sometime in the 1980s and he drove it. And, not just drove it, he drove it a lot. He passed away in 2010 and, for reasons that escape me, the grandsons had no interest in his car collection so off they go. I’m surprised at the low bid price on this car. I had more money than this into my 1966 Continental Coupe and it didn’t look half this nice. Ugh. If I didn’t still have nightmares about mine I might go after this one. Lincoln only made 807 Continental Mark V sedans in 1960.
This gorgeous interior looks, well, gorgeous. $8,000 is a screaming bargain for this car if everything else looks as good as the interior does. Hagerty lists a #3 good condition car as being worth $11,500. This car, while needing some deferred maintenance work, surely looks like it’s in at least good condition to me. The back seat appears to be perfect and I don’t see really a single flaw in the interior anywhere. If there is one, our eagle eye readers will pick it out. You can pick out some details in the trunk area that may not be Pebble Beach quality, but for a solid driver car, who really cares, just so it doesn’t leak and just so the car doesn’t leave you stranded.
Now that’s a nice-looking engine, other than the hopefully-not-missing air cleaner center cover. In 1960, to appease even well-heeled Lincoln buyers’ mpg concerns, the company got rid of the 4-barrel carb and outfitted the 430 cubic-inch V8 with a 2-barrel. That move brought the horsepower down from 350 hp in 1959 to 315 hp, but it boosted the highway mpg rating from 14 to 16 mpg. I would probably take a 2 mpg penalty to have another 35 hp in a 5,100-pound car, but that’s just me. This car is being “sold as in driver condition, not restored or a show car. Will need tires, hoses, flushing the coolant to be ready for a road trip.” Are there any fans of the Continental Mark III, IV, or V out there?
Flashy. And complete with mandatory dagmars.
That interior rivals today’s luxury cars. Now if it wasn’t longer than my garage…
Back in 1960 if you were the one driving this Yacht home from the dealer, you were somebody in town.
This is a very nice one. You don’t see many like this outside of a museum.
Beautiful! So over the top it’s unbelievable. I would love it.
Years ago Neil Young decided it would be cool to have an electric Lincoln like this (but a ’59 convertible) and spent years building it. Then it burned and he built it again.
Fred, Neil Young’s elevator dosen’t go to the top floor. He should have left it alone.
Oh, but it does! It just skips a few floors on the way.
Lance… wow …at least he has an elevator….. you?
I feel certain that a electric conversion attempted in this day and age would be much more successful…functional…and cool.
I think Fantom Works had one on their show. Lots of ’60-only parts and they had a b!tch of a time getting to run properly.
http://fantomworks.com/project/1960-lincoln-2/
That rear window was something else. I saw one on a Mercury (IIRC) and it was neat when the driver put it down for ‘flow through’ ventilation.
I think this may be longer than a late model crew cab long bed pick up. I remember a customer had one of these years ago. We had a cramped parking lot and it was hard getting it in and out of the shop. That thing would cruise at 80mph and you wouldn’t feel like you were moving. You don’t see em this nice anymore. If you want one, buy this one because restoring one would cost a fortune!
Sirs,
I “had” one of these…bought for $800.00…the front suspension was unique to that year, transmission went out on Daughter’s Wedding, overheated…the electrical items are a nightmare….the engine..well yes OK..but really (??) $8,000…humm what not $ 5000.00……..
These containers transported a lot of stolen to order cars for the Asian market. They couldn’t stop them all!
I was wondering how anyone got in or out of the car when it is in the trailer. Maybe through the drop down rear window? Just shows that you can get into the hobby for less than $10,000 and have a car you can drive.
The containers have side doors and they swing open. Very convenient lol
I think he was wondering how to get in the CAR, not the container… a side door in the container isn’t going to help much if you can’t open the car doors.
I’m still laughing about seeing MPG featured in a story about a ’60s Lincoln. At 10-12 mpg in real-world conditions, most Lincoln owners prefer not to think about fuel consumption. And we certainly don’t talk about it in front of our spouses. Two barrel or not, that 430 is thirsty.
Cool car, and in remarkable condition. It’s a lot of car for $8k. If it stays in that price range, and you like these, jump on it.
– John
I’m with GearHead. Never mind the gas mileage. If you want that, buy something else.
Look at the door plate, not a great masking tape job. The repaint is obvious. Also the engine bay is too immaculate to be untouched. Interior seems to be original but there are master craftsmen that can bring it back to “original like” near, very near perfect factory oem. Any reply/comments on my observation from the pictures is welcome.
Scotty G.,
The ’66 Lincoln coupe is one of my favorites, too, I saw this one at the 2016 Street Rod Nationals in Louisville. Is this your car? What kind of problems (expenses) did you have with yours?
I owned one of these years ago. Mine was a ’59 Premiere 4-door hardtop,
and boy, that thing was a beast! Yes, it had the huge 430 V-8 that cranked
out somewhere near 370 HP, but it also had that roll down rear window too.
Everything about that car was supersized–including the cost of keeping it
running. I used to get a kick out of watching the young ladies as they drove
my car because they looked so dainty doing it! I wound up selling it due to
an annoying tendancy to vapor lock on hot summer days. It used to be
quite embarrassing to be out on a date and suddenly have the engine croak.
Nearly bought another one in the late ’90’s, but after seeing the car, my wife
said “Oh hell no!” and that was that. Nice write up too! really enjoy looking
at the site daily. BTW, I just found out that the owner of the house next to
mine has a ’53 or ’54 Studillac stashed in the garage there. Will share more with you once the car is uncovered and I can get inside.
Saving my pennies for a ragtop coupe version. This one is nice though.
Headed for a new home after the exchange for $16,100!
Headed for a new home after the exchange for $16,100!
I WANT IT. I’m Canadian so $ exchange hurts. I owned a ’75 Lincoln and then a ’79 Lincoln. After that an ’86 Caddy, then a ’95 Caddy.
The ride between each was so different. One rocked side to side and the other end to end. They were all about 3 years old each when I bought them and well looked after. The original owners would lose a bundle on depreciation and I saved a bundle. No mechanical problems just general maintenance. I had no regrets with any of them. I would love to own this one. I’m 70 years old and know quality when I see it……….John.
Beautiful, well built automobiles. And not really any thirstier than their competitors.