I sat down a while back and worked out that over the years I have managed to clock up over 1,000,000 miles behind the wheel here in Australia. In that time the number of Lincolns of any description that I have actually seen on my travels (as opposed to read about) could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And yet, over the last week I’ve been in a position to write about two of them on Barn Finds. This 1957 Premiere 2-door is for sale here on Craigslist with a price of $7,500. Blessed with a clean title, it is located in Aguanga, California. A big thanks must go out to Barn Finds reader Michael for sending this one through to us.
Sadly the seller is a person of few words… and even fewer pictures. The listing only contains 4 pictures, and the description doesn’t tell us much. What it does tell us is that the car has been parked-up in hibernation since the 1960s. What it doesn’t tell us is why it was parked some 50 years ago. Scanning the few pictures on offer does allow us to draw one positive: That is that the car appears to have been parked in a reasonably solid structure, and on concrete not dirt. I wonder if the person in this shot is the owner. If it is he doesn’t look too pleased to be selling his pride and joy.
The seller states that the car is not running. Unfortunately he doesn’t give any indication as to whether or not the 368ci Y-Block turns freely. What he does say is that the car is sporting its original paint, and that it has an incredibly solid, rust free body. When you look at this shot taken once it has emerged from hiding and been given a wash, it does show promise. According to my research these were particularly prone to corrosion, and rust has claimed a high percentage of those built. So if this one is solid then that is a huge bonus. I just wish that there were shots of the interior or under the hood. My favorite part of the listing is where the owner states that it “needs some lovin'”. You have to love that!
There were few options to be had on Lincolns in the 1956/57 model years. Pretty much everything that you would expect to be an option came under the heading of “standard equipment”. About the only options were power assisted brakes and air con. There is no mention of power assisted brakes in the ad, but I’m pretty sure that this one doesn’t have air con. If it did there would be small air scoops on the tops of both rear quarters to feed air into the system. Those aren’t visible in this shot. What is visible is the fact that the lenses on both front turn signals appear to be broken. This may be an issues as these are quite hard to source.
A check with Hagerty shows that there were originally 15,185 of these built, and that a #4 condition car is valued at $11,700. With a buy price of $7,500, this one will probably cost you more than it’s worth to get it to #4 condition. However, given that these were only produced for 2 years and that there are so few left, if this is rust free and solid it might actually be worth it as a long-term investment.
Wonder if it sat on that dirt floor for the entire 50 years. Not good if it did.
LOTSA LOTSA ROTSA
Nice car in it’s day though!
The floor looks like very dirty concrete to me. Pretty neat looking car.
1957 was, for a seven year old, a time that should have been captured and re-bottled for use at a later date. My dad was a Chrysler engineer for it’s Plymouth division, and cruising on warm summer nights in the company car was encouraged.
The KC Country Club Plaza scene was witness to a constant parade of new car models during cruise nights. A new Lincoln was parked at a Clark Super 100 station at the same time my dad was servicing the Fury. Hoods open was a guaranteed crowd gatherer, and comparing cars was a great past -time.
The fins on both cars were the major focal point after the engine comparison. An exciting time that has since been replaced by digitronics. The Lincoln was certainly the queen of the luxury market back then.
The bad part; buffing off Johnson’s hard-as-cement car polish and wax. An unkempt company car was a serious offense back then. I can still smell the fragrance of that horrible wax.
Sure is funny how a derelict Lincoln can elicit such memories. Car meets today just don’t quite capture the sno-cone flavor of the 1950s.
Back to The Future…
Well said, Dick. Yes, it’s a look back to a time when we were adversaries with evil dictators, and our leaders represented our country with dignity. That’s all gone now.
Yeah brother! “Street corners and Tastee Freeze”, as CHICAGO’s hit describes of the time before things got really complicated. ‘Seven for a Dollar’ hamburgers, vs $7 for a hamburger at a franchise. On and on…
From what I’ve read, some of these decent premiere coupes have basically given up their bodies so a rusty convertible can live again.
The body is still solid on this old girl so maybe that makes it financially viable.
I have to say that this car elicits a much deeper response than any ’57 Chevy I’ve ever seen. I was a 7-year-old in 1957 also. At the time the Fairlane 500’s and the T-birds were my favorites. But a Lincoln was always something special. Not nearly as common as a Cadillac the Lincoln had a faint aura of mystery, as if it was just a tad unknowable.
From the Continental on through the late ’60’s all Lincolns deserve to be respected. Not all can be preserved but this one looks like it certainly deserves some lovin’.
My uncle had one when I was very young.
His was a Premiere 4-door hardtop, that
was, to quote a popular song, “Big as a
whale” this car was huuuuge! At least
I thought so for the time. I was maybe
six or seven then and to a small boy,
everything seemed gigantic. Still recall
riding to church in that long black beast
and Uncle Bill pressing the button to
lower or raise all four side windows
“like magic” as we drove along. After he
got transferred to the night shift, he let
my Mom drive it when she needed to.
That all ended one Sunday morning
when she hit the brakes to avoid hitting
another car and pitched Mrs. Brown
into the windshield! Mom never drove
the Lincoln again. In fact, it traumatuzed
her so much that she wouldn’t drive any
car with power brakes for a long,long
time. These cars were smooth and
powerful machines that exemplified
America best when bigger was indeed
better.
Even looking like it is now,this is a good looking car.IMO I would not part or junk this jewel because it represented an era when cars had an image of their own instead of the cookie cutters today.
I think if you look up “ugly” in the dictionary you’ll find 1956 Lincoln Premier is top of the list.
Sorry, Wayne, have to disagree. The ’56 is a much cleaner design, not having the quad lights and tacked on fins this ’57 has. You want ugly, look no further than the 1958-60 models. Was a bigger car ever built?
Scottymac, that was my typo. I thought I typed 57. I didn’t proof read. By the time I realised my mistake it was too late to edit.
I’m going to guess the car sitting behind this one is a 1959 Lincoln. Anybody else up for a guess?
That’s right, jw454. I recognized that bumper right away. Could be the lower-model Premiere, but guessing it’s probably a Continental Mark III hardtop or cvt. Of the two, I’d rather have the `57. The `58-`60 Lincolns were just to garish and overdone.
Those bumpers are HUGE!!!! Bet they weigh a ton too!
Yeah, I want what’s behind it……but I wouldn’t say no to it, either!
One interior photo and a single under hood shot would make all the difference. The fact that the passenger side window is down makes the interior condition suspect. The un dinged body glass and chrome is a positive. The dry thick hardly smudged dust leads me to believe the paint will buff out nicely. Its a buy, good luck getting to it. The map location is on the out skirts of the middle of no where.
Now that’s a boat! The rear bumper looks like it’s set up for a continental kit from the little you can see of it.
Hope it makes it back onto the road where it should be.
`57 Lincolns were overshadowed by Cadillacs then, as they are now. However, for shear pleasure of driving, you can’t beat either a `56 or `57 Lincoln. The 300HP 368 V8 was more than enough to pull these cruisers around, and the interiors were usually a gorgeous multi-colored ensemble very fitting for such a car. It appears solid, I’ll give it that but an interior photo would be of greater help here. If cloth, it could be rotted & torn. If leather, it would need to be seen to gage if it’s savable. Almost guaranteed to have PB, PS, PW and P seat. In `57, the AC units were still trunk mounted and expensive to restore; be thankful this one doesn’t have it.
Several “want” points deducted with they are obvious flip cars shown on a roll-back or trailer. Still, if I had the room and a little more love for the Ford brands it could be a nice project.
Seller says it has no rust, but I see some near the bottom of the passenger door. Still, a rare car, worthy of restoration.
No rust on the door…just a scratch
The Seller is going to have to do better than this. Or he’s really not interested in selling the thing. I am a big Lincoln enthusiast and the price is too high. Especially without air, and anything else absent or terminal. I’m also too far away or I’d go and look at it anyway.
Come on folks its out of the barn’ hose it off and take moor pictures under the hood and interior I’m from Pa and am interested , Incolns all the the way. Show more picts please…
Ok guys, this one is mine and I apologize for the lack of detailed pics. I’ve just been a lazy bastard plain and simple, but don’t hold that against me.
Interior is complete but needing restoration, headliner and front seat upholstery are most definitely bad.
Car is SOLID! Whoever said they saw rust in the sills in the pics has a vivid imagination. I see nothing and I’m standing next to it.
Trunk is solid and will clean up well, I’ve polished small sections of the paint and I know there is shine to be revealed.
Whole car needs a mega cleaning, suck the rat crap out, wipe everything down, reveal the “beauty” beneath the years of neglect.
Downsides… tires are dead, crack in windshield , missing one hubcap, passenger window is stuck down, air cleaner in trunk, looks like one valve cover was removed long ago and just set back in place without the nuts tightened. There are a couple dents, but no major collisions, front bumper a little off kilter from the move out of the shed by careless “helpers”.
I had great plans when I got it, but it has sat for over a year now at my place and that’s too long.
I want someone else to love on it…it’s not going to be me.
I just came across this. Is the car still yours and if so where are you located.?