Just shave the roof off and boom – you have a parade car. That’s what the sellers of this low-mileage Continental did, which I guess is better than having yet another mothballed Lincoln gathering dust on a showroom floor. The seller is confident you won’t find another one like it, and also can’t get a conversion done for what it may sell for. Do you agree? Find this parade’ized Continental here on eBay with an opening bid of $5,000 and no action – yet.
There has to be a producer in Hollywood who wants to see this in a movie. Aside from that, this is a total fun/throwaway purchase for someone, as I can’t see too many professional parade-goers making a living out of blowing $10K on a car to use exclusively in parades. Here in Rhode Island, we have the oldest running 4th of July parade in America, so perhaps there’s a local politician who could use this to make a splash (besides getting arrested for corruption.)
The seller says everything was done as it should be, as it relates to negating the limited structural rigidity this Lincoln once had. Apparently it’s more robust than I thought, as he claims, “We did not need to reinforce the frame. It is Stout from the factory. We did, however, have to reinforce the B-pillars (front doors are hinged from them) and make a grab bar that connects them to add structural integrity and allow the doors to close properly.” I’m curious: do our Continental experts support or deny this assertion?
The A/C works, although this is one of the few cars where it’s not actually needed since there is no roof – as in, no convertible top, no removable hard top, etc. So, good to have on those days when the wind in your hair can’t keep up. Some other maintenance items have been addressed, including: “New tires. New dual exhaust. New fuel tank. Rebuilt carburetor. New distributor, plugs, and plug wires.” While not entirely useful, does this Continental provide enough entertainment value to take a chance on?
Well looks like a 1200 dollar donor car
for someone needing an engine and trannie 😮
Nothing new here other than redneck craftsmanship ..it’s like putting a four wheel drive under s vette 🤢
Parts car…..2500 tops on this butcher Lincoln.
Oh hell yeah! That looks like two tons of fun right there. I have a parade car that has no roof and I use it all of the time. It is a boat I turned into a car. Anyone who doesn’t like this just does not know how to have some fun. :)
This is still a full frame vehicle so there should be no problem structurally.
Karguy James
Do you live in Spokane? I’ve been seeing a boat/car around town lately.
I’m in the Clearwater Florida area.
Karguy James
Your boat/car is much nicer than the one I’ve been seeing. Beautiful job!
I don’t hate it, if you don’t think of it as a car and think of it as a re-useable float.
I don’t care for the wood grain but there is nothing wrong with a custom Lincoln.
I believe it was Billy Gibbons that said “Nothin’ is too good to cut up” here is my in progress Continental conversion. Call it redneck I don’t care.
It is redneck but that’s also what many of us are
LOL :D
Jack in NW PA, I am a “Yankee” but your conversion looks good! I like it.
@Jack, that looks good…reminds me of a funeral home flower car, which in my view make very cool and unique cruisers.
It sure has an nice tub. Good work! So much more handy too.
i kind of like it. in ’79 i saw one similar at a 4th of july fireworks event near west bloomfield, michigan. rolling down the road in heavy traffic it was going the other way so i just had a brief glance. the top was down and the cover was in place as this one has. never knew if it was a functional convertible top or not. if memory serves correctly it was a 2 door model but it looked sharp in black on black.
the decision to use leather on the leading edge of the windshield is an interesting solution to a rough edged problem. the grab bar between the b pillars looks good in the 1 or 2 pictures here. hopefully it doesn’t take away from leg room. the quality of the actual execution of these 2 solutions would go a long way to helping me decide CP or NP.
personally, i like the exterior color but not the wood grain or the similar color for the interior. black would be too hot but grey or silver would look sharp, esp with black carpet.
There were 2 door Town Coupes custom convertibles being made back 1977-1979. My friend had one. The 2 door used a functional convertible top that came from the Mercury Cougar.
Lincoln should have kept building 4 door convertibles. Except for the wood grain, it doesn’t look bad.
I don’t think it looks too bad but, I live in the upper mid-west so a car with no top has limitations here. I do like the Nash in the background though.
It’s my car, Folks! Never used it as a sedan but have enjoyed the heck out of it as two leather sofas floating through the air!
Someone said it–cheap entertainment. Wouldn’t be selling if I wasn’t losing my fancy storage space/garage.
Mark
Saw a guy do this on the Outer Banks with a late 70s Cadillac. Removed the trunk lid to more easily store his surf boards and cruised up and down the bypass with three of his buddies in comfort. It was as cool if not cooler than the Powerwagons, Broncos and blazers that were a plenty.
“…oldest running 4th of July parade in America.”
Ahhh, U must B in that boat buildin town, Y not THIS boat too?
At 1st glance I thought it was a wagon due to the ‘wood grain’.
I guess the vinyl on the back deck is ‘fake’ no convert top in there?
The “boot” covers a padded platform designed for a beauty queen to sit on and wave to the crowd…..
It’s actually not bad for what it is. It’s in nice condition and some attention has been paid to the details. Realistically, If you have a use case for this and you live in a temperate climate, you could have a lot of fun with it, Even up here on the Oregon coast I could use it for more than half the year, no problem. (hell, I haven’t put the top on my Jeep for years since I only run it in the summer) Don’t hit any big bumps with this Lincoln, though – I’ll bet the cowl shake is phenomenal.
There’s only two things I would personally have done differently. One, I’d have left the woodgrain off. Two, I’d have left the top on. :)
There’s NO discernable cowl shake at all. I’ve had factory-built converts that shook much more than this car.
The eBay listing calls this a “4-door convertible.” Convertible to what? A useless wet mess when it rains?
When I was a kid, my dad had a Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible for a short while. The only thing I remember about it is when we went for a family drive on the brand-new Interstate and it started to rain. Dad pulled over and tried to raise the top for 5 minutes until he realized it had an interlock that required the trans to be in “Park” before the top motors would activate. We got a little damp, but it was fun watching all the parts move to raise the top.
Would be ideal for a Cuban taxi driver. A total tourist ride and a moneymaker.
And only a little “newer” than the current rolling stock.
Saw a show with a DeSoto chop top being driven and used in Cuba. Rented for weddings and such