A head of state arriving in Washington during the Johnson Administration might have been whisked away in one of these. The Democrats, Kennedy included, loved Lincolns. This is a 1966 Lehmann-Peterson Lincoln Continental limousine, one of 159 produced that year. Only 20 are known to exist now. This car is here on Craigslist in Commerce City, Colorado (near Denver), with a price of just $3,100. But it’s going to need lots and lots of work before it sees a road again.
The vendor sees it as a “great project car.” It would certainly be a uniquely elegant (if thirsty) conveyance when restored. Such a resurrection won’t be as costly as turning around, say, a Mercedes-Benz 600—the Lincoln uses a lot of affordable components—but it is still an ambitious project.
“With a little attention, carb work, tune-up, and fresh gas, this car will start and run,” the owner asserts. We only get a glimpse of the 426-cubic-inch V-8 engine, but what we can see is covered in dust. The good here is that it’s in a dry-ish part of the country, and the body (fenders, doors, quarter panels) look pretty good. But there’s copious surface rust underneath, and what looks like accident damage on the driver’s side rear door, and rear quarter. The owner also says the rear floor pans are bad. And water also got under the cool padded roof, destroying both the padding and the roof panels underneath. It’s hard to tell if the sunroof was left open, or if the whole roof is simply rotted, leaving a big hole. Someone painted the rear bumper white, so that will have to be dealt with.
The car is definitely rare. Lehmann-Peterson built less than 600 Lincoln limos, starting in 1963. The Chicago-based company—working on its own—acquired a ’63 Continental and cut it in half, then added 34 inches of stretch as a new center section. The resulting car, luxuriously trimmed, was shipped to Ford, which did 40,000 miles of testing on it. The verdict was thumbs-up, and conversions continued until the company was absorbed into Moloney Coachbuilders circa 1970. Only about 130 of these L-P limos survive.
Looking at a restored example, the boxlike structure (in ruins in the car on offer) is a wood-paneled console that goes between the rear seats. See below for what they look like when restored.
There were radio and HVAC controls for the passengers. There are luxury touches throughout. These limos were certainly top-drawer offerings.
Hey, it ran and drove when parked. It probably will start without too much coaxing, but then the real work will begin. Thanks to Chuck Foster for this submission of quite an unusual vehicle.
Scrap it
Demo derby special.
Big C, I don’t think it would survive the first hit, it would gold up. Just because they are rare doesn’t mean they are valuable. Strip it for parts and scrap the rest, it’s a pile of junk
This is the car that the Corgi Toys model was based upon.
If there is a re-make of “Bonnie and Clyde” this could be used in the final scene.
Not worth the effort of Barn Finds publicizing this one….come on, there are more worthy vehicles out there to be featured!
Toast
These L-P limousines were troublesome when new, especially the electrics and A/C systems. I am very familiar with them, having done major work on several, and I had 1965 #88.
I don’t believe the cabinet between the jump seats is original to the car, because it’s so tall it blocks the A/C vents behind it, and L-P used the factory HVAC controls installed in the cabinet, and this cabinet has cheap on/off switches instead. That big rust hole in the roof is just that, it’s not a sunroof. As far as I know L-P never built one with a front sunroof. It’s almost a certainty that the entire roof will need to be replaced, due to massive rust. When these were built, they only painted the roof with primer, then fitted a padded vinyl covering that was not waterproof. The roof needed a regular coating of a sealer to preserve the material. Once water gets under the vinyl, the padding traps the water on every square inch of the roof, and this is what happens.
This is going to be a serious amount of work for even experienced restoration facilities, and anyone buying it should source not one, but two parts cars, as it’s gonna take both roofs. As a parts car, the only valuable parts are the division window pieces unique to L-P limousines, and perhaps the rear facing seats & the body side extension panels.
Financially this is beyond restoration, and paying a reputable shop to perform one will likely be in excess of $100,000 perhaps 50% more by the time it’s done.
Shipping these is not easy, as many roll-back trucks can’t handle the length, and I speak from experience when I say shippers typically charge twice as much because it takes the space of 2 smaller cars.
If this was available 20 years ago when I was still running my shop, I would buy it, strip out the division window and rear A/C system, and install it all in a regular sedan.
And FWIW, I sold my L-P limo overseas 30+ years ago, and it ended up in Scandinavia, where I’m told it was used in several “Swedish Erotica XXX” movies, but I’ve only seen some non-XXX still photos from one movie showing the limo in Copenhagen!
I bet you are still “reviewing” movies trying to find your old limo, haha. I drove limos part time a while back in DC, it was a fun job. Best paying customers? Kids, usually proms, then weddings. Worst tippers? Politicians and celebrities. Bachelorette parties were also fun nights. Most fun ever? One wedding where I was the only white guy. The couple, the wedding party and all guests were black, but it was absolutely the best time driving ever! I was invited into the reception. Had a great time.
I dont think theres enough metal in the world to fix that poor car. Yet another, ran when parked scenerio. What they left out was …..parked, in a lake. lol
There is one here in Tucson sitting :)
This piece of junk is not even worthy of commenting on, but commenting on that fact is. Why post this junk?
Why post this junk? Well, it’s for educational purposes. I did not know these existed. Part out the hard to find stuff like Bill said and scrap the rest.
Maybe it is junk. And maybe no one here wants it. I get that.
But, by all means, do continue to feature cars like this.
I enjoy the occasional diversion from the normal stuff!
Michael Berkemeier,
I live for the unusual and weird in the world, especially when it comes to automobiles. Over the last 5 decades I have enjoyed bringing the type of cars that if I didn’t show up with mine, most of the people visiting the car show would never know these cars existed! Many of my rare cars are all original and not show winners, but I also don’t worry about people sitting in my cars [with permission of course].
I used to joke that the rear opening lid on my Tatra 603 created what was often said to be a religious experience, because whenever I would open the lid and show off that air-cooled hemi V8 engine in the rear, 99% of the visitors would exclaim “Oh my God!”
And when I would bring out my 1961 Vanden Plas Princess limousine, a special version created for the British government to be used by the Royal Family while in the USA, visitors would look at the historical paperwork for the car, including photos of the Royals in the limo, and when I would open the rear door and invite them to sit inside, their smiles would be the proverbial “from ear to ear”, as they sat in the very seat the Queen of England sat upon.
Over and over, I was thanked for bringing these rare “less than perfect” cars, and many people said they learned something interesting from my cars. That’s why Barn Finds includes all types of vehicles in all manner of conditions, as they strive to provide a wide-ranging opportunity to both entertain and educate.
I am reminded of an incident that happened at my restoration shop, when I had been asked if a young man battling brain cancer could come out and see all the cars we were working on. Of course I welcomed the family to visit. On their arrival this 6 year old boy asked if we had any “bullet-nosed Studebakers”, and I said yes, we have a 1950 Champion Starlight coupe, but it’s a parts car sitting out back, and not in good condition.
Well that young man had never seen one in real life, and was all over that car, top to bottom. His visit became all about that Studebaker, not the expensive Rolls-Royces, Packards and other rare & valuable cars inside the shop, he wanted his photo taken in the driver’s seat of the Stude, one of the rattiest cars on the property!
I see a rad four door ute waiting to happen.
Sunroofs in limousines are generally over the rear compartment, not the front. That’s just a hole.
I have a 68 lp limo for sale. 79k original miles. lots of new parts asking 17,500. 201 481 4401. Paul