When the Mark III was introduced in 1968 as a 1969 model, it wasn’t the first Mark III. There was actually a Continental Mark III in 1958 and a Continental Mark IV in 1959. They were not continuation models from the Continental Mark II of 1956-1957. They were fancier editions of Lincoln’s Capri and Premiere models. So ten years later, Lincoln wanted to erase the 1958 and 1959 Mark’s from our memory and introduced the Continental Mark III. This was actually a continuation of the Mark II and had some of the same styling features such as the long hood, short deck and most importantly the simulated rear deck spare tire hump. Here is a 1970 Continental Mark III for sale here on eBay in West Kill, New York at a Buy it Now Price of $27,000.
This car is not original but has been restored. The seller says that he has over $50,000 in the car, so his loss could be your gain. The paint job alone was $10,000. Don’t be fooled by the pictures. It appears the car is black but is actually triple green. The NOS vinyl top cost over $2,000 to buy and install. The correct wheel covers for the car were $1,000 for the set of four. Everything on the car is pretty much numbers matching.
The seller says the car was “celebrity owned” but does not say who that celebrity was. The interior is original and there are no cracks in the dash and steering wheel. The power window motors were replaced. Two things about the car are not working, however; the air conditioning and the Cartier clock. I would think in this price range it would be important that those two things work.
The engine is the 460 V-8 4 barrel with only 59,000 miles. The car has the original carburetor, manifold, and a new original style exhaust system. The Continental Mark III has been in the seller’s possession for 15 years and stored in a heated garage during this time. Although the price might seem a little high, it could be a good deal for a new owner to have the restoration already done with only a few items left to make this a perfect car.
Celebrity huh? Maybe John Voight? Shades of George Costanza!
Nice ride though.
I used to service a few of these when I worked at a gas station back in 1970. They were damned nice to drive, and I thought they were a pretty cool ride, back then.
A few celebrities did own the latter-day Mk IIIs – I used to see them around SoCal – but I’d want to see this car’s provenance to confirm the seller’s claim.
For $27K, I would expect that everything should work on this example…
As a classic collector and fan back in 2015 I was looking for Non Restored ALL original early 70s Lincoln 2 door Mark3 I found very clean Original 11K miles also triple green color The asking price was a Firm 23K My second choice was 78 Cadillac Coupe deVille also Original 16K miles I paid 17K for it . so at first I wanted buy Lincoln I ended up buying the Caddy !! I dont regret it as its slightly smaller dimensions than Lincoln better suited for me here in Beirut Lebanon small country with narrow congested roads !
I believe that the ’50’s one was a MKII.
You’re right, angliagt, and were replaced by the Lincoln-based Mk III in ’58, as Bill mentioned above.
For you trivia buffs, there was a plan to expand the Mark II line for 1958 onward to include a four-door hardtop with slightly different styling from the coupe, but the decision was made to move the Continental onto the then-new unibody Lincoln platform.
Considering that there was a severe recession at that time, it was probably the right thing to do, as was the decision to go to the ‘Squarebird’, that year.
This is what Frank Cannon drove early in the series.
I am Also very Nosatlgic for Retro Tv and movies ! I do have complete Cannon series on dvd !
Thats a great thing with the interweb Max! Beirut Lebanon, not sure what they have for TV. Take care, Mike.
A big car for a big man! Check out on Youtube William Conrad’s early film noir roles…..not the roly poly detective from Cannon.
I must be getting old. A car I think was mostly driven by not yet made men in the mob appeals to me now! LOL !
Before the Mark IV?
I like this very much, the 2 door is so stylish!
@Beatnik Bedouin: There’s just no way.in Hell that FoMoCo could
ever erase that ponderous beast from my memory. One of my.first
cars was a ’59 Lincoln Premier 4-door HT I picked up from a relative
that just wanted it gone. Yeah, it was a nice looking old car, but the
mechanical issues it had drove me bats! I’d get one problem fixed,
and three more popped up to take its place. That old car was chock
full of gremlins that vied for my attention. The biggest of these was
vapor locking on hot summer days. My date and I took this car and
it left us stranded! The darned thing vapor locked on the way to the
movies. Had to wait thirty minutes for the car to cool off before it
would start again. When it did, we drove to a thrift.store where I
bought some spring type clothespins and attatched them to my
fuel line from the carb to the fuel pump. Never did it again after
that. Sold it though and bought a ’58 Imperial LeBaron.4-door HT.
It was a much nicer car once I got the problems sorted out and
fixed and the hemi running right. As for the ’69 shown here, it’s
a nice car, but I’ve got some reservations about going to a place
named West Kill New York to pick this car up. Just that name
makes me wonder if this isn’t a retired Mafia staff car and they didn’t
tell us? Whoever buys it needs to check the trunk for any unwanted
surprises….just sayin!
Jimmy Hoffa maybe?
I was really hoping that you would mention the clothes pin on the fuel line trick. I never did understand how that worked. I wouldn’t think that wood would act as an efficient heat sink.
Beautiful car and beautiful colour…. these always give me the impression of having a slightly chopped top, due to the amazing hood and trunk proportions. This would rank as a dream car for me – windows down cruising with Sinatra booming from the stereo. That’s life!
Mafia staff car–u keepa you hands off.
Good luck to the new owner!!
wondered where Hoffa went…
Chrisful—–if you are wondering where Hoffa went, LIke we all are, there’s a book out called “I heard you paint houses”. This is a deathbed confession of Frank Sheeran, the Hired gun who did the hit. the details are all there. There’s another good book called “the quiet Don”, about the mafia boss that ordered the hit. Russell Bufalino, the head of the Northeast Pennsylvania Mafia. Bufalino also set up the Appalachin, NY meeting of the mob in 1957. State police raided the meeting and arrested 65 hoods. It also was living proof that there was indeed a “mafia” Sorry this is off off topic but thought you guys might be interested. GPC
I worked on these in the late ’60’s & early ’70’s. They were great prairie schooners. They would cruise all day at 80, and you never felt a bump or heard any road noise. For the day, there was an amazing amount of technology in these cars. Wipers that would start when it rained, headlights that dimmed automatically, a dimming rear view mirror, automatic temp control, automatic seat back releases, etc. Probably the biggest drawback was the mileage. Just realize that you were moving 5000+ pounds worth of car. 10-14 MPG was about average without messing with the emission controls, but with gas in the .25 – .35 cents per gallon range, who cared!
i am an enthusiast of these cars, I;’ve had two of them, and Chuck is right about the gas mileage. The rest of the car was simply smooth and mine was reliable.
I am on the Left Coast and have my eye on a third, this one is too far away but lovely, the one I’m looking at needs an engine and is less money, less attractive,
and I’m not surprised if the Seller says he’s in it $50,000.00 although I ‘d like to see the documentation for that statement. Anyway, the one I’m looking at will be updated for modern driving conditions here.
Somebody buy this. It’s a hell of a nice car.
I hope someone buys it… and i hope they increase in value like the Mark II did when it turns 50 (next year)!
460 cubic inch. Great power for a sport luxuary coupe. Mine was a dark brown metallic. Hate leather or vinyl, its just too hot in desert. Only issue was the two fibre optic wires. On package tray. Faced forward in your rear view mirror to let you know the tail, brake and turn lites were working. Found replacements in a wrecking yard. Car was perfect. 1979, traded for a 62 Continental 4 door convertible. Joe
Awesome car, great styling