“Slant-Eyed Monster” was the nickname of the 1958-60 Lincoln Continentals in Ford’s design studios. To me, the cars looked like a big Japanese insect heading your way from a 1950s B-grade movie. And yet, the Edsel and its “horse collar” grille got all the bad press. The seller has a third-year, third-generation Continental coupe that looks good overall and has a rebuilt 430 cubic inch “MEL” V8. From Lafayette, Colorado, this land yacht from the heyday of American automobile styling is available here on craigslist for $13,000.
The Continental was part of Lincoln’s arsenal from 1939 to 2020. It returned as a new unibody car in 1958, positioned to go up against the Cadillac Eldorado and Imperial LeBaron, which all also had over-the-top styling. At 227 inches in length, the 1960 Continental’s 131-inch wheelbase was the longest ever made by FOMOCO. Besides the slanted peepers, the cars had a reverse-slant roofline that could accommodate the retractable “Breezeway” rear window that Mercury would also use in the 1960s. For all three years, production numbers for the Continental hovered between 11-12,000 units, with 1,500 being the average number of coupes like this one produced each year.
We’re told this Lincoln originated in California, which could help account for its lack of corrosion after 66 years. The body is good, the paint okay (original?), and the interior passable, with some upholstery needs probably waiting (for example, the blanket over the wide front seat). The 430 V8 has been refreshed and sports a 4-barrel carburetor. The seller says other recent work has been done but does not indicate what that includes.
If you’re a fan of these slant-eyed monsters, this Continental could be one of the nicer ones left. The car has 72,000 miles, which explains why there was a need to go into the engine (they didn’t run 200,000 miles back then like they do today). The asking price may be negotiable, and the seller has no interest in taking in a trade. Thanks for the cool tip, Barn Finder Barney!
Man, this is one BIG car. Californy, you say? Hey, this wasn’t a car for the boom mike guy, who knows what famous person rode in this car. I doubt an actress, they would have a limo. Some big shot producer however. What the author doesn’t say, is what a colossal loss these were. I read, Ford lost money on every one they made, and Ford lost an estimated $60 million( $650 mil today) from ’58-’60, right at the worst time with the Edsel fiasco. It’s was not the best time for Ford, even considered axing the brand, but the ’61 restyle changed everything.
I’m not sure how practical this is for today, more like for a display with a velvet rope around it as visitors pass by, we actually had cars like this when excess was king. I’d dare say, the last of the truly fabulous cars.
My first collector car was a 66 6 cyl Mustang Conv. I joined a car club that was taking a tour to Indianapolis. When we met up, three people had these Continentals. We would get on the highway, and I was left behind in the exhaust smoke. My only saving grace was my car always started and, on the trip, had to give rides to the repair shops we could find along the way. I bought a Mark III next year so I could keep up.
a lot of car here. prices are either really cheap or expensive. this looks to be a decent driver but will cost a fortune if you were to restore it.
Uh, break out the clothespins folks, you’re gonna need ’em. These cars vapor lock any chance they get! And it’s been like that since Ford gave us the flathead V-8 in 1932. I wouldn’t take one out on a day where the
high that day was gonna be 90°
or higher. Unless you wanna walk to the nearest garage and get your ass chewed out by your
date the whole time. That’s what
happened to me, and it was all over the school that following Monday. That’s what happened
to me and I never heard the end of it. A friend of Dad’s showed me the clothespin cure and I’ve used it on every Ford I owned after that. You take a bag of wooden clothespins and place them on your gas line from your
fuel pump and on up to the carb.
The wood dissipates the heat on the gas line that causes your fuel
to vaporize BEFORE it gets up to
the carb where it should be vaporized and mixed with air being drawn in through the breather. Sadly though, the folks at Ford never got the memo on this and many a motorist that owned a Ford found themselves
stranded by the roadside on a hot
summer day. Sold my Lincoln to
a classmate for $750 (?) and haven’t owned one since. I did the smart thing and bought my ’66 Cadillac Calais 4-door hardtop
from my parents. After I sold both my Lincoln AND my ’58 Eldorado brougham. The Eldorado
had that God awful air suspension that suspension that
gave me fits. And between the Lincoln, the Caddy, and the cash I
had in the bank, (I was on my first
tour back then) I bought my parent’s car and never looked back. Would I want one of these
now? Maybe if I could get an EFI
or TPI setup for the 430 to bypass the vapor lock issue here in Florida. And along with that, a
nice understanding lady that wouldn’t chew my ass out if the car ever broke down. Hope Angel sees this one. I know for sure that she likes them.
Beast!
One of the ulgyist cars on planet earth.
Ugly is such a relative term, especially coming from someone with “rambler” in their name. Don’t get me wrong, I’m from Milwaukee, and I oughta know, I love all Ramblers, but they didn’t exactly win any beauty contests.When it comes to ugly and planet, the French have got to win that one,,no offense.
Sorry the Cyber Truck will hold that position forever!!
It may be ugly but it’s got presence!
Howard, you just reminded me of
the Blatz beer jingles they used to
play in the 1960s when I was a kid growing up in Bloomington. Seemed like the local TV stations
played them constantly back then.
…”I’m from Milwaukee
and I oughta know.
That Blatz is the best
beer wherever you go.
Smoother, less filling,
and tastes great it’s clear.
Blatz is Milwaukee’s
finest beer.”
There was a local weather man
who did his weather reports in front of a plate glass window
that had a wether map on it.
And he would draw the front
symbols for warm and cold fronts on it. And in the upper left
corner of that window, you could
see the Blatz beer logo as they were sponsoring that portion of
the evening news. His name was
John Day, and he was the weather man for WMBD channel
31 out of Peoria Illinois. He did that same schtick until 1975 or thereabouts. And my guys and I
did a couple of MDAA telethons
with him whenever we could. And his female co anchor, OMG!
she was gorgeous 🥰! (Insert wolf whistle and heavy breathing
here). Those were the days!
…And if you wanted to get effed up in a hurry, Blatz was your beer.
You were well on your way after only a 6 pack. But me, oh no not me, I recall drinking what amounted to a 12 pack or so when we did an MDAA slot in 1975. And I was still pretty hammered from the night before
when we did a Bloomington only
spot for Telecable channel 10. It
was my 21st birthday and I was partying like it was 1999. I’d been
at it since Saturday night and I was really smashed after 10 or so bourbon and Cokes when we did the slot for Telecable over at the Moose Lodge there in Bloomington that Sunday afternoon. We were the last group to perform that day and the
wait was unbearable so I did my
best George Jones impersonation and waited while the other bands played. When it
was our turn, I was MORE than 3 sheets in the wind but I still played. I partied and played that whole Labor Day weekend and didn’t sober up until maybe Wednesday of that week. But that story I just told ties in with this car. It would seem as though
the whole styling department at
Lincoln was on a bender when they designed this poor car, and it
shows. Definitely a hold my beer
moment for Ford and a really bad
hangover for Lincoln.