Our own Todd Fitch showed us an unbelievable Mark III two months ago here. This 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III isn’t that nice, but it’s at the very least a nice example, although not a museum piece as with the other car. A two-owner car, this luxury two-door has been mostly garaged for the last three decades so it’ll need to be checked out thoroughly before gliding hither and yon, as a 1970 Mark III owner may have said in 1970. Ok, not one probably ever said that, scratch that part. Thanks to Mitchell G. for the tip!
The odometer reads 61,029 miles on this brown beauty. I see a couple of exterior issues, the main one being the grille seems to be pushed in at the bottom and there are some chips above the right headlight cluster. Not to mention there isn’t a photo showing the headlight doors closed, so I’m assuming that needs work. There is also an area of bubbling paint on the bottom of the right side trunk lid. And, of course, missing letters in the CO_TINENT_L script.
Lincoln offered the Mark III from 1968 for the 1969 model year until the end of 1971. It had been a dozen years since the Continental Mark II and the Mark III was again the top model for Lincoln, even if it used the Thunderbird sedan platform as a cost-saving measure. TV detective Frank Cannon (William Conrad) drove a 1971 Mark III in the first season, but he preferred his Lincoln Bobcat… Just kidding.
Given a few exterior issues, I don’t really see anything alarming inside this gorgeous car. There’s some creasing on the driver’s seat and that’s to be expected after 61,000 miles, and the driver’s side seatbelt doesn’t seem to retract as it should, but otherwise, it looks great inside. The leather seats are beautiful and the back seat doesn’t appear to have ever welcomed a passenger. The trunk looks like my former, beloved ’66 Continental Coupe trunk, with the exception of some surface rust visible around the edges.
Speaking of surface rust, this Poughkeepsie, New York resident Lincoln’s engine compartment could use some detailing. This is Ford’s 460-cu.in. OHV V8 with 365 horsepower and a whopping 500 lb-ft of torque when new. Sending power through a three-speed automatic to the rear wheels, the seller says this Mark III runs but due to sitting for years should be gone through. It’s posted here on craigslist and are asking $7,500. Here is the original listing. As a reference, Hagerty is at $5,500 for a #4 fair-condition car and $13,400 for a #3 good car. How much would you pay for this example?
When these Marks were in production, teenage me of course didn’t have them on his list of favorite cars. But I remember thinking, “these are actually kind of cool-looking… for their target audience.” I still think they are attractive, with the clean yet expressive styling. This example isn’t bad. Ford must have made a bundle of money on them. With some work it could be a fun cruiser.
That Lincoln Bobcat…. a crazy and fun expression of Scotty’s Photoshop talents!!
You’re way too kind, thanks, Bob!
I dont know about anyone else. But when I hit the like button, nothing happens.
( just a total side note here)
The “like” button issue has been going on about a week, now. Whuzzup with that, BF?
I love it too, Scotty! Keep those coming!
The Like button is about 50 – 50 for me. Some sessions, it does not work at all, and then another session later in the day, it works 100% of the time.
Now, after posting this comment, the Like button has stopped working again.
Good luck figuring this one out!
I second what Bob said. I love that Lincoln Bobcat with Frank Cannon . I can actually see him driving that. This is a nice Mark. And I think it would make a tremendous cruiser too. It can use a little elbow grease and some work under the hood, but its all there.
Bucket list to be sure. Love it.
These were beautiful cars, the neighbor across the street owned a black one when I was growing up. This car doesn’t look bad and the price doesn’t seem unreasonable. For whatever reason there doesn’t seem to be much interest, it’s within a 90 minute drive of New York City and much of Connecticut yet it’s been listed for sale for 22 days. The market is softening for cars without a strong following, for anyone looking for a generic older (classic) to take to shows this is becoming a buyers market.
Steve R
“Generic?” Get your head out of your red Camaro’s tailpipe.
$7500 does seems like a decent price for this Mark 3, but of course there is more money to be spent on the car once you own it. Probably in the range of 4-6K for brakes, tires, AC, pumps, carb rebuild etc. etc. It adds up.
I disagree that there is any noticeable softening in the prices of classic cars. Prices seem pretty strong from what I see. There are rexeptions now and then, but snagging one of those cars requires rextreme diligence.
Look at the days on market on CL and Facebook ads, cars like this aren’t selling. The usual 68-70 Charger, 70-71 Cuda/Challenger, 68-70 Road Runners, Mustang Fastback, early Camaro, late-70’s Trans Ams, Chevelle SS are doing just fine, but they’ve always been sought after. Those and other similar cars were what me and every one of my friends chased after since the early-80’s. Cars without a strong dedicated following, like 4 doors and “personal luxury” cars, especially those from the mid-70’s and newer that were generally fall back options, the ones someone buys because it wasn’t too expensive and would garner attention at a show, mainly because nobody has seen one up close since their childhood, like this Mark III, the 76 Torino featured earlier today and the 78 Challenger featured yesterday along with the 67 F100 long bed from that morning, those would have sold quickly until recently. When I go to swapmeets, good stuff is sitting around until later in the day, buyers aren’t showing up at the crack of dawn and very few are carrying around purchases. It may just be the dog days of summer where people have more things to do and other things to spend their money on, but much of this started in the spring. I don’t think it’s going to get better soon. Prime stuff will still sell quickly and for a premium, something that doesn’t stand on its merits won’t.
Steve R
Well, yes, the Mustangs et al will always have a strong following, but I still say that even the 4-doors and the oddballs are finding buyers, and not for merely two or three grand, which is my idea of cheap.
This is what I think of when people who’ve never
owned a British car start making LUCAS jokes.
A lot of these (& Cadillacs,etc.) that were loaded up
with options can be electrical nightmares to own.I saw
one at a restoration shop,& the guy working on it told me
how much he hated working on it.
That said,I still think that they’re really cool cars.
Actually, Frank Cannon did *not* drive the ’71 Mark III in the pilot episode. He drove a 4-door 1970 Continental full-sizer, which was taken out of the picture within the first half-hour. It was the second episode, the first 1-hour story, that the Mark III appeared.
The Mark III is my favorite humpback Lincoln, the Mark IV coming in second. Now, this one looks decently fitted, the only notable option not seen being a sunroof (yes, that was an option that year). If it had that, the seller could double his asking price…and likely get it. Whoever becomes the new owner, I hope they think about giving a full new rubber surgery to the drivetrain. These cars became known as they aged as “Lincoln’s unscheduled foray into rear-wheel steering.” It wasn’t meant as an endearment.
One of my bucket list Lincolns, and $7500 isn’t a crazy price, but sitting that long will take more money to make it roadworthy again. Glad it’s all the way in New York.
These Lincolns are a money pit. Flywheel ring gears, power steering boxes, heater cores, rear window tracks, headlight doors, transmissions — on and on — a money pit. Buy one at your own peril.
Yeah Rick, some restoration parts may be hard to find, but most all engine components for this year Lincoln are not hard to get. Can’t remember if this year Mark 111 had vacuum or electrical headlight doors. Probably vacs. If not electric conversion kits are out there too.
One thing that hurts these some is, as mentioned the electrical issues, but more importantly, there is a lack of restoration parts for these cars. There are companies building Camaro and Mustang bodies. Some of the pieces and parts for these are very hard to find.
something seems odd that this has not sold and has been posted 23 days? Looks like a good buy from here.
Leave name a phone number……scam……maybe?
It looks like a car that has been neglected and mistreated. That sends buyers running. You can easily tell if a car was loved and cared for. Those are the ones that attract buyers. It’s not just about year, make, model, size etc.
The Mark III debuted in the fall of 1967 as a 1968 model (as Google and Wikipedia will confirm). This was a year after the ’67 Tbirds. Lincoln added concealed windshield wipers for the 1970 model year.
April 1968, Wikipedia and “Google” aren’t reliable sources…..
Debuted in April of’68 as a ‘ Model, as Ralph said.
I remember seeing one in Utah,or Nevada,when
we were returning from our trip to Iowa in September-
1967.I’m assuming it was being tested on the road.
Scotty, just one correction.
Cannon drove a Black Continental Sedan in the “Pilot” movie.
He drove a Mk3 in season one, and then Mk4’s for the rest.
In real life Mr. Conrad drove Red Cadillac 2drs.
Karl, you’re right! Thanks for catching that.
Scotty just one correction.
Cannon drove a Black Continental Sedan in the “Pilot” movie.
In season one he drove the Mk3, the rest of the series it was Mk4’s.
In real life, Mr. Conrad drove Red Cadillac 2drs.
Sorry it posted twice!🤔
Looks like the Continental Popeye Doyle took apart in the French Connection!
I did some testing with the like button and found it to work every time when I touch the hand, any other place on the button would not change the number. JS
Have a great 4th of July.
Not for me.
The only way to give a thumbs up is to touch the hand. That is, when it is working.
I had one 25 years ago. Did 100.000miles in a 2 years. You can’t repair it as much as it can go wrong. And what you repair goes wrong again usually. Especially concerning power options, AC and vacuum operated everything. It takes a lot of money to daily drive it and maintain it. And parts were expensive even back then. And not available everywhere. But still, $7500 is a very good price for any of you MkIII fans.
There have been many classic Lincolns over the years but the Mark 3.has to rank near the top. All Lincolns were heavy cars but this one had the engine to move it along gracefully thus making it one of the best Lincolns ever produced all around in my opinion. This is a lovely Mark 3 and if you’re in the market for one these classic you can’t go wrong with this one. Gorgeous find. The styling is different from all other Lincolns.