The Lincoln Continental Mark III was a huge success for Ford Motor Company, and in its three model year run from 1969 through 1971 when the personal luxury car was king, Lincoln dealers managed to sell more than 70,000 of them. So while it’s not really a rare vehicle, well-cared-for original examples are not exactly plentiful these days, especially ones that are said to have been in storage for nearly 40 years. If you’ve been in the market for an early seventies Lincoln, this 1971 Continental Mark III may be just the car you have been waiting for. Located in Sicklerville, New Jersey, it can be found here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now price tag of $12,900.
The seller is very straightforward about his Lincoln and tells us upfront that the paint suffers from some scuffs, dings, scratches, and blemishes. He also says that it looks like some paintwork may have been done in the past on the front fenders and part of the hood, although most of the rest of the paint is believed to be original. The exterior was wet sanded, touched up, compounded, and polished and is said to show a great luster for its age. The interior, however, is all original and described as flawless. There are no blemishes inside and the carpet is said to have retained its deep burgundy color. The gauges and power seats work, but the radio does not nor do the rear windows go up and down.
Under the hood is a 460 cubic inch V8, which in 1971 produced 365 horsepower and a whopping 500 ft-lbs of torque! The seller says that the motor is powerful and runs excellent, but is also smooth and quiet, and the transmission is said to shift great. The engine compartment has been cleaned up and detailed, along with a complete new decal package. The mileage for this Lincoln is listed as 73,000.
The seller includes several photos from underneath the car, which reveal a very clean and solid-looking chassis with no sign of corrosion or obvious problems anywhere we can see. The seller does mention that some of the exhaust system is original and in need of replacement, but that should be an easy and inexpensive repair. The fuel tank has been cleaned out and the car is said to have a brand new set of tires.
While it could stand some minor bodywork and a repaint, this Lincoln seems to be a really solid car with nothing urgent needing attention from the next owner. There’s also a make-offer button, so you might be able to buy this car for somewhat less than the asking price. What are your thoughts on this 1971 Lincoln Mark III?
Frank Cannon,,,he needed a 460 to haul his big butt around,,,a Quinn-Martin Production. Nice cars, maybe nicest of the modern cars,,,ever?
Didn’t Cannon have the next generation, the Mark IV?
Maybe I was wrong. I was pretty young when that show was out.
I love the Mark III. It is my favorite Mark series Lincoln. I had a couple. The windows never worked in them either. I wonder why they never seem to work in these.
My Dad had one, the windows did work in it back then. A darker gray, same interior & same black top. Gorgeous car! Mine weren’t so nice lol.
Aha, you’re sharp. His primary ride was a ’72 Mark lV, but over the course of the show, he did have a ’71 Mark lll to a ’76 Mark lV in various colors.
Howard is correct. Matter of fact the 71’ and 72’ models Cannon drove were the exact color combinations……The only car that can give the Eldorado the bird.
It is amazing how svelte these bombers appear. Kudos to the designers (Bunkie Knudson?) for giving this barge a sexy look. I’ve been trying to find one of these for a few years now, but just haven’t found the right one.
I’m with Rex, I’ve always admired the styling on these. They are actually very simply styled (excluding the spare tire hump) but somehow they look clean and stately without looking boring. Kind of the same theme as the slab-sided 1961 Lincoln as compared to the styling themes of the late 50’s.
The rear windows, if working, don’t go up and down, they retract sideways into the c pillars
Of course there are no doubt some electrical gremlins with the windows. This was very common with Ford products of this vintage.
I have to say i luv this big iconic beast.
The two door with paint looks great.
I could see how in 1971 how someone could get behind the wheel and cruise this down an interstate in complete comfort long trips in between filling up with fuel.
Its definitely All Right , All Right, All Right! As Mat McConaughey would say!
I hope some buys to preserve this baby and just take to car shows etc.
if i had room in the stable I would buy this beautiful baby…
Beautiful Lincoln, always liked the uniqueness of the MK series,
First seen one of these in the
French Connection
It appears to me, the front-end paint doesn’t match the rest of the car. Poor accident repair job, perhaps?
When the Mark III was first introduced, my uncle bought one, black, with a black vinyl roof, and black interior.
It looked like it would have been a Mafia Don’s car.
Now this is a Sweet Ride. JMHO this was the best looking body on the MK series. 1973 the 460 was turned down a bit but was still a torque monster. I’d love to park this in the drive way and drive it like it was suppose to be driven.
Wrong color combo, but the want is big. Dad had a 67 or 68 in sky blue with a white vinyl roof and white leather interior. Beautiful car and it really ate up the highway miles. Ate up gas too :) Dad was a Ford/Mercury/Lincoln man and drove only Lincolns for the rest of his life.
(wouldn’t begin to fit in my garage)
Looks like a decent car. Agree with other responses that the power windows were troublesome once they got some years on them. Clean or replace the switches and disassemble the motor/gears and clean and regrease. Even the rear windows are easily repairable, they just get stuck from never being used. The auto temp control is a disaster but they can be made to work if you spend enough time on them. Lincoln should have bought GM’s system for 1969-71. The 460 is good during these years before it got smogged up and compression lowered to satisfy all the new federal mandates. If you can stomach silver and red combination this might be a good choice.
This looks to be a very nice car. I see comments very often about paint not matching, it is possible that it doesn’t ,but before you voice that opinion, I think you need to stop and think, you are looking at a photograph, not the actual car.
That’s the reason you go see a car or have a non biased third party, look at it for you. Also, the reason you don’t buy a car in the rain, sell in the rain.
Exactly, Joe.
If you are that interested, go put eyes on it.
Which makes me wonder – do a lot of people buy used/vintage cars with only electronic pictures?
I always assumed not, but sometimes I wonder, and modern cameras, even the ones on phones can do impressive resolutions.
Still nothing like standing in front of it….
Btw this Mark is beautiful, one of several on my wish list.
Great looking car, hit any new car with this, it will have a scratch, the new cars totaled. Great car for ride to the casino with a hood cigar. Did they make any alloy rims or true spokes, would rather have than hubcaps.
This was one, a Mark III, of two cars that I learned to drive on, back in the mid 70’s . After parallel parking the beast in front of the post office, the road tester said good enough and had me bring him back to the DMV.
Wonderful cars. Great motor, 4barrel Autolite carburetor, 5000lbs ! 500ft/lb
Wahooooooooo
I owned one of these in the late 70’s. Would love to bring this one home. I love the color.
Beautiful Automobile.
Back in the late 80’s, early 90’s, we had a used car dealer up in NF with a serious jones for these cars. At any time, he had 2 or 3 on the lot, plus his personal driver. As I recall, Mr. Iacocca, in his book, said that Bunkie Knudsen basically said “Let’s see what happens when we put a Rolls Royce grille & a hump on a Thunderbird.” Apparently, you sell a bunch of them. Sweeter than the period T-bird any day.
Love the ’69 -’71 Marks! This is tempting since it is within 15 miles of where I live but I have t say no. In the middle of a project and two more waiting to be done. Hope someone who likes them buys it to keep and not flip!
My Mark II was a 69. White with black leather interior. Beautiful car straight but it had some rust on the frame which I was going to fix. My girlfriend at that time around 1986 now my wife was not fond of it. Took her on a date to the yacht club on the west side of Manhattan for dinner. It was too black inside for her. Fast forward on a rainy day in the Bronx on Webster Ave a guy ran into my back real hard. The Mark was junk. It was a damn shame I loved that ride.😩 This one I can’t get past the red leather interior. What was Lincoln thinking??! 🐻🇺🇸
Right? Red leather in a blue car? Almost as bad as when they put Kelly Green interiors in black cars. Ford had some pretty questionable color combos in the 70’s-80’s.
Looks silver to me. There’s a bit of a bluish cast to some of the pics but the listing describes the color as “Silver Gray”.
My best friend’s father had a burgandy one. I went with them on a roadtrip to Sacramento once and we both sat in the back with more room than 2 6′ teenagers needed. That was the smoothest riding car that I have ever ridden in!! A GREAT CAR👍👍
Growing up we had a 71 Black with saddle interior. One of the most comfortable & quiet cars that I have ever been in. I still think that this one of the better looking vehicles of the 1970s.
Our local FLM dealer gave one of these to their top salesman for a demo and he promptly got drunk and rolled it over with 43 miles on it. They bought all the parts to repair it but never did. It was sold to a guy who was going to repair it but never did so it sat for 40 years in a garage, 20 of them next to a 12,000 mile Sublime 440 six pack auto Superbird. The Bird was sold back in the early nineties but the owner died some years back and I never heard what happened to the Lincoln, probably got scrapped out.