The Mark II was an uber-luxury coupé sold by the Continental Division of Ford in 1956-57. It was the flagship FOMOCO automobile, marketed against the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Supposedly, Ford lost money on every one of them sold because money was no object in staking their claim. This ’56 edition of the Continental Mark II has changed hands a few times but is in remarkably good condition for being an unrestored original. Located in Middletown, Connecticut, the car runs and stops but will need tires for venturing out much. It’s available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $20,000.
Available only as a 2-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II used production Lincoln mechanical components, including its 368 cubic-inch “Y-block” V8 engine and automatic transmission. But the rest of the cars were largely hand-assembled, which led to them hurting the Ford balance sheet. Just 3,005 of the cars were built in less than two years, with an estimated 2,550 being produced for 1956. The seller’s Lincoln was built somewhere in the middle of the first model year.
As the story goes, this Lincoln was first delivered in New Jersey/Pennsylvania. Its second owner found it for sale along the roadside in the early 1960s and kept it for the better part of 30 years. Owner #3 took it home to Connecticut and put it into storage in his condominium’s basement garage not long after. It stayed there until 2020 when the current owner took possession. As you can imagine, it was dirty and had not been run in many moons.
After tinkering with the motor some, and putting in a new battery, said owner got it running, and there seem to be no huge mechanical issues to resolve now. The exhaust system is not original nor is it routed through the rear bumper, but that shouldn’t be a big project if the next owner wants to stick with authentic. Most of the gauges work and this Lincoln was equipped with factory air conditioning, a big deal back in the 1950s. The odometer reads 60,000 miles and the seller believes this is accurate.
The body and paint are fair, and part of the passenger’s side has been repainted due to a possible minor mishap. Rust doesn’t seem to be an issue and the undercarriage photos support that claim. But the exterior is not in show condition, but presentable, nonetheless. Though all cleaned up now, the interior is going to need some help, principally the front seat and at least one door panel. We’re told that with the specific trim set-up on this car, only 28 were built that way.
New brakes and a power booster were installed, but the tires wear the Allstate Guardsman brand and are quite old but hold air. But they should be replaced before venturing far or fast. With just a little work, you could use this car as-is and show off what Detroit was capable of in the 1950s. Or start building a project fund to take care of a partial or full restoration later. These are cars you don’t see every day. BTW, photo credit for the images here needs to go to Auto Archeologist.
So attached to the underside of the hood, is a…headliner?
Very fancy in those days… 😊
Sound deadening material.
Right Lorna,
Kinda like..a headliner.
Not a Lincoln.
Correct, however, Continental is not a choice when placing a BarnFinds ad.
Was never competition for RR, Least expensive RR was $3,500 more.
I got to take one of these on a short test drive back in the 80’s. Very fine vehicle. Wonder what those air horns play, La Cucaracha?
The Dukes of Hazzard Dixie blast…. Yeah… it was there when this owner bought car… who knows why any previous owner would.. but they did.
BTW, despite the swirl marks, the car has been final buffed and looks much better now. No swirls.
I’m so envious!
Blue plates disappeared from issuance in Jersey over 30 years ago. This is a vanity historic tag, that was available back then by special application. Any recent tag would be black on mauve. Something about this “story” doesn’t add up.
The blue plate has been on it since at least the 80’s, and hasn’t been registered since, well within your time frame… what doesn’t seem to add up?
Several owners yet the same plate. To me this means 1) not retitled 2) no insurance 3) you can transfer the title in nj but not the tag 4) another tax dodger in CT evading the personal property tax. Just saying, know what I’m saying?
What I see isn’t a CT tax dodger, but someone who purchased a car in the 90’s with good intentions and then, due to whatever life issues got in the way, left the car to sit in his condo basement garage parking lot.
So…1) you’re correct.. it hasn’t been retitled. 2) The current owner has insurance on it.. would be rather foolish to have a $20,000 car without coverage on it (in CT you can insure a car that isn’t registered). 3) You are correct.. however, the tag isn’t being transferred. 4) See my initial comment..
so still not sure what isn’t adding up…?
And, if they catch up with it in CT, how much do you think “over 30 years” of no personal property tax, plus interest, plus penalty interest, and other penalties is going to cost? Bet u that’s about 20 large or more. Then, it will really all add up.
Right…
I would put money down that most folks who visit this site and see these cool cars care much more about the background stories then some unpaid taxes. However, if that’s what you find intriguing, all the power to ya.
There’s no taxes in CT. on an unregistered car , if it was registered , then yes .Basically if its not registered, it doesn’t exist.
My brother in law spent the last 20 years working on a 70 Nova he bought but never insured or registered ; he finally finished it last fall and registered it with no issues, back taxes or fines/penalties .
You can’t drive “taxes” but you can drive this! What a privilege for the next lucky owner. This is the best of American design and engineering during this period.
Just a fantastic automobile. 20K? A great buy.
CT property taxes kick in when you register a vehicle for road use. If it hasn’t been registered/driven since arriving in the state, no harm, no foul. Also, property taxes on 20+ year old vehicles with CT “Classic vehicle” plates are based on a flat value of $500, not the blue book value that newer vehicles are taxed on, so the taxes are minimal.
There are plenty of people evading property taxes in the state (plenty of ME, VT, and southern states plates to see parked in Hartford) but this isn’t one of them.
I would love to bring this home.
This was a $10,000 plus car when new. Still one of the better-looking vehicles of the 50’s. I hate to think the cost to restore with parts being an issue.
Using an inflation calculator, 10k in 1956 is the equivalent of 100,000 today. Houses cost that much then. So pricey wheels.
reminds me of the menacing car in the movie , ‘The Car’…
The vehicle in the movie “The Car” was based on a Lincoln.
Yes, a Lincoln Continental Mark III
$10,000 in 1956 is equivalent to about $102,186.76 today.
So I’m thinking $20,000 is a bargain.
Auto Archeologist! Nice job defending what apparrently is offensive to ex government employees. Many people don’t register cars that they have in long term storage. Get over that!OMG!
Word to the wise….. an “original” exhaust redo on these is BIG $$$
Sometimes people DATE the title, if you buy the car needing a resto and they the car takes years, in some states they really want the revenue, kinda like the Pot sales, i can imagine some meeting took place and all the drug money could go into the system, taxes ect. Or like my my old 300d wagon, i paid 300 and put in a motor, they valued it at 9000$, nooone cared what i paid, they wanted the 540$
These Mark 11s are a car enthusiasts dream car. Wonder if that AC still works as they were very temperamental and difficult to restore. Wish I had the room for her, she’s just beautiful.
The AC compressor turns but is currently not charged. Finding someone with R12 to fire it up can be difficult. Not sure I’d want to fit with an R134 system…
Beautiful car. My favorite car of the ’50s and 20K is a bargain compared to some of the overpriced rusted hulks that appears on this site.
It’s not a Lincoln. You’d think an owner would know.
The least expensive RR was 35% more. No RR sales were lost to Continental.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/why-the-continental-mark-2-should-never-be-called-a-lincoln/
I can see now that Lincoln is the only way their dumb system works. Facts should matter.
I’d make it roadworthy and worry not so much about a full resto. A ” driver quality ” MK II is still one hell of a nice ride .
Somebody PLEASE remove those stupid trumpet horns!!!!!
Dukes of Hazzard indeed.
Had the opportunity to purchase a one owner (Lincoln Dealer) ’56 Mark II in 1975. In and out, the car was near 100 points and with the exception of the squirrely factory steering, was unequivocally the finest automobile in my 65 years of automobilia submersion. The Rolls may have cost more but delivered far less in 1956.
So, when can it be delivered? I live in Washington state. Always wanted one of these and have yet to even drive one! Looks so awesome!
Well… I have an escrow account to handle the transaction, and a shipper to get her out to you… If you’d like the information, please feel free to email me directly and we’ll get right on it… ;>)
Ya gotta buy it! I would love to own it, but I am broke white trash lol. I can only afford about 1/3 of it at the moment.
I hope someone from here gets this car! They are very special.
You can have mine. It’s on Whidbey Island, WA. I can make you a deal.
http://www.northwestclassicautomall.com/classifiedads.html?cid=1&step=4&pid=12495
The AC systems in these early Continentals were primitive and I’m sure it’s more involved than just recharging it with R12. Only AC guy I know always converts them to 134. Not many other ways around it. I’m sure other things need the money and attention, but the AC system demands more money and expertise than most people think.
HC
The reason your a/c guy always converts R12 to R134 is because it is illegal to buy, sell or use R12 in this country.
To fix this a/c in this Mark ll it will have to be converted to the R134 system
Angel, yep had both a 64 Chevrolet and a 65 Mercury both converted to a 134 system and had no problems. These early trunk AC systems are nearly impossible to restore. I didn’t see any clear tubes from trunk to headliner in this Continental either. Maybe I missed it. I’d rip out those car horns out and find a place for a compressor. But if you did that you may have to convert to 12 volt as compressor clutches won’t work on a 6 volt system
Continentals all 12v.
All Fords went to 12-volt in 1956.
Addendum to the story:
She’s under deposit and shipping is getting set up for a trip to Australia.
Someone shared the Barn Finds story with him.
Success!
Thanks for all the comments!