1956/57 Continental Mark II: Born Perfect.

There aren't very many cars that can claim the title "Born Perfect". Cars that look custom right from the factory, that besides lowering it (every old car looks better lowered!), and maybe shaving the door handles off, you don't have to do anything e... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

 

My Great Aunt in Indiana bought one in 56-remember it well-was a very exclusive car for the time. She was a very excentric lady who wore big hats and fancy dresses and drove it with little white gloves.

 

I was at a rod run here in Helena this weekend and Al had his 56 Lincoln there. I sure like to see that car out on the road from time to time. It is an original, not restored car. Also, remember that the door jams were chrome on those cars, just kind of grabs your attention when you open the doors.

Doug

 

There is a perfect 100 point black MKII here in Dartmouth that I see one or twice a year. The interior is a silvery color. Absolutely gorgeous and timeless.

 

Awesome cars.

One point to nitpick-- the 368 isn't an MEL, it's a Lincoln Y-block.

 

They were one of most stylish, classy looking cars that ever rolled out of Detroit. I've seen some done up as street rods, but I think that they were perfect right out of the box and actually like them better as a showroom stocker.

 

I don't think anything could make that car look better! Thanks for the article.

 

Indeed one of my favorite cars, and it is on the "one day in my life" list. Not as a custom but a 100% stock and perfect car. All I need is a bigger garage to host it...

 

The last true "Classic" per the classic car register built, no matter what the clowns with their 26 year old Impalas think.
Those have been a favorite of mine since I saw a brand new one when I was ten years old. They were pretty rare right when they were new and seeing one was a memorable occasion even then. And no doubt one of the best looking American cars ever built.

 

I know of one located near Houston, needs total resto, but its all there.

 

I remember seeing one in my hometown back in 1980 with a for sale sign in the back window. It was a beautiful all original car including the asking price.

 

I always thought these looked perfect too. I know of one sitting out rotting near me and I hate to see it sit,but I have too many projects now to even inquire about it.

 

Your right-- MEL would be from 1958 on, of course!
It's a big honking Y block... Making 300 horsepower in 1957!

 

i feel the exact same way- I've seen them chopped, shaved, etc. and they loose a little bit of the 'class' that the stock configuration exudes.

 

I remember going to the dealer and seeing it. Yep it was as much as they say, and cost as much as my folks 3 bdrm house, to put it in perspective. It prompted Cadillac to enter thier version of luxury car the 'Eldorado Brougham. next year. I had a friend that was a mold maker and he made many parts for those Lincolns for his own restoration. He showed me his hood ornament and said he presented one to Henry Ford II as a desk ornament and he claimed it was more precise than the original. He sold all his molds to a guy who still sells them today.

 

This is funny I just saw one today. I worked at the guys house and he had one in his garage under a cover. I knew exactly what it was. He was taken back by me knowing what it was. Killer car. I've loved these cars forever. He said that his was like #700 and it was a '56. Black car. He said that it had fiberglass body parts which I never really knew. But still these cars rock.

 

We are not in agreement with the early Corvette, but I think the Continental is the most Born Perfect on the list. Rare is the modified Continental that improves on the looks of the original.

 

I had one, serial #C561003. It came from the Detroit area and the tin worms (rust) had attacked it. I worked on it a few years and even got it into the Lincoln Continental owners club magavine. It got down to $2,300.00 in 1967 when I bought it. The engine also came in the 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser. There is a Mercury Turnpike Cruiser biodegrading into the ground near here, ten miles down the road. I don't own the Mark II any more. They were very heavy, over 5,300 lbs. They had a drawback, the factory drum brakes which were designed for a Ford 1/2 ton pick up. There is a tunnel in Portland on Highway 26 where they are always having rear end collisions. It is downhill and people come into the tunnel at freeway speed and then see that nobody is moving in front of them. I just missed being in one of those by the grace of God, no other explanation. The car in front of me just slowly started moving forward just a little bit faster than the Mark II I was still trying to slow down. The car in front was a 1963 Rambler family car. I know the ones they restore now get better brakes. Still, I will probably never again own a car that beautiful.

 

Check out the current edition of "My Classic Car".
Host Dennis Gage reviews three Continentals that were custom built for the Ford family.

The cars can only be called sublime!

http://www.myclassiccar.com/episode/15/14/

 

You asked what else would I do to make it look better?

Shave it and drop it over a set of Skylarks... gunga-ganunga!

 

An Ad from 1957:

<object width="640" height="510"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8X1PA9p5QrY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8X1PA9p5QrY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="510" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

 

This is exactly what my friend John did to his Continental here in Australia.
Purchased out of Texas and all the work,including bare metal repaint done by John in his home garage.Grille bar created from a Continental front bumper bar.
A one off set of billet wheels to resemble the originals but in a larger diameter to fill the wheel wells.

 

There was an article in one of the better mags(TRJ,Hemmings,or such)that was on the 2 that they sent to Chicago for convertible tops.I thought that they were interesting,but the car was already "Born Perfect".

 

Great post! I had no idea such a car existed, it is absolutely gorgeous. WOW.

 

im working on a 57 premiere now and the drive train i believe is the same as the mark2 . a honkin big 368. I still prefer the mark 2 over th capri or premiere though. It hard to improve on those lines. Ray

 

in my town there is a seldom seen car museum and the only cars in there are cars that the owners family had something to do with.....not sure what part they did but the company name is.............Mitchell Bentley Corporation.......later years it was just interior stuff but they used to make wagon bodies..woodies and steelies...and something for the Continental....................

 

I think they were all hand built and all sold at a loss believe it or not.

You'll find one for sale in the classifieds...search continental mark 2.

 

As a gas pump jockey back in the Fifties, I thought the MK II was theeee ultimate styling in an American car. We had a local builder who had us maintain his Mark and it was a sweet unit.

Fast forward fifty-plus years though and my take on the styling is that the concept still is a knockout, but the roofline now needs a haircut to suit my more modern tastes. In certain views, the roof now is just too tall......

 

For sale?heck its almost a gift, sure wish someone would buy. Could really use the room and funds for my current project.