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1956/57 Continental Mark II: Born Perfect.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Jive-Bomber, May 31, 2011.

  1. hudson48
    Joined: Oct 16, 2007
    Posts: 3,108

    hudson48
    Member

    That is right.Approx $1000 per car loss.When they went to public shareholding in 1956 I understand that the bean counters could not justify making a car at a loss and it was discontinued.
     
  2. notrod13
    Joined: Dec 13, 2005
    Posts: 1,020

    notrod13
    Member
    from long beach

    not really a fan of the car , but a huge fan of the motor.... got one in the roadster. always thought they were a little awkward , and yes i have worked on two of them..
    got a trans out of one if someone wants it .... (free)
     
  3. CA. 280
    Joined: Jan 8, 2010
    Posts: 269

    CA. 280
    Member

    This was 55 years ago so hopefully the memory is accurate. Was at a friends house in San Francisco when George Barris pulled up in one that had been painted a metallic burgundy with lots of the chrome pieces replated in gold. He was up north and had stopped to see Ed (Ed Bosio)
    who knew everone. Same memory says that Andy Brizio also came by, maybe he or Barris could confirm (or put an end to) that memory. Love this site, helps me seperate fact from from dream.
     
  4. pimpin paint
    Joined: May 31, 2005
    Posts: 4,937

    pimpin paint
    Member
    from so cal

    Mitchell Bentley actually built the three thousand plus bodies for the Continental MkII's. They also did proto type work, and built fibreglass bodies for Ford, GM (Corvette) Mopar, & Kaiser.

    Hah! $1,000 per car............industry rumor had it that GM (Cadillac Division) lost ten thousand on every Cadillac Brougham they built. GM, at the time the biggest automobile company in the world could eat 10K, Ford's Lincoln Division wasn't in that good of a money position. The build costs and quality just couldn't be maintained and demand for the Continental MkII had passed it by.


    " The problem with america is that the guys who really know how to run the country are all tending bar and cutting hair ." -George Burns -
     
  5. ynottayblock
    Joined: Dec 23, 2005
    Posts: 1,954

    ynottayblock
    Member

    That is bloody gorgeous!!!!!
     
  6. pimpin paint
    Joined: May 31, 2005
    Posts: 4,937

    pimpin paint
    Member
    from so cal

    Well, your figures don't jibe with those quoted by the LCOC (Lincoln Continental Owners Club) Their figures are '56 & '57 total built!

     
  7. Reggie
    Joined: Aug 25, 2003
    Posts: 1,701

    Reggie
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    No fiberglass anywhere on these 5000 lb. cars.
     

  8. I know this tunnel very well. It can even challenge the most modern braking systems.
     
  9. Pete Fox
    Joined: Jul 11, 2008
    Posts: 101

    Pete Fox
    Member
    from Belgium

    The 1955 Thunderbird has the same simple lines without much ornamentation especially with the hardtop on it. It looks a lot like a scaled down Continental Mark 2.
     
  10. There is a reason for that similarity. Ford management found out Chevrolet was planning to produce a 2 seater sports car (corvette) and didn't want to be left behind. So a mad rush was started and since the Mark2 design was clean and crisp it was used to design a scaled down and slightly different appearing sports car. And rather than re-invent everything for what they expected to be a small piece of the market it shared many parts with the rest of the Ford line. They just refused to be beat at the sales floor.I'm guessing that the bird outsold its cross town, would be interested in production figures for both in '55.
     
  11. oldthudman
    Joined: May 12, 2010
    Posts: 85

    oldthudman
    Member

    I remember seeing a black Continental Mk II in the parking lot of the shopping center where I worked....Was some store owner's ....That was about 57 IIRC....
    Nice car, beautifully made, deep paint........I recall the hip from Ford/Lincoln at the time, especially about the paint........Receive umpteen coats of primer sanded between each and umpteen coats of paint (Lacquer I believe) wet sanded between each....It looked it too......
    Selected leathers for the interior.......instruments were watch like.
    Also recall the price.....$10,000/per copy.....That in the day when $2000-$3000 would buy you a nice Chevy, Ford or Dodge......

    :)
     
  12. concealledweapon
    Joined: Apr 9, 2011
    Posts: 9

    concealledweapon
    Member

    resto shop i worked at back in the late 80's shipped a lot of these to Bahrain and Oman
     
  13. BeatnikPirate
    Joined: May 21, 2006
    Posts: 1,416

    BeatnikPirate
    Member
    from Media, Pa.

    Attached Files:

  14. edsel.fi
    Joined: Sep 7, 2008
    Posts: 242

    edsel.fi
    Member

    So true, born perfect.. Like almost all pre 60`s Usa built rides !
     
  15. neaterstuff 42
    Joined: Aug 23, 2010
    Posts: 6

    neaterstuff 42
    Member
    from georgia

    These car are unbelievably beautiful FOREVER!! Even the hubcaps are classic. I once traded a set of chev (lower case) hubcaps for a set of these that were on a car trailer. Wish I still had them. These have finally gotten to a price level that does not allow me to own one. I have always creamed in my jeans over them.
     
  16. Wolfman1
    Joined: Jul 8, 2010
    Posts: 265

    Wolfman1
    Member

    My dad had a 56 back in the mid 80's, got asked all the time if it was a custom t-bird
    or what the hell is it. His was white with a 2 tone interior white/ dark green
    He still regrets selling it.
     
  17. moefuzz
    Joined: Jul 16, 2005
    Posts: 4,950

    moefuzz
    Member

    .


    Fantastic Thread and a Timeless Car but I'm surprised no one posted links to the
    design and making of the 'New Continental'.


    1955 Creating the Continental MK ll - Part 1 of 2

    <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vZr2ue5DMWY" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="510" width="640"></iframe>




    Part 2 of 2

    <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KcYl5iK2Tkk" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="510" width="640"></iframe>


    And to top it off, Dennis Gage (My Classic Car) did a story on not one but 3
    Ford Family Owned Continental ll''s, You can watch the entire episode at

    http://www.myclassiccar.com/video/

    Season 15 Episode 14







    .
     
  18. Wolfman1
    Joined: Jul 8, 2010
    Posts: 265

    Wolfman1
    Member

    Wow ,strange that I post in this thread the other day and then today I run
    across 2 of these for sale
    A light blue 56 and a black 57.
    The guy wants $35,000 for the 56, it's on the road ,driver quality.
    The 57 is a complete car seems solid but needs complete restoration guy
    wants $6,000. and it's an a/c car.
    I think I'm going to go back and buy the 57 for the price I don't think I can go wrong
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2011
  19. oldcarfart
    Joined: Apr 12, 2005
    Posts: 1,436

    oldcarfart
    Member

    In the early '70's I was in Navy and stationed at Lakehurst, NJ. There was a PRCM (Parachute Rigging Master Chief) last name "Lunger". He drove a '56 as daily transportation and had 5-6 parts cars parked behind CPO barracks, anyone know of him?
     
  20. Pat Marshall
    Joined: Jan 11, 2011
    Posts: 2

    Pat Marshall
    Member
    from ohio

    Chief Lunger owned #2389. I wish we had the vins of his parts cars. Here's what we have on the Chief and his car.

    http://www.markiiforum.com/showthread.php?p=24732#post24732

    Pat Marshall
    Historian
    Mark II Forum
     
  21. Edsel58a
    Joined: Jan 17, 2008
    Posts: 804

    Edsel58a
    Member

    Those cars are just about perfect. I remember one sitting behind a barn when I was a kid.
    Nothing wrong with modifying one, but with taste. We have all seen butchered customs.
    [​IMG]
     
  22. Here's mine I bought this summer. Awesome engineered car. It will someday go back to it's original black color.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The comment about the instruments being watch like is bang on.

    [​IMG]
     
  23. turdytoo
    Joined: May 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,568

    turdytoo
    Member

    When I was a kid, Richard Strock bought the Lloyd Bakan car through Barris. I remember going to his shop on Atlantic and there was a candy red Mark II. Richard said it was George's wifes car. A few years later, I was in a junk yard in Norwalk or Santa Fe Spring and spotted a Mark front cap on a rack. It had faded candy red paint and I knew it was Mrs. Barris's because of the stacked headlights. I asked George a few years back if he wanted to know what my favorite Barris car was and he seemed very pleased when I told him it was the candy red Mark he did for his wife.
     
  24. The Continental
    Joined: Aug 23, 2011
    Posts: 363

    The Continental
    Member
    from Texas

    Definitely a favorite.
     
  25. barry2952
    Joined: Aug 9, 2007
    Posts: 357

    barry2952
    Member

    You are incorrect. There were a few over 3,000 made. There were 2,550 made for the model year '56 ('55 and '56 production) and 444 '57s. You shouldn't believe everything you read. About 1,800 have been accounted for, so your number is way off.

    One of the original convertible conversions mentioned earlier is mine. It's currently in Lincoln's Design Studio for inspiration.

    [​IMG]
     
  26. elba
    Joined: Feb 9, 2013
    Posts: 628

    elba
    Member

    My Father bought a 56 in 1973 for a thousand bucks. It had thrown a rod out the side of the block. He said that it was one S/N away from Henry Ford's personal MK 2. My Father completed the restoration. It was an A/C car. There are two pictures of it in the June 1986 issue of Collectable Automobile on pages 16 and 17. I can tell it is his because he did not have the little emblem that goes behind the fwd wheel well on the right side. He couldn't locate one so he just put the left one on. Nobody ever noticed.
    I think the car is in England now.
     
  27. barry2952
    Joined: Aug 9, 2007
    Posts: 357

    barry2952
    Member

    From what I understand George Barris' car, as you remember it, is currently being sold to Brett Barris.
     
  28. barry2952
    Joined: Aug 9, 2007
    Posts: 357

    barry2952
    Member

    I read that the early bodies were made by another Michigan body maker. Any info on this?
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2014

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