Years ago I had a friend that I worked for and he had a cream color full restored 56, I would drive him around town while he and his girl friend rode in the back seat, a spot his wife would not gain knowledge of their illicit affair. What a machine!
I have worked on one of those, quite the machine. That treadle vac brake system sure was a head scratchier.
In March of '56 my father and I flew from Logan Airport in Boston to Willow Run Airport in Detroit to visit my Aunt and Uncle and pick up a brand new '56 Pontiac Catalina on which my uncle had done the legwork for my Dad. We picked up the new car at Stout Pontiac in Grand River and of course we had to see the town. So for the next few days we buzzed around Detroit like tourists. My Uncle, when not buying cars for my Dad, worked at Ford. One of the sights he took us to was the Ford Rotunda. What an amazing afternoon that was. The Rotunda building was amazing on it's own but it also housed all of Ford's latest technology which included the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II. WOW!!! The new Pontiac my dad had just bought suddenly had the appeal of a Hudson Terraplane. A few years later, in the early 60's a friend I had only known for a short while invited me over to his house and there in his garage sat his dad's 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II. I was stunned. We enjoyed a fair number of rides in that car over the years which I will always remember fondly.
"There are very few production cars in the world that I would say don't need to be modified in some way to improve their looks". Another car that fits this statement to a "T" is the 63-65 Buick Riviera.
I remember seeing the new Lincoln MK II at the Ford Rotunda during our yearly visit at Christmas. I couldn't understand why my dad couldn't just "buy one" and we had to ride in the ugly 4 door sedan. But I had the same reaction when he took me along to see the new Corvette a few years earlier. Oh well - guess I inherited his Champagne appetite and Beer income.
I always cringe when people call them Lincoln Continentals. They were not Lincolns. The Continental Division was a separate division just like Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Edsel, etc. Here's a link that explains it https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-continental-mark-ii-story/ And this is the wiki entry on it: "For the 1956 model year, Ford Motor Company created the Continental Division, slotted above Lincoln as the flagship marque of Ford Motor Company. At its launch, Continental introduced the Continental Mark II as its model line, intended as a successor to the 1940–1948 Lincoln Continental personal luxury car. Offered as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II broke from a number of American styling precedents of the time. While fitted with whitewall tires, the exterior was fitted with minimal chrome trim on the body sides; tailfins were left off of the body completely. In place of the bumper-mounted spare tire of the original Lincoln Continental, the trunklid of the Mark II showcased the design element, with a large imitation spare tire bulge (which fit over the actual spare tire inside the trunk). The Mark II was largely hand-built, with extensive quality testing done to each engine and transmission before leaving the factory. In place of establishing a separate sales and service network for Continental, the Mark II was marketed through Lincoln (the Mark II used a Lincoln engine and transmission). At $10,000 in 1956 (equivalent to $92,154 in 2018[17]), the Mark II was the most expensive car produced by an American automaker at the time, rivaling the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud in price. On July 18, 1956, the Continental Division was integrated into Lincoln which continued to manage the Continental brand as a separate marque.[18]:281 During the 1957 model year, the Mark II was withdrawn, largely as a consequence of its hand-built construction; each unit was sold at a loss of over $1,000. Subsequently, the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham overtook the Mark II as the most expensive American-produced vehicle. For 1958, as part of a mandated $4000 reduction in price, Continental adopted the body of Lincoln, expanding into multiple body styles for the Mark III (the nomenclature indicating the transition). Adding a feature of the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, Continental adopted a retractable rear window across every bodystyle (including convertibles) with a reverse-slant rear roofline. For 1959, the Mark III was renamed the Mark IV, becoming the Mark V for 1960.[18]:331,337,414, 582–583 In 1959, the Continental marque was formally brought to an end within Lincoln; for 1960, the Mark V was brought to production as the Lincoln Continental Mark V, ending the model cycle alongside the standard Lincoln model line." Now say it with me: Continental Mark II. Not Lincoln.
Now I'm confused.... When the Lincoln Continental Mk IV came out in '74 (I think) it instantly became an all star in my mind. Later I saw a Mk III which apparently was a '68/69. So can somebody set me straight on this?
They tried to forget those "Land Barge" MK III,IV, &Vs from the late '50s, did a "re-boot" & issued the MK III in '68 & continued up from there. I hope this helps to clear up the confusion without pissing off those "Land-Barge" owners too much.
What drtrcrV-8 said. The later Mark III was trying to recapture the style and class of the '56-'57 Mark II. The later Mark III was '69-'71 and the Mark IV was '72-'76.
Very Cool Cruiser that is and I agree that Many of the Factory Produced Automobiles had already passed so many levels of scrutinization for Design that they kinda nailed it...Not that you couldn't improve upon perfection...it would just be a challenge to the Customizer...I have seen about 2 of those up close and personal and they certainly were a sizable Machine De Elegance...No pics though but like the one you showcased it was Black... Thanks for sharing this @Jive-Bomber
The Continental Mark II made an impression on me the first time I saw one in an old Bing Crosby movie. I was probably 8 or 9, but I was smitten. Very few cars are perfect out of the box, but this is one of them.
Hello, Nice story on the famous, but odd-looking Lincoln Continental. It certainly was a luxury car, for sure. In our family, our dad was a Buick fanatic. His friend, our family doctor just down the street, was a Cadillac guy. No one we knew was a Lincoln fanatic of any kind. But, it was not to say that those lengthy cars were luxurious. It was just not for those folks that liked high end cars, but there were only so many favorites. When my dad got his huge 1949 Buick Roadmaster 4 door sedan, our family doctor got a black 4 door 1949 Cadillac Sedan. When the doctor got his 1957 Cadillac, black, 4 door sedan, my dad got his blue, 1957 Buick Roadmaster 2 door sedan. My dad’s philosophy was that his everyday drive was from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles. So, he knew that he needed a new car every 4 years. But for some reason, he waited until 1963 to get one of the new Buick Riviera Sedans. The doctor? Why of course, a new 1963 Cadillac 4 door sedan. For some reason, he always got a 4 door, when my dad changed over to a two door in 1957. By the time my brother and I started driving, our dad’s choice of cars went from 4 doors to 2 doors. Maybe the family doctor thought he needed a 4 door for medical emergencies as his office was built into his huge house. (everyone’s house on the Westside was a small two bedroom post war tract house. Our doctor wanted to be in the neighborhood, but needed a larger house that would and did include his doctor’s office.) Old neighborhood friends/roots are hard to break. But, his house/office was the largest house on the Westside of Long Beach. Jnaki So, the aficionados of high end cars were the market for the big Lincoln Continental, but for die hard Buick and Cadillac owners, it was just not enough to break away from their fancy choices. My dad did like the big Jaguar sedans with the soft leather seats and wire wheels. But he just could not break away. Not even for an American made Lincoln Continental.
The Jalopy Journal
