My 1959 Continental Convertible Barn find!!!

I think I've hit the jackpot with this one... I'm officially the third owner of this car with original titles and even the original purchase order for this car which was all in the glove box!! The story behind this is, my neighbors father used to be a dentist in downtown Chicago, and one day one of his "patients" if you will, came to his dentistry practice with and offer to sell the car due to a divorce the original owner was going through with the feelings of "she may take my house but she will never get my damn car!" Which is someone i think i could get along with pretty well if i do say so. Anyways my neighbors father agreed to buy the car which was back in 1961. He drove it from early 1961 to early 1962 then parked the car in the garage and just left it. Too damn expensive to drive is all he ever said. From that point on he would take it out on the 4th of July and other rare special occasions but that was it, no more than 50 miles or so if that. So the car continued to sit and sit and sit... Unfortunately my neighbors father passed a few years back and he ended up buying the car off his mother for $6.00!!! He then got it running but just to see if it would kind of thing and left it right where it sat saying " where the hell am i gonna put it even if i got it out of the garage..." So shortly there after his mother passed and he then had to move the car. It ended up in his driveway where fortunately was located right next door to myself. So this is where i came in. Everyday i would go and talk with my neighbor, getting every story for every scratch mark and unfortunately dent in the car.. It got to a point where i was begging him to let me work on it and get it running again, at my own expense just so i knew it ran... This went on for years... And this is where it finally happens. One morning my neighbor came to me offering to sell the car like he had done MANY of times before and i was ready for the same old song and dance where when i agreed he would throw out a ridiculous number or immediately turn around and say never mind ill get to it one of these days... But today was different. He was going to be loosing his job and since he didn't have any kids, and since im the kid he never really wanted he would give me first dibs even though people would stop by regularly giving him offers and him just saying get the hell off my doorstep. We finally after some time agreed to a price and it was FINALLY MINE!! The car has 30,000 original miles, everything worked ( windows, roof, heather, ex...) All it took was an oil change, some fresh gas, plugs and it fired right up!! Everything on the car is original except the convertible roof which was pretty good if you don't like roofs period and carpet because it would turn to dust if you touched it.. Also it still has the second set of tires on it and they still hold air! The car weighs around 5200lbs and is 22ft from tip to tip and im pretty sure i could drive it through a house with no problems. Definitely a land yacht/tank....I don't know what to think so, i finally got around to posting it up on THE H.A.M.B. Let me know what you guys and gals think!! More Pictures Next Page-->

 

damn....almost as bad as looking next door at my buddies older sister's window....never did get that....came close....but....good score - the are low production numbers....

 

Wow...what a car. You waited, and it paid off. Good for you. 430 c.i. "MEL" engine. (Mercury, Edsel, Lincoln) The '58, '59, and '60 have the same bellhousing mounting bolt pattern as the later FE Ford transmissions, so if the trans ever goes bad, you could replace it with one of those...or if you ever wanted to put a 4spd in it...lol. Do some reading here and elsewhere about the MEL engine...pretty interesting and unique piston and head design...the head is flat, and the shape of the top of the piston determines the shape of the combustion chamber...similar to the 409 Chevy engine. Some here (very few) have built hot rods with the MEL engine. Take a look at Beep's (Brian's) fuel-burning MEL-powered old-time dragster...The Gizzlehopper...badass! He's very knowlegeable about the MEL engines. Uncle Scooby and a few others are too. There were very few speed parts made for the MEL motor, but some. And if you look hard enough, you can find them. One cool addition might be a 6 X 2 intake and a half dozen carbs...that would wow them at the shows! Good luck with it. It's a beautiful car.

Welcome to the Hamb. Do an intro, as requested by all new members. It's at the top of the forum page...where it says to introduce yourself.

 

P.S. - Even though the tires still "hold air", you might seriously consider replacing them for safety's sake.

 

Thanks Rickybop, Got on to the intro and thanks for the welcome, and tires are getting replaced next week, it was pretty sketchy driving on 40+ year old tires....

 

Good man. Type "MEL" to do a search here for threads relating to your engine. Have fun.

 

Beautiful car.

 

Thanks Goozgas, i appreciate that

 

Love it! It looks a mile long in the driveway!

 

What a great car. Love the front end view of it, so unique. Perseverance paid off in this case.

Don

 

Magnificent car - my ex-boss has a 30k mile four-door hardtop and the ride quality is excellent. The uphostery isn't just leather - it's Bridge of Weir leather, according to the brochure. Is the instrument cluster lens cracked? 99% of them are by now, but you can get it reproed. Happy motoring!

 

Wow.....what a car! Never.....I repeat...never let go of that one!

 

Wow, nice score. One of the biggest unibodies ever made.

 

Good score ! Love it hard !

 

What a score! That's awesome, congrats!

 

Beautiful car and your persistence paid off. Well done.
Here's a link to a pic of me in Fred Steele's 59 Continental convertible taken in 1966 on our trip to the States to check out the hot rod scene.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=733

 

That's a 10 out of 10 story of AWESOMENESS. Keep it.

 

Good stuff. Beyond big, hey, jump in! 30,000, what a big sweet peach.

 

Totally bitchin'

 

Did it fit in your garage? Good on you.

 

did the neighbor sell any other cars recently?

 

Wow, that baby is LOOONNNGGG!!!!! That makes a Chevy Suburban look like a Geo Metro.

 

this was a recent chicago barn find

 

Wow, what a find. In the late 90's I bought a 1959 Lincoln Capri (below the Premier) from a good friend in New Mexico. He found it at an auction in NE and snatched it up before the competition was going to put it in a demolition derby. It was an amazing car. I sold it to buy my house....

Never let this one go!!!!!!

 

Awesome car, congrats...

 

great find ,man i dont even like fords but thats a cool car ! great story

 

Unfortunately it doesn't fit in my garage, ii tried convincing the lady to let me knock down a wall but she didnt like the idea of the car sitting 3' to 4' ft into the house, no matter how much i told her it was a good idea...

 

My neighbor has not sold any more cars recently, this was the one out of them that he told me he would never sell, but i guess we heard how that went!

 

Yep! Ive got the super ultra deluxe instrument cluster crack right in the middle of the speedo

 

You're in good company.http://www.lincvolt.com/