2Bad4Ya's 1956 Lincoln Mark II

1956 Continental Mark II

About this Current Vehicle:

This beauty was a true find! I wish I could detail how we came about this gem, but all we can say is the prior owner is a very private person, and we will respect their privacy.

What I can tell you is the car sat in a climate controlled storae facility for the last 40 yrs, the car was started once a month for the 1st 20 yrs in storage, but then overlooked. When we were sent out to look at the car and see if it could/would crank up we were surprised to see this in the storage stall.

40yrs of dust had blanketed this barge, and the tires where flat! We aired up the tires, and rolled her outside. After we raised the hood we could tell the rubber had all dry rotted, and if started she would spew fluids all over the place. But doing as asked we took our time and after about an hour of work on her we were ready to try cranking her.

A shot of ether in the carb, a twist of the key, and .... she rumbled to life! She idled for about 2 minutes then the fuel lines started to leak and we shut her down. We reported our findings and the owner asked us if we were interested. And thats pretty much how this classic found its way into our garage.

Now if you do not know much about this car then here is a little history behind these rare rides!

The Continental Mark II was a car produced by the newly formed Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company during 1956 and 1957. Many aficionados of the automobile consider the Continental Mark II one of the classics of the postwar period.

The new Continental was intended to be not the largest nor the most powerful automobile, but rather the most luxurious and elegant American car available. Aside from its '40s Continental inspiration, it was designed to recapture the spirit of the great classics of the prewar period, with prices to match.

Emulating the original Continental, the Mark II had a spare tire hump in the trunk lid. For authenticity, the spare tire was actually mounted beneath this, unlike later Lincolns in which this was just a styling feature.

Technically, the Continental was never a Lincoln. A new division, the Continental Division, was formed to make it, and officially the car should be called only a Continental Mark II, but many ignored that. The car was sold through the Lincoln dealership and maintained through them. It bore the four-pointed star prominently on hood and (very large) on the trunk 'spare tire' that soon became the Lincoln emblem. The drivetrain was pure Lincoln, and the car's forebears and descendants were Lincolns. Therefore, they're commonly thought of as Lincolns.

That Lincoln drivetrain featured the new standard Lincoln 368 in³ (6.0 L) V8, effectively a factory blueprinted engine due to the selection of the best, most perfect to specifications parts from off the regular Lincoln production line, allied to a three-speed Lincoln automatic transmission. Both were subject to extensive testing before use.

Most of the car was effectively handbuilt to an exacting standard, including multiple coats of paint hand-sanded down and double-lacquered and polished to perfection.

At the car's selling price of $10,000, Ford estimated they lost over a thousand dollars per car, and $10,000 was equivalent to the cost of a new Rolls-Royce of the time, or more than two top-of-the-line Cadillacs. Compensated for inflation, this figure would be around $70,000 today; compensated against earnings, probably even greater.

This vehicle's vin number is a low 2 digit number, I will post pix soon. The last attempt came out blurry.