Grandma’s Cruiser: 1956 Lincoln Premiere
The Lincoln Premiere was a luxury car produced from 1956-60. It was slotted below the ultra-posh Continental Mark II and above the Capri which it was based upon. This ’56 edition was owned from new by the seller’s grandmother and spent most of its time in her garage. It has less than 51,000 miles on the odometer, reflecting its occasional use for many years. Located near Daly City, California, this gallant land yacht is available here on craigslist for $20,000 OBO. A tip of the hat to T.J. for this lead!
Styling of the Premiere was borrowed from the Lincoln Futura show car and looks a lot like the Batmobile from the 1960s Batman TV series. The first generation was built in 1956 and 1957 and the cars were powered by Lincoln’s 368 cubic-inch Y-Block V8 engine. These were heavy cars, weighing in at nearly 4,400 pounds, so you wouldn’t pass by many gas stations in those days of 30-cent gasoline. In its first outing, the 1956 hardtop coupe would see production of just 2,447 units.
Currently housed in a storage facility, the seller believes minimal restoration work is needed, but that may be optimistic. While the body and paint seem to be good, there is a big dent in the passenger side right front fender that will need attending to. The interior is okay from what we can tell, but the fabric is 66 years old and starting to get weak in places. The seller says the registration is current, so perhaps the car has been taken out for a spin from time to time. We’re told this automobile was appraised at $35,000, so there should be some immediate equity for the buyer.
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Comments
It seems like this car has “good bones”, but I’m not sure where the $35K appraisal comes from. You would probably have to spend at least another $20K on top of the purchase price to get it to that point.
Cool car! 200,000 miles before engine rebuild seems odd…’56 is back in the day of 20,000 valve jobs.
A ’50s take on a late ’70s Bill Blas’s nautical blue/white interior could look good.
I’d say……200k with the oils they had in ’56 and being carbureted does seem like a stretch
No way would that engine last 200,000 miles before rebuild needed. Leaded gas, horrible oils and a carburetor made sure they lasted maybe 50,000 miles at best. Truth be told, cars from the 50s wore out in 60,000 miles. I am sitting with my 87 year old mother who vividly remembers her total POS 1959 Ford that broke down monthly taking us to school. She just said yeah those were great times but the cars were total crap.
When our 56 Ford sunliner, I was 5 and I think it had a v-8, but it reached 100k and my dad and his friends had a party , before the garage appointment to do the valves and such. 100 k evidently was a miracle Blue and white wish we still had it
100,000 miles was an event. People used to take pictures of their odometers turning over back then.
Unfortunately you’re not familiar w the Plymouth taxi engines of the early fifties. They ran anywhere from 250-500,000 miles, on BABITT bearings. Old flathead fords were also long mileage engines, all w proper maintenance. I’ve had and own modern Audis that can’t make it to 100k without piston and timing chain replacement.
@ George Matter
FORD. Fix Or Repair Daily
not agree with that i remember mother father new 1956 ford wagon i was 11 in 1956 it had a 225hp 312 in it they traded for a new 1960 impala ford had close to 90k on it when traded still ran strong even with my older sister drag racing her friend family 1956 chevy wagon with a 265 v8 2 barrell carb chevy never stood a chance
This thing was originally lavender and white, with a lavender, white, and black interior. It would look sensational restored to its original color scheme.
Yeah okay engines didn’t last as long before needing a lot of work but When I first got out of the army in 67 I bought several old cars that had over 100,000 miles on them and they ran fine. The first one I bought was a 55 Olds Holiday 98 4 door hardtop in Black and white. I made many trips between Tacoma, Washington and Redding, California in that car with no trouble. I could name several others but the point has been made; with proper maintenance and oil changes you could get over 100,000 miles out of those old cars.
God Bless America
… and old time mechanics that could replace worn parts rather than entire systems. I bout a 58 dodge coronet in 1969 for 25 dollars that had been painted with a brush, I replaced the cracked exhaust manifold and put many miles on it going over hilly and steep route 17 from UCSC to Palo Alto- where I worked- glad I dont have that 12 mpg anymore, but then again if I worked late I could park in the lot and sleep in the trunk
This 56 Lincoln has been for sale near men. It actually looks fairly solid, just partially disassembled. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/422168929617780/?ref=saved&referral_code=null
Partially disassembled is stretching things a bit I think. Ken Tilly. UK
A whole lot of those cars had the speedometers turned back early and often.They may have gotten a lot more miles than people thought between repairs!
wow funny you say that but yes dealers turned back milage as i said my parents traded a 56 ford for new 60 impala ford had almost 90k on it days later saw it on there used car lot with as chevy put it ok used cars showed 36000 miles so if when bough and broke down jn 40000 more miles new owner would think only had 76k when really was close to 130k
“Grandma, your door isn’t shut all the way and it’s unsafe to drive that way…Grandma…Grandma?
If we repeat the same BS over and over, at what point does it become fact ?
I have owned dozens of 50’s cars in the past 40-some years. Nearly all were still running well at over 100K. Had a 58 Buick Cabellero that came with an encyclopedia set of maintenance records, verifying it had passed 500K without a total rebuild.
What cars suffered from “back in the old days” was LACK of maintenance and lubricant changes. People were apparently embraced to the idea that cars only went so far bfore you traded in for a new one, or they just beat them like a rented mule and got another beater when the old dog finally died. The aforementioned Buick got oil changes every 1500 miles, and enjoyed 4 ball joint changeouts in the course of 33 years. The guy bought it new, loved the car, and took very good care of it. Some designs are better than others, and for those who choose a *perhaps* lesser design can often make up for deficiencies by compensating in other areas. If the 50’s engines and oils were not up to modern standards, SOME people just made sure their auto investment enjoyed a ramped up maintenance schedule to ensure the car held up well.
Shouldn’t that one-owner car have a black plate? HMMM
A MAJOR factor was the presence or absence of an oil filter. My father’s “50 Studebaker did not have one, and extra cost option, and engine was toast at 40,000 miles. Uncle’s ’49 Chevy, and father’, then my, ’56 Chevy had one and both went over 140,000 miles with no significant engine issues. Replaced ball joints on ’56 twice in that time, uphostery was shot on the ’56 at 40,000 miles, Powerglide got stuck in low once having been driven at 70 mph for several hours, cooled down, and never happend again. Pre-radial tires went 22,000 miles or so, and blew out frequently. One barrell master cylinders left you with no brakes at all when a line blew out, but, the “emergency brake” could stop you, and, the pistol grip ones could be used to drive with, since you could adjust the pressure. Drove many miles in city traffiic once to get home, and then the next day to the shop to get the brake lines replaced.
It’s hard to believe oil filters were options and that full flow oil filters weren’t prevalent until the 1960s, but that was the case. How far we have advanced in our thinking about engine lubrication in 60 years.