Parts Car Prospect? 1956 Continental Mark II
It hurts a bit to see an esteemed automobile like this 1956 Continental Mark II reduced to such deplorable condition. Time the avenger! It happens to them all eventually if steps aren’t taken to preserve and protect. The seller thinks that this example is complete so let’s look it over and see if that’s the case. Located in Norfolk, Connecticut, this one of 3,000 Mark IIs produced (’56 and ’57), is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $700 with the reserve not yet met. There is a BIN option of $3,500 available too. Thanks to T.J. for this tip!
Instead of paraphrasing the seller’s description, I’ll present his comments: “With the exception of the interior ceiling light, to my knowledge this Continental is complete, making it an ideal parts car. The front and rear windshields were unfortunately smashed prior to my ownership. The passenger rear window is present and is just in the down position. I do not believe the glass on the rear seat pertains to this car. The doors do latch, however, the trunk will need to be strapped for transport“. Also stated is the condition of the bumpers, which are claimed to be excellent, as well as a suggestion that this Mark II has not been used as a parts source. Regardless, it’s in rough shape with lots of rust and scale though the rust doesn’t show as body panel “rust-through”, at least what can be seen in the accompanying images. Same with the underside, it’s rusty but may not have integrity issues, though that’s not the case for the trunk pan.
The 285 gross HP, 368 CI V8 engine appears to be all there, but untouched for many moons. The seller states that this car has been in “storage” for years, and perhaps that’s the reason for the low 48K mileage recording, but the storage environment was likely outside. Of note, this Mark II is outfitted with the only available option, a $595 (1956 dollars) A/C system.
The interior is probably the worst that I have encountered in scouring old car listings, at least in the circumstance where there still is an interior that hasn’t been gutted. This car has clearly been neglected and left to the elements with the windows down and suffering from the effects of the previously mentioned smashed windshield. The leather-upholstered environment is completely destroyed and rust abounds everywhere. A close look at the floors isn’t very encouraging either.
The seller adds, “I do not have a key for this automobile, but it does roll, steer and go in and out of gear without any problems“. No key, no problem, I doubt that it matters considering everything else that’s wrong with this at-one-time exalted example of FoMoCo’s design and engineering. It’s good to know that the bumpers are in excellent condition because little else is. A parts car? Maybe, but probably in a limited sense. That’s my thought, what’s yours?
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Comments
Oh, Jim, you big baby,,I should talk, it hurts for me too, however, try as we might, we can’t undo father time. There’s about 47 things I’d do differently, if we could. The fact this car exists at all, is a sign someone had high hopes of restoring it,,like when I was in kindygarten, but today, its foolhardy to even try. The Delco “tar top”(?) battery may be an indication how long its been sitting. AND VACUUM WIPERS?? Heck, I can just imagine the glee of someone seeing this, who needs a grill or a tail light, a freakin’ horn ring, or a bumper to rechrome, to complete their restoration, all practically unobtainium today, with a rare car like this. You be under water in no time here, if that’s an issue.
BTW, just kidding, Jim, I’m glad some emotion is still among us,,some more than others,( cough,,like me) and I think it was just a “Continental”, no Lincoln. It was a pricey car new, almost $10grand, or over $100grand today. Ford claimed to lose $1,000 dollars on every one. Too far gone for this classy gal.
The retractable hardtop was intended for this car, but would have put it in the Rolls Royce price range. It did put the Ford into Cadillac range. Robert McNamara wanted them in showrooms for prestige. The square roof line was used on the ’58-’60 t-bird, but the ’60 Ford Starliner roof-line didn’t lend itself to the square look. Ford lost money on every one produced.
That cost differential was because of the very low, anticipated production of the Convertibles. no matter how well they sold
That “loss per car” estimate for the Continental Mark II is meaningless.
The Continental Division was shuttered by Robert McNamara prior to Ford’s privatization, to make the stock more attractive.
As the Continental project was killed six months into production, it would not have been possible to make a profit on any number of cars sold at that price point
Actually, Ford went public in 1956, it had been a privately held company up to that point. The Ford family did, however, retain about 40% ownership through a special class of stock but it has been on the big board ever since.
JO
Parts? No way. If someone parts that out I’ll be forced to release my flying monkeys on them. Restore or die broke and crazy tryin. Man up!!! If hadnt spent all my money on coke, loose women and sailboats, and waster the rest id buy it yesterday.
I think you are right Kevin. It deserves to be restored.
I totally agree! This is not the sort of car that can be relegated to organ-donor status, not unless the structure was compromised, which it hasn’t been. This car is bound to keep the likes of Mark II Enterprises (a specialty vendor in Cali whose strong point is Mark IIs) churning out NOS or repro parts for a good while, and resulting in a half-megadollar car! If I had better resources on hand, I’d take it on, just to prove my point!
Sounds like W.C. Fields, “I spent my money on fast cars, loose women and cheap booze, the rest I wasted”,,a quick check on “1956 Continental for sale”, a site claims to have like 50, ranging in price from $7500 to $50 grand. Unless your relative is in the repro biz, why would you go through the hassle of even thinking about restoring this? This is what’s called, an “ambitious” restoration, it’s probably the most costly car to restore, and many are finding out today, why bother.
https://cars.trovit.com/used-cars/1956-continental-mark
I was in the private storage facility of a collector who had about 10 cars, Packards, Cadillacs, etc. all of which were immaculately restored.
The owner told me that restoring that Continental Mark II is the most expensive restoration he had ever undertaken, and he started with a much better car
The prices of these gorgeous cars are going nowhere. It is beyond any hope restoration unless the goal is to live in it, parked photogenically und a bridge.
Turn. Run. Do not look back
The seller was keen to clean up those whitewalls. It gives this rolling wreck a kind of flair.
Son, you gonna drive me to drinkin’, if you don’t stop drivin’ that hot rod Lincoln. Saw a pristine example Thursday in a weathertight machine shed while buying some countertop material, a lavender 56 Lincoln, preserved in in a thick layer of Kansas dust. Not for sale. They’re out there.
He wants $2100 for the hubcaps. So much for complete less the key. Throw the caps in and It’s a buy.
Did you happen to talk with the seller? It states in the listing [added at the bottom] there are no wheel covers, and doesn’t say anything about them being available at extra cost.
If you look at the other items that the seller has on ebay he did have a set of 4 Mark II hubcaps for sale. They sold for $1500 for the set.
What a shame this Lincoln was left to the ravenous of time..it’s a sacrilegious!!..I agree it should be restored and if I had the funds that’s exactly what I would do..!! a loud NO to it being a parts car..better get a mean dog to guard it to keep parts thief away!!
“I’m gonna fix it up someday” poor thing.
it’s not a Lincoln,its a continental.
Technically you’re right and I knew that and then forgot about it during the editing function. Post updated.
JO
Very, technically. It was produced by Ford’s “Continental Division” that was a temporary flow chart structure, and nothing more. No history, no tradition of its own
On the other hand, the Mark II was created by stylists, designers, and engineers pulled from the Ford Motor Company, notably Lincoln
It was directly inspired by the original Lincoln Continental of 1939, after which it was named.
All of its mechanical bits came from Lincoln automobiles
The car’s entire heritage came from Lincoln and when the division was shuttered, the assets were not liquidated, but redistributed around the Ford motor company.
Most notably, the “Continental”trademark and the star hood ornament have been used for decades on Lincoln products, permanently melding the names of “Lincoln” and “Continental” into one entity in the public’s memory
On the corporate flow charts from 1955 and 1956 it’s a “Continental.”
It’s tradition, origin, and succession are purely Lincoln, Continental, products of the Ford motor company
Many years ago, I bought one in similar condition to use for parts. I had it hooked to my tow truck back it onto my trailer for transport. About half way up the ramps, I heard a loud “crunch”. I got out to see that the car had literally broke in half!!
You got two cars for the price of one!
I have two scene two of these in similar “barnyard finds” condition
The degree of rust on those cars was probably the worst I have ever seen on any automobiles. I really wonder about the quality of steel used.
Build a Hot Rod all the way.
Restoration would be costly, time consuming and not worth the effort.
Building a Hot Rod with late model components will make the car driveable and most importantly desirable and valuable!
Tube chassis, air ride, blown 5.4 from a Lightning. Black w/ tan glove leather and ostrich hide. Wide,wide whitewalls with aluminum smoothie Foose wheels
I’m surprised the valve covers haven’t been ripped off this car. And the star holding down the air cleaner is amazingly still in place. It saddens me to see a car like this in this condition. Not for the faint of heart for sure but you will need very deep pockets to bring this one back.
As previously said, Mark II is a Continental … not a Lincoln. Based on the AC option and dual front bumper nerfs, this e ample is more likely a 1957 model year. The VIN plate located adjacent to the driver door upper hinge would confirm if the plate is still present.
Unfortunately, this example is no longer recoverable even if the entire inventory of remaining MarkII Enterprises repro parts was made available. The stainless 40 fin hubcaps (if ever available/found ) are typically $1K – $2K each!
I suspect this is a ’56, as the VIN is C56L3431.
Fun fact:
Ford’s Continental division did not assign model years to the Mark II, wanting to suggest that the cars were “timeless.”
If a title suggests 1956 or 1957, that number was assigned by the state’s department of transportation
The first “57” was #3418.
Seeing the interior, the first thing I’d do is get an exterminator.
“With only around 3,000 ever produced over its short production run, the Continental Mark II is a true rare luxury classic. So when you can pick up a distinguished example of America’s Rolls-Royce, you know this is a fleeting opportunity. Call today!!!” $53995 on ebay. Looks new.
There one on ebay for $53,995. Looks new.
Having lived in China throughout the 1980s and 1990s, I saw a lot of cars (called Hong Qi) that resembled the Mark II. I tried buying one for quite a while but could never complete a deal.
Jimbo,
I collect very rare and unusual cars, and had a diplomatic contact in China about the same time you were there. I had asked many times if he could find a Hong Qi limousine [East Wind I believe is the English translation]. He said each one he found, no matter what condition, [even one that had been badly wrecked] were not for sale as they were all still owned by the government and never officially sold.
When I was attempting to buy a Russian equivalent known as a ZIS 110 limo, it was the exact opposite, there were more than a few available, but because everyone who owned one [or claimed to own one] kept insisting it was Stalin’s limo, therefore they wanted absurd amounts of Dollars. I found this funny because due to Stalin’s fear of a car bomb, he never had a limo of his own, instead choosing one ZIS limo each day from the examples his senior officials and generals used.
I actually stayed in and around Beijing-Shunyi until about 2012. I had one frined who imported a Hong Qi to San Francisco in the late 1990s, and another friend who bought a mid 1950s Mercedes 300 from a govt agency in Tianjin in about 1982. That was tricky because he couldn’t actually buy it, but they did allow him to barter it for a new Nissan Cedric. He got an unbelievably good deal! I wonder if we might have met over there. I brought Subway to Beijing in 1995, and then started a Chang Jiang restoration and conversion shop in 2005
I’ve never been to China, but I knew someone over there with a [non-USA] diplomatic passport who had similar automotive interests to mine. As I recall, he said each time he saw a Hong Qi that was not in regular use by officials, he would ask to buy it. He said the answer was always the same- they cannot be sold. Neither of us ever asked about possible trades. I ended up buying a Chaika GAZ13, and a couple of Tatra V8 sedans. Chaika ended up in the UK as it had title problems. Still have one of the Tatras.
I seem to remember a nice restomod MK11 selling near $200K a while back, it probably started out looking like this one…
Lincoln’s and Continentals from this period were notorious for rusting. In fact the ’58- ’60 T Birds sufferred the same issue. At least in my experience trying to restore them.
Definitely project. Not everything needs to be a 100 point restoration to be fun. Sure those are nice to but make it safe and functional. Most people don’t have the space to keep a show car and shouldn’t be excluded from collecting . Having a usable functional classic that can be used without having a heart attack if it gets rained on or that you can take to Wal mart shopping makes sense to me. This Mark ii can make some handy person very happy . Even on a beer budget
After seeing a 57 Lincoln done on Klindig’s show, I am always amazed how modern these were. They were so far ahead of other cars. It is a shame this one is so toasted. The valve covers are cool too. I now want to see one that’s in nice shape.
I will post pics of mine when I return stateside.
Hubcaps for sale separately for $2100
the first car to sell used for more than a new one,67 Eldorado was the next one
Do you mean the first car ever? I can think of many cars nowadays that used sell for more than when they were new. Or was there a time frame when the Continental sold for more used than new?
Come on, ,this heap will never be restored – I know in an infinite amount of time and an infinite amount of money it could be restored to like new , but who is going to do it ? Its bad enough its been left to the elements in New England for many years, but it isnt really a super popular car, and certain parts are unobtanium – plus, what killed the car originally ? blown engine ? transmission ? You could probably buy two of these in nice shape for what you’d have into this pile, and it still wouldn’t be completed. cars left outside on this end of the country is a death sentence ; I’m sure the frame is shot, and looking at the damaged interior, I’m guessing the glass has been broken for years , so the floor is guaranteed chock full of holes . This thing needs everything. Its going to be a parts car if it sells at all
Agree! … sadly, the cost to transport it is hardly worth what little is left to salvage!