Rebuilt V12: 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet
While they may have been a father-and-son team, you could never have found two individuals more different than Henry and Edsel Ford. Henry placed most of his manufacturing focus on producing affordable basic transport for the masses. Edsel was driven by the desire to create luxury cars of unparalleled build quality and beauty. The result of Edsel’s drive for perfection is embodied in the 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet. It caused a sensation when it debuted, and spotless examples can still turn heads today. Our feature car has been parked since 1956, but it doesn’t seem to have suffered unduly from the experience. It appears to be a solid classic that would represent a straightforward restoration project. Sealing the deal is the freshly rebuilt V12 that hides under the elegantly tapered hood. I have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder Gunter K for spotting this beautiful classic for us. It is located in Center Brunswick, New York, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set the sale price at $16,500.
The Cabriolet is an elegant classic that appears to wear its original Capri Blue paint. The body has a few repairable bruises and dings, but nothing visible would suggest that the buyer will be spending money on replacement panels. It appears that the frame for the soft-top is present, but it has enough accumulated corrosion to suggest that it will probably require media-blasting as part of the restoration process. There is no visible rust in the panels, and the owner doesn’t mention any issues in the listing. I’m pretty sure that I can see some accumulated surface corrosion peeking out from the car’s underside, so potential buyers may need to investigate this to ensure that there’s no penetrating rust. If there is rust in the floors, it may not be a huge drama. A complete set of floors can be found for around $400, and installing them would be no more difficult than any other classic from this era. It appears that most of the exterior trim pieces, including the spare wheel cover, are present and in good condition. With the glass also in excellent order, this Continental shows promise for its next owner.
Henry Ford held a level of disdain for any engine with more than four cylinders, although he encouraged his engineers to investigate some pretty radical designs. One of these that died a quiet death was an eight-cylinder engine with the cylinders in an “X” formation. It showed promise from a packaging perspective, but it exhibited insurmountable lubrication issues. On the other hand, Edsel was passionate about the power, torque, and smoothness that was available in V8 and V12 powerplants. Therefore it was no great surprise to lift the hood of a ’41 Continental to find a 292ci V12 in residence. This work of art produced 120hp, which found its way to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual transmission. For potential buyers, we’ve probably reached the highlight of this classic as a project build. The owner has gone to the trouble and expense of rebuilding both the V12 and the transmission. He has carefully and accurately detailed both components before slipping them back into their rightful places. That should mean that the buyer won’t need to spend a dime there, although it’s a sure bet that the brakes and suspension will require attention after more than six decades of inactivity. Once again, parts are readily available and remain surprisingly affordable.
One aspect of this Lincoln that will command the buyer’s attention will be the interior restoration. It appears that it is close to complete, although a question mark hangs over the presence of the back seat. The original owner ordered this Continental trimmed in an attractive combination of Red and Tan leather with matching Red carpet. The upholstery and carpet have seen better days, and a complete retrim will be the order of the day. Sourcing trim may prove to be a challenge, but a bit of patience may see the buyer strike gold. Otherwise, a competent upholsterer should be able to reproduce all of the required pieces using the surviving trim as a template. The dash and wheel will require attention, although items like the factory AM radio remain intact.
Many people would find the prospect of restoring a classic luxury car to be daunting, but with vehicles like this 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, it doesn’t need to be. The company assembled these cars with an eye to the finest details of fit and finish, and it is the hand-assembled aspect that makes them attractive as project builds. Unlike modern vehicles, the assembly process utilized hand tools and human hands. That means that any part installed by hand should be capable of being removed the same way. It is a restoration that a competent person should be able to tackle in a home workshop, and that may prove a necessity if it is to remain financially viable. The harsh reality is that while these are luxury cars with only 400 examples rolling out of the factory during the 1941 model year, they don’t command high prices. It is possible to find some stunning examples for a touch below $60,000. At the sale price, it does leave room for a high-quality restoration, but if the buyer can perform some of the work themselves, they should ensure that they don’t blow the budget. With those thoughts in mind, do you feel tempted to tackle returning this beautiful classic to its former glory?
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Comments
The title of a rebuilt engine grabbed my attention because it made me remember a conversation I had with a retired mechanic who lived and worked in a era when these cars were commonplace. He told me that the dealer he worked at had an overhead boring machine that used to be able to be moved from bay to bay when engines required a refresh. Back then and up through the 60’s everything was rebuilt rather than replaced. That started to change in the 70’s.
I started wrenching in the 80’s so I saw the tail end of “old school” where diagnosis and repair was giving way to diagnosis and replace. Gone are the days when subassemblies are repaired. Fortunately there are still a good number of people who love old cars who rely on “old school” techs to repair cars and hopefully there are enough younger people who want to continue the tradition.
There are videos on YouTube, sped up of course, that show various engines being rebuilt. Jasper made their mark by doing the time-consuming work and allowing repair shops to drastically reduce the time to replace an engine. I had a shop replace a long block in a 1988 Taurus and it only took a week.
If they hadn’t put that “bustle” on the back and instead had used the coupe style deck lid it would have been perfect. Beautiful car.
I think it would be a hoot to just make it safe and drive it in fair weather.
Cheap and heck it’s probably only going to need about another 1K to make it a driver…
I am interested in where the car has been, due to the unusual license plates. Does anyone recognize those and where they are from?
Smokey, Typically HC stands for House Car, or Horseless Carriage; obviously this car is neither.
It looks like the bottom of the plate has MA so there’s a chance they were issued in Massachusetts
Actually they are New Jersey plates, see the front one; much more legible…
Looks like old New Jersey plate
Smokey, The letter ‘H’ over ‘C’ indicates this car was registered in Hudson County New Jersey when those tags were issued. New Jersey issues front and back and that appears to be the case here. The standard size 6″X12″ tag came in 1957 when all states had to conform to that size. This is the previous size tag which was 10.5″ X 6.5″ .
Wow, what a diamond in the rough. Great that the V12 has been rebuilt, although many mechanics weren’t crazy about them. It does look like brakes and suspension would be the first things to make her a driver. Wiring would probably need done as well. Is it missing its deck lid, or is that part of the convertible design? Great find!
Decklid and other items not shown on the car are said to be included, just not installed. This includes the fender skirts, hubcaps & trim rings.
This car is way, way too cheap. Something just doesn’t seem right. I really would like to know who is lucky enough to get it at this price. and what his thoughts are a bought the purchase.
What a sweet car! Rita Hayworth had a coupe in a similar color.
Also, I seem to remember a similar white car being blown up in the John Wayne movie In Harms Way.
Thanks for telling us that, Ted, now I won’t be able to sleep lol
How well I remember that Harm’s Way sequence. If you watch the movie carefully, you will note a postwar Ford convertible switched out at the last second to do the destruct. Even in 1965 they weren’t going to destroy one of these beauties. Not so in 1957 when in Oh Bernadine! Dick Sargent (Samatha’s second husband on Bewitched) puts his ’41 on its side after loosing his girl, played by Terry Moore. Oh, Oh, Oh Bernardine! Pat Boone belts out the title song.
I too would love to own this car. Seems like the price isn’t too bad.
I seem to remember Sonny Corleone having one of those.. Don’t think he had it for long though.
The claim that the V12 was rebuild is encouraging, and hopefully the seller has all receipts and documents to back it up. It sure makes this Lincoln more desirable. I’ve always wanted to rebuild one. Just don’t have the space to store it with everything else that it will be needing done.. For what it may be, the asking price isn’t terribly unreasonable.
The claim that the V12 was rebuilt is encouraging, and hopefully the seller has all receipts and documents to back it up. It sure makes this Lincoln more desirable. I’ve always wanted to rebuild one. Just don’t have the space to store it with everything else that it will be needing done.. For what it may be, the asking price isn’t terribly unreasonable.
As a kid growing up in the 50s & 60s I miss having these “clunkers” sitting around the property. Although. We never had a Lincoln, looking at this car just reminded me of that. My father was a machinest and mechanic. He would buy them cheap, work on them and sell them. I remember 40s Plymouth and Dodges, early 50s Chevies and Pontiacs.
Those were fun days
I’m the pic of the steering wheel you can see what looks like scented dryer sheets in background. Dead critter odor?
Still one beautiful car.
The big problem with the V12 was caused by drivers who lugged the engine under power.
The problem with the V12 was the right rear cylinder wall had a casting problem and overheated and cracked. More then a few of these had the engine replaced with a V8 flathead as the motor mount set-up (engine mounts, etc.) was a match for a drop-in.
If the V12 Lincoln engine rebuild has all its documentation that would be a big plus. And nothing bad wrong about a Lincoln V12 but lots of old school mechanics swapped the out for Cadillac engines. Kinda like sacrilege going from Lincoln to Cadillac IMO. If it was done right there shouldn’t be any problems. Imagine what it took to get that V12 timed just right after it’s rebuild?
These are Art Deco MASTERPIECES! You can never recreate a sculped body, with a V12…We had a 39 sedan, 48 cabrio, and a 41 Zephyr Limo (original 41k miles), that was driven like it was stolen… use of modern coolants ant lubricants apparently prevented any issues…so …best of GREAT luck to the purchaser..you got a DEAL!