11k Original Miles: 1959 Continental Mark IV
If you were involved in a fender bender in a prestige vehicle, and the damage consisted of a dent in one fender, some minor damage to the front bumper, and the need to replace the grille and headlight surround, what would you do? Common sense would seem to dictate that I’d have it fixed. The previous owner of this 1959 Continental Mark IV was faced with a similar dilemma in 1970, and his solution was to leave the car parked untouched in a garage for the next 50-years. After five decades of inactivity, the Continental has been revived. The accident damage hasn’t been repaired, but the owner is providing the buyer with some parts to get the process going. If you would like the chance to own the largest and most luxurious car that the Ford Motor Company produced in 1959, you will find the Continental located in Borrego Springs, California, and listed for sale here on Craigslist. Parking the luxury classic in your garage will only cost you $12,000.
When you look at this photo, you can clearly see the worst of the accident damage that was inflicted upon the Continental back in 1970. You would have to say that it’s pretty insignificant and that a good panel-beater should have no real dramas performing repairs. Assisting the process of returning the body to a pristine state, it appears as though a replacement grille and headlight surround are included with the car. The hardest damage to address is going to be to the front bumper. Having said that a really good panel-beater should be able to straighten it with heat and patience. It would just require a trip to the plater once this was done. The Peacock Green paint on the vehicle looks to be really good, and apart from the noted accident damage, the Continental appears to be very straight. The owner says that this is a classic that has spent its entire life in California and that it is completely rust-free. There is certainly nothing visible, while the chrome, trim, and the tinted glass all seems to be in virtually flawless condition. One of the coolest features on the car is the “Breezeway” rear window that rolls down to provide the ultimate in flow-through ventilation.
The interior of the Continental is another aspect of the car that presents well, and apart from some issues with the carpet, it seems to be clean and tidy. The driver’s door trim looks a bit dirty at the top, and the contrasting vinyl insert has come loose, but these are both problems that should be able to be repaired by a decent upholsterer. The rest of the upholstered surfaces, headliner, seats, and the dash, all look to be really good. The interior reflects all that was luxurious and comfortable back in 1959. You receive air conditioning, a beautifully stylish gauge cluster that includes a “Town & Country” radio, power windows, a 4-way power front seat, and more ashtrays than you can poke a stick at.
Powering the Continental is a 430ci V8, while the car also receives a 3-speed automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes. After sitting for five decades, the gentle giant required some work to coax it back to life. The fuel system was flushed, the brake master cylinder has been rebuilt, new plugs, wires, rotor, cap, and an MSD ignition has been fitted. All of the hoses and belts have also been replaced, and now the Continental starts, runs, drives, and the transmission shifts smoothly. However, it isn’t all good news, because coolant vapor coming from the exhaust when warm suggests that the 430 might have a blown head gasket. The owner also claims that the Continental has a genuine 11,000 miles on its odometer. While he doesn’t appear to have any rock-solid evidence to back this claim, he does have a transmission service invoice from 1968. On that invoice, it shows a mileage of 7,300, so given the fact that the Continental was taken out of service only 2-years later, the claim is definitely feasible. Normally I would talk about performance figures, and those of the Continental actually make interesting reading. No one could accuse this old girl of being a lightweight, and the fact that it tips the scales at 5,220lbs confirms this. The 430 produces 350hp, and this allows the vehicle to get from 0-60mph in 8.8 seconds, while the ¼ mile is done and dusted in 17.1 seconds. It isn’t muscle car fast, but for a hugely heavy luxury car, those numbers look impressive. This is further reinforced by the fact that if the car is given its head, it will run all the way to 124mph.
This 1959 Continental Mark IV 4-Door Hardtop is a gentle giant that can be awakened the moment that you bury your right foot. It is also a car with an amazing back-story, and it appears that it would take very little to return it to active duty. Today, a good example can fetch around the $13,000 mark, but a truly pristine example can fetch $30,000 or more. This one isn’t pristine, but with the few issues that it has addressed, a low-mileage example like this could ultimately be worth well in excess of $20,000. It is definitely something to think about.
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Comments
Cool car, I thought the biggest car Ford ever made, but that honor, surprisingly, I read, goes to the 1970 Ford LTD. I’ve got news for ya’, Ol’ Clarence and Wiletta drove this old gal around the world. Cars like this are incredibly difficult to restore, just because there’s so much of it. Electrics will be your worst nightmare. Top of the line in ’59, but today, that’s a big car to muscle around.
I’m not trying to be “that guy” Howard, but I always thought these Continentals were the biggest cars Ford made and a quick Internet search seems to bear that out – they are a tad wider, a couple inches taller, and almost 11″ longer than the ’70 LTD. For you young folks who may have never seen one of these massive beasts, pictures don’t tell the whole story.
I thought so too at 131″ wheelbase. Maybe the biggest Ford didn’t include the Continental.
Much as I tend to be all about DRIVING cars — thus rejecting no-miles “collector” cars — I have to say I’d love to have this one just to look at. Not sure I’d ever drive it if it were mine.
But I love the looks. The ’59 was the peak of wretched excess, of chrome, fins and over-the-top metal-shaping. Even as a young import-car fan back when these were new, I loved them for their sheer audacity.
So if I could, I’d buy this, get the bodywork repairs done, get the bumper reshaped and replated (spending the price of a decent used Toyota right there, I’m sure), and put all the car’s systems in order. After that, I could drive it, or just enjoy the daylights out of what is, to me, an absolutely classic design that will never be repeated.
“The ’59 was the peak of wretched excess, of chrome, fins and over-the-top metal-shaping. Even as a young import-car fan back when these were new, I loved them for their sheer audacity.” Well-said RayT. What makes this car so fascinating in hindsight is to realize what came next, the slab-sided Lincolns of the 1960’s with their ultra-clean styling and detailing. The discussions at the Lincoln styling studio in the late 50’s must have been intense.
Elwood Engle and his posse designed the ’61 Lincoln, and they won some awards for that clean design. The bigger award was probably that the slab-sided design persisted for the next 20+ years at Ford and Chrysler.
Engle was bounced from Ford and went to Chrysler, where he designed the slab-sided C-body cars from 1965 through 1968. But Ford used that slab-side motif on the Mercs and Lincolns well past the ’70s and into the 1980s. That’s a long run for an auto design paradigm, especially at that time. YET, not as long as the boring jellybean design has been around. I think it began with the ’86 Taurus (which at that time looked so weird), and persists to this day in every make of car. But I sense the jellybean theme is fading finally, in favor of the hideous “transformer” look, where every car or truck looks pissed off.
Engel must have brought lots of drawings from Ford when he went to Chrysler . I remember the styling cues from the ’63 Marauder to ’64 Monaco , ’64 T-Bird to ’66 Coronet , ’66 Fairlane to ’68 Road Runner…..
Way to boil it down. Spot on.
Nothing I see suggests a true 11K miles. I see too much wear and the fact the car has been repainted…look at the door pillar tag, over spray.
What I do see is a well preserved car that probably has seen 111,000 relatively easy miles.
If you are a Lincoln die-hard, it’s probably worth the price as these don’t come a long too often in dry, rust free condition.
“But I sense the jellybean theme is fading finally, in favor of the hideous “transformer” look, where every car or truck looks pissed off.”
You nailed it, Rex!
Mom’s was a ’60 convert. I don’t think the top was ever downed unless I was the one that did it in our driveway before I was a licensed driver. Purchased off the showroom floor in Palm Springs because Mom could cross her legs while Dad drove. Allowed 2700 dollars trade in value on a new burgundy ’64.
I love this car, I would get the damage fixed and drive this every chance I got, it’d be like driving your lazee boy down the highway & @ $ 2.30 a pound it seems like a bargain.
My F.I.L. had a 59 Mercury Montclair, had to cut out a piece of the back wall of his garage to get it in. Never missed a fuel stop but was a plushy ride, nice car and had some steel in ’em
With that much damage to this car, I bet you could read about the occupants of the other car in the newspaper!
Correct me if I’m wrong. But this looks like a car used in the original 1960 “The Parent Trap”, with Hayley Mills playing both twins.
I watch reruns of Perry Mason just to see him step out of something like this once in a while. While Paul Drake pulls up in his ’59 T-Bird.
It still amazes me that these huge cars are unibody. Years ago, “Collectible Automobile” magazine ran a detailed article about the development of this generation Lincoln Continental. According to that article there were problems getting the unit body on test cars to hold together on rough roads so Ford bought a Nash Ambassador to see how AMC did it.
Bigger cutie than 59 Caddie…..
Years into my old car hobby, it suddenly hit me how dramatic Lincoln styling has often been, as compared to other cars of the same years, and how often they made radical styling changes. Just walk up the years from 56 to 61, with the exception of the similar 58-59-60 bodies, they are all RADICALLY (and arguably beautifully) styled ! I love the 58-59’s, … and they ARE HUGE !!! Hollowed out, I could park my none-too-small 58 DeSoto inside one ! The market was full of wonderfully beautiful finned cars, to those inclined to the whimsical stylings of George Jetson in the late 50’s, but the 58-60 Lincolns were the final word in “grand”.
I love most American cars from the 1950’s right through to the mid 1970’s, but this big Lincoln is just about the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Foul and grotesque in every way.
Lots of car for the price!! It just reminds me of the Edsel to much!! Not one of my favorites!!
The 1958 Connie was a gorgeous car. To really appreciate them, you should see a brand new white convertible from the sight line of an eleven year old. Square cars don’t photograph well, they need to be seen in person. I hated that they de-styled it for the next two years, but many people prefer the ’60 model. The convertible tended to crack under the dash near the steering column, but can and should be braced.
The 1961 was even finer looking. I never liked the “bullet” t-bird that inspired it, but I saw a photo record of the tweeks that adapted it for a large car. It is amazing how small changes can transform the look of a car.
It almost looks like the back window goes down?
It does.. known as a breezeway
It does jimjim, one of the early breezeways.
I love me a good pre-1960 car all the way back to the 30’s but *1959* is my favorite year for almost all of them especially Chrysler, Imperial, Lincoln, Cadillac, Plymouth, etc. Beautiful wretched excess!
If this was in a fender bender in 1970 it was just an old car then. The owner probably turned it into his insurance co. , was told it was totaled, and offered $150 dollars or something insulting low. When I was working in a gas station in ’74 I remember some old guy had his ’65 Rambler Classic (30,000 MI. ALMOST SHOWROOM) broadsided in a parking lot by a drunk driver. The other guys ins. co. gave him $100. Anything more than 7 years old had no value.
What a clean 59 to start with. I don’t believe the 11K miles at all. The carpet doesn’t lie. I have a 59 Galaxy Skyliner and have towed both cars, the Continental was definitely heavier. I can’t speak for the 70 LTD.
What a beast. I love it.
Belongs in a Museum but I would love to get some good high speed radials on it and bury the needle on an Arizona Freeway
Average annual mileage of 12.000 nationally, and I would expect more than that in California, and yes, this is a 111,000 mile car. Previously mentioned carpet wear, etc. would bear this out. The tranny was serviced at 107,300.
All the interior and engine pics show a lot of wear. This is definitely a 100K + mile car.
One of those: ‘If it were closer…’