40k-Mile 1960 Lincoln Premiere
When I was 19, my dad and I were driving around one evening and happened across a ’60 Lincoln for sale. It had clearly not run in years, but it was only $1000 and that price point makes one forgive such minor foibles. Being that I was a broke college kid and it was a 36-year-old behemoth that would have taken up a considerable percentage of my parents’ driveway, there was no legitimate chance that I was going to buy it. Even today, however, I still have a soft spot for these polarizing luxury sedans because of that fond memory of what might have been (not that my car life has been too bad). This memory jogger is for sale on Marketplace in Newburgh, New York, and it’s going to take more than a grand to take it home this time.
It’ll be $15,000, to be exact, but with a claimed 40,000 miles and plastic-covered seats, it is a lot more car than that sad old sedan I remember from my youth. Whether you like the exterior design or not (and many say not), the interior is handsome. Lincoln and Mercury interiors had a similar out-of-this-world theme in the late ’50s and early ’60s, with a driver-focused instrument panel and narrow-shell of a dashboard on the passenger side. This one appears to have power windows, but no evidence of air conditioning. Unfortunately, there are no underhood pictures in the advertisement and very little descriptive text, so you’ll need to inquire about the car to discover its list of features.
If we could see the engine compartment, we’d find a 430 cubic-inch “MEL” V8 with a two-barrel carburetor on top in an effort to improve the dismal fuel mileage. It was rated at 315 horsepower, down from 350 in 1959, but Lincolns this large were unlikely to be too speedy either way. For those who are unfamiliar with the MEL engine, the acronym stands for “Mercury Edsel Lincoln,” and its distinctive design element was a flat cylinder head surface. The combustion chamber was by contrast in the engine block, as the block’s decks were machined at an angle (like a 348/409 Chevy’s).
The 1961 Continental was clearly better-looking, or at the very least more tasteful. But there’s something about the ’58-’60 generation that captures the zeitgeist of the late-Eisenhower era, and of those three model years, I like the ’60 best. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or maybe it’s that the squared off roof and cleaned-up nose tone down the wildness just enough. These Lincolns have a lot of detractors, but if you have the space, this could be the offbeat low-mileage collector car you’ve been looking for. Thanks to T.J. for finding it!
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Comments
What’s not to love. Big, solid, huge motor, plastic seat covers, and low miles all for 15 grand. You don’t just get there in this, but you arrive. This thing has style. No A/C but if this is an original N.Y. car most people didn’t think about it back then. If it was a 1960 Cadillac it would be 3 or 4 times the price. You might find one cheaper but you couldn’t put it in this nice of shape for the money.
Having had a 1960 Cadillac limousine, and driven more than my share of people having more fun in the back than I had driving, I can say that it was understated elegance compared to this Lincoln.
As the 1961 Lincoln design was the epitome of subtlety compared to the last gasp of Fifties extravagance we see here, this model stands as the penultimate expression of a long gone post war exuberance. How we got to the bean shaped toasters of today from this has probably filled volumes of vehicle design books. Darn shame.
Had one of these in ’69. Didn’t keep it
long either. It was silver gray with a
black and white interior. If a Cadillac
and imperial were land yachts, then
this car was an aircraft carrier!! What changed the picture for me about this
car was the day when it vapor locked
on me while on a date. My date was so pissed off that she never called me again! Sure, I got the car going,
but she threw a class one fit. Being
disabled was bad enough, but to have
my car break down on a date? That was the end of my world that day. Sold it a week or so later to a senior
who wanted the most outlandish car
possible. Well, he got what he wanted. And me, I never dated in high
school again!
Sounds like you dodged a bullet with that girl. What would she have done if something really serious had happened?
What do you get when a 1960 Lincoln leaves a parking lot?
3 parking spaces( rimshot, old JB Hunt joke)
It’s actually nice to see one, there would be no way you would convince future generations folks actually drove these. As outdated as it seems, there was an air of dignity in a car this size. It was the most expensive US car at the time. I read, this car cost a whopping $6,856 new, which put it out of the hands of Joe Lunchpail looking at $2600 Fords. Only about 6,000 of these were sold. Still reeling from the Edsel disaster, this didn’t help. I think they lost money on every car.
The 1960 Lincoln had a long list of things we take for granted. 1960 was the 1st cruise control, power locks, 6 way seats FM RADIO, headlight dimmer, a/c( only 65% had a/c however) and a lot more.
Today? This car? While I certainly don’t doubt its road abilities, city driving will be a chore. What a car! What an era!
I think what you get when a Lincoln starts and leaves a parking lot is a miracle. LOL
So jet age it’s futuristic. I know I’ll be pilloried on this sight for suggesting it but this would make an ideal EV conversion. It would totally be in character. Imagine gliding up to a stop light in this silently. Or, drop in a 5 liter and buy some modern reliability instead of the vapor lock one of the other posters mentioned. No more bad dates.
That’s what Neil Young did to his. Lincvolt.
Neil’s car burned in a garage fire, never heard what happened to it after that.
Dunno Mike, she dumped me for a football player who had a brand new ’69 Mach I. And the same thing happened to him too. Seems like all
Ford’s had or still have that same problem. I did learn s quick fix for it by swiping my Mom’s wooden clothes
pins and placing them on the fuel line
from the fuel pump to the carb. The
wooden clothes pins soaked up the
heat and Presto! No more vapor lock!
And the girl, I saw her ten years later
working as a cashier. My, how the mighty had fallen.
I’m still with Mike- you dodged a bullet when Miss Priss blew you off.
I dated a girl who was embarrassed because my old Ford pickup was too slow at the drags. I married the girl who secretly hated my orange Pinto wagon. 47 years and counting.
I had a ’51Kaiser as a high school car. Talk about trouble getting dates!
I got a ’52 Kaiser Manhattan. Got it AFTER the dating business was wrapped up.
Had a ’60 Merc with the 2bbl 430 in ’63, with about 30k miles. We drove it from WI to CA (fully loaded) for a duty station change and averaged just over 21mpg for the trip.
Having had a 1960 Cadillac limousine, and driven more than my share of people having more fun in the back than I had driving, I can say that it was understated elegance compared to this Lincoln.
As the 1961 Lincoln design was the epitome of subtlety compared to the last gasp of Fifties extravagance we see here, this model stands as the penultimate expression of a long gone post war exuberance. How we got to the bean shaped toasters of today from this has probably filled volumes of vehicle design books. Darn shame.
So large, each comes wit it’s own zip code. Control tower for landing small aircraft optional.
My uncle purchased one of these new, I was 9 at the time. My uncle, aunt, mother me and 2 siblings went to NM from West Texas in one of these. Had plenty of room inside and I still remember my uncle driving 90 the whole way. No drama. But it was a weird looking car even then. Still weird to this day, but in a good way.
When I was young, I thought these were the weirdest looking things. Now? I’d take one in a heartbeat. Save for the money part…
After seeing this car as well as several pictures of the other late 50s up through 1960 automobiles. I have to wonder if the rumored CIA experiments with LSD were conducted at the automobile design studios.
I remember seeing and advertisement from a used car dealer, probably around 1970…..
1960 Lincoln $150. And it just sat there unsold. You couldn’t give these away.
Ken, you got it right, these were aircraft carriers!
Thank God this one doesn’t have the breezeway rear window. This looks so much better.
I much prefer the 1958, the front fenders sculpted out, the headlights separated from the grill and square hooded taillights.
Sure wish I had $150 in 1970.
Hi Angel! Tried to tell you the rest of the story when it came to my ’50 Packard 9-passenger Limousine but
when I tried to post it, I got some crazy 403 code that wouldn’t let me
post it. I also found the template for
a ’56 Fleetwood 60 special. And yeah,
I had a ’63 Lincoln ragtop like the one
your Dad junked. I paid $175 for it in
’75 or ’76. Other than needing a new
exhaust system from the manifolds
back, it was in good shape for a rust
belt car. That thing roared like a freight train on the way home. Got
pulled over by a friend of Dad’s, but when he saw all the stuff in the back
seat to fix it, he didn’t give my wife a
ticket but he did lead us to the Rent A
Bay where I spent 3 or 4 hours installing the new exhaust. And when
we left the Rent A Bay, she was quiet
as a church mouse. While it was up on the lift, I checked the frame and floors for serious rust–surprised to see that there was very little there at
all. Best thing was that the officer
sprang for the rental fee so long as we took the car to the police station to prove that the car had been fixed.
Wound up selling it for $3K to a gentleman who just had to have it. He finished what I started and the car
wound up looking great! Sure wished
I had it back!
Good afternoon, Ken. I get those 403 messages all the time, especially after a LONG reply, so infuriating!
I had the 1962 Lincoln convertible in 1970. Beautiful white on white w/blue leather interior. I see many advertising pictures of yore of a Lincoln convertible but usually has red interior. Mine had a cracked bell housing and leaked transmission fluid. That’s the ONLY reason the old man junked it. He’s been dead 5 years now and I’m still furious at him for doing that.
Life’s too short, just let it go Angel.
Hi guys! Just about to start laying out
the ’56 Cadillac 60 special. Hopefully,
I can get the body sketched and framed in before bedtime. Gotta work tomorrow so I can’t work on it
Friday or Saturday. Maybe the Land
Yacht Society might be interested in
offering them as merchandise for their endeavor. To print one of these
would take 2 poster boards placed end to end! LOL! And Angel, your
Lincoln had a busted torque converter
along with cracked bell housing. Too bad I couldn’t find a way to let you guys see the car as I’m drawing it.
Then I could be like Bob Ross, the painter guy on TV! Man would I like to do that!!
@Azzura
I know I should, it’s complicated. There’s much more to it than just junking my cars without telling me.
@Ken
The car ran fine and shifted fine. The leak was somewhat annoying.
Probably a leaky pan gasket or a pin hole in a hydraulic line. Or it could’ve
been leaking from the modulator valve. Sometimes Ford’s did that. Last one I saw was a ’77 LTD sedan that a family friend owned. They couldn’t figure out why the tranny wasn’t shifting right. So I crawled
under the car and sure enough, the
valve was leaking. I replaced the valve and the vacuum line that ran from the back of the carb on down to
the valve itself and that solved the problem. As for the Caddy, I’ll start
working on it after a short nap. I was
schlepping around my store with a trainer in tow. Not sure if I’m gonna
pass them or not. Still have to rate this person too. So far, it doesn’t look
too good for them right now. And as for dating in school, I didn’t do it much but when I had my ’66 Caddy or
my ’62 Buick ragtop, I had no shortage of young ladies wanting to
drive either one of them. But my older sister ran most of them off for
Wanting to go out with me just for my
car. Hmmm. Maybe I need to try that
Approach again. Okay, enough, nap time!