My 1959 Continental Convertible Barn find!!!

I appreciate that, Thanks A Lot!

 

Thanks!, Im pretty jealous of your 56' thats one bad ass caddy!

 

very cool ride.

 

Malarkey... I like the Chevelle. Scored the fake torque thrust wheels on Craigslist and they do look good.



Speaking of Carson tops and '53 Buicks.... I saw these on the net:

The finished car was listed with RM auction I think.

The other one blew my mind. Not sure if anyone knows the guy or if someone bought it.... or if it was finished?

It's a really crazy idea... from what I gather... the dude cut all of the top sheetmetal out.. reworked the lines....but kept the side window top reveal and trim. Apparently the thing has/ had/ was going to have a removable Carson top. That would have to be ONE HEAVY TOP. But the design and idea are pretty out there.

Not sure if it's cool to post a web address.... but here it is:

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/phovland/Buick.html

 

Hmm?? Let me see if I got this
straight....the neighbour you got
it from bought the car from his
mother for 6 dollars and then a
few years later, he eventually sold
the car to you? Jeeze....I sure hope
you were decent enough to offer
him a bit more than the 6 dollars
he paid for it, and that he didn't
end up selling it you for a loss!!!!
(Just kidding ya').

Great find! Beautiful car! A definite,
multiple 'Thumbs Up" on it!

Mart3406
====================

 

Thanks Alot Mart! I wish he would have sold it to me for a loss!! I got it for a great price in the end anyway!

 

Very very nice! I have a 60 coupe and a friend of mine has a 59 Capri coupe that's loaded. Think I have a pic in my album of our cars together.

These are rare cars, but a decent number survived. Parts are out there, but can be pricey.

Ok, I'm no expert but ill tell you what I do know. First, the drivetrain... On the engine budget on replacing the oil pump and oil pump drive shaft. On the oil pump drive shaft you want to use a heavy duty FE one, they cost $25 or so and you have to machine/file .075 off of them so they fit. The stock MEL one isn't really up to the task.

Also, replace the timing gears and chain. Reason is that even though this is a 30k mile car the timing gears have nylon teeth that fall off with age, not only does this cause timing issues as the chain gets nice and slack but they end up in the oil pan and clog the oil pickup. This can kill your engine and MELs aren't cheap to rebuild. The good news is with a few hundred $$ in parts a 30k MEL probably has 200k of life left in it assuming its otherwise healthy and gets ZDDP to protect the cam.

Carson top? I'd fix what ya got.. Plus I don't see how you're going to safely mount one without doing extensive body mods.

Tires? 9.50 or 9.00-14 bias ply. Period. Join the alliance and get them from Coker.

DO NOT RUN RADIAL 14" TIRES ON ONE OF THESE CARS! Not only are they way too short but since radials tend to have a lower load capacity as compared to bias ply tires you will find that unless you want to run 38-40psi in them that you will likely be at or over their load carrying capacity.

Chris Dunn at Lincoln Land in Florida is good for parts, and Herb Sheffler at Lincoln Old Parts store also in Florida is another good source for parts (Herb in particular has a thing for 58-60s). There's a company in Mississippi, but suggest you google them first.

Other than that its pretty typical old car stuff. These were very well protected from the factory so they're pretty darn resistant to rot, and once you get it roadworthy you'll also be quite surprised at how well she handles the road, I drive mine all the time and have no problem blowing past the off ramp speed limits.

That's one beautiful car, its nice to see one getting the care that it deserves.

 

Thanks rld14 for the kind words! I'll definitely into the oil pump and timing gear issues you say the battle cruisers have, i really appreciate the info and heads up on the subject. I'll be able to take care of it and not have to worry about it in the future!

As far as the road worthyness of it, the pictures are from last august so i have done pretty much everything i've needed to do up to this point. There are a few pictures in there all shined up ready to go! All that was really needed was a new top, carpets, wheels are getting done soon.. But those lucky got done before the frozen tundra that is Chicago winters happened..

I LOVE the ride in this car, i never knew something this big and heavy could get up and go so well!

I should probably get it out of storage and get some new pictures up of her pretty much done....

You have a VERY beautiful car as well! I Love the dashes in the 60 Lincolns.

 

My father has a 58 Convertible that has had a very good rotisserie restoration about 15 years ago. The car was purchased brand new and driven from Detroit to Hollywood by Mamie Van Doren and we have been chatting with her a bit lately to confirm this was indeed her ride..they are a very nice driver, the top is very unique the way it goes down and has the beautiful fibreglass extensions and the stainless clip on moulding to finish the look of this car when the top is stowed away. Very expensive ride when new, equivalent to purchasing a Rolls Royce in 1958/59 hence the biggest reason there just aren't any around.
Keep it and enjoy it!

 

Malarkey,

Glad to help if I can! And great to see another one back on the road where it belongs.

Its amazing how well these boats drive, I've let friends of mine drive mine and made em believers.

Bill

 

Wow---what a great looking ride. You done good!!

 

My Dad had a blue and white 59 convertible in the early 70s. It was in as-new condition and had around 20K miles. He sold it to a friend who kept it up until about 10 years ago. It was still a low mileage car and went through one of the major auctions. I was just a kid, but I clearly remember him checking over and over to make sure we kept our feet out of the seat and didn't touch anything at all.

They were advanced for the period: Power top with an electric window that could be raised/lowered when the top was up, air suspension, air conditioning with registers in the back seat, self dimming headlights, power seats & windows, etc.

 

Thanks 40fordtudor!

 

Thats's a cool little story to hear! Its pretty neat hearing the stories that people have had with their run in's with these lincolns. Even though there weren't a whole lot of these made, there are alot of loyal hambers that had either owned or knew someone who owned one. Pretty sweet.

Unfortunately, mine doesnt have the a/c, but i figure when its warm enough out to where i would need to use the a/c im gonna want the windows/top down!

I feel a little spoiled having alot of the modern luxuries in my old cruiser stock. Everything else ive had hasn't had anything near what this battle ship has.

 

Calm down on the carson top idea....this car is perfect. leave it alone. Good score man, striking car.

 

Yea... Looks like i would genuinely piss a few people off with the carson top on this car, so its gonna stay the way it is.. Thanks for the kind words!

 

Yes, perfect as is... except for adding a DeSoto grill...

 

YES! I think its time for a little photo shop fun!

 

Quick Photoshop Desoto Grill!

 

Looks like a black hooker I saw in Milwaukee last weekend

 

Yeah its pretty bad... and not the good kind of bad...

 

: eeyow ! I have never realized how butt ugly the Desoto grill is till now.....

 

I had my coupe out last night and my friend brought out his '59...

 

."Gee Granma,what BIG teeth you have".
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Yeha !

 

Thats badass!! I finally pulled mine out yesterday! Unfortunately i didnt have anybody to cruise with but myself.. Gonna get some updated pictures up shortly! Beautiful Rides!!!

 

Big cars , 2 cars need 2 parking places

 

Holy cow nice purchase! I've been fortunate as well finding a 59 Conti 4dr HT. Posted the vid on survivor thread but applies to this too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puD2fdRzwNQ
Again, great find & purchase- congrats!

 

Is this your video?! I watched this shortly after i got mine into my driveway! That video/situation is pretty damn sweet! I could only imagine opening an old barn/garage and finding that car, I'd just probably pass out from the excitement... That's just too cool man!!! Thanks for the kind words as well! Im sure you've had yours for a while but congrats to you too! We gotta keep these land yachts up and about.

 

It IS my vid - that's crazy you've already watched it! I thought I'd feel like passing out or be super giddy jumping around but it turned into this crazy surreal experience. I dreamed about it for months... Agreed, let's keep em on the street. Respect for making a deal on the convert!
Btw, I'll be posting a follow up vid of extracting the mkiv & resurrecting.

Cheers-