1961 Lincoln - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 12-14-2006, 08:12 AM

This is when Ford had some need stuff. This one is a beauty!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250059012367#ebayphotohosting

Ara T. · #2 12-14-2006, 08:33 AM

Anyone have any insight on how these things drove? I'm thinkin, like jello thanks to the open roof? Cool car, love the black and white seats.

G-Benz · #3 12-14-2006, 09:36 AM

It's ironic, seeing that parked on a grassy knoll...

#4 12-14-2006, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ara T.

Anyone have any insight on how these things drove? I'm thinkin, like jello thanks to the open roof? Cool car, love the black and white seats.

Many years ago my father had a 1967 sedan. We lived in the country and some of the roads were not the best. You did not feel a thing inside that car. My friends loved to take rides in it. The trunk was massive, however, the engine compartment was very cramped.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackE55

Much smaller inside than one would think, very different from the Caddy's.

The interiors were smaller due to the narrow roofline in order to fit the top in the trunk. Same thing with the 1958-1966 T-Birds and 1957-1959 Skyliners.

MS Fowler · #5 12-14-2006, 02:10 PM

PaulC,
I think you have forgotten, or overlooked a few other FoMoCo unit bodies.

The first would have been the original Lincoln Zephyr from 1936!. Then of course the T-Bird which you mentioned, and then the most sucessful ( sales wise) Ford Falcon (1960). They sold more Falcons, quicker than any other car until the derivative, and even more sucessful Mustang came along in 1964.
Ford had more experience in unibodies than any other domestic manufacturer.

leathermang · #6 12-14-2006, 05:17 PM

I owned about four or five of these cars at one time... in the late 1970's... I was buying them for $250 on a regular basis...
The head was unusual in that it was FLAT on the combustion side... thus you could true it up without changing the compression ratio... also... the windshield wipers were hydraulic.. the problem was that the hydraulic pump for them was on the crankshaft.. so if that needed service it was a huge cost... That short distance in the passenger foot area was corrected by adding about 4 inches in later models... at least by 1965. They drove like they were glued to the road... I repainted one of mine with Acrylic Epoxy black paint ... with the chrome trim it sure looked nice. The sound the doors made when closing gave a real sense of security.

MBlovr · #7 12-14-2006, 09:13 PM

My dad had a '65 convertible. He said the the earlier ones didn't want to turn. He had owned two Mercedes 180's by that point in time. At night when we were on trips I could tell when he was crusing near 90 because my mother would start giving him dirty looks. They were the most luxurious and beautiful cars of their time. It was burgandy over ivory leather with a black top.The windows would drop to reseal againt the moulding when you opened and closed the doors ala a CL. The switches that controlled that mechanism weren't the most reliable and the car spent more than one night with a rear window part way down. He had to replace the transmission in it. Until rust did it in eventually it was a very solid car.

Carleton Hughes · #8 12-14-2006, 09:20 PM

Oh,piffles..the best,most handbuilt Lincolns were made from 1923-1936.

I had a '28 Model L V8 once,kick myself in the ass for selling it.95mph with excellent 4 wheel brakes and hydraulic Houdaille shocks made it the bootlegger's favourite.

t walgamuth · #9 12-14-2006, 09:33 PM

i had a light tan one for a couple of years. bought it with a broken block, fixed it up and traded it off for the labor to paint the hallway and stairwell in my first office building. ($1500 to 2kvalue).

it felt very low slung, probably the best luxury car of its era in the slalom (amongst the detroit iron). intermittant windshield wipers and (iirc) cruise control optional (or standard). pretty quick too.

the engine compartment was very snug, made possible by a well designed system of shocks and engine control arms.

it was voted third highest quaility car in the world in 63 iirc after rr and benz (i think).

our family dr., dr. ann a lady, drove a brg one with the whitewall tires turned in. didnt want to look too flashy!

tom w

Carleton Hughes · #10 12-14-2006, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulC

I do admit a fondness for the K-series Lincolns.

Plenty of K12's around.

Generally not built to the same standard of the '20's "L's" but a great car nonetheless.

Here's the deal.as coachwork got larger and heavier so did the motors to power these bloated equipages.

1937 is recognised as the cut off point for Lincoln quality,by that time Edsel Ford's pet division was scrutinised and trimmed by Papa Henry,thus the Zephyr and the other "assembled K's".

Edsel tried again with the original Continental but was forced to use the Ford designed V12 flathead which would always overheat the rear cylinders,{basically a Ford V8 with 4 extra cylinders}and lose power and smoke after some 60,000.00 miles.
I've machined and rebuilt many of them but,well,only so much you can do......

http://www.prewarcar.com/show_prewar_car.asp?car_id=16189

MS Fowler · #11 12-15-2006, 07:51 AM

[QUOTE=PaulC;1358083]Ford Motor Company feared that an electric or vacuum motor wouldn't have the strength to reliably move the long wiper blades across the glass.

Another eccentricity involves Ford's decision to shod a 5,000 lb. car with 14" tires, at least for the '61 - '63 models. Makes finding a contemporary tire of the right size and load rating an interesting endeavor, unless you want to sell your children and buy some tires from Coker Tire.

One nice thing about Fords of that era, is that they all used the same bolt circle for their wheels and bubs. So, if you had, say a Falcon that came with 13" wheels and tires, you could put 14" wheels and ties on it--provided there was enough clearance.
It would be fairly easy to install 15" inch whhels and tires on that Lincoln; I don't know if Ford made 16 wheels in the same bolt pattern.
Wheels from that era seem incredibly narrow to us, today. Widths of 4", 4 1/2" and 5" were the rule.

t walgamuth · #12 12-15-2006, 01:15 PM

i think i read somewhere that ford lost something like 7000 on every one sold.

when i worked in southfield mich in 74 i worked in an office tower that looked like a small version of the john hancock building in chicago (sortof). in a small plot near it was a ranch style house surrounded by a small lake and the parking lot of the highrise. the house appeared to be abandoned. one day over lunch i walked down and peered into the garage. there was a mark II conti in there. my knowledge of it was foggy but i knew it was something special even then.

i think the value of them does not really warrent a restoration so if one does it it is out of love for a special car.

the caddy eldorado and seville of the late fifties was similar as limited production cars sold at a loss for prestige too. they even had a very low production caddy (maybe in 61?) with a body by pininfarina. it didnt really look much different than a standard one but the details were unmistakably italian.

there were some classy cars made in america in those years.

my favorite may be the 55 chrysler 300. clean syling and hairy chested performance with unusually good road holding (for a yank tank). bob lutz has one.

tom w

Jim B. · #13 12-15-2006, 01:23 PM

I'd heard those 1961 era Continental convertibles when parked on uneven ground could flex the body such that the doors jammed shut.

Still, they were a refreshing change of style from the other cars of their time, just compare one with an equivalent '60 Lincoln, or a Cadillac or Imperial of the time.

t walgamuth · #14 12-15-2006, 04:53 PM

they were lovely cars.

tom w

MBlovr · #15 12-15-2006, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

I'd heard those 1961 era Continental convertibles when parked on uneven ground could flex the body such that the doors jammed shut.

Still, they were a refreshing change of style from the other cars of their time, just compare one with an equivalent '60 Lincoln, or a Cadillac or Imperial of the time.

That was not my personal experience. The only problem that I noted as a skinny kid trying to close the door when we parked off road was they were heavy as hell to get closed.