1956 Lincoln Continental

368 CID V8

C56C2607

Clear

I am offering for sale today a beautiful, well maintained, solid, absolutely rust free 1956 Continental Mark II. This car has a very interesting provenance too. It was originally purchased in the spring of 1956 by Lolita Armour, heiress to the Armour Meats fortune. In her day Ms. Armour was one of the richest, most socially prominent women in the country and throughout her life she enjoyed owning the finest luxury cars available. She kept this Mark II at her famous estate EL MIRADOR in Montecito, California where it remained until her death in 1976. In June of 1976 the auction house Sotheby Parke Bernet held an auction of the contents of El Mirador including this Continental (original auction catalog included) at which time the mileage was stated as being 56,000. The car remained in California until 2010 when it came to North Carolina. I have owned it 7 years. There is a great deal of information available from many sources regarding the rarity and exclusivity of the 1956-1957 Mark II series. I will not attempt to relate all of the Continental Mark II history here as interested parties can easily find that elsewhere. When introduced in the fall of 1955 (model year 1956) the largely hand built Mark II was the most expensive American made car. It was priced at apx $10,400 which at the time was about the same as a Rolls Royce or twice the cost of a Cadillac. Total production for the two model year production run 1956-57 was apx 3000 with fewer than 2600 being made in 1956. Numerous celebrities including President Eisenhower, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley owned Mark IIs and Warner Brothers presented Elizabeth Taylor with one to commemorate the conclusion of the filming of GIANT with Rock Hudson and James Dean. Ms Taylor's Mark II was custom ordered in a dark shade of violet to match the color of her eyes. These were very special automobiles intended for a very select clientele. And now, particulars about the car I am offering for sale: According to Ford Motor Company records, more than half of all Mark IIs were painted black. White was also a favored color. The remaining Mark IIs were painted in any of several other available colors, and a few (like Elizabeth Taylor's) were ordered in custom colors. Lolita Armour ordered her Mark II in what many consider the most beautiful color combination available; Pastoral Blue (paint code 4) with matching blue and white leather interior; medium blue leather biscuits with white bolsters. This car retains the original factory Bridge of Weir leather in the rear. The front seat was redone in the correct leather materials a number of years ago just prior to my ownership. At that time the original portions of the interior were redyed and the match between original and new leather is excellent. There is some surface cracking in the rear seat leather consistent with normal wear. The leather remains intact and very serviceable with only one small, barely visible seam separation. See accompanying photographs. The carpet and headliner are original and in good condition. The original steering wheel had faded to an ugly green color (as most do) and was restored to the original blue by a previous owner. There are some cracks visible in the steering wheel now, but overall it is in very good condition. NOTE: There is a small dent in the padded dashboard on the passenger side about 1" in diameter. This is the result of the back of the front seat being pushed into the dash over the years by passengers entering/exiting the back seat. See photo. Door panels are in very good condition. There is some wear present on the padded armrest on the drivers side door. Some deterioration of the package shelf is visible. Perhaps the most significant feature of the interior is the presence of ORIGINAL seat belts. These were an extremely rare option and are almost never seen in Mark IIs. In fact, I do not know of another Mark II equipped with original seat belts. The exterior of the car is solid and all panels are straight and it does not appear to have ever been in an accident. As stated earlier, this Mark II spent most of its life in California and is free of rust or evidence of previous rust repair. This is significant as these cars are known for having rust problems. The car was repainted the original color many years ago by the person who purchased it from the Armour estate. About 8 years ago the lower sides were resprayed due to parking lot dings. The paint still looks quite nice overall and the car presents beautifully. There are some minor nicks, dings and chips in the paint consistent with a car that is driven often. None of these imperfections are very obvious, but if you look closely you can spot them. The paint is not perfect, but it is in good shape. The bumpers front and rear (note uncommon and desirable bumperettes) are original and in beautiful, shiny condition. All exterior chrome and stainless trim is in excellent condition with virtually no pitting. Some of the chrome may have been re plated, but I'm not sure about that. In any case, the chrome is lovely. There is a scuff on the extreme lower left corner of the front bumper from scraping a high curb. There is also a crease in the strip of stainless trim on the bottom left side of the car. It isn't really visible unless you kneel down and look for it. I never bothered to have it straightened for that reason. The trunk is clean and original with minor wear visible on the carpeting. There is no jack. The passenger door check strap is broken but this does not affect the operation of the door in any way. I was advised long ago that the check strap was extremely difficult to replace and not necessary, so I have not attempted to repair it. The engine bay is tidy but certainly not detailed. I drive all of my cars often and don't mind a little bit of grunge under the hood. The best part about this car is it is such a PLEASURE to drive. It is fast and powerful like an enormous sports car! As I said, I love driving all of the cars in my collection and this one has been driven at least weekly for as long as I've owned it. I have averaged putting about 1000 or so miles a year on it and have also taken it on several road trips of 100 miles or so without incident. The current mileage is apx 93,600 and I believe that to be correct and original. There are no significant mechanical issues that I am aware of, but I am NOT making any guarantees. The car is over 60 years old now and as with any old car components can fail unexpectedly. At the moment there are no mechanical problems I know of. The tires are correct bias ply with good tread. They were on the car when I bought it and I don't know how old they are. All four original wheel covers are present and upon close inspection you can see that some of the black paint between the fins is missing. This could be easily fixed. Also, each wheel cover is held onto the wheel with a small, discretely positioned stainless steel screw. These wheel covers are very heavy and are known to fall off the car easily. A previous owner installed the screws to make sure he didn't lose any of the (extremely expensive) wheel covers. The car is equipped with original factory air conditioning and it works fine and blows icy cold when the system is charged with coolant. At the moment it isn't. For the first few years I owned the Mark II the a/c worked perfectly, then it suddenly failed to blow cold air. I spent quite a lot of time trying to get the air conditioning system to hold a charge of coolant consistently, but I have never succeeded in keeping it charged for longer than about 6 weeks. When freshly charged with coolant the a/c works fine for a month or so, and then the cold air gradually begins to turn warmer, and finally it isn't cold at all. Clearly there is a small leak in the system somewhere and hopefully the next owner can find and repair it successfully. As for other things that aren't working properly.......the list is short:The original Cartier clock sometimes keeps perfect time for a few days, but usually it doesn't run or keeps irregular time.The motor that controls the rear left window is not working so the window cannot be lowered or raised. The motor needs to be replaced or rebuilt but I never got around to it. The window is in the up position.One of the two work lights under the hood isn't working. It might just be the bulb. The other one burns brightlyThe original bracket that holds the battery in place was replaced with one in the past that isn't correct, but does the job. Pretty much everything else on the car works correctly. The radio plays well and the signal seeker works. The power antenna works perfectly. Heater, power windows (except rear left), power seat, interior and exterior lights, gauges.......they all work as they should. In conclusion, this is not a 100 point show car but it is a very nice driver with an interesting celebrity ownership history in solid, rust free condition. It needs nothing done to be driven and enjoyed. I have certainly enjoyed owning and driving it the past 7 years. For those of you interested in bidding on this Mark II, please note that I am serious about selling it. I have placed a very reasonable reserve on it that is considerably lower than the current NADA guide for a Mark II in this condition and less than what comparable Continental Mark IIs have sold for in the recent past. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at how reasonable my reserve is. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a particularly lovely example of one of the most iconic American cars of the 1950s. Personal inspections are encouraged and welcome. I am happy to work with foreign buyers. If you have questions please contact me through ebay or you may call me on my cell at 919-949-3311. Ask for Keith. I will do my best to answer your questions. Missed calls will be returned promptly. Upon the conclusion of the auction I will require an immediate $1000 deposit through PayPal. The balance will be due within 7 days in the form of certified check or wire transfer. The car has a clear NC title and all shipping arrangements are the responsibility of the buyer. I reserve the right to end this listing early in the event of a local sale. On Nov-14-17 at 19:23:23 PST, seller added the following information: I have decided to considerably lower the reserve on this car because I truly do want to sell it. This reserve is extremely reasonable and it is my sincere hope that the lower reserve will soon be met and the high bidder at the end of the auction will be the new owner of this beautiful 1956 Continental Mark II. I have done my best to accurately and honestly describe the car but if I have omitted something or if you need clarification on some point please contact me through ebay or call me at the number in the listing. Good luck to all of you bidding and best wishes in advance to the winner of the auction. You are going to be VERY happy with this lovely Mark II. It's a nice one!