1960 Lincoln Continental Hess and Eisenhardt converted Mark V Town Car,

[Guest BJM]

What makes these cars special? 1 of 129. I see they have a special roof treatment (more formal / padded) but do not see anything special about the interiors. Worth the difference?

Goldenrod Garage

[peecher 6]

Jake, here's some info on the Hess and Eisenhardt conversions. Two models were produce in '59 and '60, a Limousine and a Town Car and were at best 6 passenger cars. They had the heavily padded top with the frenched rear window. The only exterior color scheme was Black. The interiors followed regular Continental trim patterns but were only available in gray woolen broadcloth. The limousine front compartment was upholstered in black leather and a power operated galss partition was fitted. They came with every Lincoln option and listed at $9,208 for the Town Car and $10,230 for the limousine. A grand total of 214 Town Cars and 83 Limousines were built for the 2 model years. 31 of these were exported.

[Mssr. Bwatoe 130]

Styled by the same ""artists"" that brought us the horse collar Edsel...

yuck, the only good news was that a year later they made they boxy 4 doors that

had subtle style ..and sold well for what the next 10 years...

[Guest BJM]

Peecher thanks. I am always looking for unusual vehicles and this one caught my eye but on closer inspection I do not see a lot special about it from a standard Continental. It's still a neat car in my opinion.

Mr. Bsatoe,

For many year I believed as you do that this period of cars was a styling train wreck. However, when viewed as a collectible car they are quite neat. I toyed with buying a Lincoln convertible from this period so I purchased the Lincoln Photo Archives book available that has photos from 1946 to 1960 and I really gained a positive perspective of these cars.

The interiors were solid American luxury circa 1958. Cadillac and Imperial had nothing on the detailing and dash of Lincoln. The at once unseemly headlight treatment softens in time as an expression - again - of the time.

We complain about how every car today looks the same - same jeely bean shape. In 1958, Lincoln zigged when the other zagged and the result is 3 specifically different but valid design pathes from Chrysler - Cadillac - and Lincoln.

This Lincolns squared off shape is not my favorite but then I believe the 58-59 Imperial is a bit of a dog too. The 58 Cadillacs I like but no doubt they are overthe top. I do not care for the 59-60 Cadillacs despite their place in styling history as the pinnacle of fins.

As I looked at that 58 Lincoln convertible I considered, the overall shape of the Lincoln began to appeal to me. In a world of 57 Chevys, Camaros and such at the common car shows, it would be great to pull in with a 58-60 Lincoln and tell folks what it is - or was.

The 61-68ish Lincoln Continental is a superior design that Lincoln extracted as much good will and favor oout of as possible. It was the exact opposite of the over the top 58-60's. BUt as with Cadillac becoming refined and conservative - and Imperial, it represented the sobering state of the 1960's as much as the 58-60 Lincoln extolled the good life of the 1950's.

[Mssr. Bwatoe 130]

I was soured by the headlights, but impressed with the conv tops that folded so tight and neat that it looked like a textured hardtop...I think maybe retractable back glass...

yes, your point is well made !

cheers..

[oldielover 0]

Hello,

I just put my 1960 Hess&Eisenhart beauty for sale.All original, nice and very rare car...

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