For Sale: 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet Project "apart and is not for the faint of heart" - $20,000 - Wallkill, NY - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet Project "apart and is not for the faint of heart" - $20,000 - Wallkill, NY

1941 Continental cabriolet project - cars & trucks - by owner -... (craigslist.org)
Seller's Description:

Here is a complete but totally apart continental-needs total restoration-was a running and driving car that needed to be restored-currently on a rotisserie. The v12 was rebuilt to modern specs, one piece valve guides-updated rear main seal etc. etc. The brightwork is excellent, the interior was nice as well. The convertible top is very nice. The car is complete but apart and is not for the faint of heart-I had back surgery that they had to remove two discs and there is no way I am going to be able to finish it without crippling myself. I am not sure what to ask for it, but the motor alone was about 12k. Leave a number to call. (By an email response)
Contact: no phone listed.
Copy and paste in your email: e5531a1e7bf434719ff445f9d54c2bd9@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet Project.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Pretty sure this belongs to a forum member

[B Jake Moran]

Originally they had red frames?  I know little about Continentals. 

[58L-Y8]

15 minutes ago, B Jake Moran said:

Originally they had red frames?  I know little about Continentals. 

The red is the drive on lift when the body still had the axles and wheels in place.  The dark-color X-member full frame with the body welded to it, making the Continentals, like the Lincoln-Zephyr semi-unibody construction

[Steve_Mack_CT]

What's really tough about thus one is seller probably had every intent to finish this one.  When he posted this car around 3 years ago, it looked really nice for an unrestored car.  Will need an experienced Lincoln guy for sure.  For comparison a complete driver was available recently here in CT for mid, high 20s.  Unrestored, but supposedly usable.

[auburnseeker]

Seems like a shame to have taken it apart.  Lots of cars can be enjoyed as is,  and when you try to take them to the next level,  beyond intensive cleaning , polishing and some parts replacements, you will go backward for quite some time.   Too bad he hadn't just sold it as is.  I think it's going to be a tough sale now.  Seems to be alot of these for sale,  with little interest.   I have found alot of people just don't care that much for the styling.   That's what it all boils down to now adays.  Seems few guys searching for specific cars as just something old and cool.  As he mentioned, not for the faint of heart,  so that's going to take 99% of the potential buyers out of the market. 

 

I wish him the best of luck,  but being a project owner trying to sell a project now,  of even an iconic car,  there is little interest in anything project related.

[kingrudy]

13 minutes ago, auburnseeker said:

Seems like a shame to have taken it apart.  Lots of cars can be enjoyed as is,  and when you try to take them to the next level,  beyond intensive cleaning , polishing and some parts replacements, you will go backward for quite some time.   Too bad he hadn't just sold it as is.  I think it's going to be a tough sale now.  Seems to be alot of these for sale,  with little interest.   I have found alot of people just don't care that much for the styling.   That's what it all boils down to now adays.  Seems few guys searching for specific cars as just something old and cool.  As he mentioned, not for the faint of heart,  so that's going to take 99% of the potential buyers out of the market. 

 

I wish him the best of luck,  but being a project owner trying to sell a project now,  of even an iconic car,  there is little interest in anything project related.

I agree 100%. By the time you get to this point the owner is probably deep under water and to complete this project would not be practical if you had the skills and knowledge to finish this. 

[m-mman]

Disassembled projects….. we all know that they are incredibly complex to move (can’t just send a truck for it), there’s always parts missing (but the seller will insist otherwise), but the biggest missing item (and can’t be argued) is that it has no instructions for reassembly. 
subtract the completeness and moving issues then subtract for the time to become knowledgeable enough to reassemble and the price to get it sold becomes a near vertical drop. 

[B Jake Moran]

On 6/10/2022 at 9:48 AM, kingrudy said:

I agree 100%. By the time you get to this point the owner is probably deep under water and to complete this project would not be practical if you had the skills and knowledge to finish this. 

Hire someone to finish it.  Get a restoration shop involved. 

[ericmac]

I talked to the owner via email at one point and he was after a high point car. He had it for sale for a long time before diving in on the restoration. I agree though, I would have loved to own it as it was but timing didn't work out.

[neil morse]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:32 AM, auburnseeker said:

I have found a lot of people just don't care that much for the styling.   That's what it all boils down to now a days.

I'm surprised at this statement.  It seems to me that the styling is the one thing that this car has going for it.  From what I've heard, the problem with these cars (and the Zephyrs) is the engine -- a failed attempt to tack four extra cylinders onto the Ford V-8.  But either way, I agree with everything that's been said about the difficulties of selling a car that's in pieces.  It's conceivable that an experienced Lincoln restorer could take this project over and make it financially feasible.  But for anyone who hasn't done one of these already, this would be a jigsaw puzzle.

[Aaron65]

7 hours ago, ericmac said:

I talked to the owner via email at one point and he was after a high point car. He had it for sale for a long time before diving in on the restoration. I agree though, I would have loved to own it as it was but timing didn't work out.

Me too!  I wonder what the owner was asking before disassembly.

 

6 hours ago, neil morse said:

I'm surprised at this statement.  It seems to me that the styling is the one thing that this car has going for it.  From what I've heard, the problem with these cars (and the Zephyrs) is the engine -- a failed attempt to tack four extra cylinders onto the Ford V-8.  But either way, I agree with everything that's been said about the difficulties of selling a car that's in pieces.  It's conceivable that an experienced Lincoln restorer could take this project over and make it financially feasible.  But for anyone who hasn't done one of these already, this would be a jigsaw puzzle.

I am too!  The '40 and '41 are one of my favorites, and they've long been praised for their styling, but time passes and styling is obviously subjective.  

[edinmass]

A friend just bought a fantastic one for just a little more than he is asking. Great cars, but the numbers on them have gone to the basement. With a large supply of finished cars at reasonable numbers.........the future for the project cars isn't good. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

6 hours ago, edinmass said:

A friend just bought a fantastic one for just a little more than he is asking. Great cars, but the numbers on them have gone to the basement. With a large supply of finished cars at reasonable numbers.........the future for the project cars isn't good. 

Ed, can one sort the V-12 in.most cases?  Outside of that, no unusual nits with these cars, right?  Did your friend buy the black one out of Central CT?

[B Jake Moran]

7 hours ago, edinmass said:

A friend just bought a fantastic one for just a little more than he is asking. Great cars, but the numbers on them have gone to the basement. With a large supply of finished cars at reasonable numbers.........the future for the project cars isn't good. 

Restoration as a path is always debatable but restoration in the modern sense can mean better than new, correct?   Visually the same, but improved paint (base coat/ clear coat) and mechanical corrections as has been implied by the seller. 

 

I have no idea what than means for a Continental V12, but for my era of the Buick 430 / 455 V8 - improved oil pressure, improved timing chains, water pumps, ability to flow all visually unseen.  

 

I just point this out because virtually every restoration attempts to improve performance, reliability and longevity of the car in question.  

[B Jake Moran]

I am 58, and was always into old cars, not hot rods.  When I was 15 in 1979 the original pre war Continentals were still highly revered.  Edsel took on Harley Earls dominance - was how the 15 year old recalled it.    I appreciate them just fine and hope many survive well into the next several years.  

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Jake I remember reading an article on these cars in that time frame.  The gist was it felt like more are around than survival rates and low production numbers would suggest.  The reason given was that these tend to be sold and traded off more than some other cars.  It was interesting to me.  And their always seems to be a bunch for sale.

Some cars are different.  MG T series in contrast (yes apples and oranges) had a relatively larger prod number.  I notice many on the market today coming out of long term (40, 50 year ownership is not so unusual for them).  This suggests two things to me, those MG owners are indeed aging out and they loved the car enough to keep it that long.  I have followed these cars for a while and it definately seems more on the market now than 20 years ago for example.  I just find those trends interesting...

Edited June 13, 2022 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[BucketofBolts]

The cost to gather up the parts and transport them with $7.00 a gallon diesel fuel would be a pretty penny. In fact it would be likely more than 250,000 to $3,000 pretty pennies. At 145 pennies to equal a pound that comes out to about 1,725 pounds if 250,000 copper pennies. You would need some muscles to get all those pennies to the shipping company. 

[m-mman]

5 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Ed, can one sort the V-12 in.most cases? 

The HV-12 has its long time admirers and experts, and all the known issues and flaws have long been sorted out by them.  The biggest issue is that as a V-12 it got compared to the 12s from Packard, Pierce etc. and you cant compare any engine based solely on cylinder count.    They are not a low speed torque engine. They are a high revving type engine. 

 

5 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Outside of that, no unusual nits with these cars, right? 

Underneath they are 100% Henry Ford. Meaning solid front axle, transverse springs (front & rear) torque tube drive, banjo differential, etc. You know, Model T engineering that Henry brought into the 1940s. 

 

They are unibody cars so rust has always been an issue. The limited production Continentals were hand produced off line using Zephyr bodys. They are a sectioned and lengthened Zephyr. (doors and fenders are all Continental not Zephyr) 

 

Meaning that the liberal use of hand finishing left them with a lot of lead in them (can be heavy) and the sealed in place lower A-pillar door hinge support can corrode and fail, leading to poor door alignment. Better than wood, but you will need to cut open the Lower A-pillar to dig it out and then refashion one from steel and weld it all back together. 

 

4 hours ago, B Jake Moran said:

but for my era of the Buick 430 / 455 V8 - improved oil pressure, improved timing chains, water pumps, ability to flow all visually unseen.  

One car or another, these Continentals have been the recipients of pretty much ANY V-8 you can imagine. Certainly all the postwar, Cads, Buicks, Pontiacs, Chrysler Hemis, etc.

I  have even seen them with the 49-51 Lincoln flathead V-8s.  But for all that work why not just rebuilt the 12?

Edited June 13, 2022 by m-mman (see edit history)