For Sale: 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible - Project - $27,900 - Lyons, ILL - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible - Project - $27,900 - Lyons, ILL

1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible for sale by owner - Lyons, IL - craigslist
Seller's Description:

For sale very nice 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible. Rebuilt engine and transmission. New convertible top, radiator, starter, alternator, points, distributor, transmission lines and many more. Solid frame. I bought this vehicle 4y ago and paid body man/mechanic to restore it. He left town with my money and left car not finished. Before he started top was working (have video). Now it works partially. If you put electric power to front latch it will unlatch and then power to relay behind rear seats decklid will close. Clearly there is lost electric connection between front and rear, but I don't want to spend time chasing it. Electric windows do not work. It also has vacuum leak. Radio works. Runs & Drives. good, brakes pull to the side, tires are old and one of them has slow leak. It is not long distance drivable. I can assist with inexpensive shipping via central dispatch. CA $850 NY $550 TX $500.Germany, Netherland, Poland $1100.No trades, no scammers with fake checks or google codes. I only accept cash, bank wire transfer, cashier check, Zelle. Clean title in my name.

Contact: (708) 5-fifteen-5-5-two-8
Copy and paste in your email: 66d64cdc83cb344084898f2f0c9f6564@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible - Project.
The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975, edited by John Gunnell states 3,180 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertibles built.

[1957Birdman]

So let me get this straight, a $27,900 “project” needing a fair amount of work to really get it going. At that price I don’t think it will be changing hands anytime soon.

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

[Rivguy]

I had a '66 sedan, so this brings back memories. The symmetry in the dash is interesting as the HVAC panel mimics the radio. The convertible top mechanicals are complex, and from what I read, expensive to get right. Still, I've seen a lot more of these convertibles in good condition at shows lately. 

[lhend50]

18 hours ago, 1957Birdman said:

So let me get this straight, a $27,900 “project” needing a fair amount of work to really get it going. At that price I don’t think it will be changing hands anytime soon.

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

Don't be surprised if it does sell faster than you think. These cars are hot. I have a friend that inherited 5 continentals of this vintage. He just sold a convertible that needed absolutely everything and got 11000 for it. Believe me when I say everything. Sold a parts car for 6000 and it was coupe, again, in poor condition. Market seems pretty strong on these cars. These sales were within the past 2 months.

[B Jake Moran]

13 minutes ago, lhend50 said:

Don't be surprised if it does sell faster than you think. These cars are hot. I have a friend that inherited 5 continentals of this vintage. He just sold a convertible that needed absolutely everything and got 11000 for it. Believe me when I say everything. Sold a parts car for 6000 and it was coupe, again, in poor condition. Market seems pretty strong on these cars. These sales were within the past 2 months.

Glad for your friend but a bad deal is a bad deal. There is no market reason why these 4 door Continentals should be “hot”.  Super expensive to restore, extremely frustrating to restore- see this ad as a prime example - and still quite a few finished nice cars for sale in the $60,000 range.  

[zepher]

Seems to be a lot of money for a project that didn't even have the new top installed properly.

Makes me wonder what else was done incorrectly with the car.

[Xander Wildeisen]

The market reason for demand is popularity. Not my thing, but they do have a strong following. 

[Gearheadengineer]

Two thoughts:

 

- These are hot right now, whether we like it or understand it. It’s the age old supply vs demand situation. Demand is up, supply is limited. Why is demand up? Who knows. But if you look at recent sales the data shows it to be true. 
- I have heard many people talk about how complicated they are and how hard they are to restore. I have had my ‘64 for 24 years and tens of thousands of

miles. I took on someone else’s unfinished project so I have first hand experience restoring one. Yes, they are somewhat complicated. They are luxury cars so lots of electrical stuff. But I wouldn’t say hard to restore. They are just cars and use the same basic design concepts of other cars from that period.  Manuals are reproduced. Plenty of other examples are out there for reference. Parts are available and the aftermarket has actually picked up in the last ten years or so. The top mechanisms can be scary but they really aren’t that bad once you take some time to understand them. All that said, I would not want to restore a rusty one. Hard to tell from the pics, but the subject car looks solid. Would I pay the asking price? No. But I would not be surprised if someone else does.

 

I guess a third thought: they are glorious to drive, especially with the top down on a nice evening. Smooth ride, good handling for a ‘60s American car, enough power (despite the 5,000+ lb weight), and comfortable inside. That’s why I’ve had mine for so long. 
 

 

[58L-Y8]

And, as their association with 'Camelot' become legend for the current generation, owning an icon of the era is now backed up with resources to own one.