We had neighbors, the Olson's, who had the income to afford these kinds of cars. The dad sold Piper airplanes for a living. They particularly liked convertibles. The eldest daughter had a 56 Olds Starfire convertible red and white two tone, the mother a 1960 Continental convertible in a blue sapphire and the father a new 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible black with red leather. They also had the only color TV in the neighborhood and that's where I saw the Wizard of Oz in color in 1962, for the first time. Mrs Olson, made us oatmeal cookies hot out of the oven with a glass of milk. A very early 60s wholesome experience.

Also the rear window was the “breezeway” which my family enjoyed in our 1964 Mercury

As a boy, my father had a 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser sedan. It had the rear window that dropped down and raised electrically.

I have a 60 Mark V it’s surprisingly nimble and peppy despite its size and draws crowds wherever you go , I absolutely love the car because it is so unique in every way

My father bought a '58 Capri, which was essentially a Continental without air conditioning. Our car was a 4-door hardtop and that meant that you had a huge opening into the car with the windows down. The car didn't ride well until my father installed the heaviest heavy-duty shock absorbers he could find, and then it rode like a dream. The white leather interior was totally awesome! That massive 430 cu. in. motor with the 4 bbl. produced the same 490 ft. lb. of torque as the 1968 Chrysler Hemi. I helped drive on a 1966 trip from California, across Route 66, to Chicago and back. We were pulling a 14-foot utility trailer, and got 17-18 MPG at 75 MPH. I am 6' 1" and had plenty of legroom in the back seat. Plus, I could lay down almost fully straight in the back seat, it was that big.

I still remember in 65 as a kid where I was when I first saw one of these cars in person. They were very rare where I lived and it left an impression on me that it’s one of those things you remember where you were on 911 and when Elvis died and when you saw your first Continental. I just remember the massive size and no other car on the road looked like it . The thing that really stood out was the thickness of the doors and all the power buttons on them the doors alone were gorgeous. The car had real presence and I would imagine back in the day the wealthy that bought them did so to just get noticed . Even today it is one of my favourite cars even though the styling was in bad taste compared to the 61 masterpiece that came afterwards. I can only imagine what a dream it would be to float down the road in one of these land yachts

Another fine presentation! Nearly 20 years ago, I spent 6 years and at least $60,000 restoring one exactly like this, including the color. It would cost at least twice that much to do it today. Old American luxury cars are very expensive and time-consuming to accurately restore compared to, say, a muscle car or a Tri-Five Chevy. The proliferation of power accessories alone add countless hours to sort out. Not to mention, the interior fabrics and leathers are pricy, and they have a LOT of chrome inside and out. Still, it was worth it. I had a lot of fun with that old Connie while I was restoring it and for a few years after before I sold it to a collector who I believe still has it.

I would like to put my hat in the ring to say I personally love the "Slant eyed monster" lincolns/continentals.

Absolutely love your videos. Straight to the point. No bs just facts and info. You and Nate are the class of the field when it comes to preppers

At the 9:00 mark, you show the instrument cluster, and state that the lens (mask is the correct term) is made of glass. My grandfather had a new 58 Continental, and I, being 4 or 5, thought that it would be so cool to put a bunch of swirl marks on the lens with the cigarette lighter. When I was done, there were swirl marks everywhere. My grandfather just sighed and did not get too mad. The fact that the lighter put swirls in makes me think it was plastic, however. (I also tried to play 'gas station' with the garden hose, but mom caught me before I started pumping the fuel). I was infatuated by that 58, and I still am today!

Our neighbors had a 1958 in a light blue color with light blue interior. I was mesmerized. It was HUGE to my 4 yo eyes! I recall that it dropped its driveshaft in the driveway after the owners wife put it in Park without coming to a full stop. They replaced it with a 1967 Olds Delta 88 in a similar light blue. I was so so very disappointed!

I'd still prefer going on a cross country road trip in the black four door (0:48) than the computerized crap they put out now - what an adventure that would be!

When I was about maybe 4 or 5 the front end of this car with the bullet bumpers looked like a scary monster with mean eyes but, not even 10 years later I learned to like them and still do to this day almost 60 years later.

Glad you covered these again. I've always liked the Baroque styling, but you can say their uniqueness led to the groundbreaking 1961 styling.

My dad was a bit of an 'autoholic', and he changed vehicles with some regularity. Among his interesting menagerie, we had a '58 Lincoln Capri, which he traded in for a red '59 Continental convertible. My mother had an unfortunate event with the Continental, which totalled the car (she was basically unhurt). So, the red convertible was replaced with a white '59. I remember how massive those cars were in their day, but in the context of some of today's large SUVs, maybe not so bad.

It's an 8-year-old boy when these came out and I first saw one I just thought it was a big gorgeous automobile. I think it still looks that way nowadays too.

Fun fact, the 460ci used in the Continentals with the crank mounted power steering pumps had a short water pump that is only shared with the Boss 429 mustang and is not remaned. When I rebuilt mine I found a company that sold rebuild kits for them and had to rebuild it myself.

I like that the convertibles also had an electric powered rear backlight with the canted C-pillar, same as the Sadan and Coupe. They had a hard covered boot, which automatically closed over the top. There were pontoon shaped filler panels on either side of the boot that were manually installed to give it a finished look. When the top is up, its bows are hidden under the tight fitting material, and it looks much like a hardtop.

The definition of “so ugly, it’s beautiful!”

I have always been fascinated by these Lincoln behemoths. I recently had the opportunity to sit in and examine a '60 Mark V 4-door Landau carefully. Even though it was of driver quality, the quality of the interior fabrics, fittings and trim still evidenced great quality, as did the exterior trim. If only I'd been able to go for a ride!

An early advertising on a car with a limited slip differential was Studebaker. Pioneered on the 1956 Packard as an option, Twin-Traction was then offered on 1957 Studebaker cars & trucks. 1957 Studebaker cars so-equipped had two circled " T's " on the lower right if the deck lid. And another interesting fact about the 1958-60 Lincolns. They were the first American cars available with a factory installed AM-FM radio.

Had a '59 as a daily driver in the early '70s. Wonderful. All the controls being in that "pod" in front of the driver, meant the front passenger legroom was enormous -- could ride with your legs crossed in front of you and still install a small jukebox. The dash was set way back.

This is truly a beautiful and UNDERRATED automobile. My advice, find one that's at least pretty close to restored as parts are really scarce for this particular model... But definitely a Gem if found in decent, drivable condition.

I had a 1960 coupe that I worked on restoring, did engine, drivetrain etc and invested thousands. I lost heart when welding rust under the car - unibody rust was terrible to deal with. So I reluctantly gave up and let it go. It's still not on the road after some years, even with a new owner who can weld etc. What a magnificent car, wish I had it back, mint. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it!

As a 14 year old young boy, as wild and outrages as the 1959 Cadillac was, I always thought the Lincoln Continental was a more attractive car and actually classier looking. When I grew up later on in life, I owned two Cadillac Sevilles and two Lincolns, a Mark VII and a Continental Signature Series.

My dad always talked about how he regretted not getting one of these because the rear window didn't need to be scraped in winter.

Along about 1970, when I was 10, my Grandfather came home with a used 1966 Chrysler 300. I was in the car checking it out, when I asked him what that little button was on the inside of the door. He just told me to push it down, and there went the window! Went down all by itself, no cranking! I had never seen that before! I felt like I was in a Rolls Royce! Lol.

The older MK II is an absolute class act.

Have been following new cars since 1958 and one tends to forget how big they were. (Don't follow the newer models anymore. Ho-hum, I'd rather fold my socks.)

Thanks for adding some value via historical context for these cars, under appreciated by many including me!

Lincoln actually had a technical service bulletin on the 55 mph crack and a procedure to remedy it that if followed would prevent the crack..

My 1959 Lincoln was perfect for a young high school student. I could fit a handful of beautiful young women inside and in comfort. The trunk would hold all our skis and poles securely for a trip to the mountains. That 430 V8 was very powerful and 100+ mph speeds felt like you were about to take flight. Good times!

I always loved these Land yachts

Beautiful car tho none the less. The front face of these cars is to me QUINTESSENTIAL 1950s auto styling. One of my relatives had one of these long before I was born as a used car. Apparently it was legendary 🤷🏻‍♂️. These cars as I understand were very undervalued for several years. Good to see them in the spotlight. Your videos are consistently excellent.

My parents had a 59 Ford with a cruise-o-matic with the same shift pattern. When my mother wasn’t looking, my older brothers us to sneak and move the shifter to the D1 position just to watch the car take off quicker than she expected.😂.

At the end of the video there is a beautiful yellow convertible. The cool factor here is the the rear window went up and down, just like in the hardtops. I often wondered how they did that, until I recently watched a video of a 58 with the top going up and down. I can't describe it, but if you look up 58 Lincoln Convertible, you might find it and watching it in action is almost equal to watching a 57-59 Ford retractable. I made $10 betting my uncle that the convert window did indeed raise and lower. The L-M dealer up the street had one on their lot. (This was in the late 60s).

What a big, beautiful, beast of a car! Thank you for sharing that with us! I never knew that they were unibody cars! That is a very interesting point!

My grandfather had a white 4 door '59 Continental-we were amazed at the size of that car! Thanks for this video!

I like those Lincolns and Continentals of that body style a lot. I've seen a handful of them at car shows and on roadsides over the years.

Can you imagine the poor body repairman that had to replace the rear quarter panel.on one of these 2-doors? Just that sheetmetal part is gigantic! Imagine the logistics of distributing that one sheetmetal part to the various dealers and them having to keep them in their parts inventory. It boggles the mind. Yikes!

As a child, I can recall the rear window "sliding down".

I actually prefer this era over the iconic 61-69. I also would take one of these over a 59 Caddy.

I have a 59 Lincoln, im 28 and I've had it since I was 19. Hands down the worst feature of the car is the reverse opening hood,it makes it very annoying to work on. Does look cool tho

I think the 1960 lincoln continental is one lf, if not THE most beautiful car ever created. I love everything about it...

My great Uncle had a 1958 and he was always calling it the bloated Edsel. He had the car until around the 110,000 mile mark and went with a 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood.

I rode in one of these convertibles in Ausin, TX with friends. Can't remember the guy who owned it, but is was such a strange vehicle! Wished you had shown the unique convertible, where the back cantilevered window sank under the back seat while a panel rose and took in the convertible top. Also, there were vacuum powered rivets at the top of the windshield that made an incredible "whirring" sound as the roof came down and was literally bolted in. More interior details would be great if you ever run it again, Adam.

Even if I "understand" it, I just don't like it, that is the looks.

The very excellent Lincoln and Continental - the Postwar Years book by Paul Woudenberg (corrected) calls these Misunderstood Giants. An apt term. I drove a 1959 Convertible Mark IV and it was the best riding car I have ever driven. They used to be cheap but have climbed a lot in recent years like most other old cars.

Adam, that four-spoke steering wheel reminds me of your 66 Toronado.

I'm impressed that you remembered (and found a picture of) the Packard Balboa. To my knowledge only 1 Balboa was ever made. This was an excellent and obviously knowledgeable and well researched presentation. 👍

The front fender sculpturing going into the door (if vertical where it curves instead) actually previewed the sculpture along the sides of the '64-'68 Mustang.

Those cat eye headlights are pretty cool there were also glasses like this that were very popular back then, I think they were the inspiration.

If you EVER find an NOS instrument panel clear cover...DO NOT install it. They all crack due to unique unibody stresses.

Lincolns and Thunderbirds had unibody construction throughout the 1960's. Those 1958-60 Lincolns were the longest cars ever produced by Ford WITHOUT 5 mph bumpers. The 1961 Lincolns still used unibody construction and were famous for the "suicide doors" that latched in the middle. The reason for that wasn't for style; there wasn't enough body strength to front-hang the doors. Thunderbirds used unit construction until 1966; 1967 went back to body-on-frame. Lincolns used unit construction until 1969; 1970 went to BOF. My uncle had one of these that was a 4-door hardtop; the body would flex so much the rear doors would sometimes pop open. Good ol' Earl McPherson; he brought us the McPherson strut. GREAT VIDEO!

Studebakers had a really cool emblem on the trunk lid if you had limited slip. Twin circles spinning with a T on each for twin traction.. or something like that!

Perry Mason drove a convertible of this generation Lincoln.

My late mom had a 1960 Mark V 2 dr hardtop - it was her very favorite car in her whole lifetime.

If it was 1959 I'd be rushing out to buy one!!!......if I could find one today I'd be rushing out to buy one! Absolutely awesome!! 🤩

Very nice, except for one minor correction. It's just that parts for the old TredleVac braking systems are readily available from Kanter Auto Supply. The major flaw with the TredleVac system is that if you let a car with it set for any length of time without having a weight holding down the brake pedal, a valve inside the master cylinder will stick. This will cause the brakes to not work properly until you tear the master cylinder down to unstick the valve. The master cylinder bolts to the vacuum booster from inside the vacuum booster, which means that you have to tear down the vacuum booster to unbolt the master cylinder. It's a crazy setup, and I had to learn to work on mine myself because professional mechanics won't touch it.

When I was a little boy, a friend of ours had a 1959 Lincoln Continental, pink on the outside and white on the inside and was a rag top. He took me to McDonalds in it and we were the cat's meow for sure. With the top down, it was an awesome sight. At that time, it was considered the most beautiful automobile ever made.

"CarNut" since '51, had a paper route with the following cars: '58-'63 T-Birds, '58-'60 Lincolns, '57 Packard Carribean Conv., '56 Imperial Limo, '58-'64 Caddy's, a '61 Bentley & a '64 289 Cobra!

How does someone misunderstand a car? I never misunderstood a car. I love the 59 Mark IV for it's uniqueness.

Love these and the Mercury too!

That 59 is a sharp looking car specially in that color but that I/C is so 1940's ! What cracks the lense cover is drivers using the steering wheel to get in and out of the car !

Excellent video as always! One note, 1957-58 Packards had a special decklid logo badge for their Twin Traction rear differential option.

The Caddy was dangerous due to its frame. Structural Rigidity: The X-Frame, shaped like an open “X,” lacked the robustness of traditional ladder frames. Collisions could lead to deformation, affecting the car’s integrity. Side-Impact Protection: Unlike ladder frames, the X-Frame didn’t offer strong side protection, leaving passengers vulnerable in crashes. Rollover Risk: Higher center of gravity made X-Frame cars more prone to rollovers during extreme maneuvers. Floor Pan Intrusion: Deep floor wells allowed feet to drop lower, but severe accidents could cause frame intrusion into the passenger compartment. Maintenance Challenges: X-Frame complexity hindered mechanics’ access to components like transmissions and exhaust systems.

9:00 The driver viewed the shift quadrant through a prism perched on the column. When I saw that as a kid, I thought it was the coolest.

Excellent coverage on cars that are truly fascinating and rarely written about. The thing to keep in mind about Lincoln in the 1950s and '60s is that Cadillac sold 4-5 times as many cars as Lincoln. Lincoln management was desperate to change that. The '50s Lincolns were smaller and more performance oriented than Cadillacs (they performed well in the grueling annual Mexican road races.) When that didn't work they decided to see if making the cars bigger would do the trick. (Spoiler alert: it didn't.) Some of the engineering was pretty wild though. Like most upper level GM cars Lincoln planned to offer optional air suspension which is why the '58 and '59 Lincolns had coil rear springs (which could even pop out from a really bad pot hole); the '60 switched back to leaf springs. The single combination HVAC control was also, I believe, offered on the senior '58 Edsels. The automatic headlight dimmer was sourced from GM. Lincoln also offered an optional extra FM tuner that was mounted separately from the in dash AM radio. The in-block power steering pump added hydraulic windshield wiper power but I believe that was in 1961.

My friend has a 59 Lincoln continental ragtop and it took him years to restore it. Not many donor vehicles left and lot of the parts are harder to find now and more so in the future. With the ragtop you also have hinges for the top to fold over that usually are in a very bad shape(aka whammy'd and smashed). Another thing is the floors on these if the car has been sitting on the field for decades, are just super rusty. I did manage to drive the restored vehicle once it was done and the experience was over whelming. My friend did upgrade the the brakes cause the origial setup is just too dodgy and unsafe for the road.

Beautiful Vehicle! And Great commentary! Thank you very much!

Very well researched and informative. Thank you sir!

Amazing.A caricature of the era. Makes Virgil Exner's work at Chrysler look almost tasteful. What a complete contrast to the perfection of the '61.

My dad had one, a black 4 door. I remember the center of the steering wheel seemed very very large, much larger than a regular steering wheel hub, maybe the diameter of a saucer for a tea cup, but I was very young and may remember incorrectly. The instrument panel was a big boxy slab. I don't remember any bumps while riding in it, and I think it was very quiet. I was probably 6 or 7, looking over my dad's shoulder at that giant tombstone instrument panel, and that flying saucer sized steering hub.

Definitely a jet inspired rear look; love the amount of chrome back there !!

I am embarrassed to admit that my teenage self did not appreciate these beauties when new, now I do. The price, over $5,000 in real Eisenhower dollars, could have bought you a modest home.

P.S., thanks again for your help, time, research, and the work involved in the videos period.

Beautiful cars.

My father owned one of these, bought used in 1962. A four door in the blue color featured in your video, it did not have the differential option. One feature I recall that is now unusual for me, is that the windshield wipers were operated by a wire cable that wound/unwound as opposed to a connected rod/linkage mechanism.

They didn't have the glitz of the Cadillacs. They hardly sold any of these. The crazy rear window just blew dust in and all around the interior. My Uncle sold cars and said these were unloved by the ladies who had more influence over the car purchase than one would think!

227" long, 5450 lbs, and a trunk that seats 6! Automotive bloat at it's finest (or worst, depending on your point of view). I find the styling is divisive at best. I understand that they were looking to stand out, but you would think the upper execs at Ford would have learned their lessons with the Edsel. About the only redeeming things I can see here are the 'Breezeway' rear window treatment (that carried over to other Mercury models in the early 60's) and the fact that the lack of success with the 1958-1960 Continentals gave rise to the timeless body design of the 1961 thru 1964 Lincoln Continentals. Redemption defined!

There was a 58 for sale a few years ago on my way home from work. It was black but fairly rusted. The old man only wanted $1500 for it. I debated on it but by the time I went back the next day it was gone. I have no idea where I would have put it, I’m pretty sure it was longer than my garage.

My comment on the '58-'60 Lincolns is, they moved away from the middle belt line kick -up and visually created a shelf all the way down the car. This line made the car look extremely wide. The '60 Ford and the '61-'63 Birds had this shelf armrest that many people used to rest their arms out the windows. Fido liked this feature also. I think that due to the lack of a kick up belt line, and a clean sight on the fenders going all the way back, Ford determined that any character lines would have to go on the sides of the car. Concave scallops were the rage in the '50s styling studios at that time. (Corvette ) the "dogbone " bumper accentuated this cove also. By any observation, the '58 grill vas very simplistic. Perhaps that was missed because of the cantilever head lights on both sides. The '58 fenders were spot welded after all the pieces were put together, then were lead filled to look as one piece. The '59-'60 were more production friendly. I say that the '58s have a more fluid and molded look.

I would choose that beautiful Cadillac if I was in 1959.

From the side the Ford family resemblance is obvious. It looks like a larger version of the 59 Ford.

I like the 1960 Mark V better, but prefer the 1958 Mark III 430 engine, as Robert McNamara had his engineers already de-tuning the 430 MEL by 1959. He was kind of funny that way, glad Henry II got rid of him. I believe the 400 hp. tri-power was avalible in any 430 Mercury or Lincoln in 1958', not just the Turnpike Cruiser.

Just my opinion, but that trunk lid would be out of reach if it were allowed to open fully.

My grandfather had one of these- not sure if it was a 58 or 59. He lived on a farm and had to drive about 9 miles before arriving at pavement. His two main complaints were that it didn’t have adequate clearance for the rough country roads and they could never get the trunk to seal well enough to keep out the dust. It was a very comfortable car and the power seats were adjustable to fit his rather tall over 6’ frame as well as my grandmother’s short legs.

One of my uncles, who was a doctor, had a white 1958 Continental Mark III with the retractable rear window. which he loved, especially driving it between home here in Illinois and Miami Beach. Although I was only about 3 years old, I have vague memories of that huge car, which is perhaps why I still love Lincolns.

Thank you for Covering this car. 😊

I will admit that I didn’t like the canted headlights and I thought the car was much too elaborate. I think the Continental Mark II was one of the most tastefully designed and well built cars ever made, not just in the United States but the world. Unfortunately they messed it up in 58. They did the same thing to the TBird. The 57 was a thing of beauty but the 58 was a behemoth. Just one man’s opinion. The buying public disagreed with me, at least about the TBird.

There was a company back in the day whose name escapes me at the moment - but they would convert these cars into limousines. One feature of their conversions was a dome that fit over the back window area and, together with a padded vinyl top and small "privacy" back window.... gave the car a much more contemporary roofline. They also sold this dome as a bespoke kit for people who loved their Lincolns, but didn't love the kitschy breezeway back window. I've seen one of these conversions in person, with the big padded vinyl top and I can say it only made a good thing BETTER. The car was a 1960 model and also triple black! Had a very "gangster" vibe to it.

So many unique cars year after year….. Great times in American design

I wasn't around in 1958. I wouldn't be noticing automobiles for another 20 years when this thing was new. I have to say that in my opinion, this thing definitely is not a timeless design.

Always loved this rig

Great video, being an owner of a immaculate 1957 Nash Ambassador, I can vouch that its an extremely comfortable riding car despite being unit-body. By 57 AMC had about 8 years of unit-body experience. The Nash even rides better than my 59 Imperial.

Outstanding review. These Continental’s are rolling artworks.

I like these, especially the '58 edition which had the most fidelity to what must have been stylist John Najjar's original vision (and which also had the 'wildest' headlight/grill/side scallop configuration). I remember Road & Track testing one of these at the time and expressing amazement at the 9 second 0-60 acceleration time (their math said it wasn't possible given the horsepower and the gear ratios, but their actual testing confirmed it). I also remember an episode of "Father Knows Best" where Margaret Anderson wins a similar '58 Lincoln Premier coupe in an orphanage raffle; ultimately the family decides to trade it for a pair of Ford wagons, one of which they donate to the orphanage.

Olds stole the steering wheel design for the early toronados

33 years ago an older timer in the AACA club offered me his unrestored but solid 59 Continental for free. I went to his garage to look at the car and make arrangements to have it hauled to my house 12 miles away. I was so intimidated by its size and complicated systems (self lubricators?) I actually declined the gift. The thickness of the doors was battle ship like. I was younger with limited income and made the decision that the car would consume my life and money. Now over 60 years old I wish I had accepted the gift and kept it for a future project. I hope it found a good home.

What a cool cruiser! Thanks for a great video!