Any Lincoln fact related question can be posted here. Questions such as how many Contintenal convertibles were produced in MY1965? How much was the Town Car option in 1969? What size of tire was standard on a 1953 Premiere? or Does the Mark II retractible prototype still exist?
In my further quest to track the history of my car I've spent quite a bit of time perusing the Ford archives at the Benson Ford Research Library in Dearborn, MI.
I've uncovered some interesting documents about Ford's fight with Mercedes, Porsche and Bentley over trademark infringements. I even found a document, by chance while looking in a file marked "problems", that shows that my car's roof was damaged in transit along with two other Mark IIs delivered to the Chicago area. The cars were refused by the dealers explaining why they were in the Chicago District's possession. This would also support the story told by Hess & Eisenhardt that the car was ordered by Ford Marketing in Chicago.
Other than finding the actual purchase order for my Mark II convertible I believe I have found the next best thing. Apparently, sometime in 1962 a Ford employee was asked to compile the actual numbers for Mark II production. This should answer the question forever.
If this is going to be a sticky, you should put the numbers in text. Reson being is if the link breaks down the road (account closed for what ever reason as an example), the numbers is still accessible.
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
This thread has nothing to do with the authenticity of my car. My car was certified on the premise that I would be able to produce the job file from Hess & Eisenhardt as was promised to me by Art Sears, former production manager for H & E. He, nor I, nor the LCOC has been able to get Willard Hess' daughter to release the file.
It also came to light that the attractive metal boot covering the retracted top was added by the owner in 1969. This alteration, although very beautiful, would disqualify the car under current certification rules anyway. I'm not changing it back, under any circumstances.
I care, but I don't care. If that makes any sense. I've found a nice little niche in the Concours circuit where the provenance I have provided is accepted throughout the community. We just took "Best Car of the '50s" at the MOTOR MUSTER, in Dearborn at The Henry Ford's Greenfield Village. William Clay Ford sits on the Board of the event. The head curator has talked about my car in the Pass & Review twice, acknowledging its origins. The car took the "Willard Hess Award for Automotive Excellence" in H & E's home town show, Ault Park, attended by many retired H & E employees. The award was handed to me by Willard Hess' daughter.
The Concours community regards all of that as sufficient provenance. No one from Ford is denying the origins of my car. It represented 1956 at the Centennial Celebration and has been used in an internal L-M video shoot at Ford World Headquarters.
I would love to show my car at LCOC events but I swore that I would never again do a points judged show as I like people telling me what they like about the car, not what's "wrong" with it. I won't show it at any club event where it is judged on points, not just the LCOC.
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
It's their club and their rules. I can't expect them to change their rules to accomodate me. I've learned that I'm not welcomed I'll go play in someone else's sandbox.
So, if you enter your car into competitive judging and they score you based on what is right instead of what is wrong and you still loose, do you feel better for loosing in that manner?
It's kinda like the whole glass half-full/glass half-empty thing. I have never understood that. It is just half-a-glass of water.
I think you misunderstand me. A Concours is nothing more than a beauty contest. The judging is subjective. A lot of it is based on the "WOW" factor.
I'm on the Executive Board of two Concours. Both use score sheets but allow a full 20% for "WOW". Since the field of cars can span almost a century and cover hundreds of brands no judge can truly base their judgements on authenticity, unlike a club event. Fit and finish are a big part of the judging, but rarity and eye-candy is what wins.
I really don't understand your analogy about a cup being half empty or half full.
I think what Higgins is saying is that you shouldn't view a points show as negative. It's simply based on originality (for better or worse). There is a certain subset of people who strive for that. I like to see what a 100% original car looks like (but I would never want to own one). In your case the boot looks awesome. I would never remove it just so that you can have a 100-point car. But you shouldn't take it personally if you get points deducted for those types of things. What did the car look like originally? Was there a soft boot?
Art Sears recalls that it had a black vinyl boot as the interior and exterior were black when it left H & E. I have no pictures that show the boot.
These pictures were provided to me by the gentleman that runs the Lincoln Road Race organization. He was a personal friend of Hogan, the man that had the car altered in Florida, which led to the rumors that the car was done in someone's backyard in Florida.
It was later painted green, and the metal boot was added.
That's Hogan at the wheel.
This is the only old picture I have of it with the top down.
The scan of the letter I received is below.
Last edited by Barry Wolk on Mon Jun 21, 2010 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
