1956 Continental Mark II - The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

If I had the means to indulge in my automotive fancy above and beyond owning just one old car at a time, I would make room for a 1956-57 Continental Mark II. Maybe more than one, too. Hardtop and a convertible perhaps? I think these cars gorgeous and as timeless as Marilyn Monroe.

 

I first saw one at a classic car show back on Long Island sometime in the mid 1980's and it knocked me sideways. I didn't know what it was at the time nor had I any idea how influential a design these cars were at the time either. The only thing I did know at the time was that these cars were very special and moved to the top of my list of cars to have in my fantasy garage.

When people ask me what my favorite car is, car guys don't have a single favorite, but when I tell them I'm a fan of the 1956-57 Continental Mark II they often times will correct me by saying, "oh, don't you mean a Lincoln Continental Mark II?" This isn't a Lincoln Continental but rather a "Continental Mark II"; semantics really seeing that underneath this car is literally all Lincoln and these cars were sold through Lincoln dealerships. In 1956 and 1957, "Continental" was supposed to be a stand alone luxury division that the Ford Motor Company positioned above Lincoln to compete with Cadillac and Packard. Designed to emulate the Lincoln Continental of 1939-1948, the first one of which was a customized Lincoln Zephyr that was Edsel Ford's personal car, the 1956 Continental was dubbed "Mark II"; as if the first Continentals were Mark I's.

 

Considering the ostentatious chrome and tail fin fest of the mid to late 1950's, the Continental Mark II was a remarkably clean design. Save for the hump on the trunk, the Mark II was delicate compared to a Cadillac of the same vintage. Lincolns as well.



 

Same can be said for the spacious, tastefully appointed interior; save for the color contrasts of this car's upholstery. All Mark II's had interiors that were hand stitched; this unusual color scheme not out of the realm of possibility - we are talking about the 1950's.
 

 

The dashboard looks as though it would look not out of place in a BMW of the same vintage. It's European in it's clean, functional design. Simply beautiful. This many gauges on the dash board of a 1950's American made automobile particularly rare.  

 



You'd think that such a beautiful car would be remarkable underneath as well. The Mark II, however, was fairly ordinary mechanically. Mark II's were powered by a 368 cubic inch, overhead valve, 285 horsepower "Lincoln V-8" which was an offshoot of the Ford Y-Block. The very large and very heavy engine was backed by a three speed Lincoln automatic transmission dubbed "Turbo Drive".  Independent front suspension used unequal-length A-arms, coil springs, ball-joint spindles, a link stabilizer bar and advanced-for-their-day tubular hydraulic automatic speed-compensating front shocks. The solid rear axle was suspended by longitudinally mounted semi-elliptical leaf springs and tubular hydraulic shocks. Saginaw power steering had a 22.1:1 ratio with four turns lock-to-lock and a 45.3-foot turning circle and was noted as predictably light with a slightly mushy feel and good tracking. Brakes were dual-servo hydraulic, internally expanding four-wheel drums.

Before we scoff at the whipped cream ride the suspension on the Mark II provided, the fact that 285 horsepower was woefully inadequate to move a car that weighed almost two and half tons and the car had literally no brakes, understand that this type of automobile was state of the art in the 1950's. Consider what else was available to the buying public in 1955 - the Mark II was the stuff of dreams. The dreams of a country that was just ten years removed the end of World War II and just twenty five years removed from the start of the Great Depression.

 

Sadly, just over 3,000 Mark II's were ever produced between 1956 and 1957. Sales were very slow because the car was over priced at almost $10,000 each, sales for high end luxury cars were minimal to begin with, it only came as a coupe, the country was about to dip into a deep albeit brief recession let alone that Cadillac was about to drop the bomb on Ford in 1957 with the spectacular four door Eldorado Brougham. The Continental division and the Mark II had a tough putt. Very tough. Lights out on the whole Continental division after the 1957 model year.

 



Remarkably, despite their rarity, today, Mark II's are relatively affordable classics and there is a parts network available  to owners as well. Important since having access to parts is extremely important for any old car let alone one as old and rare as a Mark II. Having had several old cars over the years, I can tell you first hand that owning an old car is not for the weary no matter what kind of condition the car appears to be in. Often times it's best just to dream no matter how hard it knocks you sideways.