Recently I found this photo of a gathering of Lincolns. I was googling for photos of the 1970-71 Lincoln Continental sedans and coupes, and spotted this image. The immaculate '71 sedan in the foreground was beige in color, originally. The '42, (or '46-'48) 'Cabriolet in the upper left was as is, a deep burgundy and beige. The white MKX in the upper right was as is, also, and there's a '41 black coupe in the "way back." The car parked next to the '71 sedan however, was a different story. It's a mid-to-late '80s Mark VII, but had been converted into a convertible—a black convertible with an ill-fitting roof, rear quarter windows that didn't quite fit into the original space for them, and gaudy gold spoked wheels. Not to be rude to the owner, if s/he sees this chop, but it ruined the photo for me.
I decided to make that black Mark VII into a "proper" Lincoln cabriolet, and used the Cabriolet in the photo as inspiration. I completely chopped the body, pushed the front wheels forward, added full rear fender skirts, and changed the color to the same burgundy as the '42 (or '46-'48). I made the roof into a reasonable facsimile of the first Continental, also. The wheels were enlarged and made silver, and I used the same chrome pushbuttons for the doors that the early Continental used.
I made a few changes to the '71 in the foreground, changed the colors of the building, too, but this is the first time I've spent most of my chopping time on a car in the background. All in all, I think it's a "proper" gathering of Lincolns now!
Original photo as found with Google Images.
I don't know why I just had a Dukes of Hazard flashback
ReplyDeletewhen staring at your photo, Casey. I imagined the Lincoln in white instead with bull horns up front, must be my meds, lol.
Oh those first Continentals! Both the 40/41 and the 42-48. I go back and forth about which is more glamorous! Clearly the 40/41 are a purer design but the postwar (and to a lesser extent the very rare 42s) have such presence and speak of the optimism of immediately post-war USA. A real styling triumph for Lincoln, along with the Zephyrs, the Mark II, the 56 and the 61-65. While those 70-73 Lincolns don't really stand up to its earlier achievements, they do have an integrity about them that I find appealing. Once they started to modify the original with bumpers and the new rooflines for 1975, things went downhill fast!
ReplyDeleteI think what you've done with the sloppily converted Mark VII really improves it -- those non-factory-authorized convertible conversions always look half-baked, no matter how expensive the donor car was orginally, and I can't imagine why people would pay for a nice expensive car and then pay lots more to have it butchered.
Paul, NYC
OOPS! Paul, your comment made me look at the photo a bit more closely. Now I see that the burgundy Cabriolet in the background, with the beige roof, is a postwar Lincoln, or at the earliest a '42. Those taillights are definitely not '40 or '41. I'll fix the main text. I bet you knew that, lol!
ReplyDeleteI guess if I'd read the copy more closely I would have noticed that but I was so taken with the picture that I didn't read that carefully!
ReplyDeleteI car-pooled in a 48 Continental, burgundy with red leather/tan cloth interor and a black top until 1956, when it was traded in for a 53 Capri convertible. Even then I knew they were something special!
I had to laugh at your comment on Hemmings about the Westport dealership -- I had forwarded that pic to my friend in Atlanta and made a similar comment about the Ricardos living in Westport!
Great minds!!
Paul, NYC
The only problem I see with your cabriolet is that side visibility wouldn't be very good, with no rear side window at all. Otherwise, definitely an improvement from the less-than-half-baked chopped Mark VII.
ReplyDeleteBoth the car and the building are better in your version!
ReplyDeletethanks!
ReplyDeleteI think the building is a mausoleum at Restland in Dallas, any information on location.
ReplyDeleteIt does make for a proper location for the cars.