Today’s 1956 Continental, uploaded to the CC Cohort by robadr, is going to make for something of a glass-half-full, glass-half-empty short post. Longtime readers may remember this very car from its first appearance at CC back in 2016. Time spent outdoors has clearly taken a toll on the vehicle, with its condition now looking rougher. On the bright side, it’s now parked outside a repair shop, suggesting it’s about to receive some long-overdue attention. Whether that’s the start of a quick mechanical intervention or the first step in a protracted restoration, that’s anyone’s guess.
Whatever its future holds, it’s easy to understand why this Mark II is being saved. After all, Ford’s short-lived Continental Division is a fascinating chapter always worth revisiting. When Dearborn joined Detroit’s upper-luxury 1950s race, setting out to build America’s finest luxury automobile, using hand craftsmanship, understated elegance, and exclusivity over the preferred flashiness of the era. According to Continental Division general manager Benson Ford, the resulting Mark II was “designed for an exclusive market—a prestige market—consisting of persons with good taste who want an automobile embodying distinction, luxury, dignity, and quality.”
The 1955–1956 Continental has been thoroughly covered at Curbside Classic, from the division’s ambitious launch to the model’s lukewarm reception. Its restrained styling, eye-watering price tag, and the Continental name’s lack of prestige among America’s luxury buyers all had much to do with that underwhelming result.
Looking back today, enthusiasts tend to fall into one of two camps about these. Some admire the Mark II’s understated classy elegance, while others see it as way too subdued—even dull. Ford arguably overcorrected with the out-of-this-world 1958 Mark III, by then being part of the Lincoln lineup once again; but that’s a different chapter, and one that also has a few entries at CC.
There were no notes as to what may be under the hood of this (not-Lincoln) Continental. Does it still carry its original 368-cubic-inch, four-barrel Y-block V8? Some people have swapped the original engine for later V8s (like this Coyote-powered Mark II that showed up on Bring a Trailer (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1956-continental-mark-ii-5/), but perhaps the original Y-block is still there after all.
If there’s one advantage these top-of-the-line luxury cars often enjoyed, it’s that they typically accumulate far fewer miles than ordinary cars. Are their long lives the result of them being truly better built, or simply because they lived gentler lives?
Of course, low mileage is only part of the equation. The Mark II was a loftily priced, hand-built concoction, complete with details like speed-sensitive shock absorbers and fine Scottish leather upholstery. Restoring luxury cars properly is no small undertaking. If those pieces are beyond saving, what replaces them?
So, luxury rides do often enjoy long, pampered lives. But when something big (or medium) finally breaks, death often comes more suddenly.
Fortunately, this Mark II seems to be in the process of avoiding that fate; not that it’s going to be easy, by looking at the up-close images.
Still, I’ll be the glass-half-full kind of guy with this Continental. The car is already at the shop, away from the streets, and that’s a good deal of the battle already won. So here’s hoping for better days ahead for this unique and rare luxury cruiser.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1956 Continental – Caught In The Pincers
I remember seeing a few of these street parked in So. Cal. in the very early 1970’s, glossy black they looked great .
I hope this one gets the care it needs.
-Nate
38 cubic inch?
In the long-gone and much-missed post-New Deal days of 90% top marginal tax breaks and union membership at 20% of the labor force and growing, there really wasn’t much ultra-luxury market, or any luxury market above the standard Lincoln and the Cadillac de Ville.
Rolls-Royce sold to a tiny niche with the same “we don’t change the styling every year” argument VW would use a bit later to great effect downmarket but could only get away with it by being foreign and the Cadillac Series 75 limo was effectively a “work truck” bought mainly by car services and the funeral trade, and GM expected to lose money on the Fleetwood Brougham but felt the need to respond to the Mark II somehow (and could afford to) while the other Fleetwoods made up for their low numbers by being trim packages with minimal development cost beyond the standard Caddy.
38 cubic inch engine? LOL!
He means the 368-inch “balanced and blueprinted” V8.
I figured that!
A funny typo. It’s fixed now.
I always think that understated is a winning formula – the Continental still looks elegant despite its age
Lincoln had always held a spot in My automotive heart! This car particularly! Lincoln had always been a bit more refined than Cadillac and I wish I had the means to restore this!
If I had the deep pockets for a restoration like this, I’d probably choose something else, BUT I’d still love to see on in-person someday, to get a better sense of its proportions and presence. All the engineering attention that went into its quiet solidity is really something–plus the tricky driveshaft setup to allow it to sit so low. I belong to a couple of Mark II Facebook groups, where lots of good lore is shared. It *looks* as though this car is in line get more than a ‘refresh,’ so I’ll hope for the best!
One man’s subdued and dull is another’s example of remarkable restraint and elegance at a time of general visual automotive excess. For me this falls firmly in the latter camp, and is one of the few 1950s designs that seemed to do away with much of the era’s celebrated brashness (in the States at least) while not exuding any sort of thrift, elevating it to a definitively higher plane, far more competitive with other designs from the world over. Continental is a very apt name.
Sometimes, less really can be more.
I agree. I’ve always thought the ‘56 Mark II was the most elegant U.S. car of the fifties. I love its subtle, restrained styling, especially compared with what came later.
Benson Ford was a meathead.
This car just screams Godzilla swap. 🙂
Given its very original and aged condition, the odds of an engine swap are close to zero. An engine swap is no easy or cheap thing in a car like this, with all of its power accessories and such. It would be a rather major undertaking, and be reflected in its condition.
…not to mention, invalidating it as a museum-worthy historical vehicle, devaluing its worth as a collectable
It was odd to come across this car again, and in a condition that indicates a surprising lack of interest / involvement over the past ten years for one reason or another. On the plus side the deterioration appears, thankfully, superficial.
I never saw it again in its original location, so I have no idea where it’s been. It still has the same license plate, which in British Columbia means that it’s been insured without interruption since 2016, by the same owner, and never taken off the road. There’s likely a personal story here.
Wanted: Rear window for 1956 Continental Mark ll. Will trade a 1980 John Deere snowmobile and a tater bug mandolin that was played at the 1904 Worlds Fair. Serious inquiries only.
The 1956-57 Continental Mark II represents an odd niche in the world of collectible cars. While not common, with over 3,000 produced and a high survivorship rate, they are not exactly rare either.
The Continental Mark II is not particularly sporty, stylish, or flashy. So it mostly appeals to Lincoln enthusiasts and 50’s luxury car collectors. Prices reflect this reality, with only the very best examples exceeding $100K. Most trade hands for far less.
While it shares some bits with lesser Lincolns (notably the 348 Y-block V8), most of the bits are bespoke to the Mark II and are generally unobtainable and priced accordingly (a set of NOS Mark II hubcaps is currently listed on eBay for $1600 each).
This makes a full restoration of an example in this condition a financially dicey proposition.