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I know they get plenty of love around these parts, but the epic amount of Brougham that graces our corner of the internet has given me an upset stomach. Lately (and luckily), in the work neighborhood has been this Continental, for me to take a couple of looks at to calm my stomach.
For Starters. Its Mr. Douglas car. GReen Acres Is the place To Be.
What broke my heart was that after they discontinued the Continental Convertible, Mr. Douglas went down to a Grand Marquis ragtop! Surely he could have gotten a sedan or a coupe over moving down into Mercury teritory.
It was actually a Marquis, Grand Marquis started out as a trim level in 1974 and became a full series in 1983, when the Fox Marquis came out.
Since Ford provided the vehicles for the show, they had the final say in what appeared on it. Obviously they wanted a current model on the set.
Funny thing I noticed on all of these Paul Henning productions, it’s very easy to spot the indoor set cars as they all have the windshields removed.
The outdoor shoot cars have windshield glass, but the mirrors are always gone.
The funniest thing was whenever they did crossover episodes, the make of car changed. For example, Green Acres was a Ford show, but Petticoat Junction was Mopar. Mrs. Douglas appeared in an epsiode of the latter and her car was a ’67 Fury convertible!
And The Beverly Hillbillies was also a largely Mopar-supplied show.
Miss Jane had a 62 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible, then Dodge Polaras and Coronets, also rag tops. Mr.Drysdale had, I think, a series of Imperials.
The elongated tail, with its slight upward tilt, isn’t working for me. I’ll stick with the original.
I’m with you on this, while I wouldnt say no to a nice 66-69 If It presented itself I prefer the 61-65 as well. I was also confused that they offered wrap around front turn signals in 1965, dropped them for 66-68, only to bring them back in 69. Funny thing is I think the up swept tilt works with the Mark III…maybe the tire motif and the low greenhouse balance it out…or maybe the wheel cutouts and the sculpting around them make the effect on the Mark III.
Me too, and specifically the 1961-63 cars with the curved side glass.
me too. It’s nice but the first ones are much sharper !
I guess I’m kind of a heretic. Revolutionary as it was, the original ’61 Conti looks a bit “Doughy” to me.
It isn’t “Bill Mitchell Crisp” as I prefer, so of all things, I like when GM applied the formality to its C-bodies in ’62-63. I really don’t hands down like the Camelot Continentals until ’64.
I’m probably the biggest car ignoramus on this site but these old Lincolns knock me out.
Rats. I have been searching for one of these to complete my trilogy on the last full sized luxury convertibles in the US. How is it I can find a 68 Imperial but not a 67 Continental? Life is so cruel.
I, for one, love the 66-67 Continental. Some of the detail changes on the 68-69 start to lose me, though.
@JPC-
I agree the 66-67 is better looking, but the 69 has some significant improvements like a full frame, standard disc brakes, and of course the healthy 460 engine replacing the 462 boat anchor.
Full frame appeared in 1970, when the car was completely redesigned.
The 460 was actually gradually phased in in 1968, so there are 1968 models with either engine out there.
Disc brakes were standard since 1965.
Was the frame bent in the middle, or was the tail’s supposed to be up in the air like that? It looks like a banana. Probably had about the same structural integrity too.
it’s for wheelie clearance.
alistair
I think Laurence’s example has stouter shocks. They didn’t sit like that out of the factory. Here’s a pic from the ’66 brochure: Looking good in aqua!
Nice find, and these cars always look nice in black. I remember seeing a black on black ’65 Connie convertible at a cruise in in 2010, but haven’t seen a ’66 or ’67 in some time. It may be a good thing I don’t live in the Bay Area, as I’d never be able to run an errand without a dozen ten-minute detours to photograph CCs!
I will always love these cars, since my Grandpa Bob had a hunter green ’66 sedan with matching leather interior. That car was before my time, but I remember his triple midnight blue Mark V VERY well. That’s why I’ve always been stuck on Lincolns, and why the current ones bum me out so much.
At this point, Co-workers, Friends, Boyfriends and Family members just know to budget time for it. It’s bound to happen. I take it as signs of true love when they start doing their own car spotting and share the results with me.
These cars are good for slamming or riding around LBJ style.
Think Pawn Stars…
I chanced across some old brochures and owner’s manuals yesterday in a charity store where I volunteer, and (among other gems) was a 1966 Continental brochure. I’ve never paid much attention to Lincolns, other than my Kennedy limo sighting as a 6 year old, but between CC and a pair of mid-60’s daily drivers in my neighborhood, I was intrigued enough to snap them up. I was surprised to see that leather was standard on the convertibles (and “the finest wool broadcloth” was available on sedans “at optional cost”). Regarding the profile, which some here have criticized, the brochure states categorically that the “new front-end design gives a bold forward thrust” and “there is an even more graceful flow to the lines of the convertible roof this year”. So there. Also, the 462 cubic-inch engine is described as “high-performance” and “new”, while the Twin-Range Turbo-Drive transmission is “completely new”. And Tom Klockau, there was no generic “aqua” offered in 1966 … the convertible in the two-page shot is either Teal, or Empress Turquoise. Laurence’s CC subject is not just black, but Black Satin. 20 paint colors, 3 vinyl top colors, 3 soft top colors, and 36 different interior upholstery/color combos, not including the wool broadcloth were available to choose from. But A/C (either manual or automatic), whitewalls, and cruise control were options. The brochure makes no mention of wheel or tire size, but does list the steering wheel diameter as 16″ (thus larger than the rims, which I presume were 15″ or even 14″) and the length of the rear leaf springs as 64″. I also picked up 1958 and a 1977 Lincoln brochures (such an automotive and cultural change over those 20-odd years) and a 1956 Lincoln owner’s manual.
dman just looked at the 1966 Lincoln brochure- didn’t realize they had vinyl roofs back then..learned something new today