Originally published in the May-June 2003 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 252).
The following is the production story behind the 1949-1951 Lincolns and Lincoln Cosmopolitans based on reports of management meetings, January 1949 and April, 1950 furnished by Charles Berry, Naples, Florida.

The establishment of the Lincoln-Mercury Division in 1945 was the first step in the company’s plan for decentralization under the new management, which replaced the elder Henry Ford and his cohorts. This was not simply a plan for designing and producing automobiles. It included all phases of production and distribution including accounting, dealer organization, plans for expansion, and marketing. All phases of the organization were under the leadership of Benson Ford working closely with Henry Ford II, Ernest R. Breech and the corporate executive staff. It is interesting to note that the Lincoln-Mercury Division executive offices were the same executive offices that Lincoln occupied since the beginning, 1922.

When the Lincoln-Mercury Division was created in 1945, only the production of Lincoln cars was separate from Ford; and even this was under the direct supervision of the Rouge Manufacturing organization.  All the accounting, the purchasing, industrial relations, sales, service, and financial control was handled by the same organizations that handled this work for the Ford cars.

During World War II, the Lincoln plant had been more completely converted to war production than any other Ford Motor Company plant. This all had to be reconverted to civilian car production. The Lincoln Office Building, with the exception of the first floor, was little more than a warehouse prior to 1946. So the offices had to be expanded and modernized for all of the functions of a full and separate division. Housed in the Lincoln Office Building after the war were offices for manufacturing, quality control, purchasing, administrative control, accounting, industrial relations and sales.

We mentioned in the previous article that prior to World War II Lincoln and Mercury had a weak sales organization, and this contributed significantly to Lincoln and Mercury’s poor market share. In 1934 the medium and high-priced car market amounted to 28 per cent of all passenger car business. By 1940 it represented 46 per cent. In 1941, there were 1,603,000 cars sold in these price classes, but Lincoln produced only 17,700 cars in 1941 and Mercury produced only 80,000. (Lincoln and Mercury together accounted for less than 6 per cent of the market.) By 1947, medium and high-priced cars accounted for 50 per cent of the market. It was Henry Ford II and Jack Davis, head of all Ford sales, who decided to really go after this market, and the only effective way to do it would be to establish a completely independent Lincoln and Mercury dealer organization. In the past, Lincoln and Mercury had been sold almost entirely by Ford dealers whose main interest was to sell the Ford line which was an easy sell against Chevrolet. Mercury was not an easy sell against the wide number of competitive makes in the medium-priced field and Lincoln was a very tough sell in the high-priced field. In fact, by the end of World War II there were only 38 separate Lincoln-Mercury dealers in the entire United States.

The first jobs of the Lincoln-Mercury sales department were to establish a separate dealer organization from Ford, to determine what their sales and merchandising policies would be, where the market was for these automobiles, how many dealers there should be, what kind of dealers they should be, and where they should be located. Lincoln-Mercury sales divided the country into 21 districts, as distinct from the 33 Ford sales districts. By January, 1947, there were 401 exclusive Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, and by January, 1948, there were 666. By January, 1949, eight months after the new models were introduced, there were nearly 1,000 dealerships. By the same token, by January, 1947, there were were only 395 Ford dealers handling Lincolns and Mercury s. While it would never be possible to eliminate all Lincolns and Mercurys sold through Ford dealerships, in certain parts of the country the population was too sparce for separate Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, the primary goal was to expand the number of Lincoln and Mercury only dealerships.

Their policy was to pick the very best dealers they could get. They wanted to make this franchise as attractive as possible, eventually expecting to parallel Cadillac with their exclusive Lincoln-Mercury setup. In other words, wherever there is a Cadillac dealer, and most Cadillac dealers even then sold some other GM car, usually Oldsmobile, there would be a Lincoln-Mercury dealer. Supplementing the Lincoln-Mercury dealers would be exclusively Mercury dealers.

Once the new dealer organization was in place and with a service organization trained to handle the new cars, the new cars were introduced in April, 1948. These were the first new 1949 cars presented by the new Ford Motor Company.

In 1946. the Lincoln-Mercury Division produced a total of 84,000 Lincoln and Mercury cars. This represented 13 percent of total Ford Motor Company production. In 1947 the division produced a total of 153,000 Lincoln and Mercury cars which represented 16 per cent of total Ford Motor Company production. In 1948, the division produced 240,000 automobiles or about 20 per cent of total Ford production.

There was no such thing as an industrial relations department at Lincoln from 1922 to 1946. Labor relations, employment, personnel records, medical, plant protection, employee rights, etc. was all new with the new Lincoln-Mercury Division. Also prior to 1946, all Lincoln-Mercury purchasing was done through Ford, which was hardly the way to buy parts and supplies most efficiently. But what was really needed was a completely new plant layout to produce the new automobiles.

Therefore, in June, 1946 a new program was started to rearrange and modernize the old Lincoln plant to build the new automobiles. But that was only the beginning. Plans were laid out to build three new assembly plants which would build the new 1949 automobiles. Ground was broken for new plants in Metuchen, New Jersey, St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California. These plants were completed so rapidly that they were able to start production with the introduction of the new 1949 model cars. It is interesting to note as a sidelight that after February 1, 1948, the old Lincoln plant ceased producing 1948 Lincolns and only built 1948 Lincoln Continentals until the end of Lincoln Continental production in the spring of 1948. But this did not mean that the old plant ceased producing automobiles altogether. To the best of our knowledge, it continued to produce Lincolns until Lincoln completed its Wixom, Michigan plant in 1957. The old Lincoln plant never did produce Mercurys; they were produced in Dearborn and at five other Ford plants until the new Lincoln-Mercury plants were completed. Once the new Lincoln plants were completed all Lincolns and most Mercurys were completed at Lincoln-Mercury plants, although some Mercurys continued to be produced at the Ford plant in Dearborn. Once the new plants were completed, all Lincoln Cosmopolitans were produced in the modernized 1922 Lincoln plant. The 121 inch wheelbase Lincolns were produced at the Metuchen, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Detroit Lincoln plant. Mercurys were produced at the Metuchen, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Dearborn plants. The Chester, Pennsylvania plant handled the exporting of the 121-inch Lincoln and the Mercury.

The modernization of the old Lincoln plant, the construction of three new plants, and the tooling for the three new lines of automobiles represented an expenditure of approximately $75,000,000. The last department to be established was quality control, in December, 1947.

Lincoln and Mercury’s advertising agency for the 1946-48 models was J. Walt Thompson which also handled the 1946-48 model Ford advertising. Beginning with the new 1949 models, Lincoln and Mercury hired its own advertising agency, Kenyon & Eckert. One of their first major advertising adventures was sponsorship of the Toast of the Town, later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show, featured in the last issue of Continental Comments. Later, Lincoln went all out to sponsor cars in the Mexican Road Races, which was another aspect of Lincoln-Mercury promotion.

On January 18, 1950, Benson Ford, Vice President and General Manager of the Lincoln-Mercury Division, spoke at the management meeting of the Ford Motor Company in the Ford Rotunda Theater in Dearborn. Here, in part, is what he said:

“The last time that we of Lincoln-Mercury presented a report of our organization and objectives to the management group, we closed by stating that our goal was: ‘To continue penetration into medium and high priced market until we achieved sales leadership in our field. That’s all our goal—or part of it. And, as you will see today, we are making steady progress toward its attainment. I said sales leadership was only part of our goal. During the past year or so we at Lincoln-Mercury have—well, raised our sights. We had a little more experience in solving problems of being on our own. As a result, we’ve evolved a new ambition — almost a new philosophy to guide us in our future years. That new and expanded ambition is this —we at Lincoln-Mercury want to build a reputation not only as producers of the finest cars in the world, but to build a reputation as an organization unexcelled in the entire industry. We want Lincoln and Mercury names to represent the pinnacle of excellence from every possible aspect. That means product, policies, practices, and people. To reach that eventual goal there are four major things that we have to achieve. First, and most obvious, our cars must represent the finest in conception. Any quality product must be soundly —skillfully designed and engineered for sale in its particular market. Next, we know that to reach our goal, our cars must be built with the finest of materials.  Because, as everybody knows, no product can be any better than the materials out of which it’s made. Thirdly, our cars must represent the finest in automotive manufacturing craftsmanship. And, lastly, our cars must be backed by the finest possible organization of people. That means the right number of people who are highly skilled in their individual jobs of tool making, grinding, inspection, painting, accounting, selling, administrating, or whatever that job may be. Along with a skilled organization, we want to build a loyal organization of individuals who not only feel—but are given every reason to know that they are an important part of the whole—that they belong. I’m talking about people who are proud and happy in the feeling of security that goes hand and hand with well paid permanent, and important jobs, be those jobs on an assembly line, in an office, or out in the field. In other words, we want an organization of people—a complete payroll of individuals who know that ‘Nothing could be finer 9 than their jobs of creating and selling the products of Lincoln-Mercury.”

We will not reprint Benson Ford’s entire presentation. It covered improvements in purchasing parts from 1,500 vendors , scheduling the arrival of parts, the controller’s office, quality control, engineering, manufacturing and industrial relations, public relations, sales and dealer relations. He did make a few points on service that will of interest to Lincoln collectors today.

Mr. Ford said: “Here is just one of many examples of the way our Service Department is building customer goodwill. Late in 1949, we made quite a few changes in the 1949 Lincoln. Our dealers called all the customers who had bought earlier models of the 1949 Lincolns and offered to bring them up to date at no charge to them. That cost us a lot of money, but it was worth it in customer good will. We haven’t the intention of making this procedure a Company policy, but we feel it symbolizes the spirit of Lincoln-Mercury. Here is a letter, typical of the thousands we get from our customers. ‘You can well imagine our surprise when we where informed by the dealer that if we could bring the automobile in, at our convenience, they wished to bring it up to date at no cost to us. We have never heard of any other company who has gone this far in an attempt to establish owner satisfaction and good will. We have told many of our friends about your unusual service policy and feel such procedure will go a long way to make friends and make secure your present business and add greatly to your future.’ “

In the management meeting on April 19, 1950, Benson Ford concluded by saying: “The distinctiveness in design of the Mercury and Lincoln cars and the degree to which they are up-to-the-minute in technical development are the key factors in determining public acceptance. Don’t forget that if any one of General Motors middle-priced products fails to ring the bell in any given year, there are two other good alternatives for the public to turn to. Not so with our products. We can take no chances. Our cars must have their own character, and their own distinction. The importance of this point cannot be over-emphasized.

The Mercury car did not go from two percent of the total market to over five percent just by happenstance. The manufacturing organization had quality hammered into it.  It wasn’t too long before the American public found they had a new distinctive good-looking, fairly priced car, that possessed high quality, good performance, and efficient service.

We intend to keep giving them this kind of product. This, then, is the competitive position of the Lincoln-Mercury cars in the middle-price market. There is nothing static about it. Our product, our manufacturing facilities and our dealer organization taken as a whole, are the one big new factor in the middle-price field. The effect of this new factor on competition in the field is going to be tremendous. The ability to keep graduates from the lowest price field in the Ford family is already a big factor in the position of the Ford Motor Company as a whole.  It will be even more so as we climb to our rightful place in the middle-price field.”

Above:  Keith & Diane Johnson’s 1957 Lincoln Premiere Landau

Originally published in the March-April 2003 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 251).
Reprinted from Mechanix Illustrated, February, 1957

Back in 1953, Lincoln swapped its stovepipe hat for a beanie and gobbled up all comers in the 1,900-mile Pan-American road race. The next year they did it again, as hundreds of little Mexican boys screamed out to the rest of the competition, “They went that-a-way, senor!”

One thing about the Ford organization (which includes the Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, Ford and next year the Edsel) is that these boys are not set in their ways. With their Mexican successes behind them—successes which were accomplished because their cars were not only fast, but roadable and the finest-handling automobiles ever produced in this country— Lincoln switched character. Like the guy who reaches for his carpet slippers after he’s won the girl, or the gladiator who sheaths his broadsword after successfully pigsticking the dragon, Lincoln took off its competition coveralls, slipped into white-tie-and tails, and emerged as a conservative, distinguished gentleman with discreetly concealed muscles. The only holdover from the hell-for-leather “Mexican” Lincolns was the car’s outstanding roadability and handling prowess.

If a big car has ever been built that can out-handle the Lincoln, then I’ve never had the pleasure of driving it. This, plus terrific brakes, makes Lincoln as safe a car as has been built to date.

Performance-wise—meaning top speed and acceleration—Lincoln no longer is making a serious attempt to be the Whiz Kid of the drag strips or the speed trials. Like a retired Derby winner, Lincoln now rests on its laurels. Size went up, engine capacity was increased, and the old champ acquired a smooth but horsepower-robbing new transmission. In 1956, Lincoln was a close contender for the finest-looking automobile ever produced in the land of Soapy Williams and Walter Ruther. The cars were still fast, but had acquired an Ivy League look that made at least one of their competitors resemble the Limehouse Button King. With the addition of Ed Sullivan’s stumping, Lincoln enjoyed the best sales year in its history.

Superb roadability plus terrific brakes make this new 300hp. white-tie-and-tails job “as safe a car as has been built to date,” according to Uncle Tom.

There are many types of buyers of cars in the Lincoln class, and they include the successful man who has made his pile and suddenly realizes he has forgotten to have fun along the way. Lincoln made its main pitch in ‘56 to this well-regulated character of taste who wanted superb and enjoyable transportation in a conservative package, a car that didn’t have to go in for hand-tooled saddlery and a garland of silver dollar decorations that shouted “money” in a loud voice.

From a performance standpoint, give or take a wheel turn or two, there has been no increase in over-the-ground rapidity from the ‘56 jobs. Zero to 60 still takes 12 seconds. When correctly tuned, these big Lincolns will just edge the 110-mph. mark. They do, though, have a way of slamming into a corner or whipping through a bend with all the steadiness of a bowling ball transversing a laundry chute at speeds that would dump some of the competition head over teakettles.

Style-wise, the ‘57 Lincoln has been sharpened up considerably over ‘56. The car is two inches longer and now boasts four headlights which give it the appearance from head-on of Paul Bunyon and his brother challenging you with over-and-under shotguns. The rear fins have been flared out and tail lights now remind you of a fire in a Gothic chapel. The long, uninterrupted hoodline could easily serve as a picnic table for the Notre Dame football squad, and the four-pronged star from the ‘56 Continental has been respoked and now appears not only on the hubs but the tail, front fenders and hood. The rear fender line, which starts just aft of amidships, produces a lowering illusion, as do the flattened-out front fenders. Anyway you slice it, this car is not quite as conservative in appearance as it was in ‘56, but the added garnishes do not detract from the overall dignity any more than a good custom-made striped shirt detracts from an expensive blue suit.

As Ford’s Engineering Division can rustle up more men on it s proving grounds on 20 minutes notice than Nassaer could produce last November for the Canal Aquatic Sports, I wasn’t too surprised to find out that some of these boys had their heads under the hood during the long summer months. The ‘57 Lincoln sports a new Carter carburetor, which is smooth but unexciting, and some other goodies which are too frivolous to note. For my little bag of dough, this is a great automobile, conservative on the performance side, but capable of becoming a wildcat with the addition of a few such things as a hot cam and a transmission that is less of a calorie-consumer. While doing this piece, I had to pinch myself into realizing that Lincoln, once the hottest road car in America just a calendar page or two ago, is reaping a bigger, heavier harvest now by appealing to the man who would rather hear the sound, substantial thud of a Chase Manhattan Bank vault door than the strains of You Ain’t Nuthin’ But a Houn’ Dog.

Originally published in the September-October 2002 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 248).

Above:  Both of Sherman Lovegren’s Lipstick Mark IVs in front of his home in Fresno, California.

My Two Lipstick 1976 Continental Mark IVs

by Sherman Lovegren, Fresno, California

Originally published in the September-October 2002 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 248).

To this day I do not know how many Lipsticks were built. They were only built in 1976. I believe there were more white ones built than red ones. What identified the Lipstick was the white leather seats with the red striping. The white with red striping was carried over to the door panels. The instrument panel was red and carpeting was red and the seat belts were red. No other Mark IVs had an interior like this. The exterior was either white with red molding on the sides or red with white molding on the sides. The shade of red, Lipstick, was used only on the Lipsticks, but the shade of white was common to all Mark IVs. And the Lipsticks did not have padding on the hump on the trunk. The Lipsticks had two choices for the top. One was called Cayman; it looked like alligator skin. The other looked just like a normal padded top. These padded tops covered only the rear portion of the roof. You could get the padded top in either a red or a white. You could get a red Lipstick with either a red or white top, or a white Lipstick with a white or red top. The most luxurious carpet is not in the Lipstick. The most luxurious carpet was found in the Silver Series.

I bought the first Lipstick Mark IV in June, 1999, and it won a Ford Trophy at the Western National Meet in Irvine, California, that same year. That car was driven right to my door. The owner knew I was in the Lincoln club, and he brought the car right to my house and asked me what he should do with the automobile. He said his father, who was the original owner, had passed away. He knew it was an unusual car with only 17,000 miles. He wanted to know what the car was worth and how and where to sell it. As it turned out, I bought the car from this gentleman.

After I bought the car, I did some research through the Lincoln Archives. I never did find out how many Lipstick models were built, I think somewhere between 50 and 500. But I found out that only two were built like this one, that is without the moldings on the side. That is, the moldings that run the entire length of the car including up and over the wheel wells and across the doors. Through my research from Lincoln Archives, I learned that these two cars were not ordered this way. They didn’t have enough moldings in production to do a complete buildout, so instead of stopping production, these two cars went off the assembly line without the moldings. I do not know what happened to the other car.

Not long after I returned from the LCOC meet in Irvine, Geoff Weiner called me and said, “Sherman, I had my Hemmings Motor News out, and there is a red Mark IV, it must be a Lipstick.” I said it must be a Lipstick unless it has been repainted. Geoff said it couldn’t be repainted, it only had 10,000 miles on it. Geoff was interested in buying the car himself, but he told me to call the seller. The car was in Kansas City, Kansas. I called there the day after Thanksgiving, 1999. The owner told me that the car at noon and I was at his house on a had been in the family since new. He said that the car was like brand new. I asked if he would send me some pictures of the car, and he did. I got the pictures the next day. I called Geoff and said I was looking at my Lipstick and looking at the pictures of the Lipstick in Kansas, and I told Geoff that it looked like the same car. I knew then it was definitely a Lipstick, however the one in Kansas had a moonroof, as well as the side moldings.

The weather was kind of nasty that day. I called this gentleman in Kansas back and said I had received his pictures. I told him I was willing to pay what he was asking for the car. I wanted to secure the car by making a deposit. The seller said the weather in Kansas was terrible, and when the weather was better in the spring to come back and get the car. That made me very nervous. I told him I had just purchased a big diesel motor home, and I had a trailer, and I said when there is a break in the weather I would be back to see him, but I would call before I came.

As it turned out, I left here on a Sunday at noon and I was at his house on a Tuesday morning. I looked at the automobile and I couldn’t believe it. The front seat still had the plastic covers on it, which the dealer put on the day the car was delivered. The purchaser of the car said he didn’t want anything to touch those white leather seats. The back seat had never been sat in. The wrappers for the seat belts in back had never been removed. The car was even more than I had anticipated. So I brought the car home and did a lot of detailing to it, especially under the car.

I took the car to several local shows. It won Best of Show at the concours and at Fresno State College. The only LCOC meet I took the car to was the 2001 Mid-America National Meet in Houston where it won a Lincoln Trophy. Geoff Weiner and I talked about that car many times and Geoff said, “I sure wish I had bought that car.” I think a lot of Geoff, and I told him that when the time comes I would sell him the car for what I had in it, and I would donate the time that I put into it. At Houston, there were some people who were very serous in wanting to buy the car, but in Houston I received a call from Geoff in Perris, California, who said be sure and bring the car by his shop on the way home. So I told these people: “I’m sorry, but the car is sold.” On the way home, I left the car with Geoff and Laura and it now has a good home.

What happened to the first Lipstick was that I had it on display at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. It was there just a very few days and one of the investors at the Imperial Palace bought the car. His daughter had a Christmas party or something going on in Peoria, Illinois. She asked her parents if they could ship it back so they could use it in the Christmas parade. The last I head the car is still back there.

We have had both of these Lipstick cars in local shows together. When you have one Lipstick in a show you get attention, but when you have two sitting side by side it creates even more attention. Another amazing thing is how close the serial numbers of these two cars are. They were built only a few days apart.

Lincolns on Route 66
Williams, Arizona to the Colorado River, where the Mother Road is still very much alive.

by Tim Howley

Originally published in the July-August 2001 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 241).

This is our second installment of Lincoln journeys on the mother of all roads. Last year, just after the Western National Meet in Scottsdale, Arizona new member Jerry James, Mesa, Arizona purchased a 1966 Lincoln Continental coupe from ?Richard Cronkhite. He has since put about 10,000 miles on the car and reports “I have enjoyed every inch.” Jerry and friend Gini  Tomas have traveled through New Mexico, Mexico, Utah and a lot of Arizona. Now Jerry shares his photos taken on old sections of Route 66 in Arizona. Our Route 66 journey with Jerry and Gini starts at Williams, Arizona, 45 miles west of Flagstaff. This was once the Gateway to the Grand Canyon” which is only 60 miles to the north. A l l / 2 mile stretch of the Mother Road runs right through the center of town which still abounds in Route 66 era motels, cafes and even a few old  time gas stations. Williams was the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed by the Interstate (October 13, 1984) which explains why so many of the old roadsides still survive here. At the time the bureaucrats did everything to erase Route 66 from here to the California border but the old road refused to die. Now, 17 years later, Williams remains one of the best preserved sections of Route 66 anywhere from Chicago to Santa Monica. While mostly paved over by Interstate 40 for the first 25 miles west of Williams, Route 66 still reaches, nearly untouched by time, from 14 miles east of Seligman through Peach Springs, Truxton, Crozier Canyon, Valentine, Hackberry, Walapai, Kingman, Oatman, and Topack. This is a distance of 170 miles. Through the efforts of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, Historic Route 66 markers now leave no doubt in the motorist’s mind that this is a major part of the real Route 66.

Check out that cool pink and white 1955 Ford Crown Victoria parked next to James’ Lincoln Continental in Williams.

Seligman is one of the most famous and best preserved of all Route 66 towns. While I have not passed through here in several years, I am told that many deserted gas stations can be found, and very much alive motels and cafes still thrive here. This is the hometown of Angel Delgadillo, town barber who did so much a few years ago to keep Route 66 alive in this vicinity. He has operated a barbershop here since 1950 and before that his dad operated a barbershop at the same location. He has converted the town pool hall into a Route 66 museum and gift shop. His brother Juan operates the Snowcap Drive-In, another Route 66 treat. When Seligman was bypassed by Interstate 40 in 1978 business dried up in all the old towns. It was the Delgadillos who organized efforts to promote the town and the entire area as old Route 66 tourist attractions. The old Harvey House which once was the largest and busiest restaurant in Seligman still stands, although I assume it is now deserted. Seligman is the gateway to once upon a time Route 66 which ambles on west towards California. The road here should be traveled as slowly as the Joad’s jalopy in The Grapes of Wrath because there is much to see. You way want to pull off the road at the Grand Canyon Caverns, an attraction second only to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Around Peach Springs the road passes through the Haulapai Indian Reservation. Moving westward you will soon come upon Truxton which was established in 1951 to take advantage of a proposed railhead leading to the Grand Canyon. Like a lot of stops on Route 66 things planned never came to be but the town hangs on. 50 years ago Route 66 traffic was so busy through Truxton that traffic jams were commonplace and roadside business sprang up like tumbleweeds. The Frontier Cafe here is still humming with some of the best Route 66 meals in the area.

by Dave Cole

Originally published in the Summer 1980 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 141).

Certainly, every Lincoln Continental owner knows how that fine motor car got its start. The story of how Edsel Ford, the then president of the Ford Motor Company, commissioned his designers to build him a special convertible coupe based on the finest European designs of the late 1930s, which resulted in the first Lincoln Continental Cabriolet of 1939, has been retold countless times in the pages of this magazine over the last twentyfive years. Also, it is fairly well known among Continentalists that Edsel Ford owned a 1941 Continental Cabriolet at the time of his death in 1943, and that that car is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. But it is virtually unrecognized that Edsel Ford also owned, for probably a year or so, one of the early 1940 Continental Cabriolets. The Lincoln assembly plant record cards on file at the Ford archives do, however, include a card that describes Edsel’s second Continental. Let’s take a look at it and see just what information that card contains.

There’s no mistake about whose car it was. Right across the top of the card it says “Shipped to Mr. Edsel B. Ford” of the “Home Office.” The serial number is H-92969, and the body number is 06H56-20, the twentieth 1940 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet started. Production on these cars did not commence until December 13, 1939, and Edsel’s ’40 convertible rolled off the assembly line a couple of weeks later, on December 28,1939.

Youll remember the story about how the first Continental, the ’39, was shipped upon completion to Edsel Ford’s winter vacation home in Florida for his use there, and how his neighbors’ enthusiastic response to the beautifully styled Lincoln-Zephyr convertible prompted Ford to add the car to Lincoln’s production offerings for 1940. On the card detailing the particulars of Edsel’s ’40, you’ll see that this car, too, was shipped to Florida for Mr. Ford’s use there, during his 1940 winter vacation. Note the penned notation in the middle of the card, “800277—Jacksonville. This billing for purpose of shipping car to Florida only, 2-22-40.” Jacksonville, of course, was the district office that served all of Florida at that time. But that shipping date came nearly two months after the car was completed. Presumably, Edsel had had at least six weeks to enjoy the new ’40 convertible around Dearborn before the car was shipped off to Florida, but the surviving records are not clear on that point.

While the assembly record card gives no evidence that this ’40 convertible was structurally any different from the others built at about the same time, and lists only a radio and white sidewall Firestone tires as accessories, it does note that the paint and upholstery were all specially selected. In all probability, Edsel Ford himself picked them out.

The car was painted in Benton Gray, the only ’40 convertible to be finished in that shade. Edsel Ford often chose a shade of gray for his personal cars. Surviving records indicate that his ’39 Continental was done in Eagle Gray, and his ’41 convertible now in the Ford Museum was also finished in gray; Ditz. Pewter gray metallic lacquer. Benton Gray, the color used on the ’40, had been used by Ford before, however; it is the same shade as was used on the 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr dashboard and window mouldings—a medium metallic gray with just a touch of red and maroon in it, according to the paint formula. It appears that the dashboard of Edsel’s ’40 was also finished in Benton Gray, like the body of the car, instead of the usual Metallic Mahogany.

The upholstery in Edsel’s ’40 is noted as having been a combination of tan leather and a special Bedford cord material with the code number 2-1890. The leather was the stock tan color used in other ’40 Continentals, but the whipcord was darker than the customarily used Z-160 cord, more of a taupe color, and with wider whales. The usual whipcord used in Continentals had 9V2 ribs to the inch, while the special 2-1890 material used in Edsel’s car had 8 ribs to the inch. The top  was likewise a special material, Jonartz #5490, about which we have not been able to find any information. However, given Edsel’s impeccable taste, it would seem likely that Jonartz #5490 would have been a taupe or gray color, harmonizing with the other colors used on the car.

While no early history of this car survives, it seems likely that Mr. Ford kept the ’40 convertible for no more than a year. In all probability, he disposed of it when he took delivery of his ’41 Continental Cabriolet. One thing is certain, however; Edsel Ford’s ’40 Continental still survives! The intervening forty years have been unkind to it, but it is still in existence, and will be restored, according to its present owner, to the same specifications as when Edsel Ford first took delivery of it.

Back in 1973, Tom Akins, who runs an auto restoration service in Uhrichsville, Ohio, wrote to me, as the historian for the ’40 Continentals, and described a partially customized, badly deteriorated ’40 Cabriolet that he was trying to buy. The serial number was H-92969; the body number, 06H56-20.1 wrote back and said, “Aha, you’ve found Edsel Ford’s own personal car, have you?” and followed up with the particulars on the car as given in the records. As you might expect, Tom was thrilled to learn that the car he was seeking was of such historical significance, but he asked that no mention be made of his intended purchase until the deal was firmed up. In due time, the deal was consummated, and Tom began the long search for all the parts that will be needed to put the car back in shape. Last we heard, nearly everything was at hand, and all that was lacking was the time necessary for the restoration.

Tom sent the pictures which you see here, showing Edsel’s ’40 in the condition in which he found it. The V-12 is missing, but the remainder of the running gear is all strictly 1940 Lincoln-Zephyr, just as it should be. The body work, on the other hand, has suffered extensive modification, and even though the customizing was never fully completed, it will take a lot of time and effort to undo it all. All four fenders were leaded to the body, the rear deck was cut down and the lid leaded shut, and all trim was removed. The top bows were all missing, removed when the body was altered, and lost. Then to make matters worse, the car was left uncovered out in the open for about fifteen years, so the rust is extensive throughout the body—floor ready to cave in, and the rocker panels missing altogether. Tom is an avid Lincoln collector, however, and he has managed to gather the parts that it takes to put the car aright. It won’t be easy, but one of these days this 1940 Lincoln Continental will show up at an Eastern National Meet, looking just like it did when Edsel Ford took delivery on it back in the winter of 1940.