Few car families that still make the rounds today in one form or another can trace their roots back to the early years of the automotive industry. The Lincoln Continental is part of that list.
Born as a personal vehicle for Edsel Ford in the late 1930s, the Continental would only grow into a mass-produced vehicle in the 1950s. Okay, mass-produced might be a bit of an overstatement, given how this nameplate plays in the luxury category, where prices are high and production numbers low.
A total of ten generations spilled over the nameplate before it was retired in 2020, but it’s the ones of the 1960s, America’s glory decade for the automobile, that still make headlines these days.
The Continental before us is a 1964 model year, meaning a fourth generation. It’s one of just a little over 3,300 examples made back then in convertible form, restored to its former glory while keeping a lot of the original hardware and equipment on.
As you see it now the car is the result of a 2-year restoration that ended in 2016, and was sprinkled with minor yet effective upgrades. With a white body (its original color) topped by a new cloth roof, the Continental rides on Mobsteel Detroit steel wheels wearing Baby Moon caps and Diamond Back whitewall tires dating to last year.
The wheels keep the car upright just fine, but a suspension system of AccuAir make has been installed to allow for the car to be lowered or raised as desired. The height of the suspension system can be controlled by means of a smartphone.
For maximum visual effect, all of the car’s original adornments, from the chrome bumpers to Continental emblems, are still fitted on the body. They kind of fade into the background though when the LED lights come on.
The elegant hood of the Continental moves out of the way to reveal a 430ci engine. It’s the smallest powerplant offered by Lincoln in this model back in the 1960s, but more importantly it is the original one. The automatic transmission it is tied to is original as well, but it was rebuilt in 2019 to work as it once did.
Most changes can be spotted inside, where all the carpeting and leather have been remade in a play of black and white that looks amazing. The only touches of modernity here come as a Bluetooth radio, backed in the trunk by a subwoofer and amplifier.
This 1964 Lincoln Continental, which we nicknamed on account of its colors Yin Yang, is scheduled to go under the hammer at the hands of auction house Barrettt-Jackson in late June in Las Vegas. It does so with 57,168 miles (92,000 km) on the clock. It’ll probably sell with no reserve, and we have no info as to how high the expectations for it are.