The Lincoln Continental was developed largely because Edsel Ford wanted a unique personal car.
In 1938, Edsel Ford, vacationed in Europe and was impressed with some of the European styling, including cars with a rear-mounted spare tire. He commissioned Eugene “Bob” Gregorie to build a convertible. Gregorie started with the blueprints of the modern and popular Lincoln-Zephyr and is said to have completed the initial sketch for the car in about an hour.
Running boards were removed, and the car was about 7 inches lower than the standard Lincoln. Edsel Ford wanted it in time for his March 1939 vacation in Florida so he could show it to his wealthy friends to see if they liked the styling. They did.
Not much chrome was used, mostly just in the grille. It had a 267-cubic-inch V12 engine, and the car used transverse leaf springs in the front and rear like all the other Ford products of the day. Amazingly, Gregorie finished the car on time, and it was sent to Florida.
Edsel sent a telegram back to Michigan that he could sell a thousand of them. Because the design was a result of the European cars Edsel had seen while overseas, it was decided the new Lincoln car should be named Continental.
Production started almost immediately with most of the vehicles made as Cabriolet convertibles and just a few coupes. They were primarily hand-built vehicles — two dozen 1939 models and 400 built as 1940 models, but all were sold as 1940 models.
Recognizable features of the Continental were the long hood and the short rear deck with a spare tire mounted behind the trunk. The start of the first generation of Continental began. It ran in the 1940-42 and 1946-48 model years, and now 10 generations of Continental have been made.
This issue’s featured vehicle is from the fifth generation: a 1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV owned by David Barlow, of Danville, who told me this interesting story.
“In 1976, my father was driving down Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco and saw in the then-Lincoln Mercury dealership showroom the most beautiful yellow Lincoln he had ever seen. He parked his car, went inside and bought it off the showroom floor. It was the pride and joy of his life and the pride and joy of the family.”
After his father’s death, Barlow’s mother passed the car on to him, and he drove it as a family car for about 15 years but didn’t keep it up.
“In 1995, we parked the car in a dirt lot in Clayton which had the cheapest storage charge,” Barlow said. “During that time, the custom top came off, and mice invaded the car, chewed up the leather interior and the engine wires and made a home in the air filter.
“In 2005, I decided to restore the car to honor my late father. I had no idea what I was doing but did have a son living in Denver who happened to know a meticulous car restorer. We shipped to car to Denver for what we thought would be a year-long project and cost about $15,000. The project took five years and $70,000.”
The car has been restored to exactly as it was when purchased new in 1976 and runs like it’s new as well. Barlow smiles and waves when he gets thumbs-up signs while driving the car locally. On Sept. 27, this beautiful Lincoln was shipped off to their son, making him the third-generation family owner. And that’s the happy part of this story.
And now for the sad part of the story. David and Jan Barlow have lived in Danville for 48 years, and both are 79 years old. David has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, and Jan has leukemia. Their big wish now is that they will be able to celebrate their 80th birthdays together and without pain. That is my wish as well.
Have an interesting vehicle? Email Dave at [email protected]. To read more of his columns or see more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.