American Dream: 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III
I had the opportunity to browse the current Lincoln model lineup at the LA Auto show a few days ago and it wasn’t exactly invigorating…or exciting…or impressive. Frankly, the monstrous Navigator is the only vehicle that makes an impression, but the rest of the lineup is somewhere between meh and blah. That hasn’t always been the situation and there was a time when driving a Lincoln meant you’d made it, like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, or Dwight Eisenhower. Find this 1970 Lincoln Mark III here on eBay bidding for $3,950 reserve-not-met with 3 days to go, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
From the seller:
“The most authoritatively styled, decisively individual motor car of its generation”.
The 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III was the second year of Mark III production and sales were better than ever.
Little changed from the 1969 model; tinted glass became standard, as did automatic climate-controlled air conditioning and SureTrak anti-lock brakes. High-back seats became standard, and a rare special-order floor console was made available. Horsepower remained unchanged at 365, but the 460 cid V8 engine gained a more sophisticated thermostatic air cleaner assembly with its associated ductwork.
In its second annual King of the Hill contest, Motor Trend again gave the Continental Mark III the nod by a wider margin than 1969. M/T noted that the Mark III’s leather interior was far more luxurious and better detailed than the test Eldorado’s nylon cloth and the Continental’s real wood dash trim was far more attractive than the Cadillac’s simulated wood.
The car was safety certified in March 2017 and is mechanically and cosmetically sound and the vehicle drives like a Lincoln should – smooth and quiet. The car has 53,000 miles and is equipped with: Tilt Steering, Automatic Transmission, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Power Windows, Power Locks, Automatic Temperature Controlled Air Conditioning, Power Seat and the original AM radio. The interior is gold leather and is also totally original and is an 8/10 cosmetically. The exterior condition of the paint and chrome is also an 8/10.
Please note that the vinyl roof was removed two years ago due to age and the roof was painted to match the body. Vinyl roof molding and Lincoln emblems are in my possession, as well as a complete chocolate brown interior including headliner, dashboard, front and rear seats, side panels, etc.
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Cue the comments about hiding heroin in the rocker panels…
Buddy "Cloudy" Russo: What was the weight of the car when you got it, Herb?
Police Mechanic: 4795 pounds.
Buddy "Cloudy" Russo: You sure?
Police Mechanic: That's what it was: 4795 pounds when it came into the shop.
Buddy "Cloudy" Russo: Owners manual says 4675. That's 120 pounds overweight. And when it was booked into Marseilles it was 4-7-9-5. That's still 120 pounds overweight! Jimmy's gotta be right.
Police Mechanic: [Defensively] Listen, I ripped everything outta there except the rocker panels.
Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: C'mon Herb, what the hell is that!
Might have to disagree about the Lincoln lineup. I took a look at them at the Nashville Auto show a couple weeks ago. I think they're finally starting to get back on track and honing in on their target market. (As ones who frequent this site, we aren't their target market, BTW).
The Navigator was nice, although it (and it's Expediton cousin) seemed to be serious Suburban/Escalade knock-offs, just slightly more modernized.
What impressed me though was the Continental. Haven't been that wowed by a Lincoln since my great uncle (A VP for Ford Motor Credit at the time) brought home a just introduced Mark VII when I was about 9 years old. There was some wow factor there.
The new Contintental's interior is gorgeous in that understated early '60s Mad Men inspired kind of way. Exterior styling is still a little meh, IMO, but they're getting closer to something.
I do appreciate someone at Ford marketing finally realizing that real car names are better than MK alphabet soup, and going back to them. Continental, Navigator, Nautilus.
New Conti interior is sploosh-worthy. Sheet metal is a letdown of Lincoln proportions. So much gravitas attached to the Continental name, it should look like the goddamn garden of Eden spawned it on the 6th day. And it doesn’t.