ABOVE: The grill is a new interpretation of 1940-41.  The total effects is F-117A Stealth Fighter.

From Carolyn Burke, Lincoln-Mercury Public Relations
Introduction by Jim Farrell.
Originally published in the May-June 1996 (#210) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

Prologue:  The Green Hornet Rides Again.

Last year, sources with ties to Ford’s Design Center reported that the aero/elliptical look of current Ford products was about spent and that new styling directions were on the horizon. What are future Lincolns going to look like? Planes are still one of the major influences on car design. The latest look in airplane design is the Stealth. Stylists at Ford’s Design Center describe their translation of the stealth look as “new edge” design.

The newest Lincoln concept car is the 1996 Sentinel. It was introduced to the public January 8, 1996, at the Detroit Auto Show. From its angular lines, it appears to have been heavily influenced by the F-117A Stealth fighter. To old car enthusiasts, the Sentinel may also evoke memories of “Black Beauty”, the modified 1937 Lincoln Zephyr used by the Green Hornet in the 1940 movie of the same name.

In March, 1996, after the Sentinel was shown at several east coast auto shows, the color was changed from black to charcoal gray. The stylists apparently felt that in black, the Sentinel looked too sinister. In present form, the Sentinel is a fiberglass “workout”. It has no drivetrain and no interior except for a steering wheel, the tops of the seats and the top of the dash. The doors, hood and trunk do not open. It is, however, designed to have suicide doors, (stylists call them “French doors”) Currently a new 7/8 size Sentinel is being built for display at the Pebble Beach Concours. The stylists also apparently felt that the sizing of the Sentinel as originally designed was too big. The new 7/8 Sentinel will be a fully operational vehicle. It will be built on a Jaguar platform and it will have “French doors” like the 1961-69 Lincoln Continentals.

A word of caution; just because a particular look is being considered for one of the Ford products in our future, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will come to pass.

Public reaction to the Lincoln Sentinel will be gauged carefully and in a couple of years, when we see the new Lincoln look —whatever it is—we’ll then know if Ford’s stylists have been able to translate the Stealth look into something the car buying public will take to. Jim Farrell.

The Lincoln Sentinel, a full-size, four-door, rear-wheel-drive luxury concept car, embodies what may be the wave of the future in automotive design.

Ford’s latest example of New Edge design, Sentinel makes its world debut at the 1996 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Sentinel blends classic Lincoln styling themes with the Ford-inspired New Edge approach.

The blade fenders and high belt line with minimal chrome trim (above) harken back to design themes Lincoln used in the Sixties.

Sentinel retains the recognizable elements of traditional Lincoln exterior styling, such as classic proportions, a crisp silhouette, simple, unadorned body sides and high, linear belt lines. But New Edge’s “shape-upon-shape” technique results in edge highlights where curved planes intersect.

“The result is a strong, almost brutal shape that suggests strength,” said Jack Telnak, vice president, Corporate Design. “In this way, form contains function. The skin is wrapped tightly over the mechanicals, almost like shrink-wrap. The result is not only improved aerodynamics, but also improved fuel economy as well as head-turning styling,” Telnack said.

New Edge is not a new concept for Ford. The GT90 sports car, which was introduced last year, is one of the first applications of Edge design in a car seen by the public.

“The GT90 captured the feel of the original GT40, but with a distinct difference,” Telnack said. “It is a contemporary iteration that uses styling cues from the ‘60s in a whole new way—a three-dimensional ‘90s interpretation.

“So, New Edge is not a retro style. It is a true forward application, but one that pays homage to the past. New Edge is but one of several emerging design concepts. It is a harbinger of things to come, but it is not the only path.

“Like the breadth of our car and truck lines, we have a similar breadth in our design philosophies. There are other equally exciting design avenues we are pursuing,” said Telnack.

Lincoln enthusiasts will recognize a new interpretation of a 1940s-style Continental grill set into the Sentinel’s metallic black exterior. The clean side profile, blade fenders and high belt line with minimal chrome trim are typical Lincoln design themes that are reminiscent of early 1960s Lincolns and still are clearly visible in today’s Town Car.

Flush glass all around and compact, vertically stacked projector headlamps add to the uncluttered look of the exterior. The placement of the flush-to-the-body, massive, 20-inch wheels ensures a minimum of body overhang and adds to Sentinel’s clean lines. The car’s overall length of 218 inches is just one inch shorter than a 1996 Lincoln Town Car.

“The Lincoln Sentinel is an exploratory look at keeping Lincoln’s traditional styling themes fresh for future generations,” said Claude Lobo, Ford’s director of Advanced Design.

“But the Sentinel also is helping us to identify important issues in auto design, such as determining the benefits of a New Edge approach. Improved road holding and interior space are two more areas that may benefit from this kind of design approach in the future,” Lobo said.

The rear treatment is completely new. While some o f the styling cues go back to classic Lincoln Continentals, the entire car breaks new ground in automotive styling.

ABOVE: Dated August 9, 1940, this 1941 Lincoln V-12 engine is illustrative of the powerplant in the author’s Continental Coupe.  Photo courtesy of Continental Comments # 95.

By Dr. Charles Burton.  Submitted by Richard Koop
Originally published in the May-June 2020  (# 354) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

Recently I had a near-catastrophic occurrence with my 1948 Mercury Convertible’s fuel system, which is very similar to my 1941 Lincoln Continental fuel system. One afternoon, I drove my car hard up the mile-long road to our home and parked it in the garage attached to the house. The next morning, my son come over for coffee, and after raising the garage door and coming into the kitchen, he said: “there is gasoline on the floor in the garage.” My reply was that “all old cars smelled after being driven.” He said, “no,” I went and looked, and there was a large puddle of gasoline that had flowed from the engine area out from under the car. There was a large freezer less than four feet from the pool. I opened the other garage door and turned on a fan to blow the fumes out of the garage. I then used paper towels to absorb the gas that was not under the car. Looking under the car, I did not see any gas dripping. I called my expert old car mechanic, and we agreed a carburetor leak would not have produced such a large amount of gas overnight. Looking in the engine compartment, there did not seem to be any evidence of a leak.

Because of the pooled gas under the car, the Mercury had to be moved outside. Using a heavy rope attached to my truck, I pulled it out into the driveway. Since the driveway is up a hill out of the garage and with the front of the car pointed downhill, gas started dripping from around the engine oil pan onto the pavement. I put a container under the engine and cleaned up the garage puddle. inspection under the car revealed gas coming from the oil pan, where the oil tube attached. The gas was floating on top of the oil in the pan. The Mercury’s fuel pump is attached to the oil filler tube. It was clear that the rubber diaphragm inside the pump developed a tear. The auxiliary electric fuel pump had helped force gas into the oil filler tube and then into the engine. I have used non-ethanol gasoline since I’ve owned the car, but the previous owner had used ethanol gas, which is destructive to older rubber products. Our Lincoln’s stock V-12s don’t have an oil stick, and gasoline in the crankcase cannot leak out. However, some owners have converted their cars to Ford V-8s, so this is a genuine possibility for them.

My expert mechanic had an engine explode and burn. A similar scenario that caused that disaster had also happened in my Mercury. A new mechanical fuel pump should be rebuilt with ethanol-resistant components. You may reduce your chances of a catastrophe by using only the electric fuel pump and bypassing the original one. If you continue to use the mechanical pump, replace it if you have used ethanol gasoline. Turn off the auxiliary electric fuel pump when not needed, and pray this will not happen to you and your car. I am blessed I did not lose two vehicles and my home.

Dr. Burton is a retired 83-year-old surgeon from Macon, Ga. who practiced for 40 years. The 1941 Lincoln Continental was his dream and he purchased it in the 1970s from the original owner’s family.

ABOVE: A 1947 Mercury Convertible Coupe, similar to the author’s 1948 model.  From the Old Car Manual Project.

ABOVE: The Bloodworth Massacre.  The crusher was brought right to the property.  Of the 230 plus doomed cars, this one is a circa 1947 Lincoln five-passenger coupe.

Written by Charles “Murph” Schneider of Roswell, Georgia.
Originally published in the November-December 2004  (# 261) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

It took about 35 years for over 230 Lincolns and Packards (and parts) to be accumulated. But it took only a short time for all these cars and parts to be loaded on a slow boat to China. Right now, as I write this, many are coming back in containers full of barnyard fence posts, gates, barbeque grills, brake rotors and calipers, fenders, axles, and ad infinitum. The Lincoln genes still exist in the molecules of many new steel products stamped “Made in China”.

Several years ago, a story was in Continental Comments showing Bennie Bloodworth’s Lincolns resting on his 67 acres in Lutherville, Georgia, which is 60 miles south of Atlanta. Now they are all gone. Many of our fellow members’ cars are running and showing with parts from Bennie’s land.

This past April, my wife Jan and I spent a week with Bennie to help him organize the “crushing” massacre of these cars. We actually wept to see a 1969 Mark III being reduced to 12 inches in height. (Rusty 30s and 40s Lincolns much less.)

Bennie ran ads in LZOC and LCOC publications and Hemmings for over a year offering rock bottom prices for parts and whole parts cars from $100 each to about $300 each. There were not many takers. Due to his health, Bennie had to sell his land. But it had to be cleared of all cars, parts, automobilia, by June 3, 2004, as a contingency of the sales contract. Now Bennie has one Lincoln, a 1941 Continental Cabriolet, totally restored, that he bought in 1957 as the second owner.

ABOVE: Mechanical judging at Salado, Texas, April 2009.
Originally published in the May-June 2009 (# 288) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

The first National LCOC Meet to be held in Salado, Texas, was successful beyond all expectations with 64 cars exhibited or judged and over 200 members and their families attending. This was the first time the spring Texas Regions’ meet has been expanded to a National Mid-America Meet in the 21 year history of the event and it was awesome.

Salado is a spring car tradition in LCOC in Texas and preceded the first LCOC Mid-America National Meet, held in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1989, by a year. Over the years Salado has attracted approximately 40 cars every spring at Blue Bonnet time, but this year 64 cars set the record. The meet is always at the historic Stagecoach Inn and this year the inn was booked to the max and the dining room was packed to an overflow for the Saturday night Awards Banquet.

The four-day event began Thursday, April 23 with the registration desk opening and dinner on your own. Nothing was changed from the regional format according to LCOC President Glenn Kramer who said that Salado has always been kept simple, informal, fun, and relaxed.

Friday was mechanical judging and a tour of sorts which was actually a scavenger hunt on Salado back roads with members doing the tour on their own.

Friday evening was the traditional cocktail hour and barbecue at Don “Doc” Ellis’s City Garage a few blocks north of the hotel. Former LCOC President Doug Mattix and his wife Carol of Rowlett, Texas, were on hand both Friday night and Saturday. Doug and Carol have not been present at LCOC National Meets in recent years due to Doug’s health problems with his back and legs, and it was good to see him back.

Saturday the area in front of the hotel was awash with cars, so much so that cars overflowed down the entry street and into the trailer parking lot. There was only one car that did not show up, a limousine from Minnesota owned by Gordy Jensen, but six other Minnesota cars did show, most of them driven the 1,200 plus miles from Minnesota to Salado.

The traditional LCOC Awards Banquet Saturday night was altered somewhat in keeping with the Salado tradition. Members dined in the main dining room of the Stagecoach Inn. After dinner everyone walked across the hotel grounds to the Conference Center where the awards presentation was made. At the awards presentation there was the addition of a People’s Choice Award which is a Salado tradition. That award went to John and Dorothy Palmer, Bamum, Minnesota, who drove to Salado from Minnesota in their 1946 Lincoln sedan.

Friday night at the City Garage.

Charlie Steward from Florida did not quite get the Hard Luck Award even though he took two rocks in the windshield of his 1994 Lincoln Town Car. Charlie received the Drive Tour Award. The Hard Luck Award went to Bruno Hernandez with a 1969 Lincoln Continental Sedan. The Long Distance Award went to Harvey and Marie Bane who drove their 1958 Lincoln Continental convertible 1,439 miles from Martinsburg, West Virginia.

The Elliston H. Bell Founder’s Trophy was awarded to Bob and B.C. Hardisty, Southlake, Texas, for their beautiful Taos Turquoise 1956 Lincoln Premiere convertible. This is the second time that a 1956 Lincoln convertible has won the Bell Trophy.

All in all, it was a great meet, reminiscent of LCOC meets of the fifties and sixties. A full report on the Salado Mid-America National Meet will be carried in the September-October issue of Lincoln and Continental Comments.

Originally published in the November-December 2004 (# 261) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.
This was a letter mailed in to the Editor by Steven Erler of Pasadena, California.

Being an avid Lincoln lover and collector, and a member of LCOC since 1974,1 am pleased to share my latest acquisition, and ask for the club’s assistance.

Last month, I was fortunate enough to purchase a 1988 Mark VII LSC convertible converted by Couch Builders, Ltd. in Florida. I have tried several avenues to secure information on the number of these cars produced, however, the company, itself, although pleasant, is rather vague on the actual production figures.

I have learned from other sources that there were between 120 and 150 Mark VII conversions done between 1984 and 1992. However, I do not have the exact breakdown of how many were made each year, or how many were LSC editions. If there is a member who can provide assistance with this issue, I would be appreciative.

For your viewing pleasure I have enclosed photos of the car. At the point of purchase and since I have have given the car “fine tuning”. The car originally spent most of its life in Coral Gables, Florida. When the original owner passed away in the late ’90s, the car was sent back to Oak Park, Illinois, to be stored at the family compound. It was then sold to a family friend, a young Chicago attorney, who used the car during the sunny season, and stored it the rest of the time. The new owner’s passion, however, was for Corvettes, so the car did not receive the attention it so rightfully deserved. Wanting to purchase another exotic car, the attorney put the car up for sale. Lucky me!

The car was put on Collector Cars.com about the time I was looking for a summer hobby and another unique Lincoln to add to my stable. I flew back to Chicago in June to look at the car, and realized it was just that, a unique and beautiful Lincoln looking for a good home and someone to appreciate her. I made an offer that was accepted, and the car was delivered to me in Pasadena, California, one week later.

The car is Raven Black with a maroon leather interior, and is fully loaded. The overall condition is outstanding, once a good cleaning, leather treatment, and a coat of polish have been applied. She has just 62,000 miles, and has checked out very well mechanically. I replaced the original Titanium LSC rims with the later, and brighter BBS rims, to give the car the “pop” it really needed. Having the lower trim removed to add the ground effects package during conversion, the car lacked a sparkle that the BBS rims added. In addition, I added a double red pin stripe. The LSC logo and Lincoln Star had originally been placed on fabric and stitched to the convertible top, However, the years have made them look somewhat tired and discolored. I decided to remove the fabric logos from the top, and added the LSC metal script directly under where the original had been. This, too, added a little dazzle to the car.

Originally published in the November-December 2004 (# 261) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

From the time Ford took over Lincoln in February, 1922, Lincoln advertising has always been as stylish as the cars. That is because Edsel Ford was a highly creative person, and he knew that good automobile advertising was an art form. See the famous 1923 Jordan ad, Somewhere West of Laramie compared to the interesting but conservative introductory 1921 Lincoln ad written for the Saturday Evening Post in 1920 by Henry M. Leland, and reprinted in the last issue of Continental Comments.

In the twenties, Lincoln had beautiful four-color ads with tropical birds in the background painted by famous illustrators of the day. The cars were portrayed in beautiful, brilliant colors, With the coming of the Lincoln-Zephyr in 1936, Lincoln pioneered four-color photography. Lincoln was not the first automobile manufacturer to use color photography, but they carried it to new heights. Remember, Edsel Ford, himself, was by all accounts a very good photographer.

In the late forties, with Edsel gone, Lincoln went back to illustrations, and went through kind of a ho-hum advertising period with the campaign slogan Nothing Could Be Finer. Even the 1949-51 Lincoln advertising showed nothing much better than the competition was doing.

Then for 1952, Lincoln came out with an all new car with an ohv V-8 engine and very contemporary styling. Their advertising theme was Designed for Modern Living which showed how well Lincoln fit in with the finest lifestyles of the time. (See the following two pages.) Brochures were an interesting combination of illustrations and photography. In the brochure Luxury With a Modern Outlook on two of the following pages, only the instrument panel is a photograph. All of the other illustrations are artwork, but you would never know it. One of the brochures, Modern Woman, is aimed exclusively at women. Advertising to women was carried to the extreme with Julia Meade on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was sponsored by Lincoln-Mercury. In Continental Comments #259, Bob Blevins, Yuma, Arizona, shared with us some of his Lincoln advertising illustrations of 1952. He sent us so many advertisements and brochures, we could not even begin to use all of them in that issue. So, here again is more 1952 Lincoln advertising from the Bob Blevins collection. Thanks for your fine contributions, Bob.

WEBMASTER’S NOTE:  The above two images would appear as one in the magazine on opposing pages.  In the interest of viewability, I have posted each page separately on this web page.