ABOVE: Rear hinged doors open like the doors in a phone booth.  The doors won’t open in a crash.

Originally published in the May-June 2005 (#264) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

By Tim Howley, “Editor’s Corner”

This issue is all about coupes and club coupes. But I have made a new year’s resolution not to write about my own cars. Therefore, I am not going to tell you about my recently acquired 1947 Lincoln club coupe to replace the V-12s lost in the San Diego fire. Instead, I am printing a story that did not quite make it to our 1958 issue due to lack of space.

It is hard to believe today that there was a time when automobile safety was not a concern. Preston Tucker tried to introduce a safety car in 1948, and was doomed to failure. The Big Three ran him into the ground before he ever got off the ground. Ford mounted a safety campaign for all of its makes in 1956 which was not very successful. Safety did not sell cars in the fifties. But there was one fascinating safety experiment now in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. It is the 1958 Cornell-Liberty safety car sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance and designed by the Aeronautical Laboratory at Cornell University.

The car was so strange looking it never would have been a commercial success, and would have been prohibitively expensive to produce, even on a semi-mass production basis. But it pioneered many of the safety features that are commonplace today. These included energy absorbing front and rear bumpers, recessed door handles, headrests, and retractable seat belts.

The car was a four-door of sorts. The doors on each side worked together like sliding/folding doors. They were hinged at the rear, folded in the middle, and slid back on a track. The engineers said that the doors would not fly open in a crash, and they added structural strength to the entire car. The driver sat in the middle with one passenger seat to the right, and one passenger seat to the left moved way back, and two seats at the very rear. There was also a rear-facing seat behind the driver’s seat. The driver steered the car by handles, not a lethal steering wheel, and he looked out through a 180 degree wraparound windshield that was distortion free. Even the passenger next to him was moved back far enough to give him a clear view through the windshield.

There was no rear view mirror inside the car. It was eliminated due to impact dangers in a crash. There were forward view mirrors, and rear view mirrors mounted on the front fenders. Front and rear rollover bars were incorporated into the body, and the roof was thickly padded to prevent head injuries. The rear package shelf was sunk deep behind the rear seat passengers to prevent objects from flying forward in a crash.

In theory, the ideas were great. There were some 90 safety features incorporated into the car. But the car was never crash tested. It cost $100,000 to build, kind of expensive to be a crash test car. The car was promoted by Liberty Mutual Insurance and shown around the country. It did not make it to many of the 1958-59 auto shows because the industry did not like to remind its public that cars were inherently dangerous. It was not until 1967, when mandated by the federal government, that automobiles began to build in safety features. The Cornell-Liberty safety car of 1958 remains one of those strange creations of the fabulous fifties.

I said I wouldn’t talk about my cars. I’m still recalling my youth in Minnesota. When I was a student at the University of Minnesota, in about 1958 I remember seeing this safety car in an engineering laboratory. I have no idea why it was there.

ABOVE: The 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III “Cool Continental”

Originally published in the September-October 2005 (#266) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

WEBMASTER NOTE:  This is only an excerpt of the full article found in the issue.

Some of the greatest Lincoln customs (he calls them ‘“Kustoms”) of all time have been created by John D’Agostino, who was bom in Pittsburgh, California, and now resides in Discovery Bay, California. John D’Agostino has built legendary custom Lincolns, plus famous customs of many other makes. His childhood hometown of Pittsburgh provided his earliest inspirations because it was near Antioch, where cars built by Barris, Bailon, Winfield and others showed up at the local Hazel’s and Panther drive-ins through the fifties and sixties.

[This] car was a Mark III two-door named Cool Continental. It was customized by Acme Custom Cars in Antioch. Darryl Hollenbeck painted it in shades of a custom mix of DuPont Ice Blue Pearl. Bob Divine stitched the hand crafted white and blue interior. As is so characteristic of John, the car retains most of the 1958 Lincoln Continental styling cues including the wild front bumper treatment, quad headlights, and sculpturing around the front wheels, but he turned the reverse slanting rear window into a turtleback window.

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.