ABOVE: Lesley’s 1959 Lincoln Premiere Landau bought from the estate of the original owner. It runs and drives.
Originally published in the July-August 2002 (# 247) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.
The largest known collection of 1958-60 Lincolns and Lincoln Continentals belongs to LCOC members Hugh and Joyce Lesley, Oxford, Pennsylvania.
While the Lesleys own only two 1958 Lincolns and no 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark Ills, they own 13 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark I Vs and one 1959 Lincoln, 15 1960 Lincoln Continentals and 10 1960 Lincoln Premieres and Lincolns, for a total of 41 Lincoln Continentals and Lincoln Premieres, Capris and Lincolns from the 1958-60 era. In addition, they own 232 other Lincolns from the 50s, 60s and 70s, mostly the 60s and 70s. They own 126 Mercurys from 1939 to 1979, 156 1958-60 Edsels, 38 Fords from 1940 to 1986, and four Thunderbirds from the 1968-70 era. One of the Mercurys is a 1979 Hearse in Robin’s Egg Blue. The 1940 Ford is Hugh Lesley’s first car which he bought when he was only 16 years old. He has been across the U.S. twice in this car. Hugh Lesley writes “ I didn’t realize I had this many cars until I took inventory for Continental Comments.” A few years ago he sold a 1958 Lincoln which someone had customized into a four-door convertible many years ago.
The Lesleys do not hold a record for the number of Lincolns owned by one per son or family. That record still belongs to the late J.C. Daniels with his 450 Lincolns in Pampas, Texas, and as far as we know that collection still has not been sold. But the Lesleys well may hold the record for the largest number of Ford built cars owned by anyone in LCOC. Bert Huffman holds the record for the largest number of HV-12s owned by any LCOC member. We will all get a chance to see Bert’s collection at the 2003 Eastern National Meet in Hickory, North Carolina.
1958-60 Lincolns are definitely on the increase at our national meets. No less than five convertibles from this era were entered at the 2002 Eastern National Meet in Nashville, Tennessee.
BELOW: The Lesley’s former 1958 Lincoln customized to be a four-door convertible.
