So, this is the start of my blog regarding my 1964 Lincoln Continental. I purchased my sweet ride several weeks ago. I want to start off with some information about my car and a few photos:
A couple of photos:
Man, look at the amazing suicide doors on this car, I love it. Just the name suicide doors makes this car cool. It just needs to be black and everything will be good.
My car is completely original, minus the paint. It has a matching # engine and trans that have been rebuilt from the ground up. It has about 800 miles on the car. The paint is another story, I have always wanted a 64 black lincoln continental so I am having it painted black for now. When I get closer to a full restoration, I will have it painted it’s original color called Princeton Gray, which is like a dark graphite gray color…pretty cool too.
1961
| Third generation | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Production | 1961–1969 |
| Assembly | Wixom, Michigan |
| Body style(s) | 4-door convertible 4-door pillared sedan 2-door hardtop coupe |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Engine(s) | 430 in³ Super Marauder V8 460 in³ 385-series V8 462 in³ MEL V8 |
| Length | 1961-65: in (5484 mm) 1966-69: in (5611 mm) |
| Width | 1961-65: in (1999 mm) 1966-69: in (2024 mm) |
| Height | in (1397 mm) |
In 1961, the Continental was completely redesigned by Elwood Engel. For the first time, the names Lincoln and Continental would be paired on a car other than one in the Mark series. The design was originally intended to be the new 1961 Ford Thunderbird, but the concept was enlarged and slightly altered before being switched to the Lincoln line by Robert McNamara. One of the most striking features of the new Continental was its size. It was two feet shorter than its predecessor. So much smaller was this car, that advertising executives at Ford photographed a woman parallel parking a sedan for a magazine spread. The new Continental’s most recognized trademark, front opening rear doors, was a purely practical decision. The new Continental was a unibody design, and there simply was not the structural strength to front-hang the heavy rear doors in the convertible model. To simplify production (in the beginning, anyway), all cars were to be four-door models, and only two body styles were offered, sedan or convertible. Therefore, the rear doors were hung from the rear and opened from the front. This “suicide door” style was to become the best-known feature of 1960s Lincolns. The 1961 model was the first car manufactured in America to be sold with a miles ( km) or 2-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. Harold W. Johnson was head of Lincoln Continental division at the time. Efforts to find a new longer-life tire were conducted by Jacques Bajer at his asking.
The 1961 Lincoln Continental was really Engel’s design masterpiece. Even the dashboard was his design. This may have been the last time a single individual was responsible for the complete design of a production car. The 1961 Lincoln’s striking, understated elegance immediately won a major design award and was widely copied by other manufacturers — note the similarity of the 1963 Cadillac and the 1963 Buick Electra.
Kennedy Limousine SS-100-X
For the Kennedy White House, the Secret Service purchased a convertible parade limousine custom built by Hess & Eisenhart of Cincinnati, Ohio from a 1961 Lincoln 4-door convertible. Code named the SS-100-X, it was in this car that JFK was assassinated in 1963. By that time, the front of the car had been updated with the grille/headlight/bumper assembly from the 1962 model. After the assassination, the limousine was returned to Hess & Eisenhart, where it was repaired and retrofitted with full armor and a fixed roof. It subsequently continued in service for the White House for many years. This world-famous car is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
1964
The car was stretched 3 inches (76 mm) in 1964 to give more rear-seat legroom, and the roofline was squared off at the same time. The dash was also redesigned, doing away with the pod concept. Side glass was now flat to provide more interior room. The gas tank access door, which had been concealed at the rear of the car in the rear grille, was now placed on the driver’s side rear quarter panel and the exterior “Continental” script was changed.