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1966 Lincoln
I purchased this 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible Sedan in the summer of 1986. At the time I was driving a 1948 DeSoto S-11 and still had my 1970 Volvo 145, however, I decided that I wanted another car; something that was really special. I had just graduated from college and my parents and grandparents had given me some money as a graduation gift. I also just sold my 1963 VW and had saved most of the money. With a budget of about $3500 I reviewed the long list of dream cars but did not have nearly enough for a Packard, Dusenburg or Pierce Arrow convertible. I had always liked the styling of the ‘61-67 Lincoln Continentals and learned that they produced a handful of convertibles during that period. My good friend in college had a 1967 Cadillac convertible - the thought of getting a representative of rival Lincoln was very appealing. I looked at every ‘61-67 Lincoln convertible in the Hemming’s Motor News and Bargain News during the late spring & summer of 1986, probably 8-10 cars. All had various issues that would require attention and dollars I did not have. In August I decided to visit some friends in Maine and headed out to the Pine Tree State in my trusty Volvo. The old girl had close to 250,000 and had served me well for over 3 years making many trips from Maine to Florida. Driving down the Wilber Cross Parkway the car hiccupped and started giving fits just before the West Rock tunnel. I pulled off the parkway and started looking for a place to troubleshoot the car – she coughed and I coasted into a gas station. There for sale was a nice gold (sandalwood) 1966 Lincoln convertible – I couldn't believe my luck! The car belonged to an older gentleman who was thinning out his collection of Continentals in preparation to selling his home after the death of his wife. (At one time he had an example of each convertible from 1946 to 1966, many he had purchased new.) The ’66 had 72,000 miles on it and needed very little. His asking price was a bit above my budget but with a bit of haggling the car was mine. When I arrived home with it my parents were aghast! They were not the type of people to have such an ostentatious automobile. But my dad, secretly, took a real fancy to the car since it has a true air of quality. He helped me register it and afford the insurance. He also liked to "borrow" it periodically since it drove so well and was way more comfortable than the mid-1980s cars our family had at the time. Here it is almost three decades later (and only 10,000 miles more on the odometer) and I love the car as much as the day I purchased it. Sometimes the having is as good as the wanting!
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