current price range of 1961-1963 Lincoln Continental- sedans and verts

[TonyC]

That is a very good, rational point there, Wayne. I suspect that most people would not undergo that sort of logical analysis when they are looking to buy. Heck, some people don't even know how to insert a gas-pump nozzle into the car to fuel up; some of those don't even know to remove it when they are finished fueling up. What they want is the "perfect machine," something they never have to concern themselves about where upkeep is concerned, like fueling up, checking tire pressures, installing wheels in the right sequence, replacing bulbs that burn out...or other, more-involved things that pop up with any machine; because there is no such thing as the "perfect machine." There used to be a time when the looks of a car could make or break its marketability, new or used. I'm not seeing much of that nowadays, certainly not in the stylings of cars today, what few there are now. Heck, were it not for the reliability issues, I'd find a '74 Vega more attractive than many cars made today; the name alone would probably garner some respect from the more militant-minded plant-eaters trying to push their dietary preferences on everybody around them .

---Tony

[Mike]

Someone I know said that same sort of thing years ago. He needed a new car and was saying why spend over 20 grand on something new when he could buy an older car that was a lot more interesting for a lot less and since he wasn't a car guy he didn't care about driving it year round and rotting it out either,

[papawayne]

The only thing that attracts me to a newer car these days is some of the paint jobs. Not sure how to describe them, as they are colors of all sorts, but if I add the word "dusky" would that help? Can't tell you what cars these colors appear on because I can no longer identify brands. Wayne

[bd94s10]

LC67Vert, good points. Maybe I'll cover this on a future episode of Lincoln Addict Podcast. I look at the sales daily of these cars across various sites such as eBay and Bring A Trailer. I continue to see the prices up overall but every now and then one will sneak by at a seemingly fair price.

I'm working on an episode now to talk about the LBJ Lincoln which is currently on BringATrailer.com - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1964- ... rtible-12/

It is worth noting this car was for sale for $245 to $250K is on eBay and here: https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1 ... aFJS5UcKr4

I've dug up a good bit of information on this one and I'm curious to see what it hammers for. My guess is $100-$150K. Of course the price of this '64 will e driven by the fact it was tied to LBJ. It will still be good to see it go for a good bit! From what I've read this is the car that was on the tarmac when JFK's coffin was being loaded onto Air Force One on 11.22.1963. I took this photo at the Sixth Floor Muesum when I visited Dallas years ago.

[LC67Vert]

bd94s10, thanks for posting about the LBJ ‘64 convertible presently being offered on BAT. That car is incredible between its presidential history and low 16,000 miles! I figure it could easily bring $150,000 in its present condition with such low miles, and with the added value of it being LBJ’s car it could double the value or more. This will be interesting to see what it brings.

[TonyC]

There's a museum in my area, Midwest Dream Car Collection, that claims to have a Lehmann-Peterson limo of '69 vintage that was delivered for Johnson's (and probably later on, Nixon's) Secret Service men to ride in. It was not there when I visited over a week ago, but one of the staff there knew what I was asking about. Being that I have special status as a retired vet and thus free admission there for this month, I intend to visit again before end-of-month, see if that limo pops back up there. If so, I'll be snapping shots of it from every angle I'm allowed to. Some of the cars there belong to the museum, others are on loan from local individuals; so I suspect that museum's displays are always changing.

---Tony

[frasern]

Hijack Alert!!!

There's a museum in my area, Midwest Dream Car Collection, that claims to have a Lehmann-Peterson limo of '69 vintage that was delivered for Johnson's (and probably later on, Nixon's) Secret Service men to ride in.

---Tony

Is this it?

Or is it a convert?

From "The cars of Lincoln-Mercury", Crestline.

[TonyC]

I doubt it. I know of that one above, built for the Prez himself to ride in. I haven't seen anything of the one the museum claims to have, but I don't think it would be that one. Would be cool if it were, though.

The others, though...it may be possible that the one Midwest supposedly has is one of those. But again, I haven't seen anything about it, not even a display plaque, so I have yet to verify. If I do, I'll share shots of it.

---Tony

[frasern]

Actually, I think that one is at the Henry Ford Museum, but it would be interesting if it's one of those "follow up" cars. That book says they had '68 cosmetics, but they could have been updated like the Presidential Limo for continuity.

[Castrosua]

Thats an interesting point, Wayne.

I have seen cars all over the place in the collector range, from 2k to 20k (for the non super collectible types). I do know used cars are coming down hard and fast, but its not seen as much due to inflation and insane interest rates (up to 15%...dont ask how I know that one lol)

There will be younger gens that get into cars, like how I really want a T...and clearly I was not born then, nor was my father lol,but very few in comparison, and also fewer kids these days get into cars. I really try my best, especially with stick shift cars but its an uphill battle (with a car behind you, right on your bumper lol, dont roll back!)

[papawayne]

Somebody was recently advertising an 80's Lincoln here in Maine (if I'm repeating myself, please forgive me) no rust 150K miles for 3 grand. I'm betting with no rust, that car should go another 100,000 miles just as a used car! Wayne

[1Bad55Chevy]

As a car dealer I do this for a living so I would like to weigh in on this topic regarding classic car values. By definition classic cars are anything older then 25 years of age meaning rust and the crusher have taken the large majority of them. Values of the popular models of classics are very high simply due to supply and demand. What has really pushed up the value of these cars is that there are banks now that are willing to finance them. Major classic car dealerships such as Streetside, Gateway, Smokey Mountain, and so on can get people financed on these rides for top top dollar. Being that these companies are cash buyers they can get good deals on cars and sell them for big profits since very few people have $30k+ cash for a TOY! Another major part that plays into this is the international market. There is huge money for American muscle cars internationally and there are companies that just buy and export.

As a car dealer I know that classic cars are toys. There is nothing about a vehicle more then 20 years old that could be considered a reliable form of transportation unless all of its major components have been rebuilt or replaced. When people buy vehicles they expect it to take them and their families to and from every day reliably. Cars like that 80s Lincoln mentioned by Wayne would be an insane spiral of cash trying to keep it on the road.

As for the younger generations not getting involved with cars is totally not true. Spend some time digging through tiktok videos and you will see that the hot rod hobby is alive and well. The biggest issue I see in the car scene is that it has a severe age divide. I tried to join a tri five chevy club here in the DFW and it was like walking into a AARP meeting and it was a very unwelcoming experience to say the least. It seems like the older generation are purist for their perfered vehicles but they are forgetting that the survivor cars are gone and the things we have left to build mostly can not be put back to original do to cost or parts availability.

[Castrosua]

As a car dealer I do this for a living so I would like to weigh in on this topic regarding classic car values. By definition classic cars are anything older then 25 years of age meaning rust and the crusher have taken the large majority of them...

Late to this reply but Ive been working on this particular nut. Since I logged on last (been a while...again), I decided to take over my local car club, with plans to chapter out. Im Gen X (barely bordering on Millenial based on some, whatever) and my tastes are not typical. I see a lot of "influencers" that simply dont know, and it affects trends, or bean counters. Lets face it, banks will have people do research and watch whats "hip" and all, and they may get it wrong, or it will change.

Lots of hot cars have sunk in value in the last 10 years, while others blew up. Slabsides have gone down, (no more Barrett Jackson over 100k cars, all black and duponted interiors, at least thats good), 70s are still the same prices as they were 20 years ago, 80s are creeping up but Panthers are really going up, as are Crown Vics and Marquis (clean ones).

Anyway, I do try to bridge this gap, and I noticed there are others doing things online. My hope is that there is an online-real life connection, so car meets and whatnot as well as generations. I have been focused a lot on newer Mopars the last couple of years, but still love the Continentals (Im the worst car flipper in the world. I keep buying them, but never sell them...my signature is probably woefully out of date, and would be too long anyway)

There will be jokes, boomer jokes, millenials that cant dial on a rotary, but end of the day, it comes down to those that are willing to learn, and those taking on the mantle of teaching, being mentors and so on. I do see that.

Alex