1965 Lincoln Continental on 2040-cars

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The 1965 Lincoln Continentals would be the final appearance for the classic body style introduced in 1961. This was
the design that finally established a "Lincoln look" that could immediately be identified as a Lincoln Continental.
Careful and modest updates each year gave the cars a fresh look for the new model year, without sacrificing the
overall integrity of the original design. The need for more interior room for 1964 necessitated exterior and
interior styling changes, but these changes were made to create that additional space, not just for the sake of
change.
Even with careful updates each year, any five year old automotive design begins to look stale, as trends and
attitudes among the buying public change during that period of time. So what was a landmark design that sent other
automotive designers running back to their design studios in 1961, was now requiring more extensive modifications
to keep the design competitive in the market. The front fender mounted parking lights and new taillights with
ribbed trim were relatively minor changes that had a huge impact on the Lincoln Continental. These changes alone
make the '65 models stand apart from the rest. Yet Continental's classic, elegant lines were still intact, with
virtually no unnecessary chrome trim to detract from the design. For an auto maker to maintain this type of design
integrity for five years during the sixties was unheard of, yet Lincoln did so, and quite successfully as each new
model outsold the one before it. No place was Lincoln's design influence seen more than with top competitor
Cadillac. Everyone knows about the design excesses of the late fifties, and Cadillac is generally considered to
have achieved top honors for design excess with its 1959 models. Those huge rocket ship tail fins may have been
only a bit shocking when the cars were new, but it was a styling touch that didn't hold up well over the years, and
made the 1959 models look very dated before their time. The huge tail fins shrunk for 1960, and were much more
modest by 1961, but Cadillac's all-new 1963 styling is where one can see the result of the Continental's influence
the most. The lower body side design of 1961-62 that resembled a skeg on a sailboat was sheared off, leaving
smooth, clean side styling. The overall appearance of the new Cadillacs was more square, and this change in styling
concept was seen in the new 1965 Cadillac styling, as well. The lines were even cleaner, and the designers very
cleverly did away with the tail fins, while still giving the upper rear fenders a pointed appearance that resembled
a tail fin, but was integrated into the overall design much better. Cadillac was still far outselling Lincoln, but
there was no doubt that Lincoln was gaining on Cadillac, and feedback from Continental owners indicated that
overall they were happier with their cars than Cadillac owners were with theirs, and were keeping them longer as
well.
This was another reason for Lincoln's stylists to give the cars a more robust styling update for 1965, as more
noticeable appearance changes would encourage owners of the older models to purchase a new one. Lincoln's sales
exceeded 40,000 for the first time in many years, which was a strong showing for an expensive car with a five year
old body design. Change was on the way for Lincoln for 1966, and the task was to continue the look established back
in '61, while giving it a contemporary feel that immediately said "new!" The stylists were successful in their
attempts, and there was some shuffling around of standard equipment to keep base prices in line with Cadillac, as
well as a new Continental Coupé to give the Coupe deVille a challenger. It was time for an update, as the
automotive journalists of the time had begun to comment on the sheer size and weight of the Continental, a change
that had to be made to address concerns from customers who bought luxury cars. While Lincoln's ride, interior
comfort and accommodations were still superb, handling was not what it had been. Lengthening the wheelbase in 1964
introduced a bit of cowl shake in the Convertible, and it appeared some of the body rigidity had been lost. These
were still incredibly strong cars, of course, but a few compromises had to be made in order to meet the
requirements of luxury car buyers at the time. Comments about lack of luggage space in the Convertible were
becoming more frequent, as were the difficulties of loading and unloading over the side of the rear fenders. And
heaven help anyone who needed to change a flat tire, as the spare was in a difficult position to say the least.
What the journalists may have forgotten was that image had as much to do with the purchase of a luxury car as
anything. And such things as luggage space on a Convertible weren't all that important to those purchasing a
Convertible. Plus, tire design had improved to the point where flat tires and blow outs weren't as common as they'd
been just a decade earlier, so most Continental owners thankfully never had the need to change a tire on their own.
Besides, who starts out on a long trip with the top down, anyway? 90.6 percent of 1965 Lincoln Continentals were
equipped with factory air conditioning, so most opted for comfort and likely had the top and windows up and the air
conditioning on during the trip. And while luggage space wasn't exactly generous even with the top up (due to the
lift cylinders and other components), there was enough room to meet the needs of most people.
Lincoln's other competitor, the Imperial, was in its second year of styling inspired by the Continental. A bold new
grille was separated into four sections, and the dual headlamps were placed behind tempered glass lenses that were
outlined with chrome bezels. Sales dropped off from 1964, however, demonstrating Imperial's continued weakness in
the market. Auto testers and drive reports of the time almost universally awarded the Imperial best in class
status, noting its superior handling, better use of space, and engine performance and smoothness when compared to
Cadillac and Lincoln. Rare options include the vertically adjustable steering column, automatic speed control, and
automatic headlamp dimmer.
Restoration details and what is NEW on this car
Video of the car youtube.com/watch?v=_ts6N1Ba60I
This 1965 Lincoln Continental Convertible restoration took over 2 years to complete. The car was in pretty good
shape to start with which made the bodywork and mechanical part of the restoration go fairly smooth. The many
vendors who worked on this car were in different areas of Florida and the car was either taken to them or they came
to work on the car in South Florida during the restoration period.
The car is solid, the restoration is quality great and it’s a incredible looking clean classic Lincoln
Continental Convertible.
Engine
-Engine inspected and serviced (including oil change and all fluids changed)
-New spark plugs and wires
-New air filter
-New battery
-New engine belts
-Rebuilt water pump
-2 new engine motor mounts
-Cleaned and painted entire engine compartment
-New engine under hood heat padding
-New under hood engine rubber bumpers (4)
Transmission
-Inspected and serviced (works as it should and shifts smooth)
Brakes
-New brake pads. Disk brakes are solid
Electrical
-All window switches were replaced
-All window motors were serviced, rebuilt and/or replaced if needed (I believe 1 motor was replaced due to not
working properly) They go up and down perfectly
-Convertible top switch, relays and hydraulics were serviced.
Top works perfect every time.
A considerable amount of time, servicing and replacement parts went into this in order to get the convertible top
to work properly day in and day out
-All headlight bulbs, turning signals, reverse lights and break light bulbs were replaced and tested -Dash lights
replaced
-Gauges tested and all work (except dash clock)
-Seat motors and switches serviced and tested
Exterior
-New black convertible top (professionally installed)
-Prior to restoration, the car had very little rust on the body. Floors were solid on the entire car which is very
important on uni body cars. Car is solid all the way around and you can feel and hear it when you shut all 4 doors
-New Matte Black Paint job -Chrome Bumpers and bumper endings are in great condition (Did not need to be re-chromed
but to get the car to show quality, it would be recommended to be prefect)
-New front hood and rear trunk lid chromed Lincoln emblems
-Stainless bottom rock guards are polished and in great condition
-All peak molding trim is in great condition with no dents
-New 2 rear quarter panel "Continental Scripts"
-Deck lid was in really good shape and only needed a little rust repair in the lower under carriage of the deck lid
which is very common on all convertible Lincolns.
The body work was done correctly and the deck lid looks great on the interior and exterior which is rare due to
deck lids usually being in much rougher shape before the restoration process
Interior
-New black trunk carpet (top quality from specialty Lincoln vendor)
-New black interior with built in original drivers side rubber flooring piece under the floor mat (top quality from
specialty Lincoln vendor)
-New black Lincoln embroidered logo floor mats for front and back
-New high quality and thick rich black leather (has been properly conditioned over a 1 week period by a well known
leather specialist who did the seats) New white leather was also used in the middle of the seats and the door
panels
-New rear view mirror
-New black dash cover was installed. Looks like original black dash
-New column bushings for rare tilt steering wheel option was serviced with new bushings for a tighter fit (felt
slightly loose before restoration)
-Refurbished black hydraulic pump covers in the truck
-New rubber seals throughout the entire car. Doors, trunk lid, windows, convertible top seal, and many other
smaller rubber seals replaced with aftermarket high quality seals (very expensive parts) -AC was gone through and
serviced. Blows nice and cold
Areas on the car polished by hand
• On all 4 doors the entire door trim was removed, disassembled and professionally hand polished this included:
• Drivers side mirror • Handles (Inner 4) • Inner trays(4) • Cigarette lighters (4) • Unlocking handles
(4) • Door unlock knobs (4) • Inner trim(4) • Ashtrays (3) • All gauges i.e. Gas / Volts / Oil
Pressure/Speedometer • Steering wheel center, shifter & indicator columns • Dash trim A/c controls, Power
window, Power lock, Cigarette lighter, • AM/FM radio controls knobs • Vent knobs • Interior lamp • Door
light bezel trim (4) • All fender well molding (4) • Lower quarter and side chrome molding (6) • Rear deck
lid trim (4)
Car comes with: All receipts for the services / parts / components / repairs that came from the restoration. Clear
Certificate of Title 1965 Lincoln Continental Maintenance Manual