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CHAPTER EIGHT
THE LINCOLN LIBERATORS
Into The Breech
With Henry II
From 1931 on, General Motors overtook Ford in numbers of cars sold.
The Mercury, introduced in 1939, had failed to put much of a dent in the GM
and Chrysler middle car market. Only in light truck sales had Ford
maintained a respectable lead. The recent economic depression had driven
down the automobile market. Not until 1949, did the industry as a whole
equal its 1929 production figure of 5.3 million cars. It has been
suggested that Henry Ford initiated the five dollar per day wage so that
common workers could afford to purchase an automobile of their own. He
felt that the auto market would always remain limited unless working people
could afford to purchase automobiles. He hoped other industries would be
forced to follow his salary lead. After the stock market crash of 1929,
Henry Ford again applied the principles of a true capitalist. The price of
a Model A was lowered, wages were raised, and branch factory construction
was begun even though Ford Motor Company was steadily losing market share.
The main product line, the Ford, was suffering from declining sales. Many
automobile historians conclude that this was due, in part, to factors other
than the Ford automobile itself. Henry Ford had a poor reputation in labor
relations and was very outspoken on controversial political matters. These
attributes may have indirectly affected the buying public's attitude toward
the Ford product.
The early organizing of labor unions had little impact on the
automobile industry as a whole. However, in May of 1939, Walter Reuther of
the United Auto Workers, singled out Ford Motor Company to protest working
conditions. The UAW began by handing out leaflets, but violence erupted.
The incident became known as the Battle of the Overpass. It occurred at
the Rouge plant and was widely reported in the press. Chief of Security
Harry Bennett headed up a group at Ford called The Service. They provoked,
then beat up Reuther and several of his supporters. This was the beginning
of a rather lengthy period of adverse relations between Ford and the labor
unions.
Henry Ford was also opposed to America's becoming involved in the
expanding war in Europe, just as he had been to this country's involvement
in the First World War. Maybe in principle his pacifism was correct, but
it was perceived by the American public as unpatriotic. This and his
anti-unionism hurt the Ford Motor Company as a whole. Even worse, it
curtailed car sales and hurt the Ford dealership network. To add to these
problems, Henry Ford suffered a stroke in 1938. Edsel Ford was now
president, but he and Ford's general manager, Charles Sorensen, never
really acquired full control from the senior Ford.
Harry Bennett had been hired when Edsel was a youngster. Henry Ford
had become keen on bodyguards and had developed a fear of kidnapping after
the Lindbergh baby incident. Bennett, however, was not Edsel's friend. He
intimidated the young Ford and even fantasized about becoming president of
Ford Motor Company himself. In the end, it was Edsel Ford who convinced
his father to make peace with the labor unions. After the strike on the
Rouge Plant in April of 1941 was settled, Henry steadfastly refused to sign
the new labor agreement. He had still not done so by June. Mrs. Clara
Ford intervened and told Henry that she would leave him if he did not do so
and prevent further violence. "Don't ever discredit the power of a woman,"
Henry is quoted as saying.
In the summer of 1939, Edsel's son, Henry Ford II, had toured Europe in
a Lincoln Zephyr with two college friends. Only a short time later, the
world was engulfed in a European war. By early 1941, Nazi Germany was
overrunning industrial Europe. General Chennault's Flying Tigers had been
fighting the Japanese on the coast of China for two years. While it seemed
clear to many Americans that a world war was a real possibility, it never
actually sank in. As to suspending civilian automobile production, the
thought seems never to have entered the automaker's minds. Events in
Europe and the Hawaiian Islands soon brought most Americans to the
startling realization that the free world was now fighting for its very
existence. In December of 1941, the Office of Production Management, which
later became the War Production Board, shut down all automobile exports and
established production quotas. Those cars not delivered by March of 1942,
went into military service or were stored in warehouses. Ford Sedans
painted olive drab, grille and all, became staff cars. Police departments
and taxi cab companies drove Hudsons. Individuals bought Nashs who never
had before and never would again. Chrysler began building tanks.
Willys-Overland was already producing Jeeps, and Ford's new khaki painted
staff Jeeps were nicknamed Blitz Buggys.
The war effort had already affected the 1942 cars themselves. Most
chrome parts were now stainless steel or painted metal. The effect of the
military buildup was also showing up in the automobile advertising
campaigns. Chevrolet called their engine the Victory Valve-in-Head.
Chrysler named their engine Spitfire after the British fighter plane.
Oldsmobile celebrated its forty-fourth anniversary in automobile making
with a B-44 grille medallion. The "B" stood for Better-built, but it did
not hurt that it also sounded like a Army Air Corps bomber designation.
The last Lincoln sedan was photographed rolling off of the assembly line
with two American flags tied to the front bumper.
The Lincoln ad campaigns through 1943 and 1944 pictured scenes of
empty, lonely stretches of road. Lincoln retained the "Nothing Could Be
Finer" slogan throughout the war years. The cross crest and knight's head
logo, introduced with the Series 26H, was now the official Lincoln emblem.
Only one of these ads depicted the Lincoln automobile. In a scene along a
Rocky Mountain ridge road, a Lincoln Sedan is viewed at a distance. The ad
read, "Some day a rendezvous... When its over, the open road will again
challenge... A new motor car, the smartest and finest ever built, will be
the answer to your dreams." On an Arizona dirt road bordered by Saguaro
cactus the ad says, "The gray years will end with brighter days. And a new
Lincoln motorcar will be waiting to get under way..." Down an Indiana
country road the ad laments, "Remember how the highways use to beckon?
They will again. In the coming days of peace, a new Lincoln motor car will
be waiting to satisfy your travel urge." Thus, the ad campaigns continued,
never giving the slightest hint of what the new Lincoln models might look
like. There was good reason for this because no one really knew.
William S. Knudsen had been appointed by President Roosevelt to head
the U.S. National Defense Commission. Knudsen had been the chief executive
officer of General Motors after Alfred Sloan had left in 1937. In his new
capacity with the N.D.C., Knudsen offered Ford a plum. It was a contract
to produce Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines. When the press picked up
that Ford would build war supplies for the British, Henry pulled out saying
that Ford would manufacture war goods for the U.S. Government, but would
not be part of arming any foreign power. Once again, Henry Ford's position
was popularly perceived as unpatriotic. (Consider for a moment, however,
how much safer the world would be to live in if all industrialists today
took that same position.)
Major Jimmy Doolittle, who became General Doolittle after his famed
Tokyo raid, remarked that the Automotive Committee for American Air Defense
was like a bad wedding without the benefit of a shotgun. Pressure on Ford
from Knudsen and the government continued. In November of 1940, fearing a
government takeover of the company, Edsel and Sorensen finally persuaded
Henry to commence military production. The first project undertaken was
the manufacture of Pratt & Whitney airplane engines for the Army Air
Corps. Ford converted the Willow Run and Ypsilanti plants in Michigan to
be used to assemble B-24 Liberator bombers. In September of 1942, the
first Liberators were completed.
Ford was slow getting started, but once into war production the company
became a major contributor to the U.S. war effort. At its peak, there were
42,000 employees working at Ford bomber plants. Many were women, and
regardless of their tasks, they were all nicknamed Rosie the Riveter.
Slacks and hair nets became fashionable because of their obvious safety
advantage. The Ford facilities used in aircraft production totaled three
million square feet. Of the 18,188 Consolidated Aircraft designed B-24
Liberator four-engine bombers produced, Ford built 8,685. The last
aircraft rolled of the assembly line in June of 1945.
Ford was America's largest glider aircraft producer. The gliders were
built at the Iron Mountain complex. Used primarily for producing wood auto
body parts since the 1920s, the plant had been closed early in the war
effort. This complex was reopened in March of 1942, and ultimately
produced 4,205 of the fifteen-seat CG-4A cargo gliders and 87 of the
forty-two seat CG-13A combat personnel gliders. These aircraft were built
of wood and tubular metal covered with cotton fabric. Many new production
processes for bonding were developed at this facility. After the war, the
plant resumed building component automobile items like station wagon woods
until 1951.
Albert Kahn, the son of a German rabbi, had designed a reinforced
concrete factory for the Packard car company in 1905. In 1907, Henry Ford
hired Kahn to design and build a new Model T factory on the site of an old
race course at Highland Park. Henry always wanted the biggest and best, so
for the next thirty-five years, architect Albert Kahn gave the Ford Motor
Company just that. Kahn designed the Rouge River plant in 1918, the
Engineering and Research facility in 1925 and Edsel's manor home in 1929.
The Willow Run factory had been Kahn's last project before his death in
1942. (It is ironic indeed that Henry Ford, who outwardly spoke against
the Jews in the banking business, should hire a Jew of German descent to
design a facility that would ultimately play a major role in the defeat of
the Nazi German empire.)
All Ford facilities were now either manufacturing for the defense
effort or shut down. Jeep engines were mass produced by Ford. It is
claimed that the Willys designed Jeeps built by Ford were better than the
originals. The Lincoln plant produced thousands of amphibian bodies, Jeep
parts, tank engines, and nacelles for the B-24. So efficient was the Ford
industrial complex at producing aircraft parts that some aviation
manufacturers feared that Ford might try to stay in the business after the
war ended. The demand for new automobiles after the war was so great that
most automakers, including Ford, returned to their original endeavor and
never looked back.
One of the wartime casualties was "Cast-Iron Charlie" who had run Ford
for forty years. In September of 1943, Sorensen faced a management
showdown with Larry Sheldrick of engineering. Several of Ford's top
engineers and design people, including E.T. Gregorie, resigned. During
Gregorie's absence, Tom Hibbard filled in and continued what little wartime
civilian design could be accomplished. Additionally, Sorensen managed to
cross the Air Corps and the Consolidated Aircraft people. Harry Bennett
had also been working behind the scenes to discredit Sorensen. On March 3,
1944, Charles Sorensen resigned from Ford. E.T. Gregorie and several
others were rehired by Vice-President Henry Ford II. Sorensen became
president of Willys-Overland Company for a short period, and then went into
retirement.
Due to their ability to retool rapidly, the auto industries had been
able to quickly get into production of already designed military
equipment. They greatly contributed to the Allied war effort. During the
war, civilian automobile parts support would have been abandoned completely
except for the fact that cars were badly needed to get workers to and from
the defense plants. Rubber and petroleum were in short supply. If a 55
MPH speed limit seems worrisome today, consider that during the war the
speed limit was lowered to 35 MPH. In addition to saving fuel, the lower
speed limit decreased tire wear. Tires were retreaded, engines were
rebuilt, and gasoline was rationed.
Auto dealerships which managed to stay in business became used car
dealers. It might be hard to perceive a four-year-old automobile as a
current model, but this was the American public's view of the 1941 and 1942
model cars until 1946. There were some less-than-scrupulous dealers
willing to sell a late model car for twice its prewar value. A Lincoln
Continental, that might have sold new for $3,000, could now bring as much
as $10,000. A few California traders would go back East and buy up
convertibles by convincing the seller that rubberized material for tops
would be impossible to obtain, transport them to the milder climate of the
West Coast and double their money on the automobiles. Workers going west
to work in the defense plants would drive them for free transportation. To
get around being accused of black marketing or excess profit-taking, a
salesman might sell you a pet dog or something else for part of the
purchase price. The problem lessened after the war ended, but automobiles
were still in very short supply. Cars were starting to wear out, and the
young servicemen returning home to start families wanted new cars to
drive. Through about 1948, there were waiting lists at most dealerships.
When the cars came in, purchasers would pay the full retail price and also
take whatever accessories the dealer chose to hang on them. It was not
uncommon to pay a couple of hundred dollars extra to a salesman who might
get you moved up on the waiting list a notch or two.
Many volumes have been written about the mystique of the Ford family
and the intrigue surrounding its constant struggle for control of the Ford
Motor Company. Edsel Ford respected his father greatly, but at best the
relationship between them had become strained. Edsel's health was no
longer holding up well. A nervous condition had manifested itself in the
form of a chronic stomach disorder. Edsel Ford died at 1:10 A.M. on May
26, 1943, in the upstairs bedroom of his home at Grosse Point Shores. His
father was a grand and power American industrialist, but he, Edsel, would
be remembered for his creativity and gentleness. One thing is certain, the
Lincoln and Continental motorcars would not exist today had it not been for
Edsel Bryant Ford.
Henry Ford once again became president of Ford Motor Company. Lincoln
was wholly owned by Ford and had for some time functioned more as a
division than as an independent company. Clara Ford and Edsel's widow,
Eleanor, made it known that they would sell their voting shares of Ford
Motor stock if Henry Ford II was not installed as president. Young Henry
II had enlisted in the Navy and was an ensign assigned to the Great Lakes
Training Station. Had he chosen to do so, he might have been exempted from
military service altogether due to the family business. There were two
younger brothers, Benson and William, and a sister, Josephine. Edsel's
eldest son, Henry II, had been made a Ford Company vice president on
December 15, 1943. On January 23, 1944, he became executive
vice-president. Still, this office was ineffectual against what Harry
Bennett continued to imply were the wishes of the elder Ford. Henry Ford
II became president of Ford Motor Company on September 21, 1945. Harry
Bennett was given one month to get his affairs in order and leave.
The Ford Foundation had been given most of the stock in Ford Motor
Company, but these were nonvoting shares. Five percent of the stock and
most of the voting shares were retained by the Ford family which had always
controlled the company. Henry Ford had set up the Ford Foundation in
February of 1936 to avoid Roosevelt's inheritance tax. When Henry died on
April 7, 1947, this strategy saved the Ford family $321 million in taxes.
In 1955, two-thirds of the Ford Company stock would be reclassified to
voting common and sold by the Foundation. One of the largest family-owned
businesses became a public corporation less than a decade after its
founder's death. Lincoln Motor Company remained a wholly-owned subsidiary
of the Ford Motor Company.
By the early 1940s, most of the custom body coach builders were out of
business. Because of this, Ford was able to hire fine designers like Tom
Hibbard, Charles Waterhouse, and Herman Brunn, also talented commercial
illustrators like Ross Cousins. As the war work began to wind down in
1944, more effort was placed on future civilian automobile design, but any
hope of getting new tooling was still years away. As more free time became
available to the design group, many new and different body styles were
explored. Such was the pent-up demand for new cars at the close of the war
that anything new on wheels would have sold. Thus, new versions of the old
models were put back into production and retooling was scheduled for the
1949 models. Ford was the first to return to civilian automobile
production. By June of 1945, Ford was well into producing the warmed-over
1942 models which would be introduced in the fall as the new 1946 models.
Postwar Ford production officially commenced on July 3, 1945. On
October 22, Thomas W. Skinner was named to head up Lincoln, replacing
Raymond R. Rausch who was considered by Henry II to be in the Harry Bennett
camp. This change accompanied a dozen other key appointments, including
Benson Ford's being named to a vice presidency. These changes were to have
a great impact on the future of the Lincoln automobile. New Lincoln
production officially began on November 1, 1945. No Lincolns were ever
again called Zephyr. Some years later, the Mercury version of the Ford
Fairmont was named Zephyr (for what reason one can only wonder). Materials
remained scarce, and Lincoln production never reached its full potential
due to these shortages. Just prior to the war, it had been the practice to
ship cars to dealers short of parts. Joe Wilkerson, a dealer
representative, recalls 66H Lincolns coming into the California dealership
short of bumpers, even after the war. It was an ugly sight, he explained,
a Lincoln with a wood plank for a front bumper. New Lincoln prices were
increased one-third over the prewar prices. The first 66H Continental was
not produced until February of the calendar year. In spite of all of
this, Lincoln managed to produce over sixteen thousand units for the 1946
model year.
In late 1945, Colonel "Tex" Thornton negotiated a deal to bring his
management team to Ford. In early January of the following year, the "Whiz
Kids" (as they became known) began arriving on the scene. Henry II was
faced with running a company without an established hierarchy. Not to
mention the Company was losing nine million dollars a month. The Whiz Kids
were former Army Air Forces efficiency experts who came to Ford as a
group. A couple of them even became Ford Motor Company presidents, the
most notable being Robert Strange McNamara.
Still others of this new breed of Ford executives came from the ranks
of established corporations like Bendix and Borg-Warner. A few even worked
their way up through the ranks like Lido "Lee" Iacocca. When the new 1946
Lincolns were put into production, Iacocca was a journeyman engineer, who
had just recently graduated from Lehigh University and was trying to get
into marketing, McNamara was a wet-behind-the-ears Harvard graduate, and
Henry Ford II was twenty-nine years old.
The ten original Whiz Kids went on Ford's payroll January 31, 1946.
Their nickname was quickly changed to Quiz Kids. Having no authority, they
mostly went around asking questions. The management hierarchy at Ford was
in disarray. Money was being wasted for lack of management communication.
Production was inefficient and inadequate. It seemed as though nothing
that existed had been planned, and there was no official strategy for the
future. In December, Lewis D. Crusoe came to Ford from Bendix as the new
vice president of operations. From that time on, the changes began. Of
the original ten Whiz Kids, some stayed with Ford and some left, but most
had a profound impact on Ford's future. Charles Bates "Tex" Thornton left
Ford in 1948 to go to Hughes Aircraft, and later founded Litton
Industries. Robert McNamara became a vice president, and then for a short
period president of Ford. He later became Secretary of Defense under John
F. Kennedy. Francis C. "Jack" Reith became involved in the Edsel (the car)
automobile development project, and advocated its being setup as a separate
division from Lincoln-Mercury. The idea was over ridden by Ernest Breech.
Reith also headed up the Ford V-8 powered Vedette development for SAF. He
and John R. Davis spearheaded the concept of the Lincoln and Mercury
sharing body components. Ben D. Mills originally served on the finance
staff, and later became general manager of Lincoln-Mercury Division.
Charles E. Bosworth became Ford's General Purchasing Agent. A native of
Detroit, George Moore left after one year at Ford to become a partner in a
local Lincoln-Mercury dealership. Wilbur R. "Gene" Anderson left Ford and
the automobile industry. Arjay Miller was president of Ford for five years
before leaving to head up Federal Mogul Bearing. James O. Wright became
general manager of the Ford Division. He pushed for the Falcon and headed
up the Fairlane design project. The last of the Whiz Kids, J. Edward
Lundy, became treasurer, then vice president at Ford, and was the last to
retire in 1968.
A member of this insiders group, although not originally one of the
Whiz Kids, was Ernest R. Breech who came to Ford from Bendix in July.
Breech hired Del Harder and Harold Youngren, both of whom would have
important roles in the postwar Ford turnaround. Most of these men were not
automotive geniuses. Only a couple had any real automotive experience.
They were simply good business managers who gave the talented engineers and
workers at Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury the capability to produce.
NINETEEN-FORTYSIX
The 1946 Series 66H Lincoln body and fender parts were pure 26H, but a
new massive chromed die-cast grille was the crowning glory of the postwar
Lincoln and Continental. Some non-admirers refer to these multiple
crosshatched bar grilles as the Egg Crate look. Lincoln's new front end
was as impressive as that of any postwar model. Both the Continental and
the standard Lincoln shared push-button door latches, minor trim parts, and
hood ornament. The hood ornament on the 66H and early 76H Lincolns was a
ball with twin triangle wings. Most 76H and all 86H Lincolns used the ball
and large missile (comet style) hood ornament. This ball and trailing
spire hood ornament remained the Lincoln and Continental nose decoration
until the end of Model H production. (It is interesting to note that the
latter's design is very similar to the one originally used on Edsel's
Zephyr Continental Cabriolet.) The coat of arms medallion (cross crest and
knight's head) used initially on the Series 26H hood nose was relocated to
the top center of the grille. Differences between the standard Lincoln and
the Lincoln Continental were the instrument panels, rocker moldings, trunk
hardware, cowl logos, and rear fender mud guards.
Engine changes were limited. Midyear the HV-12 returned to the 16H
cylinder bore and displacement. Early 66H engines still had the 305 CID
while the later year models returned to the 292 CID engines. A new oil
pump with redesigned sump screen, for greater output capacity, was
installed. At about this same time the practice of stamping the matching
chassis serial number into the top of the right-hand motor mount flange on
the cylinder block was begun. Bumpers were heavier, with two large bumper
guards. The Lincoln rear bumper had left and right-side wing guards which
were joined to the bumper guard by upper horizontal bars. Regardless of
body color, wheels were painted black. The optional three-rib, bright
metal wheel rings were larger than those used on prewar models. The
taillight accent chrome was painted red in the grooves on all models.
Where the cross crest and knight's head logo had been accented in green on
the 26H, it was now accented in dark blue. Hubcaps were barrel shaped with
a raised octagonal symbol around LINCOLN in block letters. The Series 66H
being the only year in which this style of hubcap was used. Even with
fender skirts installed, all four hubcaps had the octagon and logo. As on
the 26H Continental, the spare tire hubcap differed from those on the
ground wheels. It said LINCOLN CONTINENTAL in script on the upper third.
Optional dual driving lights could be installed outboard of the lower
grille. The four-inch sealed beam bulbs were available in clear or amber.
Some state laws made it illegal to have more than two headlights and one
spotlight (or driving lamp) facing forward. Thus, an under dash switch
could be wired so as to turn the headlights off when the fog or driving
lamps were turned on. This feature became standard on the following year's
models. When the lamp option was not installed, two chrome grille plates
were located in their place. These plates had a four-bar arrangement,
reminiscent of the Series 26H outboard grille's three whiskers. The
driving or fog lamp option was often originally installed or was
retrofitted, therefore, these 66H grille end plates are rare.
Continental body styles for 1946 were the Coupe Type 57 and the
Cabriolet Type 56. The Lincoln body styles were Sedan Type 73, five-window
Coupe Type 77, and Convertible Coupe Type 76. This lineup prevailed
through the end of this model of automobiles in 1948. The Series 66H ended
with the calendar year 1946 and the Series 76H began with the calendar
year, 1947, according to records kept by W.A. Currie of the Production
Control Department.
Three body styles were dropped from the postwar model lineup. They
were the two Custom Sedans and the Business Coupe (3WC). Early 66H Lincoln
brochures did, however, picture the Custom models. The Custom was not
dropped because of Edsel Ford's absence as some have speculated. The
demand for luxury Sedans was as strong as ever and its tooling was not
dissimilar from that of the other Lincolns being produced. It was simply
that due to manpower and materials being in short supply, limited
production body types were the most logical style to discontinue.
Except for the back end design, there were only minor trim variations
between the 70 series and the 50 series Lincoln body types. The fact that
the Type 56 and 57 Lincolns were the last popular motorcars to be equipped
with an external rear-mounted spare tire, is responsible for an automotive
term used to this day. The term Continental Kit refers to an external
spare tire regardless of the make or model of automobile on which it is
installed. When viewing only the front two-thirds, except for the cowl
trim, it is difficult to differentiate a Type 76 Lincoln Convertible Coupe
from a Type 56 Continental Cabriolet. The standard Lincoln had a mold line
chrome strip which ran the length of the body. The cowl trim was a large
square chrome plate with the name LINCOLN trailing a checkerboard pattern.
The Continental cowl had a script LINCOLN CONTINENTAL nameplate. Rocker
panel trim remained unchanged from the 26H through the 86H on the
Continental. The rocker panel trim was not interchangeable between the
standard Lincoln and the Continental.
Optional accessories included an improved AM radio which had been
introduced on the 26H. A three-section telescoping antenna, mounted on the
aft portion of the left front fender, would extend upward six feet.
Antennas were more critical to good reception on the old-style Heterodyne
receivers, but they worked well. The radio continued the unique touch-bar
station changer. Touching the center bar or depressing a dimmer-type foot
switch on the floor would cause a small electrical motor inside the radio
to cycle forward to the next mechanically preset stop. The station
settings were preset by the right-hand station selector knob and the bar
selector. The center thumb wheel was a tone control. The knobs on the 26H
had been ivory, and the dial numbers were silver. All of the 26H plastic,
including the steering wheel, had been ivory color. For the 66H model
through to the end of model production, the steering wheel and accessory
knobs were dark maroon.
A vacuum-powered antenna was optional, and operated by a push-pull
neutral-off knob just above the instrument gauge cluster. The windshield
wiper control knob, pulled-on and rotateed for wiper speed adjustment, was
also located in this area. Power-lift door windows were optional. When
extra vacuum equipment was installed, a large air reserve tank was mounted
under the right front fender. This reserve stabilized the windshield wiper
speeds during acceleration, a low vacuum point.
A custom interior option costing $149 was available for Lincoln Sedan
or Coupe. The Continental used leather on the forward seat and on the top
of the seat back. A cord broadcloth (whip cord) center section was
standard and most often shipped on Coupes. The optional matching leather
center section was shipped most often on the Cabriolet.
Chrome was used extensively on the instrument panel components. The
Lincoln panel and Continental panel were similar in minor detail, but
distinctly different in overall appearance. Major components like the
clock, speedometer, radio, and engine gauge group were all
interchangeable. On the Continental the headlight switch, choke, throttle,
and ignition border the left side of the large chrome center speaker
grille. A cigar lighter and ashtray with matching chrome knobs were
located to the right of the speaker grille. On the standard Lincoln models
these controls were located along the bottom of the panel, below the
speaker grille. Both models retained the top cowl vent panel that could be
opened by a lever under the instrument panel near the clock.
The overdrive push-pull knob was to the left of the steering wheel
column under the dash, adjacent to the emergency brake handle. With the
control knob pulled-out, the transmission operated as a standard 3-speeds
forward, and pushed-in (overdrive engaged), the drivetrain was freewheeling
in all gears which allowed the overdrive solenoid to pull in at about 35
MPH. A small electrical kick-down switch was located under the accelerator
pedal for temporarily shifting down, out of overdrive. Clutch and brake
pedal foot pads were round, a tradition since the Lincoln Model L.
The under-dash defroster blower and under-seat heaters continued to be
optional accessories. The control unit for them was located under the dash
to the left of the steering wheel column, and looked very much like an
add-on accessory. The edge-lit instrument panel lighting was artfully
done. A separate dash light dimmer switch (rheostat) was under the panel
to the right of the steering wheel column. Also located here was the trip
speedometer reset knob. A small key light located just below the ignition
switch came on when the parking lights were turned on. The courtesy dome
light and under dash lights were door switch operated. The courtesy lights
could also be turned on by a switch located under the glove box.
Additionally, a dome light slider-switch which also operated the luggage
compartment light, was located on the passenger door post. Many is the
Continental whose dome light was burned out and the battery ran down with
this switch left on.
Auto restorer Walt Jenkins relates that during the repainting
preparation of an early postwar Continental Coupe, the original paint
scheme was found to be robin's egg blue with a black top. He called his
friend, Bob Gregorie, who replied, "Oh, you've got one of those Easter Egg
cars." Seems that Henry Ford II took an interest in color schemes in the
spring, and would order several cars painted various nonstandard colors.
Paint schemes of blue and black, gray and black, two-tone green, and
metallic maroon were used on these Continentals. Henry II personally drove
one of these Continentals painted Chantilly Green.
NINETEEN-FORTYSEVEN
The 1947 Lincolns were just that. With minor exceptions, the 76H
Lincolns were a continuation of the prior year's Series 66H. The hood
ornament and engine displacement had been changed midyear on the 66H. The
76H was officially introduced on January 1st and not in the fall of the
prior year, as had been the prewar custom. The new ball and single spire
hood ornament was installed on all models. The front grille now included
as standard equipment the dual driving lights outboard. The lamps were
amber and could be called fog lights. Added to the back of the trunk, just
behind the spare tire, was a single horizontal chrome strip. It resembled
a single luggage rack guard strip. Hubcaps were heavier looking, barrel
shaped without the octagon. The front two had the LINCOLN script logo
attached. The rear two were without logos as the fender skirts hide their
center. The Continental's spare tire hubcap had the same script logo as on
the 26H and 66H. Optional wheel trim (bright metal rings) were wider, but
a few early year 76H models were shipped with the 66H hubcaps and trim
rings.
As late as 1947, Lincolns and Mercurys were still sold through Ford
dealerships. Lincoln literature and advertising had never been exactly
clear on this subject. Lincoln was referred to as Lincoln Motor Division
of Ford Motor Company just prior to the war. Zephyr promotional material
had varied from year to year in company titles. In 1940 and 1941, it was
"Lincoln Motor Company Division" and "Lincoln Motor Car Division"
respectively.
Ads were titled "Lincoln a Division of Ford Motor Company" and "Lincoln
a Product of Ford Motor Company" during World War II. In October, 1947,
the Lincoln-Mercury Division was established. T.W. Skinner remained the
head of the new Lincoln-Mercury Division until January 30, 1948. He was
replaced by Ford Company vice president Benson Ford. Prior to this,
Lincoln had operated under the auspices of a general manager. In most
larger cities, dealerships were separated into Ford and Lincoln-Mercury,
very much as they are today. (They remain combined in many smaller towns,
and there are a few Ford-Mercury dealerships still in existence.)
The compression ratio on the 292 cubic inch HV-12 engine was raised to
7.2 to 1, from 7.0 to 1. This was primarily due to the availability of
better grades of gasoline, and a decreased demand for high-grade aviation
fuel. The engine specifications rated the HV-12 engine as 125 horsepower
at 4000 RPM. This translated into 33.1 brake horsepower. The drivetrain
remained basically unchanged, with the specifications reading as follows:
single, dual surface, ten-inch dry plate clutch; first gear ratio 2.12 to
1, second gear 1.43 to 1, third gear 1 to 1, with optional overdrive 0.70
to 1; Hypoid differential rearend ratio of 4.44 to 1; floating rear axles,
3/4-inch diameter shaft; tire size 7.00x15, 7.50x15 optional; steering
ratio 18.4 to 1 with 4.75 turns lock to lock, and a turning radius of 22.5
feet.
Body dimensions remained unchanged since the 26H models. The
Continental convertible top bows caused the Cabriolet to be about an inch
taller than the hardtop Coupe. Factory-new ground clearance was 7.66
inches. With age and the weight of the HV-12 engine, the sagging of the
transverse leaf springs on the front axle would decrease this by an inch or
two. Shocks remained the old-style lever-arm type. The average weight of
a Series 76H Lincoln or Continental was approximately 4,100 pounds.
Considering that these Lincolns were originally designed in the early
1930s, they ride quietly and comfortably even by today's standards.
NINETEEN-FORTYEIGHT
In 1948, Lincoln produced 43,688 cars. Most were the new 9EL and 9EH
models for 1949. These, however, are not generally thought of as 1948
model Lincolns. The new Series 876H Lincolns were officially introduced on
November 1, 1947. Production was mostly concluded by the following
January. The last 876H was a Lincoln Continental Coupe Type 57, and it
rolled off the assembly line the end of March. These Type 56 and 57
Lincoln Continentals were completed on the old Model K assembly line as the
regular Lincoln production line had already been shut down for retooling
and major rework.
Exact 1948 production figures vary from publication to publication.
One of the biggest variance is caused by the comparison of calendar year
production to model year production figures. During research on this book,
the actual handwritten Red Journals at the Henry Ford Museum archives were
reviewed. Various departments like Production Programming and Control also
made their own summary reports. These introduced different viewpoints and
give even another set of numbers. The Appendix to this book gives a
best-guess scenario to these figures, considering all of these factors.
For example, there were 569 Lincolns produced in calendar year 1945. No
Continental body styles were produced until February 1946. A large number
of Continentals were produced in 1948 (1,299 to be exact) after Lincoln
production supposedly had been stopped.
There was little change between the 76H and 876H Lincolns. An
excellent indication of this is the Series number itself. An eight for
1948 was simply prefixed to the 76H model designation. The Model H had
been in production for over a decade, and 86H had been used as the 1938
Series number. Those who remember the cars new, claimed the best clue to a
new 876H model was the clear fog lamps. Amber lamps, however, could still
be installed on cars shipped to states where clear lamps were illegal. In
California, for example, it was illegal to move an automobile with only the
parking lights on. The 6-volt parking lights on these Lincolns were dim,
so driving lamps in this case would have been a desirable option.
The highest serial number recorded for a Model H Lincoln was H182129.
In all, there were 3,314 postwar Continentals and just over 40,000 standard
Lincolns produced. With the conclusion of the Model H, the name
Continental was dropped from the Lincoln body-style lineup. Not until the
mid 1950s when Ford brothers, Benson and William Clay collaborated on the
Mark II, would the name Continental be used again.
The standard Series 876H Lincoln was available in Sedan, Club Coupe,
and Convertible Coupe. These body styles continued to use pull-action
outside door handles, and the Continental retained the push-button door
releases. The standard Lincoln used the script LINCOLN on the sides of the
hood, and retained the bright metal mold line strip. Whitewall tires were
used in most display ads with "When available, white sidewall tires at
extra cost" was usually footnoted. The cross crest and knight's head logo
continued as the main Lincoln symbol. Advertising style and motif remained
unchanged. The normal ad consisted of a two-color artist's rendering of a
particular Lincoln body style. The "Nothing Could Be Finer" slogan and a
paragraph of good words like, "The selection of a fine motor car is based
on its beauty..." or "There are many measures of a Lincoln's worth..." were
typical.
The Continental remains an apex of modern classic auto body design.
These cars were so often photographed and shown today that it is hard to
imagine so few were actually built. Lee Iacocca always referred to the
original Continental design as an example of the classic motorcar. He
freely admitted that its lines greatly influenced his thinking, and the
design of both the Ford Mustang and the Continental Mark III. The Museum
of Modern Art in New York selected the Zephyr-based Lincoln Continental as
one of the eight most artistic automobile designs ever produced. Time magazine listed the Lincoln Continental, some ten years after its final
production, as one of the top ten automobile designs in the world.