Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars Part 2

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

Each year, Edsel Ford wintered in Palm Beach, Florida. For the 1938-39 vacation season, he wanted a one-off convertible to drive around the area. Response of his neighbors and friends was immediate and enthusiastic. Just about everyone who saw the car thought it sensational.

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

So did the folks who saw the production version, which arrived for 1940. Reaching beyond stylish, this car turned heads wherever it went.

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

Only 404 Continentals were built in 1940, but the total rose to 1250 in 1941. Just 400 Cabriolets went on sale that year, priced at $2865. The rest were closed club coupes.

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

New pushbutton door releases for 1941 added to the car's distinctive allure. Continentals held a 292-cid V12 engine, rated at 120 horsepower. Many were equipped with the new Borg-Warner overdrive unit.

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

Lincoln also offered an attractive regular convertible, but only the Continental deserves to stand among the finest automotive designs of the Twentieth Century.

A Brief Overview Of Convertible Classic Cars
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Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars Part 1

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

Think "classic" and one of the cars you're likely to envision is the original 1941 Lincoln Continental. Dozens of other models have been assigned that designation by the Classic Cars Club of America, of course, but nearly all are from the 1920s and '30s. Most classic cars are rarely seen, but despite their relatively small numbers, plenty of people have spotted a Continental on the street, as well as in movies from the Forties.

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

Continentals were produced in coupe and convertible form from 1940 to 1948, extending into the start of the postwar era. Yet, they earned and deserve full classic status on the basis of their trend-setting, timeless design.

Picture Of 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible Classic Cars

Styling was conceived by Edsel Ford, based on the Lincoln Zephyr and executed by E.T. "Bob" Gregorie. Edsel wanted his one-off convertible to be "thoroughly continental" including the use of an externally mounted spare tire. In the 1950s, when outside spares became popular add-ons for more prosaic makes, they were called "Continental kits" borrowing their name from this Lincoln.

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Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars Part 2

Picture Of 1939 Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars

All that bulk to transport a pair of passengers for a $5440 price at that might have seemed excessive in the late Depression years. And so it was. After all, Cadillac also offered convertibles in Series 61 and 75, with a marvelous 140-horsepower V8 engine. A Series 75 convertible coupe could be obtained for a mere $3380, and 27 of those were built.

Picture Of 1939 Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars

Only 134 Series 90 cars were produced this year, divided among a dozen body styles. But these mighty machines were on the way out. The V16 lasted only into 1940, a final relic of a more glorious era of motoring.

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Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars Part 1

Picture Of 1939 Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars

Just seven 1939 Cadilac Series 90 convertible coupes with the V16 engine were built in 1939 a hard sell by then, compared to Cadillac's smooth V8.

Picture Of 1939 Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars

Massive, mighty, and defiantly magnificent. Those are just a few of the words that might be used to describe one of the last Cadillac V16 convertibles. Riding a lengthy 141-inch wheelbase, this convertible coupe tipped the scales at close to 5000 pounds.

Picture Of 1939 Cadillac Series 90 Convertible Classic Cars

The convertible Model 9067 flaunted its enclosed, sidemounted spare tires and reaching-ahead hood ornament, the latter of which sat atop a burly barrel-shaped grille and still-separate headlamps. But the main attraction lay beneath the hood: a 431- cubic-inch V16 engine making 185 horsepower. Like Cadillac's companion V8, the V16 engine featured dual carburetors, as well as separate water pumps and distributors for each cylinder bank.

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Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars Part 2

Picture Of 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

Each line again offered a convertible coupe, but this was the last year for Olds droptops with rumble seats and optional sidemount spare tires. Both features were by then out of fashion with buyers and out of production at most other automakers. It's odd that Olds was so slow to drop them, considering its growing renown as General Motors' "innovator" division.

Picture Of 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

The L-38 convertible coupe pictured here is one of only 68 with the factory sidemount, this out of 475 cars total. The six-cylinder version managed 1184 copies in all. Unlike later years, however, ragtops are not the rarest '38 Oldsmobiles. Though integral trunks had become popular for closed body styles, Olds also persisted with passé "trunkless" sedans. These, too, would vanish after 1938 and very low production in eight-cylinder form: just 200 of the four-door model and 137 of the two-door.

Picture Of 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

Typical of late-prewar GM cars, the '38 Olds dashboard was rather "Buck Rogers," but put most instruments and controls directly ahead of the steering wheel. Such affairs may look quaint to modern eyes, but they were real "hep" at the time.

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Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars Part 1

Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

Picture Of 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

Rumble-seat ragtops and sidemout spares were old news by 1938, but the 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 still offered both plus a forward-thinking transmission with no clutch pedal.

Picture Of 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

The Depression seemed to be lifting in 1938 when the stock market snapped, creating what Republicans gleefully called the "Roosevelt Recession." Sales slumped throughout the American auto industry especially at Oldsmobile, which turned out half as many cars as it had the year before.

Picture Of 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 Convertible Classic Cars

The '37 Oldsmobiles had been heavily redesigned, so the '38s were little changed. Still, all models sported more prominent grilles flanked by new "catwalk" trim in the inner front-fender aprons. Back for a second year was the "Automatic Safety Transmission," a clutchless manual gearbox presaging fully self-shifting Hydra-Matic in 1940. For '38, AST was newly optional for six-cylinder Oldsmobiles as well as Eights. Unchanged were Lansing's two L-head inline engines: 95-horsepower 230-cubic-inch six for F-38 models and 110-bhp 257-cid eight for L-38s.

A Brief Overview Of Convertible Classic Cars
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