drooooooooooollllll....

can we take up a charity drive and raise money to buy this person a front bumper?

Definitely a custom. The Mark series was never offered with a convertible style.

Wow. That would be an awesome car to restore. Great lines.

4,800 pounds? Isn't that like a new Civic?

I'm not one to lust after luxo-barges, but that is one sharp looking vehicle. I really dig the mismatched whitewalls, too.

It's probably from watching too much Futurama, but I'm picturing the owner of this car having a noticable underbite to match the missing bumper (much like how the Planet Express ship had the same jawline as the humanoid characters).

That is not in great shape for a Mark IV. It really looks like the bodywork has suffered from not being reinforced from the addition of the convertible top.

I customized a '72 Mark - removed the vinyl roof, torque thrust rims, slightly lowered - it looked like a giant Hot Wheels car. Everyone wondered what it was whenever I took it out. Removing the roof on this car lost one of the Mark's signature items - the oval 'opera window'. I wish I knew enough to post a picture of mine!

There is a Mark IV in my neigborhood I have been meaning to take pictures of. It is in better condition then this one.

I never liked the Mark IV looks - too fat and bloated. However, once I saw a really nice white '68-'71 Continental Mark III convertible conversion - now *that* was seriously nice.

For some reason, I can never look at these cars without Jim Croce's Bad, Bad Leroy Brown popping into my head.

for a really really big car, I always thought the Mark IV was quite graceful looking. A middle school teacher of mine drove one, and I remember thinking that she made a lot of money to have one and I should seriously consider a career in education since it was obviously so lucrative.
Little did I know she was a real estate agent on the side...

If I'm headed the luxobarge route, I'd prefer the Mark V. It's ridiculously even larger, even more crisp, and I can spend my time deciding among the various designer special editions--Bill Blass, Givenchy, Cardin, etc.

This car makes me want to drench myself in Jovan musk and mildly sexually harass the ladies at my workplace.

I'm digging those white walls.

@DannyBN: The original Lincoln Continental (it wasn't called the Mark I, but its successor was called the Mark II) was a convertible. The Mark III was also available as a factory convertible. There are a couple of well-known Mark II conversions also:

[auto.howstuffworks.com]

But those aren't factory jobs.

I don't think any other Mark's were factory convertibles, but I could be wrong on that...

Oops. I forgot this hideous thing was a "Mark".

These boats were queens of the highways!

Wasn't one of these used (with a chopped top and lots of customizing) in the cheap-o horror film 'The Car' starring James Brolin?

@SundaySunday: And an Eldorado, too.

@west-coaster: That was a Mark III iirc.

@DannyBN: That is NOT a hideous thing. It's beautiful. And if one follows you home and you don't want it, I'll come get it.

I was looking for Cannon, Frank Cannon, played by the corpulent william Conrad.

As @DannyBN: pointed out this is definitely a custom. Unfortunately, the top appears to have been done on the cheap, without the structure and padding needed to match the line of the original roof, which gave this car such a sweet and balanced profile. I like the fact that this car is being used and has at least a whiff of "work in progress" about it. I particularly like the one "downtown" whitewall on the left front tire, while the rest appear to be more in line with the width of the era. My brother-in-law had one of these and, as someone else pointed out, this design looked remarkably light on its feet for such a big car.

Picture of my Custom Mark IV - I really think this model's lines are sublime...
[elcaminocentral.com]

@drk1313: Purty.

Where's Popeye Doyle when you need him?

With the wine soaked Mini above this, it must be "French Connection" day on Jalopnik.

My grandmother had one of these since new, it was brown with a malaise cream leather interior. Power everything, I used to play with the power seat joy stick for hours. Everyone was always impressed with her ability to park this thing. Unlike most barges from this era all the junk was in the front, so parallel parking was a breeze, just don't try to look out the back window. This was the first car I drove with my mother, the throttle tip in was ludicrous, tap the gas = 30 mph, idle 15mph. It was always garaged and looked great until she got rid of it in 83 for an 84 humpback Seville. Reason for sale, frame rails rotted out. It was sold to a local gas jockey. Thanks for the memories, this for you grandma, Happy Mother's day.

My Grandpa had one of these. Silver with a silver vinyl top and blood red leather interior. It was pristine. It was his baby. When I was 17, Grandpa needed to borrow my truck and so I got to drive this tank for a week. I hated it. I called it the Pimpmobile. I learned to use the hood ornament as a guide while driving down narrow residential streets. Did I mention that he had Village People cassettes in the car (and this was in 1994)? It got 6 mpg. When he finally came back to get his car, he shot me a dirty look and said, "So, you're finally getting rid of the Pimpmobile, eh?" He sold the car soon afterward.

@warpig: Nice! I especially like the Gulia Super. I used to have a '67 and I LOVED that car.

This car ... top down ... funk playing ... cigar blazin' ... driving down 95 to the Keys.

THAT, my friends, would be LIVIN'!

@Brian B:

Thanks. I wil add some more photos sometimes.
The giulia stood outside the local kindergarden.
Ohh, it looks like the nsu suddenly moved to page 2. well, well.

Since everyone keeps talking aobut he roofline on these things I figure I might as well illustrate:

Sorry no pic of the front, Camera ran out of batteries when I returned to the car.

Big-block, check. Convertible, check. No front bumper, for better weight distribution - check!

And those look like those might be red leather seats, to top it off. LOVE.

@SundaySunday: He got a custom Continental... he got an Eldorado, too.

is it sleeping with its eyes opened?

In 1970s TV dramas, leading men drove cars like these.

Sweet find! The 72 small bumper cars were a one year only phenomenon, and the best looking of the breed, IMO.

Here are a couple of pics of mine...

[www.lincolnsonline.com]

I liked the 429 police interceptor engine better that year, otherwise velly niice.

@Froggmann: oh my god I had a 72 Lincoln connie in that very color with a green top, damn that thing was a boat.

@Froggmann: Of all cars affected by the crash bumper mandate of 1973-74, the Mark was probably messed up the most, aesthetically speaking. The '72 model shows how the turn-under of the bumpers was key to the design and imparted some sleekness to a huge car. The crash bumpers destroyed the sleekness and just left it looking huge and clumsy.

@wookie909: Your story makes me sad.