The names Lincoln and Mercury have long been linked in corporate planning at Ford Motor Company . As products , though , the two brands were perhaps never penny-pinching than they were in 1949 , develop the 1949 LincolnConvertibleCoupe .
Ford ’s first all - new railroad car since before World War II came out for ' 49 , including two lines of Lincolns . At the top sit the Cosmopolitan series , with four distinctive bodies . The base serial shared its shell with Mercury , however . In fact , as originally conceptualize by stylist E. T. " Bob " Gregorie , the " baby " Lincoln was presuppose to be the new postwar Mercury ( and the Merc the new Ford ) . Then a rethinking by Ford ’s new direction squad boosted all the lines up a footmark , allowing for a line of little Fords to be created .
The entry - tier ' 49 Lincoln came in three body styles : coupe , four - door sedan , and convertible . They partake in the Mercury ’s ceiling lineage , divided windscreen , and front wing melody that faded into the room access near the body midpoint . However , " 9EL"-series machine sported the " frenched ' headlights , " frowning " grille , and circular taillights that visually tie in them to the Lincoln Cosmopolitans .
Then , too , both Lincoln limb shared a powertrain – and it was new . Gone were the V-12s of the Zephyr years , replaced by a 152 - bhp " flathead " V-8 displacing 336.7 three-dimensional inches . It was driven through a three - speed manualtransmission(though General Motors ’s Hydra - Matic reflex became a late - time of year alternative ) .
At 121 in , the base Lincoln ’s wheelbase was four inches short than the Cosmo ’s – but three inches longer than Mercury ’s . All shared in the corporate shift to independent frontsuspension , semi - elliptical rearward leaf spring , and open driveshaft .
usher in in April 1948 , the two Lincoln series accounted for more than 73,000 cars for the long simulation year . They were case - lifted for 1950 ( and again for ' 51 ) , but the $ 3,116 cornerstone - series sofa bed would not return after that first time of year .
William Harper , of Linwood , Michigan , have the rare " baby " Lincoln ragtop ensure here . Outfitted with optional fog lamps and overdrive , its first owner was a Minnesota physician , who observe it until 1979 . Harper purchased it from the second owner in 1990 . Since then , he has modernise theengineand return the rouge and top to their original colors .
