Continental Mark ll Cabriolet... [PIC]

Ironically the Continental Mkll was originally designed in 1953 as a convertible. The stock cowbelly frame employed was set up for a convertible and in the second year of production, a third crossmember was eliminated as unnecessary for the hard top. Seeking to expand the Continental lineup, two convertible prototypes were ordered. A black stock Mkll was sent to Hess & Eisenstadt (think Kennedy limo) for the conversion. This car went on display a Chicago dealership to entice wealthy buyers (the standard Mkll was $2000 more than a Cadillac). A second white Mkll convertible was finished a year later built by Derhan Coachbuilders to be shown at the 1956 Texas State Fair I guess to woo oil money. This car caught the eye of William Clay Ford and he had Ford repaint it his favorite Honolulu Blue and ultimately it became his family car, mostly driven by his wife. Both cars were eventually sold to collectors and various top mechanisms were made, in essence, to duplicate the look of Charley Phaneuf's 1953 drawings.

Franklin Mint did a nice conversion of their venerable Mkll hard top. I'm not sure where they got this color from. It's not Honolulu Blue nor the dark slate blue one appeared with at a recent Pebble Beach appearance.