Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible, Black, for sale in Temecula, California, price on application.

This was a low-mileage, four-owner motorcar that had undergone a sympathetic restoration on an original “barn-find”. It is in nice condition and will soon be ready for continued TLC, showing in car shows or touring!! We have since embarked on a complete restoration including: bare metal repaint in the original black, fully rebuilt engine and transmission, rebuilt or replaced hydraulics throughout, new interior and convertible top. When completed this will be a concours quality restoration of a 50k mile motorcar.

This 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible comes to us as a magnificent four-owner icon. This car was bought on April 2, 1949 at the Adams-Bailey Co Lincoln Dealership located in Battlecreek, Michigan. Can you imagine the amazement for the dealership to receive a ’49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible to sell? We do not know if this was custom ordered by the original owners. This was bought new by the family that owned, amongst other things, the American Stamping Company located at 310 E. Burnham in Battlecreek, Michigan.

This was evidently owned afterward by a Doctor in Battlecreek and perhaps one other owner. It is in the 1950’s that the ownership chain is fuzzy.

By the early 1960’s a large collector of cars, Joe Evans also from Battlecreek, that owned Automotive Parts Stores and a wrecking yard, acquired the Cosmo Convertible. He held onto the car for the next 40 years! During his ownership the car was maintain totally original except some repair work and maintenance to prevent any damage from extensive storage.

This car never left Battlecreek until the Spring of 2005 when Mr. Evans sold the car to Stephan Paradine from Lake Station, Indiana. Mr. Evans was by then very elderly, in a walker and nearly blind. The car was still entirely in it’s original livery: original top, paint, interior, etc. It had amassed a mere 47,960 miles in the previous 55 years. The engine has never been rebuilt, repainted, etc. The engine number is 9EH 035769.

Mr. Paradine started a very sympathetic restoration. He was not out to restore the car. But instead, he wanted to make cosmetic and mechanical improvements to make it a fun car to drive and take to shows.

He had Broadway Glass and Trim in Merriville, Indiana re-trim the leather from the original dried out dark brown to the present two tone brown leather. The top was replaced using the original glass and frames for the unique rear windows in the correct tan Harrtz cloth convertible top.

The original black paint was chipped and had some door dents (but absolutely no signs of accidents or major rot issues). The Cosmo was repainted in a two stage deep black to match the original paint. We have spent considerable resources improving the paint to make it very serviceable and acceptable for car shows, etc. However, this was not a concours cosmetic restoration.

The engine had never been rebuilt, nor had it ever been painted. If you look carefully at the photos you will see that the original engine looked terrific for a 60+ year old car that had never been apart! The car drove well, had good oil pressure but needed a top end ring replacement. The four-speed hydromatic automatic transmission shifted well.

UPDATE: We have just started a complete and thorough rebuild of the engine and all major components. We will also be recarpeting the car and replating many pieces of trim. Further, we will be rebuilding the major suspension components and thoroughly cleaning and prepping the under-carriage for show!! We have decided that this car was worthy of taking to the next level!!! See it soon!

Mr. Paradine re-chromed many of the major pieces in Chicago. The chrome and stainless is nice overall - again, not concours quality but fine for car shows. So much of the chrome and stainless has be done by us during the restoration.

This car has never been shown at events or AACA shows. This is a natural car to participate in such events because of its rarity. So few people can say they’ve seen a gorgeous 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertibles in person! Even in 1949 most people would never see one!

Most car aficionados have never seen one of these gorgeous cars. We believe they are highly under-rated, likely due to their scarcity when new - and even more so today.

There were about 1,200 of the Cosmopolitan Convertibles made in 1949. Of the 1,200, approximately 12 are known extant. This is about as rare as we get for a top-of-the-line late 40’s dream car. A 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible was used by President Truman supplementing the famous Bubble Top exhibited at the Henry Ford Museum.

This is an extremely rare opportunity to own a top-of-the-line Lincoln for 1949. This Lincoln has the powerful 337 cu in flathead V-8 engine with 152 BHP at 3,600 RPM and the ever smooth and dependable four speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. It has a 125 inch wheelbase and a total length of 220.5 inches.

We assume that you have never had an opportunity to drive one of these rare gems. They absolutely surpass their contemporaries. We’re Packard nuts and a 1949 Packard Custom doesn’t even come close to this in terms of design or performance. This car is way ahead of it’s time.

As a recent value comp, a 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible from the Schudroff collection sold in Monterrey at the Gooding & Company auction in August of 2009 for $137,500. More details to follow on this motorcar… For more details about this car please call Harry at or email me at .