1959 Lincoln Continental Chinook Camper front three-quarter imageAccording to the seller, today's Nice Price or No Dice Lincoln is one of only ten Mark IVs converted to campers by Chinook. On top of that revelation, it's also said to look and drive excellently. Let's see what such a wonder might cost.Have you ever given any thought to where the Audi nameplate came from? The name Audi is of Latin origin and is connected to the surname of the company's founder, August Horch. In German, Horch means "listen," while in Latin, Audi means "to listen."We didn't have to listen to any sales spiel on last Friday's 2012 Audi R8 Quattro Spyder; the oddball pictures in the ad, along with the seller's assurance that cryptocurrency was an acceptable form of payment, told us all we needed to know. Because of those issues, the $74,399 price tag, while not out of line with the car's specs and age, came across as a trap for the unwary. Ultimately, we came away wary and sent the Audi on its way with a 61% 'No Dice' loss. It's a Lincoln, what?1959 Lincoln Continental Chinook Camper front three-quarter imageDo you like classic American iron? How about weird professionally-built, carefully maintained, and restored mashup campers? Yeah, that's an extremely specific category, but I don't know how else to describe this 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Chinook car-camper.The 1958-1960 Lincoln Continentals are notable for several reasons. The models were the first to offer a four-door carrying the Continental name, and they also shifted from a body-on-frame design to what would be, at the time, the largest unit-body car Ford ever built.That unit-body structure makes it even more remarkable that the Chinook Camper company decided to build a small number of car campers on the platform. According to the seller and what sparse history is available on these marvelous motorhomes, only four were built in 1959. A total of 10 were constructed and sold over the course of the model's run, per the ad.While this generation of Continental introduced a new, lower, longer style to Lincoln's lineup, the Chinook camper addition brings stand-up room and an over-the-cab sleeper to the party. It's an odd, and oddly appealing mashup. Let's go glamping1959 Lincoln Continental Chinook Camper passthrough imagePer the ad, the camper has a mere 48,000 original miles, and, if the pictures are to be believed, has had an engine-out restoration. The bodywork, both the Lincoln part and the Chinook bit are straight and clean, featuring plenty of brightwork on the front, and ribbed aluminum panelling on the back. A white-and-blue paint scheme is carried over into the interior upholstery, though that is paired with diamond-plate cabinetry and wonderfully hued avocado appliances.Above the driver's seat is a two-up bed bracketed by jalousie windows for ventilation. I've never understood how old-school campers kept those things in place when bouncing down the highway. There appear to be four of them on this camper. There may be even more, but we don't get a picture of the back end.Facebook MarketplaceEverything in the camper section seems tidy and serviceable. Plus, the chessboard flooring makes me want to invite Lorraine Baines McFly to the sock hop. This is a Chinook camper, so the bones of the structure should be pretty sound and well-constructed. M.E.L.-odious1959 Lincoln Continental Chinook Camper 430 CID V8 imageSpeaking of well-built, it looks like this Lincoln's engine has been pulled, and at least repainted before being slotted back in the engine bay. That's a 430 CID M.E.L. (Mercury, Edsel, Lincoln) V8 that the seller claims made 385 (gross) horsepower back in the day. Backing that up, and also pulled and painted, is a two-speed automatic that the seller says is a "heavy-duty" truck transmission. The engine bay surrounding the big-block V8 has also seen a fresh coat of paint, which really ties the appearance together.Per the seller, the drivetrain is original to the car/camper and runs excellently, without issue. There's no A/C, but with a vehicle as cool as this, that probably wouldn't be missed. Full wheel covers and white sidewall tires dress up the outside, and pair well with the new-looking two-tone paint. The only thing that could make this camper more of a perfect throwback is if it came with Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and a pack of Lucky Strikes.We're not told in the ad, so we'll have to assume for our purposes that the title is clean and the car carries current registration. The seller claims that age (theirs, not the camper's) is driving the sale. Kickin' it at the KOA1959 Lincoln Continental Chinook Camper cab-over bed imageOkay, by now you are either mortified or wildly intrigued by this Lincoln camper; there can be no middle ground with such a vehicle. For the former, my apologies. For the latter, let's now consider this crazy camper's $50,000 price tag.Yes, that's a butt-load of cash, but what exactly are we expected to comp such a vehicle against? It's pretty much a stand-alone offering, so we'll just have to do our best.What's your best take on this classic camper and that $50K asking price? Does that feel fair considering this Lincoln's uniqueness, history, and condition? Or do you think you'd have to be a schnook to pay that much for this Chinook?You decide!H/T to David Seal for the hookup!Help me out with Nice Price or No Dice. Contact me at robemslie@gmail.com and send a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.
