1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe

In 1961, the Ford Motor Company had reinvented the Lincoln Continental as a four-door only convertible or sedan, and it saw little change over the next four years, with perhaps the biggest change being an increase in the wheelbase from 123 to 126 inches in 1964. In 1966, the Lincoln Continental received a new body, and with it, a new two-door hardtop coupe model. It still used the 126-inch wheelbase, and styling was still very similar, with changes including an extended front adding nearly 5 inches to overall length, a grille with fine horizontal bars and a bulged center section, a front bumper that wrapped around to the front wheel openings, a slight rear fender bump-up just ahead of larger rear wheel openings, and flat instead of curved door glass. The 1966 Lincoln Continental was powered by a bored and stroked 340-horsepower 462-cubic-inch V8 engine, and the coupe started at $5,485. Thanks to the new coupe, Lincoln production reached almost 55,000 in 1966, though that was still only 25% of competitor Cadillac’s total. This example was photographed at the 2004 Clatskanie Heritage Days Car Show.

1966 Datsun 1600 Roadster

Datsun introduced its first sport roadster in 1959 with the Datsun 1000, and began importing them to the United States with the 1960 Datsun 1200. The Datsun 1500 was introduced in 1963, and in 1966 an increase in engine displacement also led to a name change and the model became the Datsun 1600. The Datsun 1600 was powered by a 96-horsepower dual-carburetor 1.6-liter overhead-valve inline 4-cylinder engine with a four-speed manual transmission.

All Datsun 1600s were sold as softtop roadsters. This well-kept and seemingly all-original example features an aftermarket removeable hardtop, turning this 1600 into an attractive two-toned coupe. I spotted it at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, in February 2001.