Feeling Continental?

To be totally honest, I initially hated all Continental kits, and thought they had no place on a custom… Apart from the stock 40s-era Lincoln equipped with  it’s namesake, my mind would always go to those over-the-top Foxcraft kits with bumper extensions and a goofy tacked-on tire sitting a mile high. How could an external spare tire look streamline, or simplify the looks of a well-designed custom car? But, along the way I’ve seen a few compelling custom cars they actually work quite well on. The key is to not push the rear bumper and fenders extremely far out, and don’t let the tire sit too high or perfectly upright (cant it forward, and sitting just above the decklid at the highest). Here’s a few Continentals that have gotten it right:

Barris Golden Sahara (2nd version): After the 1953 Lincoln Capri was totalled, Barris Kustoms went to town transforming the car into a custom. The second version completed in 1960 was even more radial, featuring a bubble top and twin tail fins. One nice touch was the Continental spare floated off the trunk lid and made the bumperless-rear look sexy.

Sam Barris ’55 Chevy Convertible: It was essentially a mild custom with Packard taillights, but the housings took up enough room to not make the fenders feel artificially lengthened. The spare was also sunk down way into the rear bumper, which kept the overall profile intact.

John Bozio 1953 Buick: This one is an East Coast 50s style custom built essentially in the early 60s. The sharp curved Packard lights make a nice set of pillars to frame the spare on his car, and like the Barris Chevy, the spare is sunk down so incredibly low that it really works.

El Jefe ’36 Ford ‘Black Dahlia’: Oddly, my only pre-war and only modern-built custom on the list. This one makes sense because the spare actually takes advantage of all that unused real estate on the long slopping tail after the rumble seat. What a perfect car to drive to the Continental Club in…