Projects Diamond in the rough... 1954 Lincoln Capri

My boyfriend just bought me a 1954 Lincoln Capri, we are working on it to make it a drivable mild custom. I suppose you can say it was a garage find but it was one of those deals where we always knew where it was and what was done to it, which wasnt much, but the owner told us he was selling it and we jumped right on the offer...

This is what it looked like when we bought it...


The dash and glass are in almost perfect condition











The interior cleaned up really well and we are keeping it all the only thing we will have to buy will be carpet...


Original door pannels before and after cleaning....










After we got all the stuff together we put wheels on her we upgraded her living quarters to the garage...


We have been working on her almost once a week. Sanding the rust and spray paint off, cleaning the crap up the previous owner attempted to do.. we are going to put a Yblock back in her and of course using the beautiful Lincoln valve covers..



Myself and my car...


Needless to say I love this car...

 

I agree...diamond in the rorugh and not all that rough either...I love 'em too. Nice looking cars. Have you searched out info on the early-mid 50 lincolns being raced in the pan-am races back in the 50s? They did very well.
Is the engine/transmission ok? Going to keep it fairly original?

 

Yes I did a lot of research on this car and found out that they did race them a lot back in the day which I think is totally cool! I love going to the drags and just watching the old cars get it done in general but I dont think I could turn this into a racer I dont have the balls or skills
As far as the engine, it is stuck but we are going to put a yblock in her and we have the transmission too and were gonna clean that up and use it. and she is gonna stay fairly original. it lets people know this car has a story. but all the stainless is going back on and chrome as well. Its gonna be an original low cruser...

 

Beautiful girl....beautiful car.....always a killer combination.

You've got the benefit there of a true factory independent front suspension. And, you're right, a y-block is a great choice.

 

When you say you're putting a Y block in it, are you referring to the Ford/Mercury style Y block or a Lincoln Y block like what it came with? Because you said you want to run the Lincoln valve covers but I'm fairly sure they won't fit on the Ford/Mercury style Y's, they're two different engines.

Looks like a nice car though, be sure to continue posting pictures as it moves along.

 

A 302 would be a lobotomy for that car..... Lincoln Y blocks are incredibly cool engines, if yours is shot, ya might wanna find a 56-57 368.. that'll also slot right in there.

And Lincoln Y block valve covers are so cool it hurts.

Love the car BTW!

 

Great score - looks rock solid.

 

Thank everyone!!!
As far as the engine.. I am sorry i did not clarify.. we are going to put a ford 292 engine in to get it running so i can drive it as soon as possible and while I am running with that in it we are going to fix the lincoln engine and then put that it her when its working properly... I just want to be able to drive it as soon as possible.

 

a very awesome looking project , and a very attractive mechanic , good luck with your ride , and please keep posting pictures of your car as you bring it back to the road

 

That is one cool dash!

 

here the whole thing for ya sorry i dont have one of it after we cleaned it all up...

 

Looks like you're off to a great start! Keep us posted.

 

Very nice, get her running and back on the road....... Enjoy......

 

neat car. lottsa luck.

 

These are beautiful cars. Someone may be able to post a picture of the pale pearl yellow one that was showing up in Rod and Custom and some other places a while back.

 

I'm glad to see your on here finally , keep up the great work !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Very cool. Keep at it, hope you get it on the road soon.

 

Ya know... might be worth yanking the heads on the Lincoln engine real quick... see if a quick soak in ATF/Kroil/etc will free it up.

Would be less work than swapping an engine, also I am not 100% sure if the Lincoln and Ford Y Blocks share a bellhousing pattern, but others on here know more than I do.

I sure hear ya about wanting to drive it ASAP!

 

Thanks for the info! That is the game plan as of right now. when we got the car the engine and trans were already yanked out so were just taking it one day at a time cause there is so much that needs to be done..

 

HEY CODY!! and this work will not be as great as your work! Dont tell corry that haha

 

Looks like pretty solid,so i guess you dont have to weld much...
Is that rear bumper override an original piece?

 

Unless you have a good 292 lying around this is a good plan... and if the original Lincoln engine is shot, I've seen good used 368s for sale on here for cheap. Google Kano Labs, order a can of Kroil and get it soaking.

I can't wait to see this thing on the road.. I LOVE old Lincolns.. still holding out hope that I'll find just the right 56 Premiere coupe... Meanwhile I'm working on my '60 Premiere.

 

I believe so to answer your question for the bumper peice. The car was never changed through the years and everything there is original to the car. As far as welding....there is some rust repair but not much...nothing thats going to be a problem.

 

Good choice, they are beautiful cars. Nice to see a youngster saving an old car. Have fun with it.

 

I love these cars! I can't believe how clean the door panels got. Nice work. Subscribed!

 

a friend of ours does have a running 292...thats why we're going to use that for now. This allows us to get it on the road and enjoy it....then do the lincoln motor right and put it in a little down the road.

 

I know we got lucky while we were cleaning it the interior stuff up I was like holy crap these are usable and great looking and blue I love blue. and thank you for subscribing..

 

tell the skinny blonde that she needs to replace the headliner. that one is brittle and everything that touches it will make holes and tears

 

the skinny blonde says its not that bad she will just make sure she doesnt touch it.. but no it is in good enough shape that we can work on the things that we "need" first then get to the things we "want" like the head liner.. yeah i dont like that its got that color in the creases but it ties in with the cracked seats and the clean door pannels, they all tell the cars story..

 

....the Lincoln 368 as mentioned gets my vote....here's mine for some inspiration...