I see this has been discussed before, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102034&highlight=1930+hot+rod+lincoln but thought it of interest that it recently sold at Barrett-Jackson. http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/onlinesubmission/lotdetails.aspx?ln=7006&aid=466 What a cool car. "Son, you're going to drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln." Charlie Ryan created both the Hot Rod Lincoln and the song. Charlie was a musician, songwriter and car guy. In the late 1940s he purchased a 1941 Lincoln Zephyr 4 door sedan and decided to make a Hot Rod out of it. He removed the Zephyr body, cut two feet out of the frame to shorten the wheel base and dropped a 1930 Ford Model A body on it. Charlie installed a '48 Lincoln V12 engine in it with a '48 Lincoln 3-speed transmission with overdrive. He maintained as many Lincoln touches as he could which included cut-down Zephyr bumpers, Lincoln emblem on the radiator, Lincoln grey hound hood ornament and Lincoln hubcaps. The interior features a cut down '41 Lincoln dash and steering wheel. This was a huge build in the day. Now while working on the car Charlie is writing the lyrics for the song "Hot Rod Lincoln" in 1955 and the song gets released in 1957. The song became a National Hot Rod Anthem. For decades Charlie, Ruth and his band crisscrossed the country performing his songs an often taking the Hot Rod Lincoln with him. The Lincoln has been recently restored and was the star Hot Rod of the 60th Detroit Autorama in 2012. **TITLED AS A 1930 FORD** ** SOLD FOR $106,700.
I got to visit with Charlie Ryan ( I should say, stand there and listen to his stories) at a rod run in Spokane about 30 years ago. That wasn't too long after someone had convinced him to drag it out of storage and drive it a bit.
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