Projects 1954 Lincoln Capri.....a car with a small history

Hi my name is Thorsten and I´m from Germany.I´m a photographer and one of the european guys from customikes.com.Last July I bought my first american car, a 1954 Lincoln Capri, from a 67 year old man.







The last owner told me that one his friends imported the Lincoln with two other cars from California in 1990. The car came from Redondo Beach,California.
First thing I did to the Lincoln, I installed white wall rings and moons

 

nice ride

 

after checking all the papers that I got with the car I found the original waranty card from 1954



the Lincoln was sold 09-01-1954 in Medford Oregon to a women with the name Vetabelle P. Carter.
After spending some hours at Google I found out that her complete name was Vetabelle Phillips Carter and she was an inventor in the 20th and 30th. She was born in 1889 and had the patent for the illuminated flashing sign that read "STOP ARTERIAL".

A few weeks ago I got contact to her 83 year old daughter, Paulena Verzeano, a female concert pianist that was better known under the name Paulena Carter. She told me that she drove the car after her mother died in 1978. At the moment I´m waiting for some more contact to her, to more information about the car.

 

last October I began the project mild custom after playing a little bit with photoshop. i think that will be the way I want to go with the Lincoln.



but I think it will be a long winter with a lot of work

 

in rust we trust





and the old exhaust ...in parts



turning off the front to get mor space for the next steps









317.5 cui Y Block



I´m happy that have enough space in my workshop

 

I need new bushings for the front suspension

 

Looks like a nice score.Keep us posted on progress.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

the wheels

before ( paintstripped)



and after



with moons and with trim rings



found a 57 Ford 12 Volt alternator on ebay for 25 bucks



and it is renewt now....still waiting for it



found a company 60 miles from my home that builds springs in every hight you want
original springs vs new springs....-2,5 inch

 

cutiing the rust









the fenders after welding



engine mounts old (60years) vs new





the parts after paintstripping....now they are ready for the next step.....powdercoating



valvecovers are also stripped



with basecoat



and painted in gold



steeringwheel needs to be repaired too

 

Thorsten,
Great find! It's like a time machine. Your plans and progress are awesome. What part of Germany are you from. In another life time I spent time in Germany with the US Army. Loved my time there...! Keep posting your progress...

 

Remember that's not an alternator, that's a generator. The charging rate is not the same. Iceman

 

Coming along very nicely . I like your photoshop goal too .

 

Very nice, I'll be following your progress.

 

parts are back from powdercoating

 

nice !

 

valvacovers are done



paint and rust stripping



new paint



the new rims are deliverd



the original aircleaner before....



and after the paintstripping....



and now with basecoat



plate is done for the hole of the fuelpump, ´cause he´ll get an electric one



inside the fenders





with some paint the firewall will look very good

 

nice work and nice project! Its cool to find the history of the car like that. I would love to know more about who owned my vehicle prior to me.

 

Today here in Germany arrived a small package from Ashland/Oregon. Inside some pictures and a small text about Mrs.Vetabelle Phillips Carter the first owner of my 1954 Lincoln. I got this little surprise from Paulena Verzeano, the 83 year old daughter of Mrs. Carter.

 

the new "shoes"...no I`m still waiting for the trim rings and spidercaps......and the two inch lowering blocks



here´s my small workshop...for the moment

 

For your amusement; Based on the serial number, your Capri was number 3960 of the Lincolns produced in 1954 at the Los Angeles, CA Assembly Plant. Ford started each years production run in that plant with serial #LA(for Los Angeles) 5001(start of sequence) H. If I had access to the style & body specif. sequences I could provide production date,original trim & paint codes, as these are available from service manuals/catalogues for these cars. (I have a 1952 Cosmopolitian, & '52-'54 bodies are very similar.)

 

VERY HIGH PRAISE ON THE WORK YOU ARE DOING ON THIS CAR!!! When you are through 'fixing' & move on to 'drive/enjoy' you will find this to be one of the best road cars ever, especially for the era, & extremely durable : The engine was from the Ford large commercial truck, the transmission was from GM commercial, the rear axle & brakes were from Ford light truck, the front suspension was a new design; these cars won their class in the Carrera Panamerica(Mexican Road Race) in the early '50s, a very demanding series of races.

 

Thank you for that information ...step by step I learn more about my car..

 

welding is done...



and the aircleaner is now paited in gold like the valve covers



also my parts arrived and I can start with the assembly,,,thanks to Dollner Classics from Georgia for the support ;-)



first thing to do with the arrived part?? checking how the wheels look like with the new trim rings and the spider caps



in the next few days it´ll get lowerd 2 inches ....

next step was starting with the exhaust system

 

i thought the Lincoln capri was a glorified Ford, but a hell of a lot faster!!
nICE LOOKING CAR! ( i HAD A '53 Ford)

 

Man, these cars look good even in a more door. Nice job and nice ride.

 

yesterday I began to complete the front suspension



first time on his own wheels since last November



two of my three dogs inspecting the workshop



after I got deliverd a pair of wron lowering blocks I decided to build my own once....
two inch sqaure tubes...and now the u bolts are to short...the deliverd once have the same sice than the originals.....hope to get some in the next few days

 

little update ....first rollout ....





like this view...2inch deeper in the back and 2,5 inch in the front...

took the valvecovers and the aircleaner onto the engine only to see how it looks like





hope the next step will be the wiring

 

Like your Lincoln. Thanks for the pictures to document what you're doing.

I bought a '54 Capri Coupe a few months ago. I need to do everything you are doing and MORE!!!!!

 

small update again
I got the old ´´57 Ford alternator, now we can change to 12 Volts



it´s a little bit smaller....but it fits perfect...with a little bit work



last week we started the new wiring...THX to my friend Dominque and his buddy Stefan ´cause without their help I have no chance to get the car back ontthe road.....I can install a radio but that´s all of electric work I can do

all old lights will get new cables



new cbles for the taillights





the instruments will also get new wireing





the inner fenders got a little more paint again, ´cause the powdercoating was a little bit to thin



found the wright place for the new electric fuel pump





next step is done...wiring the starter and the alternator is also finished



yesterday I mounted the fender to see the stance with the new springs...I like it ´cause with the complete weight of the front and the wright installation I think it will go down again for minimum 5cm extra

 

I'm still watching.

I bought my '54 Capri Coupe and it was less than 2 miles from the house.

Then I found a complete '57 Lincoln 4-dr within 3 miles of my house. I didn't buy the car, but the complete 368 V-8 and auto trans are now at my place. the '57 engine is the preferred engine to build.

So far, my total investment is $1,700.