We discovered this 1946 Lincoln Club Coupe still in the hands of the original owner, he was moving into a retirement home and asked us to adopt it. This is a very unique shaped vehicle for this era, and the proportions and cabin size lend themselves very well to what we do. The body was in great condition, and the patina is epic. A repeat client commissioned the build. We decided to stay with Ford group power for this one, so we ran the current production Ford Mustang GT 5.0 V8.
• Art Morrison chassis
• 5.0 Coyote V8
• Ford 4R75W automatic transmission
• Wilwood power disc brakes (6 piston/4 piston)
• Custom stainless steel fuel system
• MIL Spec wiring harness, built from scratch
• Hidden audio system, Bluetooth dependent, four speakers plus amp & bass
• Hidden A/C and heat
• Modern wiper system
• Polyurea coated body
• Extensive use of Dynamat sound deadener products
• All new weatherstripping
• Power windows converted to electric, controlled through stock switches
• Bespoke custom leather embossed interior
• Rolls Royce wool carpet
• Vintage Aston Martin wool headliner
ICON 1946 Lincoln Derelict Video Overview
These Derelicts make people smile. So much character, zero attitude.
All glass was original, except the windshield which we replaced with modern safety glass.
Ride height is lower than stock, but still reasonable for daily use.
We decided to leave the cracked grill bar, as it is part of the story.
Ready for adventure!
Such great lines. One day we want to build a 1937 Zephyr coupe!
The lines flow from the cabin down through this beautifully designed rump!
Perfect flow of form here.
The natural patina on the body surfaces plays with light so well.
Again, the original seat designs are perfect. So we replaced the stock spring structure with memory foam, cleaned the stock frame, then crafted bespoke leather in a pattern of our own design.
Room for six!
In keeping with the era of this car, we decided to have some fun with the leather. Top grade hides throughout, and we took several of them and had this Art Nouveau pattern embossed into the hides, for a more unique design detail.
Originally, this would have been a woven cloth, but they deteriorate quickly. So we decided to do a unique weave in leather, from the remnants of the hides used for the seat surfaces.
Stock lines, all new materials. Behind the leather panel is Dynamat for sound deadening.
We worked long and hard to keep the dash looking original. The stock steering wheel was subtly modified to fit a custom steering column, which it turn connects to the rack & pinion via Borgenson joints and a collapsible stainless steel rod. The original three speed manual transmission shifter was modifed to control the modern automatic transmission. The center original speaker panel area was modified with a custom waterjet cut stainless insert (with larger-than-stock hole pattern) to function as vents for the modern A/C system.
The gauges were cleaned, not restored, and left looking original. On the inside, they were gutted and fit with reliable modern VDO electronics.
For the front speakers, we fit stainless bowls into the front kick panels, then fabricated the panels in steel which were eventually upholstered with leather. We repurposed vintage computer fan mesh screens for the grills.
These beautiful stainless and Bakelite power window switches were modified to work with our modern 12V electric window system.
Simply cleaned this original ashtray assembly, and changed the lighter element to a modern 12V unit.
Absolute perfection. Push button door handles. Folklore credits this design to a young Raymond Loewy.
The headliner was done in the stock pattern, using New Old Stock Aston Martin wool.
Talk about a stark contrast. Original finishes give way to the modern Ford Coyote 5.0 fuel injected V8. The engine bay is actually far less cluttered now than it was with the original V12.
The truck was panelled with this durable woven vinyl. The black case on the right in this image covers the amp and bass speaker. Note the polyurea coating on the floor. This was covered with a removable carpet mat before we delivered the car. Note the access door cut into the floor, for ease of fuel tank service.
Wheels were designed by starting with the shape of the stock 15" steel wheel, then CAD designing a similar shape that would fit our modern brakes and Z rated tires. CNC'ed in 6061 aluminum here in California, then powder coated. Sometimes we do custom hub caps but this client liked the look as it is.
The chassis was designed from a laser scan of the underside of the body. This allowed us to engineer the chassis to fit the body with no modifications, although we did add four additional body mounts for improved rigidity.
The chassis is media blasted then powder coated in a MIL Spec black semi-gloss finish.
Wilwod disc brakes all around. Six piston front, 4 piston rear, power assist. Tons of Whoa to match the Go!
Detail image of the TIG welded tubular front independent suspension with JRI coil-over shocks.
Four link rear holds the road and keeps it smooth while letting you slide a turn and roast a burn out when you want to!
Once the chassis is modelled, we CAD design the fuel tank. Our tanks fit internal baffles and pump, external Bosch filter, and stainless steel lines.
Art Deco perfection. We left these taillights appearing stock, but modified the housings to receive a modern LED light.