351ci M V8/C4 Automatic/Drivable Project/Oozes 50's Style/Options Galore

1956 Lincoln Premiere 2 Door Hardtop 

For consignment, a nice driver example of the 1956 Lincoln Premier in two door format with a Starmist White exterior.  Dripping with mid 1950's styling, this car makes use of big chrome bumpers, wrap around glass, rounded over finnage, and a massive continental rear bumper.  Shades of the Batmobile on the front headlights taken from the previous year's styling of the Ford concept car called the Futura are noted.  This car was bought by our consignor's father against his mechanic experience advice, but was tinkered with and became colloquially known as the “Pimp Mobile”.  A cruiser that father and son would work and then go for a cruise and have a few beers!

Exterior
With its borrowed headlight shape from the Lincoln Futura, it is looking much like the St. Louis arch with the bezels and descending waterfall vents on either side.  Just below is a horizontal ribbed grille with a large bumper topper running through the middle housing the ovoid styled turn signals.  More horizontal ribbing is seen below this, and then the massive lower bumper for the bottom caps things off.  Topping the hood is a beautiful large hood ornament in the form of a gold knight in winged swept back armor torso, and he sits within a dual chromed V which streaks rearward towards the large windshield.  Add in some L I N C O L N blocked type across the front of the hood and now we are dripping with chrome with some dimples and during showing for their condition.  All this dripping is going on top of a Maaco coat of Starmist White paint which shows some doling, chip offs and areas of body filler sanded roughly then painted over with rattle can.  Throughout the rest of the steel, we see more slathered on body filler, some cracking and underlying light rust developing, and chip off areas of said filler.  Script Lincoln badging in your grandmother's handwriting, rocker trimming which begins on the front quarter as a spear, and runs rearward where it widens and frames the rear wheel well that has a fender skirt installed.  On the back, large inverted V tail lights have a big rear bumper just below, which has tailpipes inserted along with the continental spare tire tray to make this car 20 feet long!  The bumpers show chrome delamination and areas of dimpling.  Thin whites and dog dish chrome wheel covers with a gold starburst, (think 50's!), are all around and all in fair condition.  A shout out to the white painted roof, and all the chrome surrounding the wrap around  windows, pillars and door sills…worth the price of admission just with this.  

Interior
Some additional jet age styling inside on the door panels with sleek molded in door armrest/pulls, a rounded padded chevron white insert and some black vinyl for the sills. The panels are soiled and show plenty of wear, especially in the sills. The wing window crank is in a big round dish bezel with perfectly preserved stainless and a black strip runs below and is offered up in ribbed vinyl.  A nifty molded-in courtesy light is just above the crank. I slip through the dirty thresholds and here I see a large split back bench with black tuck and roll inserts in tiger striped broadcloth, with white leather surrounding bolsters.  These chairs are very rough with lots of cracking at the seams and severe wear on the leather entry bolsters.  In back is a long rear bench in the same pattern as the front, with a white leather armrest in the center.  Talk about mid-century styling, take a gander at the dash.  It is loaded with innovative design, from the spaceship toggled air controls, to the cone shaped knobs with Bakelite and chrome, to the additional raised dash gauge cluster which pops out of the dash top in front of the driver.  The dash utilizes a crushed oval style shape with the top being black and the bottom being white.  Controls for power windows, power seats, a power antenna, power brakes, and numerous controls are positioned within reach of the driver.  All in 50's style gray outdoor carpet is below, and a new white headliner is above in pristine condition and in contrast to the rest of the interior.

Drivetrain
The 351ci M series V8 is under the hood and sits within an aged engine bay.  This replacement mill is from a late 70's Thunderbird and has a mild cam installed and sports a single 4-barrel Edelbrock carburetor and intake manifold atop. A 3-speed C4 from the same Thunderbird is on back and a 3.07 geared rear axle is also noted for the drivetrain.  This mill is peppered with dulled chrome add ons like the valve covers and open air cleaner housing. 

Undercarriage
Plenty of heavy surface rust, worn and tattered undercoating and some invasive rust on the inner rockers and body hangers is noted.  The frame is solid and rust free and the under door edges are showing some rust and crinkling of the edges.  Independent coil springs are on in front and leaf springs for the rear providing the ride and power drum brakes are all around.  A glasspack style dual exhaust is making its way from the front engine to back through the bumper exit.

Drive-Ability
A quick starter, and off to the test track where I could play with all the buttons and knobs to my heart's content.  Fine smooth acceleration, a smooth idle, good braking, and fantastic cornering for a large car, this is a real 1950's treat.  Being a sucker for mid century modern design doesn't hurt either. The gas gage was reading wonky, the power seat control is hidden, and the power antenna has been removed from the car, but all else was working as intended.

Very few examples of this car will exist, and in this condition, you have an open palette to do whatever you want and can drive it around whilst doing so.  Bang for your buck would be the buzz word for these beautiful pieces of Detroit sculpted iron, all with the customer in mind to show off their excesses to their suburban neighbors.