Ultra-rare Cruiser, Cali Car, $24k+ Invested, Not 1958 1960 1961 1962 Cadillac on 2040-cars

Well, classic car fans, we've all been there: I'm selling a car I never, ever thought I'd sell. This 1959 Lincoln combines the beauty of its original design with appeal of a custom, but without cutting the corners that so many builders unfortunately often do. Since I never intended on selling this car, I did everything with the intention of doing it once and doing it right. I spared no expense during the mechanical restoration. The suspension, steering, electrical, fuel, exhaust and all drivetrain components were all either completely rebuilt, tended to as necessary, or improved. As I have a wife and a toddler, you'll understand how important dependability and safety are to me.

My wife and I love this car, we've wrestled with the decision over the last couple of months and finally decided, after reviewing the various work our house needs as well as other financials, it's time to find her a new home. The Lincoln is a local celebrity; people have paid me to show up at music festivals, carnivals and twice for a Rockabilly themed art show / tattoo convention, they had a cool fisheye lens shot of her on the flyer. The Lincoln is an incredible sight in person, these pix don't do her justice. I had a few sets of professional shots but they're gone with my old crashed Dell laptop. The car's got intricate custom work; I owned the car for weeks before I discovered every little cool stylistic touch, the paint and the interior reveal clever craftsmanship and hours of labor. The shots you see here are just some quickies I took last summer for someone who wanted the car for a photo shoot. The car is pretty dirty in these pics, shot in front of the motel is a better indication of what the car looks like when clean. I will do my best to get some additional shots before the auction is over.

101k original miles, 430 V8. The engine and transmission had been rebuilt about fifteen years ago, the drivetrain has about 20k on it at this point. She's got every option available for the car: power windows, power VENT windows, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes (when replacing the master cylinder, I found manual brake masters are readily available, the power brake masters need to be rebuilt), "Directed Power Differential" (early posi-traction), four barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, six way "deep comfort" power seat, scotch-grain leather upholstery on the seats and padded dash, rear defroster, power door locks, factory tinted safety glass and deep-pile carpeting. It even has rear climate control courtesy of ducts going through the front doors and ending in adjustable chrome vents aimed into the rear seating area. It one of the most expensive production cars at the time, with the option list this car has the price tag was nearly $9000. The Lincoln came from Southern California, I still have the 1959 era California license plates. It was owned by a guy who had a custom motorcycle shop, he would park it out front with a signs in the windows advertising his shop.  He put it on Ebay when he was retiring and moving to Hawaii, I saw it, had the extra cash and had to have it. When he got the car in the early 90's it was totally stock and original, running well but showing the years inside and out. The body was straight and solid but the paint was a cracked, faded patina and the interior, while complete, was looking pretty worn. He didn't cut corners doing the paint and interior; the total for all the cosmetic work cost over $8000. The Lincoln has never had any body or floor repair, never hit or showing corrosion.We were at a car show last summer and entered the contest, the Lincoln actually won a "Best Custom", the judge remarking on the attention to detail, level of craftsmanship, and how tastefully the custom touches accented the car. When I explained that the car was from California he laughed, saying "That makes sense, they have more patience there".

Mechanical: When I got the Lincoln she looked great but needed work to be roadworthy. I replaced the entire brake system; as I mentioned, the master cylinder needed to be sent out to be rebuilt, new booster, all new lines and fittings, new hoses, wheel cylinders and rebuilt the emergency brake mechanism. I put on a new set of Coker wide whitewall radials at the same time. She also got the Pertronix electronic ignition / Flamethrower coil combo, it totally woke up the 430 V8. For a huge car she's pretty quick off the line now. With everything running right she gets 13-14 mpg on the highway. At highway speeds the RPM drops way down, she just cruises. She's got a nice dual exhaust system, everything welded and done right with Flowmasters exiting at each bumper corner; she's not loud, just has a nice low rumble. Suspension: the Lincoln got a front end rebuild, springs, inner and outer tie rods, bushings, ball joints, new KYB shocks all around, etc, the car now handles incredibly well for its size. The most recent work was this past fall; the rear axle got all new mounting hardware, shackles and bushings for that "on a cloud" ride as well as raising the rear to its proper height. I sent out the a/c compressor to be rebuilt but haven't installed it, it's boxed up in the trunk. The Lincoln is perfect for get-in-and-go cruising now.

Cosmetic: I hope to have more photos before the auction is over, especially of the smaller, detailed work on the interior; the photos speak for themselves. Overall the original style was kept intact, just made a bit fancier and more appealing. The interiors of these Lincolns are the complete opposite of the 59 Caddy; where the Caddy's interior is suprisingly plain for such a flashy exterior, the Lincoln's interior looks like a 50's era jukebox. It's all chrome and leather, lots of accented trim and stylish touches. When the interior was done everything, each little piece of trim, chrome, vinyl and leather was either reupholstered, rechromed, repadded or repainted. The seats are the most comfortable of any car I've ever had; the leather is supple and soft and the cushions and padding are way better than than stock. Each door panel looks like it got 6-8 hours of labor, all the factory patterns have been matched in a black and white color combination. I've had a '60 Continental as well as another '59 Premier previous to this one and I can say from  experience that the materials used to restore the interior of this car are far superior. The padded dash is covered in soft matte black leather, the headliner and visors have the original "dotted" look but made from a more modern, appealing material, even the visors have the matching piping. The door panels have super-fine stitching, only visible up close, that accents the overall design and flair, each section of the door panel (as I've mentioned, this  interior has style on top of style) looks to have been disassembled and done separately. The plush carpet imitates the original style as well but has a nice layer of cushioning underneath, even the kick panels look like they took 3-4 hours each! They have the piping to accent the curves, a nice understated flair of Von Dutch style pinstriping in red down the center, everything matches the overall color scheme perfectly. I have never seen another stock-yet-custom interior that was so tastefully done ever, whoever designed and installed it was certainly gifted. The striping accents are repeated in unexpected places, even the door jambs (both on the pillar and on the door itself) have little swoops of red / white striping as well as the sides of the repainted dash. What could have been overdone and tasteless is restrained and careful, each little accent carried off perfectly and accenting and enhancing the Lincoln's style. I've had guys at car shows tell me that while they not into custom cars they just love the Lincoln, one woman proclaimed it  "Automotive Art". The dual spotlights are dummies but they can be wired up and made to work. All the glass is in great shape, no scratches on the windshield, no hazing or cloudiness anywhere. The two front power window motors were replaced shortly before I got the car, they're both really fast. The rear windows take their time but get there. When the interior was done a full set of seat belts were installed, color matched to the interior as well.

The Lincoln has a modern cd/mp3/ipod control stereo with a remote mounted in a universal kit under the dash with 6 1/2 round speakers molded into the kick panels (with another little pinstripe swoosh to accent it), tweeters on either end of the top of the dash, 6x9 speakers in the rear deck (the deck was not cut, you can't see the speakers) and a nice amplifier/subwoofer setup in the trunk. Needless to say, the car sounds AMAZING. Not just powerful, but very crisp and clear; the tweeters are perfectly located on top of the dash to create a perfect "sound stage", offsetting the midbass from the full range speakers and the solid, deep bass from the trunk. Incidentally, the trunk is upholstered in vintage style black "loop" carpet. I'm a car audio enthusiast and a fan of many different types of music so all the components (Sony stereo, Pioneer speakers, JBL subwoofer) are expensive, top of the line car audio. I replaced all the stereo components that came with the car with new, high end equipment and you can certainly hear it. One of my favorite things to do with the Lincoln is take her out on a nice day, drop the side windows so it's all open (it's a hardtop, no post between front and back windows), get on the highway and turn up the tunes. I can almost guarantee that she's got a better sounding stereo than you've got in your modern car. I'm not even going to mention the cost of the installed sound system.

The engine always starts easily, even after sitting for a month or two. She cruises nicely on the highway and holds the road perfectly. Runs very  strong, 350 horsepower 430 V8 moves this old girl with LOTS of power, idles perfectly, shifts smoothly, stops easily and the  suspension is luxurious. I've got more invested in the Lincoln (easily $24k) than any other car I've ever had because I never planned on selling her. When you look at the car, you actually WANT to address anything that's wrong and give her what she wants (like a beautiful woman!). Whoever buys this car will immediately see the love, talent and funds that went into getting her to where she is today. It's funny, at car shows people will walk right by $80k restored showpiece cars to take photos and ask about my Lincoln. When you go to car shows you will most likely be the only 59 Lincoln, most people have never seen one; be prepared for people to say things like "Is that a prototype?" or "My uncle had a Dusenberg, too!"