1956 Lincoln Capri Sportsman. Anyone seen one of these?

[George Smolinski]

Never knew it existed.

[Rusty_OToole]

I do recall seeing pics a long time ago. It was probably a one off show car or possibly the dream of someone with a Lincoln Log fetish.

Edited February 20 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[8E45E]

Never saw it in person, but it was on the cover of Car Collector magazine, accompanied by an article inside in the 1980's.

 

Craig

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

That treatment worked on the Chrysler.  Not so much here, I think.  The reason not many [any ? ] around?

 

  Ben

Edited February 20 by Ben Bruce aka First Born (see edit history)

[54Coupe]

I've never seen that..... I'm not a fan.

[Matt Harwood]

This is a made-up car built by some guy in his home garage. Not a factory build or show car. We had a pretty extensive discussion on it a few years ago. It's vaporware.

[58L-Y8]

I encountered it and its builder the first time in 1990 at the Road Race Lincoln Registry held at Avon, CT.   The restorer/customizer was a skilled older fellow from New England who also built a replica mahogany Hispano-Suiza boattail on a '30's Buick chassis.  Of course, rather than admit it was a personal custom, he and another RRLR member invented a complete backstory.  Iirc the details, it was purported to be a 'New England regional show car' which because it appeared so briefly, no period photos could be found to document it.  Car Collector magazine ran an article repeating this fiction and when it eventually went to auction, it was promoted by repeating the story again.   As Walt G points out, when misinformation is repeated enough, it comes to be accepted as fact.  BTW, the 'Sportsman' scripts are from the '60's-'70's Dodge trucks,

[George Smolinski]

Is it still around?

[58L-Y8]

4 minutes ago, George Smolinski said:

Is it still around?

Oh yes, and around...and around.  Passed around like a bad penny...

BTW, it's a garden variety 1955 Lincoln Capri convertible, one of the 1,487 built, none with wood pasted on.

Edited February 20 by 58L-Y8
addendum comments (see edit history)

[Curti]

If I owned the car, I would remove it and do the body work and repaint it. 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

18 minutes ago, Curti said:

If I owned the car, I would remove it and do the body work and repaint it. 

THEN it would look JUST like all the rest.  

 I am not enamored with this car.  As long as it is not touted as FACTORY I am ok with it.

 

  Ben

[John_S_in_Penna]

To my view, the applied wood looks amateurish.

The vertical cross-pieces take away from the

smooth horizontal lines.  The wood on the trunk

is awkward and unattractive.  It's clearly applied

to the surface.

 

1 hour ago, 58L-Y8 said:

The restorer/customizer... and another RRLR member invented a complete backstory.

...when it eventually went to auction, it was promoted by repeating the story again.   

Intentional misrepresentation is called lying.  Honest

mistakes can be excused, but the customizer should

never have started his story or let it circulate.  He should

have taken credit for his "creation" and let custom-car fans

admire his handiwork.

 

Thankfully, most people in our hobby are upstanding.

 

Edited February 20 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

1 minute ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

To my view, the applied wood looks amateurish.

The vertical cross-pieces take away from the

smooth horizontal lines.  The wood on the trunk

is odd and grotesque.  It's clearly applied to the

surface.

 

Intentional misrepresentation is called lying.  Honest

mistakes can be excused, but the customizer should

never have started his story or let it circulate.

Thankfully, most people in our hobby are upstanding.

John:

 

The minute I met this customizer fellow, I got the vibe that here was a gladhander who after a handshake one should count one's fingers.  He found a kindred spirit in the other fellow mentioned who help promote the bogus backstory.  Individuals of poor integrity to be held at arm's length.

 

On the design and execution quality, it indeed looks very amateurish in person.  The implication was Ford Design provided the wood pattern design which bears little resemblance to anything they were applying to their station wagons at the time which might be expected.   Other than station wagons which by 1955 were faux molded wood framing and DiNoc wood-grain vinyl decals, the idea of wood-paneled convertibles was passe.   The telltale giveaway of it's being a fake were the chrome "Sportsman" scripts on the front fenders I recognized from '60's-'70's Dodge pick-up trucks. 

 

Steve 

[28 Chrysler]

The wood is over the top of the sheet metal instead of replacing it. That is the major reason it looks odd, compare the wood to  the way it was done on the Chryslers.

 

[hook]

Now all it needs is a chain mail top. Made of stainless of course, so it won't rust.

[63RedBrier]

9 minutes ago, hook said:

Now all it needs is a chain mail top. Made of stainless of course, so it won't rust.

What’s a “chain mail top?”

[hook]

Just now, 63RedBrier said:

What’s a “chain mail top?”

Look up chain mail

[60FlatTop]

It could have looked a lot better, more integrated and less like cladding.Too many vertical strips. And the yellow does help much although it isn't the killer.

 

It made me think of this Buick Roadmaster that went the other way.

 

 

The "wood" surround on these cars is wood grain painted aluminum. I have seen one of the polished RM's in person, stunning.

 

Adding those custom touches to cars balances on the sharpest edge know to man, Like between the Peakness and a donkey cart. Most get the cart.

[JACK M]

3 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

a gladhander who after a handshake one should count one's fingers.

Thats a good one.

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

On the design and execution quality, it indeed looks very amateurish in person.  The implication was Ford Design provided the wood pattern design which bears little resemblance to anything they were applying to their station wagons at the time which might be expected.   Other than station wagons which by 1955 were faux molded wood framing and DiNoc wood-grain vinyl decals, the idea of wood-paneled convertibles was passe.   The telltale giveaway of it's being a fake were the chrome "Sportsman" scripts on the front fenders I recognized from '60's-'70's Dodge pick-up trucks. 

I will have to re-read the article, but if I remember correctly, it was Formica, or a similar thin laminate material in a woodgrain finish that was used, and not Di-noc.  

 

Craig

[60FlatTop]

25 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

I will have to re-read the article, but if I remember correctly, it was Formica, or a similar thin laminate material in a woodgrain finish that was used, and not Di-noc. 

I am building a new computer desk for my home office. It is called a floating desk, !' laminate oak finish. I wanted a brass edge molding and figure some gold automotive side trim will work fine. I sure hope it doesn't end up on some custom furniture forum being slandered.

[DFeeney]

Where are the "Termites" when you need them. 

[8E45E]

2 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

I am building a new computer desk for my home office. It is called a floating desk, !' laminate oak finish. I wanted a brass edge molding and figure some gold automotive side trim will work fine. I sure hope it doesn't end up on some custom furniture forum being slandered.

Good one!  

 

Your comment reminds me of a 1957 Plymouth dashboard.  The same, thin, textured aluminum gauge surround also appeared on Philco TV sets, and General Electric cooktops from the same era.

 

Craig

[yachtflame]

11 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

I do recall seeing pics a long time ago. It was probably a one off show car or possibly the dream of someone with a Lincoln Log fetish.

You mean a nightmare!

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

50 minutes ago, yachtflame said:

You mean a nightmare!

👎👎

[8E45E]

The 1987 Car Classics article:

 

[Rusty_OToole]

Cars like this are sometimes called phantoms. They represent someone's idea of a car the company could have made but never did. Sometimes they are based on drawings or prototypes that were announced or shown but never built. As long as they are not misrepresented as something they are not, no harm is done. Even if they are, this shades into the realm of hoaxes or practical jokes as long as they don't attempt to make money off it. If they did  you would have a case of fraud.

[mercman from oz]

That car in question is a 1955 Lincoln, not a 1956 Lincoln.

 

[mercman from oz]

[Dave Wells]

Sorry, but this Lincoln brought to mind one of these:

 

 

 

[B Jake Moran]

Wait. How could a magazine like Car Collector and all those shows fall for such a scam?   The author of the article must have been paid to go along with the lie, because he said he remembered seeing the car at a Baltimore dealership.  
 

The article has no photos of the original car, no photos of the restoration process. As noted, no documentation.  That author should have never been allowed to write another article- ever.  

[John_S_in_Penna]

12 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

As long as they are not misrepresented as something they are not, no harm is done. Even if they are, this shades into the realm of hoaxes or practical jokes as long as they don't attempt to make money off it. If they did  you would have a case of fraud.

I'll have to disagree:  A lie is a lie.  Reading the 

article above, no one would know where truth ended

and falsehoods began.  What if 50% of our magazine

articles told untrue history?

 

Did Lincoln really produce 12 "Colour Cars" for various

regions?  The author of the article even remembers--

or misremembers--seeing this car.  The author says his

cousin worked for the dealership that displayed the car.

Are all of these false?  Probably.

 

As for money, the magazine wasted several pages that

could have been used to further true history or advertise

some useful services for collectors.  The article says this

falsehood won "Best of Show" awards 5 times.  Based on

false premises, the owner took those awards away from

genuine cars.

 

One can see that even today, more than 30 years after the

falsehood, we are having to sort out truth.  

 

Edited February 21 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[8E45E]

13 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

What if 50% of our magazine

articles told untrue history?  

False stories do happen from time to time.  There was a famous instance within Packard and Studebaker circles involving a former Studebaker-Packard employee who embellished a story about reviving a 'real' Packard in the early 1960's with a V-12 engine, employing a ton of photoshop, which was a rather new technology in the early 2000's.   His article made it to the August, 2002 issue of Turning Wheels, and a similar article on one of the Packard newsletters.  It didn't take long for the article to be dissected and all the discrepancies pointed out.  Both newsletter editors expected the story to be 'creditable' as the auther, Paul McKeehan, was an employee at the time, and he actually did design the AC-3155 accessory wheel covers that did make production on 1964-'65 Studebakers.

 

V12 Packard,the final word (google.com)

 

Paul McKeehan's "Last Packard" (TW 8-02) - Studebaker Drivers Club Forum

 

TW's V12 Reply (google.com)

 

PACKARD V12 - Packard Club (google.com)

 

60's Packard V12 (google.com)

 

Craig

[Rusty_OToole]

Unfortunately there are a lot of hoaxes or false stories and always have been. Sometimes I think most of what we "know" is false. Part of being a grownup is sorting out the real from the fake, not an easy job.

[West Peterson]

47 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Did Lincoln really produce 12 "Colour Cars" for various

regions? 

Yes, but actually, Ford called them "Trim and Color" cars. Many, if not most of them, fell into obscurity and without any fan-fare. They were actual production cars with fancy trim and color, so they could, and would be sold to customers. Once "used up," they were neglected and sent to the back of the property or to a junk yard. The "color and trim" cars were way overshadowed by the true concept cars. In 1955, Ford's Futura was gaining all the publicity. No one bothered turning around to photograph a regular production car with unique color and upholstery.

[Marty Roth]

22 hours ago, 28 Chrysler said:

The wood is over the top of the sheet metal instead of replacing it. That is the major reason it looks odd, compare the wood to  the way it was done on the Chryslers.

 

... But similar to production 1948 Packard Station Sedans ?

Other than the tailgate on those, wasn't the wood simply applied over the metal body?

I'm no expert - just asking?

 

And didn't Mercury do the same thing with a convertible some time in the mid 1960s?

Edited February 21 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

It is kind of comical. I have never found a shortage of anyone in the old car community to step forward to correct anything they thought was wrong.

 

We sometimes get those club emails with the whole list of addressees listed in the cc: section. For around 20 years I would occasionally respond to one of those with "reply to all" and show a picture or make some relevant reply. Never an acknowledgement or reply from any in the group. Until one time, when I wrote Cliff Robertson when I meant Dale Robertson. The correction was immediate. You just have to laugh when things like that happen.

 

Be assured if incorrect information is stated the correction will surface quickly.

 

Sometimes you can bait them.

 

[Leif in Calif]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

False stories do happen from time to time. 

I think it's pretty common. Even facts by authors you respect can be overturned by more research. I'm involved with my town's history museum and have done a lot of research on local people who were prominent in the town's history. Many of their "stories" turn out to be just that. Same with family stories. My family's story was totally debunked when I had my DNA tested. 

[George Smolinski]

4 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

One can see that even today, more than 30 years after the

falsehood, we are having to sort out truth.  

The falsehoods of 30 years ago continue to happen in today's collector car world. I give you restamped blocks to appear "numbers matching," frames being swapped (watch any TV car show & you'll see this happen(, and the vehicle being sold without that information available to the buyer, clones being sold as something they are not (think GTO, etc.), car auctions advertising and telling potential buyers that cars are correct when they're not. 

I don't think you can get away from it, even buying from a private party or dealer (no offense to any dealers here). I think you have to do a lot of research and homework on your own, or bring someone with to a sale who has great knowledge of the year, make, & model you're interested in.

[Ed Luddy]

Very similar to one of the 3472 1969 Camaro COPO 427 cars usually for sale or "hiding in a barn maybe for sale" out of the 500 or so built!