I don’t imagine this is quite like the car that Charlie Ryan envisioned in his song “Hot Rod Lincoln”, but it’s one cool custom all the same! Ryan’s song is one of my all time favorites, so when this Lincoln showed up in our inbox, I was definitely intrigued. It appears to have had a serious amount of customization work done and is looking to be in beautiful condition. Rather than being powered by a Lincoln V8, it currently has a Chrysler 360 under the hood, so it should get up and go nicely. It’s scheduled to be auctioned off on October 15th in Toledo, Ohio with a sweet 1976 Monte Carlo. You can find more info about the auction here at Black Swamp Auctions.
The auction listing claims that this car is Bondo free, which is quite impressive given how smooth the body looks to be. The paint is only six years old and is extremely glossy. The engine block was built and installed about 10 years ago, so hopefully that means it’s still runs great. The Chrysler engine likely makes this a hot machine, but part of me would rather have the original Lincoln V12. With just 130 horsepower, I can understand wanting something more powerful in a hot rod like this.
Clearly, the owner of these cars liked to give their automobiles some custom touches. The Monte Carlo doesn’t look to have been as extensively modified as the Lincoln and is even has the right brand name stamped on the valve covers. The block is said to be new, but it’s a Chevy 350 which is what this car would have had from the factory. I’d be interested to know if it’s actually a new block or if they rebuilt the original one.
The paint on this one is only 4 years old and while it looks to be well done, I’m still up in the air about the color choice. It’s nice, but it’s just not the color I would have picked for this car. Personally, I would prefer an original Chevrolet color, but that’s just me. The new chrome looks great with this color and the wheel choice goes surprisingly well it though, so perhaps the next owner will leave it as is. I know these cars aren’t what we typically feature, but they could turn out to be great buys! I would want to have a closer look in person before bidding. However, if they look as clean in person as they do in photos, it might be fun to bring one or both of them home.
Charlie was at the wheel of a Model A with a Lincoln engine…
Yep. That Model A body made it look like a pup.
My daddy said: “Son, you’re going to drive me to drinkin’ if you don’t stop driving the Hot-Rod Lincoln.”
Ralph… So was Commander Cody.
The Lincoln engine was a flathead V-12….. I’ve seen a car purported to be the car in the song -pretty sweet! The giveaway is the extra length between the radiator and windshield. There was a sweet “phantom” car at SEMA last year – a 36 roadster with the flatty V-12 . Called the “Long Beach Legend,” it was built by Hollywood Hot Rods, and more info and photos are available here-
http://hollywoodhotrods.com/1936-ford-roadster-the-long-beach-legend-2/
I like the Lincoln.
Only thing I’d mod..is giving it fatter wheels / tire profile.
Hot Rod Lincoln – Captain Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen.
Not originally. Form the dolts at Wiki:
“Hot Rod Lincoln” is a song by American singer-songwriter Charlie Ryan, first released in 1955. It was written as an answer song to Arkie Shibley’s 1951 hit “Hot Rod Race” which describes a race in San Pedro, Los Angeles between two hot rod cars, a Ford and a Mercury, which stay neck-and-neck until both are overtaken by “a kid in a hopped-up Model A”.
Song was first covered by Johnny Bond in 1960, then Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in 1971 (this is the most popular version of the song). In addition to Johnny Bond and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, many other artists have recorded cover versions of “Hot Rod Lincoln” in the decades since its original release, including:
• Pat Travers (1976)
• Asleep at the Wheel (1988)
• All (1989)
• Jim Varney (The Beverly Hillbillies soundtrack) (1993)
• Les Claypool (2002)
• Lawrence Ramsay (2010)
• Chris Casello (2013)
• Bill Kirchen (Lead guitar in Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen) (1997)
It must get a little warm in the ’76 Monte, since they pulled out the driver’s side A/C vent and installed an equalizer for the stereo in the dash.
A lot of the 76 and 77s had the 305.
What year Lincoln did he start with?
The Lincoln is a 1946.
I’d hate to see those fenders clickin the guard rail posts.
Why make the front end look like a locomotive?
Here are a couple more pics of the Lincoln. More photos and descriptions can be found in our auction listing under the “upcoming auctions” tab on our website http://www.blackswampauctions.com (link in text above).
Another pic
Here’s the Monte carlo engine