UPDATE – This 1954 Lincoln Capri is for sale again, three-and-a-half years after being shown here on Barn Finds back in June 2020. This mechanically refreshed former barn find is posted here on craigslist in the great city of McKinney, Texas, and they’re asking $18,500. I hope the wheel covers and rear fender skirts are included, but there’s no mention of them in the listing. Hagerty is at $16,200 for a #3 good-condition car, just as a general reference. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for sending in this tip! Note: the opening photo is the only current photo so please click on the craigslist link to see what it looks like now.
FROM 06/06/2020 – All things Italian were hot in the 1950s and 1960s and Lincoln named their new stand-alone model, the Capri, after an exotic island in the Gulf of Naples, just off the tip of Sorrento. This 1954 Lincoln Capri sedan is a California barn find and the seller has it listed here on eBay in Oakland, California. The current bid price is just over $3,000 and there is no reserve.
Sedans usually take a hit in the comments for having too many doors, but on a car like an early-1950s Lincoln, four doors or not, this would have been one of the cars to be seen in back then. Or, now. The “dagmars” are wicked huge on the front bumper and once we take a peek inside, we’ll also see that this was the era when people were tough as nails, at least until they died from being jabbed by a projectile, either on the front bumper or by some lever or knob sticking out of the dash. I’m not sure why the rear fender skirts are white, but it’s nice that they’re included with the sale.
Even the rear bumper has projectiles on it! This is a first-generation Lincoln Capri and the Capri name was formerly used as a top-trim level for the Lincoln Cosmopolitan. The first-gen cars were made for only four years, 1952 to 1955. This is a California barn find, according to the seller who said that it was parked when LBJ was in office back in 1964. The story gets even more interesting. They go on to say that the original owner bought the car new in Oakland, CA, and apparently, the current owner was brought home from the hospital in this car in 1959! As a five-year-old kid, they fell out of the back of the car on a corner in Oakland and it freaked out the father who subsequently parked the car and it hasn’t been driven since then – 54 years in storage. Wow, now that’s a cool story!
To say that it’s about as original as it gets is the understatement of the decade. The interior looks great and would look fantastic after a thorough deep-cleaning and detailing. I’m not sure if the power windows work but I always like seeing them on luxury cars from any era. The dash isn’t quite as projectile-happy as I made it out to be, and it isn’t as dangerous as some others of the era, but you’ll want to have seat belts installed asap if you plan on driving this gorgeous car. The back seat is the place to be in a Lincoln – unless you’re a five-year-old kid not wearing a seatbelt.
The engine hasn’t been started since LBJ was browbeating his opponents back in 1964. It’s Lincoln’s 317.5 cubic-inch V8 with 205 hp. It shouldn’t take much to get it running again, and after a couple of weekends of detailing this car inside and out, it would sure make a fantastic survivor car with a great back story. Hagerty is at $10,185 for a #4 fair condition car with power steering. Are there any 1950s Lincoln sedan fans out there?
Absolute gold for no money. The price Really shows the superficiality of this game.
Hagerty #4 cars are “daily drivers” according to their Condition Ratings, so imagine what it would take to get this car to that point, having sat for 56 years. As much as I like this car, restoring it would be throwing money down a rat hole – a 4 door Capri will never bring the big dough.
That’s true, Ikey, but a person could do a lot of work for the $4,000 or $5,000ish that it would take to get it to that point all while learning and working on a very nice car. If someone was looking for a hobby car from the early/mid-50s, it would be hard to go wrong here.
There is a Lincoln of similar vintage sitting a few miles down the street from me in front of ratty old garage and a similar Studebaker. One comment brought back a distant memory. This was about the door flying open when I was a wee lad my Dad had a 50 Merc he bought new. One day my mother was just pulling out of the driveway a door came open and one of my sisters who was about three fell out. No serious injury but it did prompt him to by a new car, 58 Country Sedan.
After the Cosmopolitan this was a really modern and great looking car. It really is sad that these cars don’t have enough value to make a full restoration feasible. But I agree you could make it a daily driver as a project to teach youngsters about tools and mechanics. To many days have gone by and to much water under the bridge for me to take on such an endeavor. Perhaps some Sunday School teacher or High School shop instructor could take it on.
God bless America
Why no passenger (RHS) side photos? For a car that was only 10 years old when parked, it don’t think it was extremely well looked after.
The third photo is of the right hand side…
Back in the 90s, I replaced a windshield in a 1952 2 door. The car was mint, and the customer removed all the chrome trim, making my job a lot easier. Prior to that, I never even heard of a Lincoln Capri.
1954 was one heck of a great year for FoMoCo across the board, from Ford through Mercury to this. Balljoint front suspension to OHV V8s, and clean, handsome styling – at least for the time. I do love me some sedans, even when I’m shopping for Alfas, so I don’t have a problem with four doors on anything. This is a lot bigger than I’d be looking for, but if it were cleaned up and polished as it should be I’d sure stop and look.
This is a car I have wanted for ages, ever since I was a little kid and helped my Dad cut a 52 Up. Long ago and painful story. I know where a similar one is down the street from a miles that I go past all the time.ALAS no $$ nor a good place to put it so it will never happen?
The story about the door flying open brings up a DISTANT Memory. My Dad had a 50 Merc he bought new. One day coming out of the driveway a door came open and my sister who was three fell out. No serious injury but was new car time.
These Lincolns were the FIRST FORD products in 1952 to have an OHV ENGINE and probaly ball joint suspension. They were also winning road race cars. Look up the Mexican Road race from that time.
In 1958, new cars were required to have safer door lock mechanisms. So your dad could not have bought a new car (in which the doors would not fly open) any sooner. About 1959, my dad took a corner too fast in a 1952 Plymouth. His driver side door flew open nearly by hitting his shoulder up against it. I was about four years old in the passenger seat at the time. Fortunately my door did not fly open.
With all respect to ikey H., I think this would be a fun car to wrench on. Maybe even heritage and enter it into the La Carrera Panamericana that is coming up.
It’d be interesting also to see how much of the body rust could be removed without damaging the existing paint.
just saw this transmission linkage sticker says serviced in 71 so obviously moved after 64
Happened to be searching online for information on 1954 Lincoln Capris while on a flight and found this article. Fun! I’m pretty sure this is the exact car I purchased in December of 2021.
The car is from Oakland and was a barn find; however, I got it from a guy in Miami who got it from California.
Car now lives in Texas and is pretty close to being road ready after some work. Looking forward to more restoring further.
Email us some photos of it! We would love to see how it’s coming along.
That’s a good story about the reason car was parked. When I was a Kid my Mom shut the car door on my hand in a 66 Lincoln, and also rolled the rear power window up on our family dogs neck. Dad was convinced the car was cursed and traded it in soon after.
The Lincolns from the early 50s have a look that grows on you. One of my top favorites is the 1956 Lincoln Premier. At the time most Ford Motor Company cars had some level of hooded headlights and great looking taillights. I always thought the 56 Premier looked like something you might find a Disneyland or one of Disney’s movies. They had a very smooth flowing style. Those big hoods over the headlights made it look like it was looking up at you, in a bashful way. And those taillights are almost cute. At the time routing the exhaust through the rear bumper was kinda a thing. Cadillac did the same thing at the time. Unfortunately as the years went by, the bumpers would be blackened by exhaust leaks which wasn’t very attractive. In any event those Lincolns had a classy, wealthy look. I remember the front seat backs were about a foot thick, and that too made those Lincolns look expensive and luxurious. I have always been a Ford man, and I think those Lincolns are part of the reason why. The Ford Motor Company has more collectable cars in it’s history than any other automaker starting with Henry Ford’s Model Ts and includes several Lincolns, Thunderbirds, Mercurys, legendary station wagons and of course the all time favorites , the iconic Mustangs and F-series trucks, just to name a few. GM at one time might have been the biggest global automaker, with its 5 brands, although I don’t know why. But it’s the Ford Motor Company that leads the US Big Three with American heritage. I’m anxious to see the return of American sedans and station wagons, and I believe it will be The Ford Motor Company that will do it, as they have in the past. Although I don’t rule out Chrysler, but in my opinion GM should stop making cars all together, either that or start building cars that show they really want to be an automotive manufacturer by building better cars, instead of building cars just to make a profit. Better cars will bring better profits.
Ugly! Much prefer styling of Mercury.
“Needs someone to either finish off the “patina look” and function as a Rat Rod or someone to fully restore to her original glory and run as the Hot Rod she deserves”
Huh? I guess I (and everyone else) have a different definition of rat rod. Fully restore? Fully restore what? Of what’s shown, I see a really nice, solid survivor. How about going through it mechanically, fully detailing it, maybe paint correction, putting the wheel covers and skirts back on and driving it?
Fully restoring it wouldn’t make sense at the asking price anyway.
This survivor Lincoln survivor is all there. Get its mechanical and brakes up to driving condition, and maybe a refresh paint job and new wheels and tires and she’s ready to go. It doesn’t warrant a full off frame nut and bolt restoration.
Why are the fender skirts white, seems a bit odd to me at least.
John, they must have been from a different car, I’m guessing. You have to click on the first craigslist link in the opening paragraph to see the car as it looks now. The photos below the first photo are from 3.5 years ago.
Did not think of that, I never understood fender skits. why have them?