Mark’s Classic Cruise, May 24th, 2010

Another successful Mark’s Classic Cruise was held on Monday evening. With temperatures in the 80s it was ideal weather for strolling and taking in the 559 cars gathered together. At the end of the cruise the awards were given out and the trophy winners were:

Gerry Gates’ 1933 Ford Coupe
Don Breveleri’s 1931 Ford Model A
Ernest Smith’s 1925 Rolls Royce

and the 1931 Ford Model A of Paul and Ed Majeski

Cruisin’s Star Car

My pappy said, “Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln.”

While the classic song may have been based around our star car’s hardtop brother, there’s no denying that this 1954 Lincoln Capri Convertible is one hot ride.

Farmington, CT resident Walter has owned this awesome machine since 1976. Walter was reading Hemmings Motor News and saw the car advertised. He traveled to Northern New Jersey and bought it. The car hadn’t been on the road in decades so he crossed his fingers and drove it home in a January snowstorm. The Lincoln made the trip without any problems - other than the fact that the gas gauge and heater didn’t work!

Walter found that the car had 32,000 miles on the odometer and still had the original drive train installed. This consisted of a 315ci Y-Block V8 engine, the first of the Y-Block OHV V8s that Ford built. This motor was produced in 1952 and was only used in Lincolns. In 1953 the engine gained a four-barrel carburetor. The engine is tamed by a four-speed General Motors Hydra-Matic transmission, which is the same trans that Cadillac, Pontiac and Olds would have used in the era. The Capri also features full ball-joint front suspension - so it handles pretty well for the era - power steering, power brakes and power windows.

Walter has had a lot of cosmetic and upholstery work done to the car. It’s also been repainted. Walter told us: “When I bought it was this color, I had it stripped and repainted five years ago. My wife and I only drive it in the summer and it comes out pretty much every weekend if the weather’s nice.

“Every August we take it up to Stowe, Vermont for the big car show there. We also go to the road race Lincoln* meet wherever the club has it. This year it’s up in Bar Harbor, Maine. We don’t take it to a lot of shows, but we’re not afraid to drive it a reasonable distance.

“It’s a good, reliable car. This is the only collector car I have. I’ve had it so long, I couldn’t picture parting with it.”

*The hardtop Capri was an unlikely hero of 1950s road racing, a luxury car that earned fame in the grueling 2,135mile Carrera Panamericana. Lincoln finished first, second and 10th in the large stock class in 1954.