11x14 - Lincoln Continental

[bunniefuu]

this time on Wheeler dealers a car
that loses style and risk you never know

with these cars once you start digging
a little bit deeper if it gets sinister it

could really start costing us a lot of
money we want to customize it with a

small seed but can't agree how maybe
a mad volcanic orange paint would be

awesome we're not painting the
car orange it's a real looker but ends

worried about a serious oil leak
so after all that effort of trying to be

a little bit clever and not have to look
the engineer it seems my plans have

rather been scuppered I search out
classics in need of care and attention

yes egg gets with the spanners and saves
them from a rusty grave then we sell them

on hopefully for a profit the Lincoln
Continental symbol of 60s America built

to take on Cadillac and challenge
for the luxury car crown the 63 model

you find the link and look straight sides
crisp lines and minimal rear tail fins

the suicide doors are a design signature
of this vast four-door cruiser at over

two tons it's a real heavyweight but a
massive v8 means it could reach 120

miles an hour new this Lincoln came
with a 24,000 mile warranty unheard of

in the 60s they were obsessed with
quality each engine was run at speed for

three hours and then stripped and
checked before it left the factory this

is a classy car and 50 years on that
mix of quality and charisma make these

continentals highly desirable
stateside and across the world now I'm

basing myself in Northern California
because I've had a lot of success here

before I've had the Willys Jeep the
DeLorean the Chevy pickup truck and

I've made good money now there's
lots of good solid rust free metal out

if you look really hard I don't want to
spend more than 10,000 pounds and

there are cars within my budget I'm
looking for a straight body because

rust or crash damage will be very
expensive to fix here we go I found a

car it's a little rough around the
edges but the ad says it's a solid

unrestored car that's been garaged
for years now it's on with a dealer

who says he's commissioned it for
the road but it needs a little bit more

work and that's good because that
means that they've got the car into a

livable state and it's really important if
you're gonna travel far make sure you

can get behind the wheel and drive
it the downside to all of this they want

$10,000 but then saying that that's
only six and a half thousand pounds.

hi Greg my name's Mike I'm ringing
about your Lincoln Continental 1963.

if I was to come down there with a
pocket full of cash do you think we

could work on that figure see in a bit
then bye-bye now that sounds like a

really good car and the most important
thing solid body and everything works on

it so I'm gonna go and
see it straight away.

now the owner Greg he did say
the right things on the phone what is

interesting though is when I looked at
his website he seems to sell high-end

sports cars and classic cars and I
would imagine an old Lincoln would look

tatty in amongst his stock and he might
be prepared because he's a dealer to do a

really good deal but it's looks
smart this place looks some nice new

shiny stuff and some old classic stuff
but this is what I've come to see look.

at the size of it wow it is absolutely
gigantic hello how's it going.

Mike I'm all right you Greg yes I
am Greg nice to meet you to meet you

it's looking a little bit sorry for
itself yeah you know there's a couple

imperfections the biggest thing
going forward it's a California barn find

pretty rare to find one of these in this
shape with all the panels intact no rust.

beautiful car well let's have a
good look round okay first of all I'm

desperate to do this because this
would be one of the first cars I've ever

seen with suicide doors you grab
one I'll grab the other look at that wow

you can see how easy access
would have been right into the back it's

looking a little bit of a mess in there
I mean the seats of Fred bear aren't

they but I suppose the frames there
isn't it it is yeah the power seats work

it's got everything this car isn't it so
automatic automatic transmission factory

air-conditioning see good you got
power windows radio power seats very

well equipped yes lovely
isn't it can I start it up please.

Wow that sounds really
nice yeah yeah very good

jump up the hood yeah please okay so
underneath here yeah we got a 430 v8

big block you know so that's really a
cruiser and it does sound really nice

yeah yeah very very nice okay shall
turn it off yeah please so what's the story

behind this motor why does it run
so nice the nice thing is the owner that

had it he rebuilt the engine he spent
ten thousand dollars doing that ten.

thousand dollars yeah it was his driver
yeah very sound I suppose for me the

only thing I want to do is sample it myself
and take it for a test drive yes sir.

during the 60s this car was the height
of sophistication competing with Cadillac

for market shares and 50 years
later it still feels like an absolutely

amazing car now I bought the
giant Continental out to this rolling

hillside because just sticking this car
on a freeway isn't gonna tell me much I

want to challenge this car and put
it to a proper test first up let me tell

you it's getting down the road quite
nicely but let's have a listen for the

suspension because on these roads
it really is being put to a proper test

and I can't hear any expensive knocks
or rattles and for a car of this size

believe it or not it's got drum brakes
and even though they're 50 years of

age the sophisticated
braking system is working.

fantastically.

sound really sweet although
the quality of this car is

still there in the ride the drive the
transmission it is beginning to show

its age I mean things like the hydraulic
door locking mechanism system

isn't working the interior is looking
really really shabby and although this

is a rusty car it needs a whole ton of
paint around $10,000 this car isn't bad

value for money but I've come a
long way to see this car and I don't want

to end up buying something that could
end up being a gigantic nightmare I.

still need convincing so I've asked
to put the car up on the ramp back at.

Gregg's I suppose the only disappointing
thing is it's got a few more oil leaks

than I would have liked and I know the
guy you said has spent $10,000 on it but

I mean it's it's losing all your leverage
dripping on me these older cars

they just say leak you know it could
be quite a big problem it all comes

down to the numbers okay I think
$10,000 is just too much I think the

car's worth $6,000 oh no way I
can't go that low $6,000 cash to drive it

away too low what's the best number
you know 9,000 got a deal no you're

not gonna find one better $7,000 come
and have a deal with Mike look the best

I could do is eight thousand eight
thousand dollars all night your end yes

I just bought myself a Lincoln what
a car over five meters of glamour and

style but that's a lot of car to
men too even if I did paint less than

five thousand pounds for it with
terrible paint erect interior and oil

leaks to fix this all it I might actually
have to remove the engine and.

gearbox and that's gonna be a real
headache this Lincoln has got giant

gabble written all over it I've
just bought an enormous slice of

Americana it really is a wonderful
car to drive you just point that great big

hood emblem at the scenery and
sit back and enjoy the ride but this

Lincoln Continental is dripping oil
which could be expensive to fix it's got

a few more oil leaks than I would
have liked so I had to get it for a good

price to make my numbers and up
back in the UK I think the car's worth

$6,000 oh no way what's the best
number you can do eight thousand all

that your end yes now I need to get
it back to the workshop and Ed well

I've got a bought myself a


so well you know don't get me
wrong I think this car has got a lot of

potential and I think I've got it at
the right price just the oil leaking

underneath it's really got me rattled
you never know with these cars once you

start digging a little bit deeper if
it gets sinister it could really start

costing us a lot of money
and I know that it's such

a big job and Ed won't
be happy with me at all.

well I've got the Pacific Ocean beside
me and I'm heading towards San Francisco

and I'm giving this car to the
shippers I'm already getting excited

about what we can do with it see at
the moment this is just a blank canvas

it's a big white American piece of
metal what we've got to do to it is

give it a different look I want to go
down sort of a bold color look you

know something custom but with a
small C or if you're a youth obviously a

small K but I reckon nice set of wheels
give it a nice paint job we could land

ourselves a nice fat
profit spelt with a pH.

oh that sounds fantastic what a car


I love Lincoln continentals and
particularly this model as well but thing

is it's such a big car it's also
potentially a huge amount of work isn't

it actually I bought a very solid very
straight rust-free car for a very good

price I gave just $8,000 for this car
which is about five thousand pound that

is cheap I love these doors the
doors are great aren't they sort of

trademark of the Lincoln Continental
you grab one I grab one look at it

sensor theater when it opens up
is fantastic only trouble is it kind of

does reveal slightly you know
tired interior when the dials and the

switches are all fantastic but this
is definitely to be upholstered again

isn't it yeah we need to retrain
the seats and it's not without other

problems in here as well because
the electric doors they don't work either

turn it over that is a beast of an
engine that sounds amazing have a look

port-a-bonnet release you go in
look at that look at that that is huge

was that six and a half seven liter
it's a seven liter about 300 brake

horsepower the engines nice and strong
nice and smooth got a really good gear

box but it does fill the engine there's
not a lot of space it has got a tiny

little problem there is an oil leak
we're from from the oil leak department I

can't see where it's coming from the
guy who sold me the car reassures me

that the previous owner have rebuilt
the engine I think they've done a good

job I reckon they've just left
something off like the sun plug or

something like that serious I mean
what can you see well I can see an

only that could be an absolute
age of work you know come on in.

you love getting your hands oily and
if we can get it right I definitely know

we're being the profits with this
one only if I can fix the oil leak we're

onto a winning car all we need to
do is give it the once over and get it

sort of 21st century custom call I
do like that plan these cars make

awesome custom vehicles obviously we
could slam it put on some wild wheels be

amazing just calm it down a little
bit cuz I like the idea of going a bit

more custom with it but we want
to make this car classy so I need to

open this up to a bigger marketplace
I like the idea of custom but we just do

it with a small C maybe something
like baby blue I think that's way too safe

this car deserves something a lot
more pizazz how about a really kind of fat

metal flake orange what is it with
you and orange we're not doing orange

no we could chrome the whole
thing that would be stunning.

I'm really worried about that oil leak
so I waste no time in getting under

the engine well what was definitely
not wrong there is oil absolutely

everywhere under here is actually
just nestling around the join between the

sump and the engine block which
suggests that is where the problem is

now even if I can get all these
bolts undone I still want to be able to

remove the sump because of this huge
great crossmember here I'm gonna have

to actually lift the engine up to be
able to get some kind of access to

this is a nightmare before I start
work I drain the remaining oil out of the.

engine the traditional way to resolve
this some oil leak would be to lift the

engine completely out of the bay
and deal with it on the bench but it

would take more than a day to
do perhaps if I push the engine up a

little from underneath I might just get
enough clearance to remove the sump cover.

the engine parts extend all the
way into the sump so to get the cover

out I need around 10 centimeters of
wiggle room it's going to be very tight.

right now this isn't exactly designed
to do this what I'm trying to do is get

the anti-roll bar away from everything
else if I can looks like it's going my

favor which is lovely I will now
have access to our sumps I should

better now remove that out this way
so one hurdle down this engine weighs


it is pretty unconventional if it goes

wrong I could damage other parts and
end up with even more work so I need to be

careful now this is the make-or-break
moment I'm gonna try and lift up the

engine using this transmission Jack
so I'm just gonna pop on a little bit of

protective material on the top of
this just so don't actually cause any

damage get that into place and
then here we go ever so gently lift it up

you can see it's beginning to move
it looks like it's actually working the

engine and give us actually lifting
up out of the way now got the engine

mounts clear of that crossmember so
they're away from the chassis which is

wonderful and I can't go too far
I'm gonna start stretching things and

bending things but I think that's
pretty good to get best access I'm

putting blocks between the engine
mounts and the chassis to secure the

engine in its raised position I can
then drop out the transmission Jack and

remove those 16 sump bolts so
after all the effort of trying to be a

little bit clever and not have to look
the engine out it seems my plans have

rather been scuppered I mean don't
know it quite where we're gonna go to

next the sump is fouling on
something I can feel what I think is an

oil pickup pipe which filters the oil
on its way back into the engine if I

can remove it I might be okay
luckily I can get access to the mounting

bolts actually I think now we've got
rid of the pickup but we've got some

room that's fantastic oh look at
that got away with it after all result I've

got quite a good idea why we had a
bit of a leak on the gasket there you

normally expected to be stuck to
actually both surfaces the block and

also the sump itself and certainly
at least to one or the other but as you

can see it's actually just peeling
off look it was barely attached at all

that can't be a good thing it's
possible when the engine had its big

rebuild the sump nuts were over
tightened crushing the gasket so it

can't work properly I give this a
lovely clean is to give it all signs

of any oil the sump needs to be
completely clean to make the best

seal with the new gasket if you don't
have a degreaser and cleaner then it's

lots of hand scrubbing but before I
put the sump back on I want to take a.

closer look at the now exposed
insides of the engine and it's amazing with

the sump off you can see right inside
and in fact this little camera I've got

here I can get even further inside the
engine and I can see that you can see

the bottom of the pistons you can
see that there isn't any oil that's been

baked in place they're that new you
can see the camshaft up there as well

there's no scoring or anything and
very very little well not even anywhere.

at all from what I can see it's quite
amazing so I think really it's quite

nice to see right inside the
guts of the engine and actually

understand that it really
is brand new it's fantastic.

while in the US Mike bought a full
gasket set for $80 about 50 pounds he.

also bought the proper silicon
sealant by smearing it like this I get

maximum coverage and adherence
between the sump and the gasket the sealant

takes around half an hour to
go off and soon I'm ready to

fit the sump and gasket to
the underside of the engine.

first of all I'm just going around
putting in these bolts lightly just to

make sure that you'll go in properly
and then when we come to tighten them up

remember not to over tighten them
because of course that might then crush

the gasket we'll be back to square
one with a leaky sump not cool.

a job like this might cost around 200
pounds if your local mechanic had also

come up with my clever get around
considerably more if they had to

remove the engine to fix the leak
and obviously you don't want to forget to

put the oil back in it looks like
a good result but the only way to

properly check is to run the
engine up and get it to temperature.

let's have a look now the engine is
nice and warm so of course the oil is

up to temperature is pretty much
as thin as it's gonna get let's have a

little look for some leaks no I
can't see anything all looking lovely

and dry which is fantastic which means
we've got a way with just changing the.

gasket we didn't even have
to take the engine out result.

while I was in California I visited an
expert for some custom advice I want

our Continental to really catch the
eye so I'm after a sale West Coast style

wire wheels looks like I'm in the
right place than it because these are

really different look at that that's
a purple wheel that's fantastic and

look at the engraving on this one
gold spokes lots and lots of detail the

wheel shop is run by Charlie he's
been in the business for 30 years what I

need then is a set of wheels for my
car I've got a 63 Lincoln Continental

what would you recommend for strength
I would probably go with 17s have you

got any idea what it would look
like well we got one right here as you

can see how many spokes is this
this one's a hundred spoke but you can

see there's quite a bit of laces
very durable strong wheel but you

recommend 150 150 for that car that
sounds just what I'm looking for and

that's gonna look sweet on the car
Charlie has blank rims made and then

does all the wheel builds in-house
experienced craftsman Frank is lacing

up my will with three rows of
spokes I'd love to put a few of these

n*pples in just so I can say that
I've done a little bit on on on the

wheels is it okay if I yeah if I do
some how long to for you Frank to

lace one wheel 150 spokes 20 minutes
yeah seriously I'm gonna have to pick up

my speed the spokes shine like
chrome but are made of 304 stainless steel

hand polished on site 150 spokes in
each wheel and Lincoln is very heavy

and each of these wheels will
have to support half a ton in weight it's

vital all the work is done to a
really high standard we want to get

four positions on this for that for the
attention of the wheel I'm keen to get

involved but I don't want to damage
the wheel at this crucial stage hey you

don't want to do is you just don't
want to over tighten it don't want to

over tighten okay cuz then you
start buckling the rim yes a wire wheel

won't run right unless it's trued so
once Frank's finished it's over to Jim.

Jim what would your title be I am a
master wheel rate now I'm gonna see

how it runs the wheel up Jim as
decades of experience he monitors how

true the wheel is using
this still thinking indicator

when it touches the rim it
shows it's out of true and Jim

trends it up or loosens it off using
an impact socket already taking

some of that bounce out the top I go
the high spot amazingly Jim only takes

half an hour to true the perfect will
I'm well impressed by the skill and

precision of the work well I've
had a thoroughly enjoyable day

down here today watching real craftsmen
at work and at 770 pound for the set

it's an absolute bargain will spooked
and I'm heading back to Blighty where

our Lincoln will need to be perfect
in every detail to tempt the right buyer

the wheels are bling tastic but head
is struggling to get the interior up to

scratch that is a real disaster because
of course not been able to get hold

of any more parts like
this and of course I've

got four to sort out I
really need another plan.

our Lincoln Continental is a total
beast of a car this is no nip and tuck

sponsor no this car is all
about the ride and I'll tell you it's

amazing Ed cleverly got round a
worrying oil leak we've got away with just

changing the gasket we didn't even
have to take the engine out results but

there's so much to do to turn this
tired luxury cruiser into a subtle 21st

century custom before we can
even begin to tackle the exterior and

interior look at a car Ed's got to
sort out a complex door locking

mechanism now you might think
it's strange I'm actually running up the

engine to show you why or how the
central locking doesn't work but this

is a very innovative car and it's
time on a slightly stranger decisions

by the designers researching power
the central locking system using the

vacuum generated by the engine after
all engine is a big pump it sucks area one

end and pushes out the other and
that vacuum can be quite powerful so if I.

actually push down this little switch
here theoretically all the locks should

go down you can see the driver's
side has gone down but you can look

at the back one here it's just moving
but hasn't got enough vacuum to kind

of suck into position you can see
that the real one isn't working but

also the front ones nearly got enough
but just hasn't quite got enough to

keep going now obviously something
that would stop our central locking from.

working properly would be a lack of
vacuum and that lack of vacuum could

be caused by perhaps a hole in
a pipe or maybe something that's

disconnected that shouldn't be
so what I'm doing is looking for

something really obvious just in
case we're lucky but also I'm listening.

for any air leaking into the system
the engine bay looks okay so the search

for a solution heads to the cabin all
right now somewhere in here should

be some kind of bulkhead connector
there we go nice and easy to find.

you know I pull this off we should
hear loads of air rushing in to the

engine to kind of equalize that
pressure difference there we go it's

quite loud but not as loud as it might
be I'm just gonna put my finger over it

see if I can feel a suck and it's
kind of it's okay it's not great that

probably explains why the central
locking system here actually kind of

tries to work but doesn't quite manage
it because that force isn't really that

huge that suggests that there's no
leaks in the engine bay and there's no

leaks in the system round here so
perhaps the problem somewhere else.

I've managed to source an owner's
manual the best way to get to grips.

with exactly how this vacuum system
works to help diagnose the location of

the fault the diagram shows a reservoir
tank which may have a part to play.

and there it is I can see
it but I can't quite get to it.

I need to remove the front wheel for
access a bit of sound advice this car

weighs nearly two and a half tons so
whenever you use a trolley Jack always

use an axle stand well that's
interesting so with the tire off I can

actually see what's going on with
the reservoir there seems to be three

little eggs that actually attach it to
the car but the one on the front of

the car that's actually seemed to
have come off which is why it's wobbling

around the next thing to do is
to take it off and see if there's any

damage. This reservoir looks pretty
robust at first glance but the broken

brackets turns out to be the cause of
the leak okay well straight away I can

see our problem we're not going to
maintain a vacuum because you've got

these three holes actually letting
air in now I reckon what's happened is

the bracket that sits here because
it's welded in place it's actually

fractured the metal underneath as
it's been wobbling around and of course

actually taken some of the metal
with it therefore we have these three

holes have to weld those up I've
marked one of the pipes with red tape so I

know where to reattach them after
the fix so my plan is to try and plug these

holes with some weld so wish me
luck it is very very thin these are spot

welds and I'm being careful to try
and plug the holes but not damage or

distort the surface of the tank now
it's not looking bad didn't make the

holes any worse but now
what I'll do is grind off the excess

weld to make sure it's nice
and flush ready for our bracket.

if my repair doesn't work then a
replacement part could run into.

hundreds of pounds the flat disc
grinds back any excess weld and then it's

time to reattach the bracket before I
start welding the bracket on I want to

see if I manage to make this air
tight I'm just gonna try and blow into

it it's pretty good so now I can
weld on the bracket hopefully that will

solve our problem fixing this vacuum
issue is just the kind of job which

will bring back the quality feel to
our Continental and make it more

saleable in a demanding classic
car market the dusting with satin black

protects the new weld from corrosion
right so the paint is now dried the

holes are plugged the brackets in
place let's pop it in place and see if it

works so just firing the engine up
give the reservoir enough time to collect

some vacuum so now here we go put
the switch down oh look at that so we've

got them all going down
and they go up again that is

fantastic the trademark
suicide doors work to perfection.

and hey dude son you're right good
to see you hard at work and on with.

well as you can see I'm just starting
to take it apart ready for the paint job

good so what other jobs have you
been up to well it's gone quite well

actually I've sorted out the oil
leak in the engine bay for one thing

but also managed to sort out that
rather complicated mechanism that is

the central locking so we're now
getting it ready for paint yes any

ideas with the color actually to
when it's not at all I've been so busy

working I haven't actually got any idea
whatsoever okay well I know you're a

busy man so I've got to put you a
present something that may inspire or even

motivate you into coming up with a
decent color I'll go and get there you

go son what do you think are those
bad boys gonna look absolutely amazing

with maybe a mad volcanic orange
paint it'd be awesome is it with you

and orange we're not painting the
car orange I kind of agree with you but

I can't come up with anything right
now I will think of something though so

don't worry trust me I'll surprise
you now this car is a long way off

I've been ready for the paint process
but the prep starts right now now in

America they call this
tearing down a car that means

actually stripping the
whole thing down completely.

painting this car will cost over three
thousand pounds our custom classic.

really has to look the part it's all
about the details to the corner chrome

front and back will need dents knocked
out and be re-chromed that's 400 quid

on its own now we're going to gut this
interior because we need to send it off

to the upholsterers really because
it's just too far gone it'd be too

difficult to repair it
needs all new leather.

the door cards are in poor condition
the California Sun has damaged and

cracked the wood veneer I'll have
to deal with that cool so our door card

is now off which is great that's
actually quite interesting you can see

some paint there now obviously this
car has been resprayed it's pretty obvious

it's now white but here is the
original paint it's kind of bronzy

brown color a bit of metallic fleck in
there but Mike and I have had a little

bit of trouble coming up with the
right kind of color combination this

is obviously a kind of a starter for


it much more sort of up-to-date go
with a dark chocolatey brown a really

nice metallic that could actually
be just the ticket but now the door

card is my priority it looks very
substantial but as I begin to break it

down it's clear that the cracked
wooden inlay is actually much more fragile

than I imagined so this is it so
that is buffer thing that is so thin

that would it looks like the actual
wood itself is distorted rather than

just the lacquer over the top I
will try just to sand it down ever so

slightly because if you'll take
another coat of varnish we be in the

money to stop the veneer
moving as I sand it down I'm using

double-sided carpet tape
to secure it to the workbench.

this is a real shame I really thought I
was gonna get away with this but the

veneer is so thin that by the time
I've got through the varnish or the

sort of the tarnished layer I'm now
actually coming through to the glue

that attaches it to the aluminium
and that is a real disaster because of

course not gonna be able to get
hold of any more parts like this and of

course I've got four to sort out plus
the glove box I really need another plan.

after a lot of prep work I've sent
the Lincoln off to the paint shop

now I have a chance to find a fix
for those door panels in keeping

with our custom with a small C idea
I'm going to use cool laser-cut metal.

I'm here at a laser cutting company
I've got to wear some goggles

of course because of health and
safety I'm looking for a guy called Adrian

he's operating hopefully his massive
laser cutting machine it looks like

could be him around the corner
Adrian hello sir good to meet you

so tell me a bit more
about the machine here

this is where the laser is generated
right okay CO2 gas is fed into it

the gas is agitated by radio frequencies
the laser beam generates the heat

some dark melt in the metal and
then nitrogen is fired through at a very

high pressure and it's actually the nitrogen
that does the cutting we press start.

we're using one mil aluminium to
match that on the back of the wooden door

panels they've been scanned into the
system and special software then tells

the laser where to cut this job I
mean clearly it's only gonna take

minutes by the looks of it that's
probably carried around about four

meters a minute this is cutting
edge kit and the laser machine costs

around five hundred thousand pounds
it works with incredible speed and

accuracy I can't believe how cook
it is so that job is now completely

finished it's all done yeah
that's amazing can we look at it

straightaway of course so you're
going for the glove box panel

let's have a little look here so
there's all the holes so put them

down next to each other that is
absolutely spot-on and how much did

this whole job cost about 60 pounds that's
an absolute bargain thank you pleasure.

now it's been about a week since
I was at the laser cutters and the

reason for that is I couldn't
really get away with having

aluminium inserts in our door
cards these are something looking a

little bit more traditional so
I've ended up going for a wet

transfer and the result is
pretty awesome you can see this

lovely wood effect is also
super shiny really hard wearing.

we've got four of these we've
got four bits of chrome it's

obviously rather than actually
having to work out which one fits

I've labeled them which
saves me a lot of time so I'm just

going to try and line all
these little spikes into the

original holes they're going
to push through and I've got to

fold them back out just to
hold everything in place there's

quite a lot of them to
worry about and also I

don't want to scratch a
nice new wood effect panel.

well that is looking very
smart it's going to really liven up

the interior and hopefully
very soon I'll be able to reunite

it with the car which of
course is obviously at the paint.

shop getting its lovely new
coat of paint this is going to.

look great a little tip for
metal tangs like these

boys be very careful to push
them back in the direction they

were originally bent because
if you push them flat the

other way you risk snapping
the weakened metal.

well that could be the Lincoln.

now that is looking good
bit of a relief actually it's

quite tricky to choose the
right color for a car like this

in the end we went with a
Ford color it's called Roman

bronze it's got a little bit
of a coarser metallic fleck to

give it a bit more sparkle
a bit more pizazz and I

reckon you've completely
nailed it it looks fantastic.

the Lincoln is really coming
together but Ed still got to

fit the door cards seats
chromework and wheels this is

a mammoth job and we're
nowhere near finishing it yet.

our big Lincoln has had
a huge makeover it was a

class act let down by a dull
exterior see at the moment

this is just a blank canvas
it's a big white American

piece of metal but we've
completely changed that paint

work oh that's really
lovely and given the interior

a clever update too and
the result is pretty awesome

you can see this lovely
wood effect is also super

shiny really hard wearing
now Ed's looking at putting

the whole car back
together and he's starting

inside that vast cabin
you know what the more I.

look at these door card
inserts the more chuffed I am

with the result replacement
wooden veneers would have

to be bespoke made and set
me back around 800 pounds

but the laser cut and wet
transfer printed parts cost

just 360 pounds it's
really going to lift our

interior of the
reupholstered seats and here

they are now these benches
look resplendent in their

full cream leather looking
rather wonderful and all

for the princely sum of
just 1400 pounds a genuine

bargain I've cleaned
up all the connectors for

the seat electrics because
once they're in I don't

want to be pulling them
out again to check for

faults these leather clad
benches are heavy now this

vehicle is all about luxury
and as you'd expect the

whole of the front bench
seat actually moves

forwards and backwards and up and down even
tilt and now I've connected up all of the

electrical connections
oh look at that works a

treat I love these
fantastic wheels that Mike

had made in California
love the mega spoke star

but of course we've got
a bit of a problem when

it comes to bolting
them on to a conventional

stunt pattern obviously
not going to fit because of.

all the spokes so we
have an adapter and of.

course then the wheel
is held on with a little

spinner here so the
first thing you have to

do is bolt this in place
and then I can put

the wheel into position
adapters are necessary

for spinner wheels a
conversion you could do

on your own classic
be careful to line up the

teeth on the rear of
the wheel with those on

the adapter before
securing with the spinner.

get it finger tight and then tap the spinner
on those wheels look absolutely awesome.

in all our wire wheels cost seven hundred

and seventy pounds they'll make a big impact
on the street though now looking at this

car now it's actually
quite hard to remember

that plain Jane Continental that Mike
rolled up in but now our Lincoln is stunning

and because it's a left hooker it's gonna
be desirable all over Europe this is a

big transformation with some great
results the Continental has been

rescued from obscurity and
given the chance to shine

once more from the first
test drive Mike had his doubts.

although I'm beginning to fall in
love with this car I'll be honest with

you I'm in two minds about it he
knew that I'd be angry he had bought a

complex car with a big oil leak I can
see an only that could be an absolute

age of work you know I had to be
creative to even access the problem I.

should better now remove that out
this way one hurdle down but once I

had the fix was a success we've got
away with just changing the gasket we

didn't even have to take
the engine out result the

trademark doors wouldn't
lock until I filled the vacuum the.

switch down oh look at that the.

Lincoln was in bad need of fresh paint
and a new color but we couldn't agree

maybe a mad volcanic orange paint
be awesome we are not painting this car

orange eventually I made the decision
myself and went with a modern brown

metallic in the end went for a
Ford color it's called Roman bronze I

reckon it completely nailed it looks
fantastic the 21st century door card

inserts and retrimmed interior
perfectly matched the new exterior

paint you know what the more I look
at these door card inserts the more

chuffed I am with the result I've
not seen the paint yet but I do know

it was a mega job on this massive
car and I'm hoping it didn't mean a

huge bill I bought the Lincoln very
cheap but the paint job was always

gonna cost a lot with all the bling
and retrimming we've ended up with

a bill of just over 13 grand not
bad for a Continental this salted I just

hope Ed picked a
decent saleable color.

there you are all right son the.

Lincoln is finished it's outside
nothing what better place to meet up

and show it to you so I finally get
to see what color it is please tell me

you've not ruined it and painted it
orange what I'm saying is that this

shirt complements it perfectly it's
gonna be orange isn't it wait and see.

go and feast your eyes sir oh wow.

it's subtle and brown it I'm
pretty shocked this isn't what I was

expecting from an extrovert like
you maybe did say keep the market as

broad as possible but come on Ed
you never listen to me oh okay well if

you look closer you can see that
the metal thing is actually much bigger

than it normally would be it's a little
bit of custom well a custom paint job

really suits the car it's
bang on trend at the minute

it really looks fantastic
but also these awesome.

custom wheels from California you
got they are so gangsters paradise well

clearly we've got a car that can turn
heads mm-hmm you fancy taking it

for a cruise absolutely well I have the
keys and I want to show you what it can do.

now Ed I'm a little bit mystified why
on earth are we driving around Norfolk

well you love America right it's been
a really great hunting ground for you

yep well I never get to go on those
kind of trips obviously and I thought

for our test drive and actually take
us to California California is thousands

of miles away well you say that but
actually look there it is dead ahead.

of us we're about to drive
into it what's that California

Norfolk see what you've
done there very clever.

cool thing is it's a really impressive
car this it's got bags of talk also

it's surprisingly nimble it doesn't
wallow does it you can feel that this

car is nice and tight to
drive and it actually soaks up

the rough and tough of
UK roads pretty well it's such

a pleasure to be in thanks as well
now Ed may I say to these sumptuous

leather seats they've been retrimmed
and they're pretty cool check out the

door cards so you replaced the
wood yeah well actually it was a wood

veneer but these are now aluminium
so had them laser cut and then they

were printed with this kind of wet transfer
effect you're a clever lad oh thank you.

right now we need to concentrate
on getting this huge slice of Americana

sold here in the UK so what kind of
money we gonna go for I've got good.

faith in this car so I'm gonna advertise
it for 18,000 pound but I think me and

you we have to be realistic and if
somebody comes along with a sensible

offer we should consider it okay
but surely after all this work and effort

we put in we deserve a bit of
a profit so let's just hope fingers

crossed in fact that a
Continental fan is going to

turn up who wants a car
just like ours fingers crossed.

I've had our lovely Lincoln advertise
at 18,000 pounds for a while now

I've had lots of interest but no
serious offers so I've lowered the price

to 15,000 pounds and at that
price I don't want to take any less.

so then Adam do you
like it I think it's fabulous it

looks great it even sparkles
in the sunlight doesn't it

interior looks nice and clean organized
and fresh suits the color we put a lot of

effort into the color we put more metal
flake into the paintwork to make sure it

pops when the sun's on it we
contrasted it with that interior new door

cards so why do you want one of these I
sort of half fancied one for a few years and

I've half looked around
even went over to the

states to look at one but lost
my bottle on it since then kept

an eye open and when this
one popped up it was right color

right spec I like what you've done
with it well I want 15,000 pounds for it

it's a fair price you just bought
yourself a Lincoln thank you very much.

it was a big risk but it's paid off
and it's been great fun too I'm really

happy with a 15,000 pound sale price it
means just shy of two grand profit a great

return on this lovely Lincoln well
that was good wasn't it the right

result if you want to see more
cars being saved from the crusher by

me and Ed join us again
soon on Wheeler Dealers tala.