Old Lincoln cars

• Originally the Lincoln Motor Company built aircraft engines for W.W.I
  
  
• Henry Leland was 76 years old when he produced the first Lincoln car
  
  
• A coincidence? Abraham Lincoln had a greyhound in is family Coat of Arms
  
  
• The first greyhound appeared on a Lincoln radiator in 1925
  
  
• Calvin Coolidge started the tradition of the Lincoln being the official "presidential car" in 1924
  
  
• There were 33 body styles offered in 1928
  
  
• The original Lincoln Continental (1940) was designed as a "one-off" model for Edsel Ford to drive around in while at his winter home in Palm Beach in 1939
  
  
• When Gerald Ford became Vice President in 1973, he stated, "I am a Ford, not a Lincoln." Once he became President, he found himself to be a Ford in a Lincoln...limo that is!

• The Lincoln was named after President Abraham Lincoln by founder Henry Leland
  
  
• Henry Ford went backwards in the alphabet from the model "L" in 1930 to introducing the 1931 model as the model "K"
  
  
• The Lincoln Zephyr name was "borrowed" from the streamliner train the old "Burlington Zephyr"
  

The first presidential vehicle that was built to Secret Service specs was a 1939 Lincoln v-12 convertible, which carried the nickname of the “Sunshine Special” by FDR. Some of the special features on this car were extra wide running boards, step plates on the rear, a “extra heavy duty suspension” and special compartments behind the front seat.

In 1942, after Pearl Harbor, a rebuild was done which included concealed armor plating, bullet-resistant glass and tires, and a huge chrome grill which made the car top out at almost 10,000 lbs. The car was retired in 1950. It is currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan.

Ray Dietrich’s Body Shop in Dearborn, Michigan was awarded a contract by the Lincoln-Mercury Division of Ford to build a “stretch limo”, which was a four door Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible with a 145” wheelbase, weighing just over 6,000lbs. It was powered by a 337 cu in Lincoln V8 engine and was 20 feet long. Some of the special features built into the car were retractable steps under the rear fenders, red flashers, a rear-mounted spare, and flag holders on the front bumper. It was delivered to President Harry Truman in 1950.

When President Eisenhower came into office, he requested that the car be fitted with a removable dome-shaped Plexiglas bubble-top, so he could wave to the crowds in rainy weather. It was nicknamed “ Ike’s Bubble-Top”.

JFK used this car during his Inaugural Parade in 1961 (without the top). The car was retired that year and served as a Ford Motor Company VIP car on the East Coast. In 1967 it joined the “Sunshine Special” at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

The next Presidential Limo was known as the “X-100”, which was a conversion of a stock 1961 Continental Convertible. The “midnight blue” limo was built in Wixom, Michigan in January 1961. The wheelbase was extended by 3 1/2 feet and the weight increased to almost 8,000 lbs. It was delivered to the White House in June 1961 and carried the license plate “GG-130”. Some features on the car were: a hydraulically operated rear seat which could be raised to give a better view of the President, retractable steps for the Special Agents on the side, rear steps on the bumper, radio telephones, sirens, and an interior floodlight to illuminate the President at night!

After President Kennedy’s assassination, the car was completely refurbished by Ford at cost of more than a half million dollars. Upgrades and changes included: new black paint, improved titanium armor plate protection, a non-removable top, extra air conditioning in the trunk for rear passenger cooling, special PPG “water white” 1”+ bullet resistant glass, reinforced bomb/mine resistant floor panels, solid aluminum rims inside the tires to make them “flat-proof”, and a fuel tank which was filled with a special foam to prevent explosion, and a more powerful engine to handle the additional weight of the car. The “new” X-100 was put back into service in May 1964.

After various refinements, the X-100 was retired in 1977, and joined the “Sunshine Special” and the “Bubble Top” at the Henry Ford Museum. In 1974 Ford supplied another Continental, a 72 model which was stretched out to 22 feet long, was armor plated, outfitted with bullet resistant glass and powered by a 460 cu. in. V8. This limousine was used by Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. This vehicle is also on display at the Henry Ford Museum.

It is the last presidential vehicle that will be given to any museum, as the Secret Service has already, or will, destroy all future presidential cars so that onboard security devices and measures will not be compromised.