Million-dollar, customized ’63 Lincoln to be unveiled

360 Fabrication in Abbotsford spent year and half on the vintage car project

The specialty Lincoln is valued at more than $1 million.

The specialty Lincoln is valued at more than $1 million.



Take an iconic ’63 Lincoln, add a $100,000 sound system, a 1,250-horse power Super Cobra Jet engine, customized Bentley leather interior and tons of other custom features and what do you get?

The answer was revealed today at the Vancouver International Auto Show when the world’s most highly customized 1963 Lincoln Continental Roadster was unveiled by Abbotsford-based custom car shop 360 Fabrication.

The specialty Lincoln is  valued at more than $1 million. The project took more than a year and half  to complete by a team of 15 master automotive technicians at 360.

“This    is    the    most    technically    complex    custom    car    we’ve    produced,” says 360 Fabrication president Rick Francoeur. “The    owner    of    this    vehicle    wanted    something     beyond  what    has    ever    been    seen    in    a    vintage    custom    project    in    Canada,    and    this    car     delivers  on    that.”

The 18-month project included  removing the original roof, chopping the windshield three inches, adding three inches to the height of the body to keep it in proportion with the custom 24” wheels, and developing a custom nitrogen air ride system.

The custom paintwork on the vehicle took over 450 hours to complete because of the size and lines of the vehicle,  said master painter Darren Emmerson.

“It’s fun to see it all come together. We’re coming down to the wire now. [360 is] proud of this build. It’s exciting to be part of a project like this,” says Francoeur. “It’s going to be the most expensive care we’ve done.”

And while the Lincoln is built to drive, Francoeur says it has become “car art at this stage. So customized it really becomes art.”

The Lincoln is going to be added to the private collection of a Canadian auto enthusiast.

Vehicle highlights:

•    100 per cent hand-built Focal sound system worth over $100,000. The system features 5,300 watts of power and seven amplifiers. It is the only Focal Ultima twin kit system ever installed in a single vehicle in the world

•    1,250 horse power Shelby Cobra Jet Ford engine

•    Custom Bentley leather hand stitched interior

•    Custom lowered windshield

•    Custom, quick change independent Nascar rear end

•    Painted in black cherry candy paint with six coats of clear top coat

•    Hand built exhaust system

•    $13,000 Ferrari steering wheel (custom modified to fit this vehicle)

 

The  1963    Lincoln    will    be    unveiled    and    on    display    at    the    Vancouver     International  Auto    Show,    March    24-29    at    the   Vancouver     Convention   Centre.

 

The  1963    Lincoln    will    be    unveiled    and    on    display    at    the    Vancouver     International  Auto    Show,    March    24-29    at    the   Vancouver     Convention   Centre.

For more about 360 Fabrication visit: www.360Fabrication.com

For more about the Vancouver International Auto Show visit: www.vancouverinternationalautoshow.com

Check abbynews.com and The Abbotsford News print edition next week for more on the unveiling.

 

Abbotsford News