Pressure Cooker – James Bean’s Bagged Lincoln Continental

Posted by Kevin Whipps on Jul 27, 2010 in Featured, Muscle & Style | 3 comments

James is a custom car guy, and has been for years. Before the Lincoln, he owned an ’86 Prelude, ’88 Toyota truck, and a ’95 Accord wagon. That wagon was beyond amazing, featuring lots of chrome, lots of painted accessories, and it was way beyond its time. After he sold the Accord, he laid back for a bit and focused on his job as a Honda Technician. Then he stumbled upon his dream ride, a 1966 Lincoln Continental. His parents had bought one brand new and sold it in the 1980’s for way less than it was worth, and ever since then he knew he had to have one. After he found the ’66 for $4k, he snatched it up and got to work.

The car was in excellent running condition, so that really wasn’t a problem. The real issue was that he wanted to get it painted and done up in a fairly short amount of time. Enter Adam Hartley, a custom car builder and good friend of James. Adam’s built a few SEMA cars in his time, and has quite a few features and sponsors to show for it. He took James under his wing and said, “If you want to get this done for SEMA, you need to have $10g’s and a lot of time to spare, or I can’t help you.” James checked some things, and gave Adam the go-ahead. The build was on.

Six months before SEMA, phone calls were being made. Sponsors were being acquired, and parts were being shipped. The car was on its way to being ready for the show. The car needed some bodywork, and James wanted a few things shaved, so he went to his friend Tony Leveck of Las Vegas to help him out with the process. Tony shaved the side and front emblems on the car, and then they blocked it out to perfection. The car was blown apart to paint the jams and get it ready for paint. The interior was all gone, and the suspension wasn’t done. It was now just 2 ½ weeks before SEMA and the car was just a shell.

Things really flew by in the last two weeks. Adam, James and their mutual friend Anthony Pallan started to work on the suspension. Here’s an interesting stat that most people don’t know about the 1966 Lincoln Continental: It’s a unibody.  That made bagging the car a touch more difficult than a traditional frame-on-body vehicle, but they still installed Firestone airbags and a four link to get it done. The car still could go lower, but James wanted to keep the integrity of the unibody in place. The car also has factory disc brakes, which is pretty impressive for a ’66. Then they set the car down on a set of 20″ Colorado Custom billet wheels with 255/35 Pirelli PZero Rossos.

Next came the paint. In came Chris Haynes from Las Vegas to lay down the House of Kolor Tangelo Orange pearl, which he sprayed on the jams and various interior pieces to match the exterior. Around that same time, the custom roof was laid down, which is a brown vinyl phantom top with foam underneath. Once the car was painted, it was reassembled with freshly chromed bumpers, done by APC in Las Vegas.

While the car was being painted, the interior was off at Friends Upholstery in Henderson, Nevada. They wrapped the seats in a light brown ultraleather with orange piping. James then bolted up a Colorado Customs billet steering wheel and adapter, and the car was good to go.

The Lincoln was completed just hours before SEMA, and shortly after, he sold the car so that he could use the proceeds to help fund his new business. James went out on his own and started his own company, servicing cars of all makes and models. That doesn’t mean that he’s done with custom rides, though. What’s he planning on getting next? Believe it or not, another ’65-67 Lincoln. This time he’s going all out on it, as if this car wasn’t enough.