Pressure Cooker – James Bean’s Bagged Lincoln Continental

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.

A Touch of Class – Rick Dore’s Hot Rod Lincoln Pickup

There are a lot of famous street rod builders out there. Guys like  Chip Foose get a lot of the press, but out of one quiet shop in the corner of Phoenix, Arizona, Rick Dore has been building some of the cleanest rides in the country.

It’s not like his name is unheard of. Rick is in 6 hall of fames, has won tons of awards at the prestigious Oakland Rod & Custom show, and has even been on TV a few times. The man is huge in the hot rod world, having built dozens of immaculate vehicles over the years, even before he opened his shop. For the past 10 years he’s been building head-turning rods, customs and trucks.

For 9 months out of the year, Rick and his crew of customizers are building customs for customers. High profile people such as rock stars, athletes and others come to him when they require that one-off look. And then, for a three-month span, the shop shuts down to regular customers and becomes a factory for SEMA cars and trucks.

Rick does a lot of image work for major manufacturers like Ford and GM. He regularly turns out up to 10 cars a year at the show of all shows – the SEMA show. One of his projects was this 2006 Lincoln Mark LT.

It was just a few months before the SEMA show when Rick took delivery of the truck. The options were limitless – bodydrop and shave, lifted to the sky, but Rick wanted to go custom without taking away from the classy lines of the truck.

There are tons of little details on the truck that most people would just glance past. Like the custom radius and sculpting done to the license plate box on the custom rollpan. Or the machined spears done down the side of the truck that were built out of aluminum and then chromed. It’s the little touches like that which really make this truck stand out.

True to his word, Rick had the Lincoln on the floor of the SEMA show on time, and looking awesome. It was just one of the many rides he built for the event, and each one was just as unique.

You may not have seen him on a weekly TV show, but if you ever get the chance to meet Rick Dore,do it. He’s building killer rides; trucks, customs, you name it! Here’s a fisheyed look at a Rick Dore custom Caddy showcased at the 2010 Grand National Roadster Show. Click on the picture for more pics.