Charly’s Garage Creates a Mild Custom 1950 Lincoln Sport Sedan
From a sleepy garage in Prescott, Arizona to a finalist for the Fuel Curve Custom of the Year award, Andy Shirk’s 1950 Lincoln Sport Sedan is a mildly customized knockout that preserves a golden era of Ford industrial design.
Two all-new postwar 1949 Lincolns were introduced in the fall of 1948. The flagship Cosmopolitan and the “EL-Series” Sport Sedan that shared Mercury sheet metal from the cowl rearward. The “baby Lincoln” married the Merc body to a longer wheelbase and added a unique front clip with recessed single headlamps and a broad horizontal grille.
These post-war dreamboats were the first cars developed under the combined Lincoln-Mercury Division of Ford Motor Company. For the first time since 1933, a V8 engine was offered in Lincoln instead of a V12. It was also the swan song effort of Ford stylist Bob Gregorie, who gained fame designing the legendary pre-war Lincoln Zephyrs.
Andy is a businessman who lives with his wife in Phoenix, Arizona. He bought the car from a family in Prescott with longtime ownership. “It was originally pale gray green, but was orange peel black when I bought it,” Andy says. “The Flathead was long gone, replaced by a small-block Chevy. It had a fair bit of rust, especially in the rockers. Overall, it was tired but complete. I think I’m the second or third owner.”
Andy entrusted the team at Charly’s Garage in Mesa, Arizona to help resuscitate the 1950 Lincoln sled. The shop is a family affair made up of patriarch Chuck Spencer, son Charles Spencer (owner), and his three sons. Folklore has it that Chuck had a hand in the creation of the insanely famous Barris Hirohata Merc.
The guys at Charly’s got to work bringing the car back to life. They boxed the factory frame and added a Kugel front suspension and a RideTech rear suspension. Big Wilwood brakes were installed along with 17-inch Wheelsmith chrome steelies and Coker whitewall tires.
Andy wanted to stay with small-block Chevy power, so they installed a new 420hp ZZ6 350c.i. crate engine from Chevrolet Performance backed up with a 700R4 from Hayes Transmission.
Inside, the car marries Classic Instruments Esquire gauges, Vintage Air, and a small-diameter repro ’55 Chevy steering wheel. The black rose brocade cloth combined with merlot-colored leather on the seats adds a personalized, old-school touch.
Andy loves his 1950 Lincoln and says he wouldn’t change a thing. If you see the car around the Southwest U.S., look closely and squint into the foot-deep Dark Cherry paint – we swear you can see Bob Gregorie smiling back at you.
Photos by Damon Lee
