# My 1955 Lincoln Futura Overhauled



## f1steph

Hi guys,

After finally viewing recently the movie ''It started with a kiss'' with Carrie Fisher's (Princess Lea) mother Debbie Reynolds, I've was wondering if I could add the major detailing that the old Futura kit needed: chassis, engine. So I tooked my only scrapped car kit, ERTL 1969 Charger 1/25 and told myself: start cutting some styrene and see what happens.... That's what I did. So after roughly assembling everything, I came to the conclusion that I could do something with it. But it still needs some fine tuning. I will have to built the engine Y block but will use some scrapped engine parts. I'll work on this thing slowly but surely. 

https://goo.gl/photos/ifj2MksvfAMmFKXz8

Steph


----------



## NTRPRZ

That's a major task you've taken on, but it looks like you're on the right track!


----------



## f1steph

Yeah, this is a major transformation. This kit is an old reissue. In those days, the kits were very basic. 
My major problem is the engine. I've found different informations regarding the engine that was a Lincoln prototype, some say it was a Y Block type engine, some say it was a V8. I also found only one picture of it from a Youtube video. So I don't have lots of info that shows the engine details. I'll have to improvise...... I finally decide to go for the V8 and will modify it the best I can......


----------



## smoke14

Looking very nice sir! It's frustrating doing a build like that and not finding the info you seek, I'm a huge Lincoln nut and will search my files to see if I can help! Craig


----------



## f1steph

Craig, that would be awesome if you can find any good pictures showing the details of the engine. Other that a black and white screen capture, I've found none up to now. 
Thanks for your help,
Steph


----------



## NTRPRZ

f1steph said:


> Yeah, this is a major transformation. This kit is an old reissue. In those days, the kits were very basic.
> My major problem is the engine. I've found different informations regarding the engine that was a Lincoln prototype, some say it was a Y Block type engine, some say it was a V8. I also found only one picture of it from a Youtube video. So I don't have lots of info that shows the engine details. I'll have to improvise...... I finally decide to go for the V8 and will modify it the best I can......


Just keep the hood closed and you'll be OK.


----------



## f1steph

I've got one already built with the hood closed.... well it's more like welded... hehehehe.... 
No this one will be a bit more complete then the original reissued version. These days, I'm always getting into pretty funky projects that takes forever to built...... one day, I'll built a kit OOB..... one day....


----------



## f1steph

Hi guys,

A small update. I was able to cut the trunk door without breaking everything. I've also added some styrene strips to hold the hood in place. More to come... slowly...

https://goo.gl/photos/xeo498cozpvM4NHq8

https://goo.gl/photos/fQr62rv1se1vSKfc6


Steph


----------



## Mr Morton

Very interesting! The Lincoln Y-Block preceded the Ford Y-Block by a few years and was replaced by newer designs for the 1958 model year. Here's some info.

Home


----------



## f1steph

The info regarding what type of engine was in the Futura is hard to find. Some say it was a Lincoln experimental Y-Block , some say it was a V8 368 cu in. So I'll go for the easiest, the V8. I didn't work on this project lately simply because I've got my full attention on my Space 1999 Eagles project. But I should spent some time on it soon. So much stuff to modify and add, it's insane....

Steph


----------



## whiskeyrat

Very cool! Always had a soft spot for this car... Batmobile origins and everything, you know... any updates coming?


----------



## Radiodugger

Damn. I lost all my info files in the foreclosure. I read somewhere about a 390 Thunderbird motor in either the Futura or one of the Barris Batmobiles. Or do I have crossed wires somewhere?

Doug


----------



## f1steph

Hi guys,

It's pretty confusing insn't it .....

I didn't do lots of things on this project lately. Well other than stripping the chrome from the bumpers and trimmings. I need to modify the rear bumber so I had no choice to do that. I'll spray some Alclad chrome on them. My Space 1999 Eagle projects are taking more time then expected plus this week I'm on a 1:1 project, painting the floor (need to remove the old latex epoxy paint first, then fixing the cracks and little holes created by the winter road salt) and painting the walls of my garage. 

Thanks guys for your interest on this project of mine. I'll keep this thread alive for sure once I'm back full time on this project... 

Steph


----------



## Radiodugger

Damn! You did a _beautiful_ job on that chassis!










Doug


----------



## Lummox

*Diggit!*

I'm a fan of anyone working on a Futura.

I love the pix of it after it ended up languishing behind Barris' shop.

Painted red for the movie, it was very faded with much patina. Parts missing, etc.

Personally I think it's a great loss it got hacked up, but the outcome ain't so bad.

Good luck with the build!









*Radiodrugger,* I believe Barris made 2 'glass Batmobile copies in the '60s and they sat on Ford Galaxie frames w/390 engines.
And the center part of the canopy hung from the shop's ceiling for decades.


----------



## Radiodugger

Lummox said:


> *Radiodrugger,* I believe Barris made 2 'glass Batmobile copies in the '60s and they sat on Ford Galaxie frames w/390 engines.


Radio _*DRUGGER?*_ ROFL! Haa hahaha! Good one! Might have been true in my younger days! Built many a one of a kind model after toking a doob', I'll tell ya! But, I digress...

Ford Galaxie frames w/390 engines! Thanks! I knew I had that info somewhere! That Lincoln motor was no slouch though. But the 390, 4-bbl made _music!_

Doug


----------



## f1steph

Radiodugger said:


> Damn! You did a _beautiful_ job on that chassis!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Doug


That was only a test fit, the chassis was modified but still needs some fine ''tuning'', needs also a trunk. Lots of work but that will be worth it. 

You guys know that the Futura turned red for the movie ''It started like a kiss''. If I had another Futura in my inventory, I would built one like on that picture, mat red and looking like a 1$ piece of junk......

Steph


----------



## Lummox

Well, there's always Johnny Lightning's Futura.
I work in that scale, I should make a Barris Back Lot Beauty in faded red.

I did make this however 








The shocking Top Secret life of the Futura Uber-Weapon FoMoCo built originally for the Military...pre-show car life.
Please don't share this info, I could loose my stripes.


----------



## Radiodugger

Johnny Lightning made a _Futura???_ Never knew that...OMG!!! Lookee!










Mine! MINE!!! Bwahh hahaha! Thank you, Lum! You da MAN! (Shuffling off, cackling insanely, rubbing hands together...)

Doug


----------



## Lummox

Hell yeah Dugger, one can't have too many JL Futuras!

The good colors it came in were the original VERY light blue like in your pic,
red like in the movie, and black, and white as a "White Lightning" chase.

Then released a few times with lots of stupid tampoes.

I have many copies of it in those good colors except only one white chase.

Sorry to steal the thread, but it's a very worthy 1:64 model.


----------



## Radiodugger

A bit of Futura history from Diecast.org:

*While the car was a product of Bill Schmidt’s team, it’s assembly was a combination of elements. A stretched a combination 1953 Lincoln & Continental Mark II chassis which forms the extraordinary wheelbase. The Italian design studio Ghia shaped the body panels by hand to the unique design requirements on ancient tree stumps. The plexi-glass canopy though was crafted in the US and sent to Italy for mounting. The engine was rated in press releases at over 330HP but no one seems to be able to verify that as fact. A standard Lincoln 205 bhp V-8 shipped with the chassis.

A remarkable aspect of the car is the paint, described as "pearlescent, frost-blue white." To this day eyewitness accounts will remember the color slightly differently depending on the light it was first seen in due to the unique paint mix which included crushed fish scales. Oddly enough, it often looks green, and sometimes flat white because of the color conflicts your retina (and my camera lens) tries to resolve...but can't.

...a number of the unique styling elements of this “laboratory on wheels”. The cockpit was sealed off from the outside, relying on microphones to hear the environment. The restrictive airflow apparently came back to to haunt the designers when on a debut parade in NY that literally stopped traffic, the AC failed. Instruments are on a binnacle on the wheel.

The hubcaps have no visible valve stems since they were mounted on the interior of the wheel and had to be serviced from underneath the car.

Behind the front seat, in the console, was a telephone. Exterior door handles were recessed at the tops of the door rather than the sides and opening the doors turned on the lights and the retracted canopy for easy access. Several other features can’t really be experienced or visualized such as the the horn was activated using a pedal on the floor, the roll-top like dash and a vent in the canopy that let in fresh air....when it worked.

The Futura made it’s debut at the 1955 Chicago Auto Show. It would go on to wow show crowds up until 1959 when it’s looks started to fade and Ford was embroiled in it’s Edsel drama, But it was still different enough to be a star, so it wound up in Hollywood, painted red in a Debbie Reynolds/Glenn Ford film “It Started With a Kiss” for which it’s most famous benefactor, George Barris, takes credit. From there, well, you know the rest of the Batmobile story, and if you don’t (or think you do), I’d encourage you to read about it.*

And while we're waiting for an update, take a look at this:










I believe that is where the design started...

Doug


----------



## Lummox

Thanks for that.
Good write-up. Seems more honest than others I've read.

I did read it was a bit sluggish due to weight.
By the time it morphed into the Bat-mo-sheen, performance was less than super heroic.

If I remember right, the film is sped up when it exits the Bat Cave.


----------



## scotpens

Lummox said:


> I'm a fan of anyone working on a Futura.
> 
> I love the pix of it after it ended up languishing behind Barris' shop.


Notice the car sitting to the Futura's right? It's a 1955 Mercury concept car that was used in the _Outer Limits_ episode "The Duplicate Man" (which also featured a Barris-customized Buick Riviera).



Radiodugger said:


> A remarkable aspect of the car is the paint, described as "pearlescent, frost-blue white." To this day eyewitness accounts will remember the color slightly differently depending on the light it was first seen in due to the unique paint mix which included crushed fish scales. Oddly enough, it often looks green, and sometimes flat white because of the color conflicts your retina (and my camera lens) tries to resolve...but can't.


IIRC, the shimmering or pearlescent effect depended on the difference in viewing angle between the viewer's two eyes. The only way to get an accurate color photo of the Futura would have been to use a stereo 3D camera. Unfortunately, no 3D pictures of the car exist.




Radiodugger said:


> And while we're waiting for an update, take a look at this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I believe that is where the design started...


It's the other way around. Styling elements of the Futura made their way to the production 1956 Lincoln, though a much less extreme form.


----------



## Radiodugger

Regarding my speculation that the 1956 Premier was the basis for the Futura design:



scotpens said:


> It's the other way around. Styling elements of the Futura made their way to the production 1956 Lincoln, though a much less extreme form.


Ahh! Thank you! I was shocked at the similarity! I had one of those a-HA moments! Scotpens, you are correct, although I cannot find that info. That was a whole day of digging, too. 

I am really intrigued by this model build! Thank God for people who _see the value_ of this car!

Doug


----------



## Lummox

scotpens said:


> Notice the car sitting to the Futura's right? It's a 1955 Mercury concept car that was used in the _Outer Limits_ episode "The Duplicate Man" (which also featured a Barris-customized Buick Riviera).


That's cool info, I'll have to look that car up.

Barris was heavily involved with Ford (for someone who wasn't on their payroll).

Many of his wilder customs had For engines - like the Mustermobile, Grandpa's Dragster, etc.
He may have done a few customs for them later in the '60s that traveled to the big auto shows, but I could be wrong on that.


----------



## Lummox

Not what I would call a knock out, but at least it didn't get crushed like most show cars.








Thanks for learnin' me about Mr. Pens! :thumbsup:

Lum


----------



## f1steph

A telephone in back of the driver's seat...interresting that is.... but how the hell did that work in 1955..... most likely a fake.... 

I saw somewhere that the handling was terrible, like the ''real'' Batmobile... Also is was hot like in hell in the cockpit when the sun was heating the canopy, it was like in an aquarium..... the air conditionning HAD to work or else you would simply cook like a muffin....

Pretty fun to see a Futura transformed into a tank... Lincoln never saw that as a plan B for their concept car, I'm pretty sure of that !!!! Ahahahaha

Steph


----------



## Radiodugger

Ya know, Steph, as much work as you're doing to that beauty, I wonder if anyone will try and covert the 1:25 scale Batmobile _into a Futura?_ Ha!

Doug


----------



## scotpens

f1steph said:


> A telephone in back of the driver's seat...interresting that is.... but how the hell did that work in 1955..... most likely a fake....


Car phones have been around since the late 1940s, although the early ones were more like 2-way radio with a push-to-talk switch.

When I was growing up in the 1960s, one of my dad's business associates had a car phone. They were expensive as hell and the audio quality sounded like the mobile user was inside a submarine.


----------



## Daniel_B

Love that orange.


----------



## f1steph

scotpens said:


> Car phones have been around since the late 1940s, although the early ones were more like 2-way radio with a push-to-talk switch.
> 
> When I was growing up in the 1960s, one of my dad's business associates had a car phone. They were expensive as hell and the audio quality sounded like the mobile user was inside a submarine.


Thanks for this info..... I also remember that I had an hockey coach in late '70's early '80's that had one in is Lincoln Continental (he had big $$$$ I guess). And thinking: cool, a phone in a car like in Straker's car in UFO.....But that was in late '70's early '80's, not in the '40's.... So I've searched the net and found out that they were invented in 1946 by Bell Systems, then Motorola started building some also..... Interresting..... I've just learned something today.... I will go to sleep tonight less stupid.... 

Check it out:
THE FIRST CAR TELEPHONES

Steph


----------



## Lummox

Very cool linc Steph - killer pix!!!

Dave


----------



## edseldave

Most likely the original Futura had a '54 or '55 Lincoln Y-Block motor . If it was built on a Mercury chassis it would of had a Ford Y-Block - which could be found in a 56 or 57 Ford kit .
The Ford 390 didnt come out until 1961 , which is a 'big block' FE motor .. So that was never in the original car , just the Batmobiles ... 
At least Barris saved the Futura from being scrapped , after it became the faded out beater it looks like in the photo here .. It looked nice in the movie when it was red .. Also in the 'recent ' old TV show Viper , there was an episode where the red Futura was in it. I believe it was supposed to be an old experimental car of some sort in the show . The show has not been re-run to my knowledge , so seeing it again may never happen ... Viper was on maybe 1 or 2 seasons ...


----------



## scotpens

edseldave said:


> . . . Also in the 'recent ' old TV show Viper , there was an episode where the red Futura was in it. I believe it was supposed to be an old experimental car of some sort in the show.


I remember that show and that episode. IIRC, the red Futura was a replica made by Bob Butts. It had some noticeable inaccuracies, like the bodyside molding being much too thick and the canopy center section being too flat.


----------



## Lummox

Sure, far from perfect, but it's proportions still work very well.
Either the canopy is to large or my guess is the car is much smaller than the original.

And at least a Futura-like 1:1 car now exists.


----------

