317.5ciPushrod Overhead Valve V-8
Single 4-Barrel Carburetor
205bhp at 4,200rpm
Hydra-Matic Automatic Transmission
Coil Spring Independent Front Suspension, Leaf Spring Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes

* The only known survivor of Lincoln's 1954 Carrera Panamericana team
* Restored by its original builder, Holman and Moody-Stroppe
* Finished in the unique livery of class winners, Ray Crawford and Enrique Iglesias
* Preserved for over half a century in Harrah's Collection/National Automobile Museum


THE LINCOLN CAPRI

Having completely restyled the Lincoln lineup in 1952 and equipped it with a good-performing 317 cubic inch overhead valve V-8, Ford's senior marque sought to prove that performance went with handsome design. To do it they turned to competing in the famed Carrera Panamericana.

Lincoln was not alone in seeing the Panamerican road race, 1,908 miles from Tuxtla Guitterez on the Guatemalan border to Ciudad Jaurez on the Rio Grande, as a promotional opportunity. Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz and others brought professionally prepared multi-car teams and truckloads of support equipment to the five-day Carrera.

A sound car was not enough, it had to have impeccable preparation and meticulous planning to snatch victory from almost 2,000 miles of potholes, blind corners and wandering cattle.

To accomplish this daunting task Lincoln turned to the team of Bill Stroppe and master mechanic and camshaft savant Clay Smith (aka "Mr. Horsepower"). With their help the Lincoln team had been successful in 1952 (finishing in the four top spots in their class and sixth overall) and in 1953 (again finishing 1-4 in their class and sixth overall.) Lincoln was a juggernaut, demonstrating the performance, reliability and durability of its production cars under the most demanding conditions in the world.


THE CAR OFFERED

The Lincoln Capri team took shape in Bill Stroppe's and Clay Smith's shop in Long Beach, California as a dominant presence for the fifth Carrera Panamericana in 1954. Six Lincolns were prepared for the team, four race cars with two in reserve or used for pre-running the course and practice. In the words of Motor Life correspondent Griff Borgeson, it was La Aplanadora – The Steamroller. Drivers included the cream of American professionals: Chuck Stevenson, Walt Faulkner, Johnny Mantz, Jack McGrath and respected (and fearless) Bill Vukovich.

The Lincoln team was a juggernaut consisting of a total of 54 staff. Bill Stroppe had taken two weeks driving the entire Carrera length with Gordon Smith recording every bump, culvert, bend, surface change and crossing, along with nearby landmarks, in a continuous roll map.

Teams had only an hour to service cars at the end of each day. Along the way there were pre-positioned wheel change locations.

There was one other Lincoln driver in 1954, California native Ray Crawford. His family owned a successful, highly regarded and still fondly remembered chain of grocery stores in the San Gabriel Valley they positioned as "The Biggest Little Country Store in the World".

Crawford was a veteran of every Carrera Panamericana as a private entrant, finishing eighth in 1951. In 1953 he crashed his Bill Stroppe-prepared Lincoln driving to Tuxtla Guitierrez. He persuaded Lincoln to let Stroppe and Smith prepare his Capri for 1954, but only if he bought the car and paid for the race preparation and support, a bill that came in at some $15,000 1954 dollars.

The race, for Lincoln at least, was chilled early when Stevenson, Mantz, McGrath, Murphy and Russell all broke or crashed on the first leg to Oaxaca. Privateer Crawford was ninth overall among powerful Ferraris and nimble Borgwards and Porsches.

This was an epic road race, over the mountains, deserts and through the towns and cities of Mexico. The Lincoln team was reduced to just two competitive entries from its juggernaut: the amateur Crawford and the consummate professional Walt Faulkner, but the first day's decimation introduced a new element, particularly when Vukovich crashed on the second day.

Only two Lincolns were left in contention in their class. A Cadillac driven by Keith Andrews was breathing hard down their necks. Bill Stroppe'a coordinated effort and massive team now had only two cars to service. They buried Crawford and Faulkner in the best tuners and mechanics every evening.

By Day Three the Large Touring category was in doubt with Walt Faulkner leading Ray Crawford in Lincolns. They were chased with determination by a Buick and a Cadillac and finished Day Four with Faulkner a mere eight seconds ahead of Crawford. Andrews' Cadillac was only two minutes behind.

On Day Four, Durango to Chihuahua in two stages the big American sedans were setting times that challenged the Ferraris of Umberto Maglioli and Phil Hill as the roads opened up. Cadillacs were thoroughly in the mix.

Day Five was lining up to be epic. Ray Crawford, the privateer from LA driving a car he'd paid for out of his own pocket, was on overall time some three minutes ahead of Walt Faulkner and Keith Andrews' Cadillac.

At the end of the five-day marathon Ray Crawford, the grocer, finished 2 minutes ahead of Walt Faulkner and three minutes ahead of Keith Andrews' Cadillac, an epic end to an epic week in Mexico.

After the Carrera Panamericana Lincoln took possession of the team cars, eventually paying Crawford for his purchase price and preparation. The Lincolns were sent to Bill Stroppe's shop where each of them was resprayed and numbered to look like Crawford's class winner. They then were scattered across North American Lincoln dealers to publicize the unprecedented victory.

No available information after the 1954 Carrera Panamericana identifies which car was driven by which driver despite years of searching for it by Harrah's Automobile Collection. What is known is that a few years later this car was sold to Estes Lincoln-Mercury in Inglewood, California. Its data plate carries the original color code for a white exterior; Crawford's Lincoln was red The Estes dealership was one of Johnny Mantz's personal sponsors.

Most conclusively, it has a characteristic modification known to have been made only to the Carrera Panamericana Lincoln team cars: a pair of holes in the trunk floor where Bill Stroppe fitted two heater fans with ducting through the floor for brake cooling. Upon arrival in Mexico the scrutineers for Associacion Mexicana Automovilistica viewed these ingenious fittings and quickly ruled them not stock. They were removed for the race but the holes that had been cut in the trunk floor remained, providing definitive and exclusive proof that a 1954 Lincoln Capri with the holes was a Carrera Panamericana team car.

This car has those distinctive holes.

I also have two rolled route maps prepared after Bill Stroppe's and Gordon Smith's reconnaissance of the 1,908 miles of the 1954 Carrera. The two maps, for Day 1 and Day 5, survive in meticulously drawn, kilometer markings noted, color-keyed detail that capture, even 72 years later, the detailed planning and daunting conditions of this 5-day marathon.

After acquisition by Harrah's Automobile Collection in rough condition, it was sent to the Holman and Moody-Stroppe, Inc. shop in Long Beach in 1967 for a comprehensive restoration that included acquiring two 1954 Lincoln Capris for parts cars followed by complete disassembly, mechanical rebuilding, repair and refinishing including paint and chrome. It was completed in September 1968 at a cost to Harrah's of $7,938.22. There are choice details, like the hand-painted Dennis the Menace ("Pepito La Amenaza") that embodied Ray Crawford's outsider status with the Lincoln team, until he won.

As of this writing, this is the only known survivor of the 1954 Lincoln team. The fifty-eight-year-old paint is sound with some age-related shrinkage, cracks and scratches. The chrome is good, as is the upholstery on the bench front seat. As were all the Lincolns, it has a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, a roll bar and a huge 55-gallon fuel tank in the back seat to supplement the standard 23-gallon tank. The tires fitted to it today are 7.10-15 Firestone Transports, rugged commercial tires up to surviving the rough roads and variable conditions of the Carrera. The engine was rebuilt by Stroppe's shop during restoration but has been dry stored for years and will need attention along with the rest of the car before being exercised on track.

This is an historic, significant, potent symbol of Fifties racing in one of the world's most famous and fabled open road high speed events. It has been conscientiously preserved during its half century in the Harrah's Automobile Collection and has a wonderful, well-documented story of an underdog's triumph that will make it a sought-after addition to prestigious events.