1966 Lincoln Continental World's FASTEST Lincoln Land Speed Race Car Bonneville

1966 Lincoln Continental Additional Info:

Here's something you will not see every day: The World's Fastest Lincoln! A GENUINE, 200-miles-per-hour Land Speed Race car that was campaigned at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats and Southern California's El Mirage Dry Lake for many, many years. The car, named Heavy Metal and bearing the race number 868, last ran at El Mirage in a tribute to its late owner and builder, Clifton Wheeler, on October 24th, 2021. Let's start at the beginning. Clifton Wheeler was well known for manufacturing the beautiful SCTA and BNI race trophies that are being presented to Land Speed Record setters. A true craftsman and designer, his meticulous approach shows everywhere on this fantastic Lincoln, too. It being his personal, street-driven car for many years, Cliff is said to have logged over 300,000 miles on the highways and byways of Southern California before making the fateful decision to turn the car into a race vehicle and attack his personal goal, the elusive 200mph mark, in the late 1980s. And, by golly, he finally achieved it on August 19th,1995, clocking 200.691 mph during the annual Bonneville Speed Week. Funny story: at Speed Week, Holly Hedrich, who had just set a record of 182mph with a big-Dollar, factory-built Lincoln MK VIII Coupe two years earlier, was walking through the pits, proudly wearing his letterman jacket emblazoned with a pic of the Mk VIII and the inscription World's Fastest Lincoln on the back, when he encountered the crew of 868, celebrating their astounding 200mph achievement. Cliff good-naturedly patted good ol' Mr. Hedrich on the back and told him that he'd have to get a new jacket - World's Second Fastest Lincoln. One can only imagine what it takes to push a brick the size of the Continental through the air to reach 200mph. I have been a land speed racer (now retired) since the late 1980s myself and followed the progress of Cliff's Lincoln closely. His was the first Lincoln to surpass 180mph (in 1988), 190mph (in 1990) and, finally, the crowning achievement in 1995, 200mph!Clifton Wheeler was a true blue-collar Gentleman, old school to the core, a master builder and creator and definitely a California original. Member of the Glendale Sidewinders racing club, Cliff was inducted into the SCTA Wheels of Fame in 2014, shortly before his passing. His brother Nat, along with is crew chief Barry and crew Gary, Liz, Steve and Jack removed the car from hibernation a few years later and embarked on a 3-year restoration, installing a Lincoln 430 MEL engine with dual carbs and Cliff's hand-made intake manifold and weed burner headers, backed by a manual tranny, and brought it back to life. Interestingly, the car comes with a clear California title and as such is registered for the street. With some creativity (such as the addition of lights and a horn, hahaha) the big Linc could be made into a street car! Imagine, pulling up at your local cars and coffee and emerging from the back seat. Yes, you drive this car from the back seat as the engine sits where the front seat would normally be.Obviously, the car is a prime museum piece as well, sparking conversations wherever it is shown. Any Lincoln collector - or any race car collector/ Land Speed Racing enthusiast - would be proud to own this one-of-a-kind piece, a big part of Bonneville history - and to this day the World's Fastest Lincoln!Another approach to enjoy the car (and the one I had in mind when I purchased the car) is to update the roll cage, seat belts, etc. and use the car the way it was intended: as a fun way to get into Land Speed Racing. The Land Speed Racing community is very welcoming and helpful and many of the oldtimers recall Clifton Wheeler's Heavy Metal Lincoln fondly. The USFRA even has a Bonneville 130/150mph Club that would welcome the big Linc with open arms and you could "get your feet wet" in a safe and fun manner.As it sits, add a battery and some fresh fuel and this Lincoln will come to life. Here's a short cold start video (sound is very distorted, the car sounds earthshaking!!):https://vimeo.com/856483182There are so many stories to tell about this unique race car, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. The car is presently located in the San Fernando Valley area of Southern California, in Canoga Park.P.S. More than a dozen authentic brass SCTA timing tags chronicling the amazing race history of the Lincoln (including, of course, the invaluable 200.631mph one from 1995) are mounted to the car's a-pillars and are included in the sale.