Sometimes the story is about the relationship between the owner and the car. Sometimes the story is about the owner’s vision of what the car could be. And sometimes the story is the car itself. Then, of course, you have Calgary’s Murray Hoines and his ’49 Lincoln where the story is a little of all of the above.
Lincoln has been building cars for the luxury end of the automobile market since 1921, and a division of Ford Motor Co. since 1922.
The make’s main claim to fame for most, if not all, of its existence has been as the main domestic competitor to the higher-level brands of General Motors.
When people think of the Lincoln, they think of a smooth ride and luxurious appointments. High performance? Not so much. There was a brief time in its history, however, that Lincolns were serious racing contenders.
The Lincoln for 1949 was all-new sporting much more modern styling than the ’48s and powered by a 337-cubic-inch (5.5-L) V-8 originally designed for Ford’s line of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Also new in 1949 was a racing circuit in the southern United States that would feature strictly stock automobiles, just like the ones people were lining up at dealerships to buy. The circuit was called NASCAR and its first race was held in Charlotte, N.C., on a dirt track on June 19.
After 197 dusty, bumpy, wreck-strewn laps, a ’49 Lincoln was declared the winner.
It’s unlikely that the father of Murray Hoines was influenced to buy his ’49 Lincoln by that NASCAR win. Nevertheless, the car the elder Hoines purchased was a ’49 Lincoln coupe with a three-speed manual transmission and big, flathead V-8, just like the winner in Charlotte.