Lincoln, Buick and Packard: rust in peace

By Ton Roks

| 22 Jul 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Lincoln, Buick and Packard: rust in peace

Vehicles left in a scrapyard, or abandoned behind a shed after the kids have driven around the garden until it wheezed out its last breath: these are the cars that Frans Mandigers picks out to give a new lease of life.

We all know the fascination of those roadside wrecks in the USA, left on the prairie or under a tree somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Without windows and headlights, they look at you with hollow eyes, and the temptation is to gaze into them, searching for traces of the lives they have led.

Frans Mandigers’ ‘rat rod’ creations: the 1964 Lincoln Continental (left), 1957 Buick Roadmaster (middle) and 1949 Packard Deluxe Eight Touring Sedan

A crumpled pack of Lucky Strikes under a seat, a faded Grand Canyon Rim Drive sticker in the rear window, a Raymond Chandler in the glove compartment – things that make you fantasise about the car and the people who drove it.

What journeys would they have made, and what joys and sorrows shared?

Would they have felt pain or melancholy when they turned the ignition key for the last time?

Some see such machines only as old piles of rust, but fortunately there are others, such as this unusual restorer from Valkenswaard in the south of The Netherlands, for whom there is beauty.

This 1949 Packard was rescued from a field in South Dakota, USA

The same beauty that can be found in the wrinkled skin and greying hair of an elderly relative.

And that’s enough to stir the desire to raise an abandoned car from the dead.

Rather than obliterate all evidence of the past, however, Frans retains all those creases and wrinkles with his ‘Rustlook’ approach.

This started out as a hobby, but has turned into a career and he now professionally breathes new life into long-forgotten cars, with a preference for American machinery.

‘Rustlook’ pioneer Frans Mandigers has a background in graphic design

He already has quite a number to his name, three of which are waiting for us to sample today, all born in different decades.

The oldest is a 1949 Packard, followed by a 1957 Buick Roadmaster, with the 1964 Lincoln Continental the baby of the set.

The Packard is a Deluxe Eight Touring Sedan, built by a manufacturer that was among the top echelon of American brands in its time.

The quality was beyond dispute. The Eight was equipped with a 288cu in (4.7-litre) straight-eight mated to a three-speed gearbox, and was much praised in period for its refinement, with comfortable seating for up to six passengers.

The Packard Deluxe Eight’s elegant details reveal its upmarket roots

The model was not universally lauded, however, because its streamlined body represented a stark change from what Packard had been putting into the showrooms in recent years, earning it the unenviable nickname ‘the pregnant elephant’.

This specimen was found in a South Dakota field, where it had been lying beside countless fellow sufferers for 30 years.

It was rescued in 2007, largely complete and with the majority of the chromework looking surprisingly good for such a long period exposed to the elements.

Unfortunately, the famous Packard straight-eight had not fared so well, and was beyond saving.

The floors of the car were a complete disaster, too, offering unobstructed views of Mother Earth in many places.

The Packard’s original straight-eight engine was unsalvageable, so it was swapped for a Chrysler ‘six’

Nevertheless, a courageous buyer saw its potential, bought the Packard and brought it to Europe.

“I acquired the car in the west of Holland from someone who was very good at welding and had given the Packard a fantastic new floor,” says Frans.

“It looks perfect and is now far stronger than it was.”

He opens the bootlid to reveal the quality of the welding and, to one side of the luggage bay, a large stick.

“That’s the fuel gauge,” he explains. “I dip it in the tank to find out how much there is left.”

The Packard Deluxe Eight’s spartan cabin includes some curious features, like an alligator skull on the dashboard

The dashboard hosts an alligator skull and the long gearlever is decorated with a bone from Frans’ belated, beloved French bulldog – a bit different from the usual ‘forget-me-not’ photo.

The bonnet mascot, a stylised swan, comes from a later Packard. “The ornament above the radiator changed almost every year,” says Frans.

On the back of the Eight a sticker reads ‘Made in 1949, 100% original’ – which isn’t quite true, because beneath the side-opening bonnet there now lies the straight-six from a ’38 Chrysler.

This struggles a bit more than the ‘eight’ with shifting the weight of the Packard, giving a maximum of somewhere between 50 and 60mph.

The Packard’s ‘six’ lacks the punch of the original straight-eight engine

The pregnant elephant’s outer skin is still exactly as it was found in the Dakota field, including all of the scars and wounds inflicted over the years by the wind and rain.

Frans has ensured that the Packard does not deteriorate further, by preserving the body’s patina with all the tricks of the trade.

It is a wonderful sight to see his daily driver Eight prowling the lanes south of Valkenswaard, barging between the Toyotas and Teslas like a temporal explorer from Jack Finney’s Time and Again, searching for a way back to 1940s Dakota.

Patches of rust on the 1964 Lincoln Continental’s huge, flat panels add real drama

The Lincoln is of a completely different calibre.

A mid-’60s ‘clap-door’ Continental, this full-sized luxury sedan was at the very peak of the US automobile market.

Lincoln produced the model – with the odd hiatus – for more than half a century, and by the time it was phased out in 2020 it was into its 10th generation.

In the 1950s and ’60s, the Continental was the flagship of both Lincoln and parent company Ford.

This ‘clap-door’ Lincoln Continental was imported by an enthusiast in Roosendaal, in The Netherlands, before Frans Mandigers bought it

The second and third generations of the Continental are arguably the most beautiful, but the fourth is undoubtedly the most striking, with its simple rectangular forms, enormous length (of more than 5m), minimal decoration, a grille that looks like an old Remington electric shaver and those iconic doors.

Remarkably for the 1960s, the Continental even had a ‘door ajar’ warning system that sounded a buzzer if a rear door was not closed properly.

This generation of Continental was the first with an integral body and chassis, and the convertible version is famous the world over because it was in the back of one of these cars where John F Kennedy met his end on that devastating day in Dallas, Texas, on 22 November 1963.

The Lincoln Continental (closest) and Buick Roadmaster’s weathered panels belie their refreshed internals

Beneath the Lincoln’s immense bonnet lies a 7-litre MEL V8 – shared with Ford’s Mercury and Edsel divisions – producing 330bhp and a huge 465lb ft of torque.

You definitely need all of that to shift a kerbweight of just under 2.5 tons.

The model was never known for its economy, so it is no surprise to find a pair of LPG tanks in the boot.

Despite that, there is still plenty of space because the Continental is enormous, yet it remains surprisingly easy to drive and super-comfortable inside.

This Lincoln Continental’s huge 7-litre V8 gives surprising pace

“Mechanically, the Lincoln is 100% in full working order,” says Frans, “and the interior trim has been completely renovated.

“It was originally beige, but I restored it to a very dark brown colour, which better matches the yellow of the body.

“I bought the car from someone in nearby Roosendaal, who had imported it from the USA 12 years earlier, bought a workshop manual and started working on it, but never finished.

“I have made the car look a bit older in places, using sponges to add some rust spots to break up that enormous expanse of yellow.”

The Lincoln Continental’s renovated interior contrasts with its rusty panels

“The chromework was almost perfect, but that didn’t fit with the rest of the car, so I aged the bumpers,” he adds.

“I’m going to do something about that big rust patch on the rear, which is too far out of tune with the rest of the body.

“The car should still look as real as possible, as if nature has styled it over the years.”

Unsurprisingly, Frans was raised as part of an artistic family.

“We were all born with pencils in our hands,” says the skilled painter and draughtsman, who trained as a designer and has a penchant for provocative Pop Art.

All of Frans Mandigers’ patinated project cars are mechanically sorted

He worked in the advertising world as an illustrator, graphic designer and concept creator, before the economic downturn led him to change tack in 2013.

“A friend asked if I would like to help him give his Chevrolet pick-up an aged look. I did that and posted a lot of images about the process on Facebook.

“That led to more commissions, and before I knew it Rustlook was born as one assignment after another came in.

“I don’t only do cars, but other objects, too. For a recent new building that was supposed to have a vintage look, I aged steel cabinets so they fitted with the rest of the interior, as if they had been there for decades.”

‘This Buick is a time machine, taking you to an America of yesteryear and sending your imagination into overdrive’

Make no mistake, ageing is an art in itself.

“When people ask me how much time it takes to learn it, my answer is always the same: two hours, and 30 years,” smiles Frans.

“Patinating, crackling, preserving, it really is a profession – you have to have a feel for it.

“I always choose a style that suits the country the car comes from. And I think very carefully before I start work: what should the finished car look like? As if it stood in a desert beneath the blazing sun, in the shade of a forest, or beneath a leaky roof?”

This 1957 Buick Roadmaster mates usability with Frans Mandigers’ unique style

“When that is clear, I start working as any artist does, by first looking and contemplating a lot,” explains Frans.

“I seek out photos of cars that have been in the desert or under a leaking roof to study carefully what nature has done to them, both inside and out.

“How the wind has sanded the sheet metal, how the interior has been worn by the people using it, how water droplets have run over it and left a trail of rust.

“I will then imitate that, staying as true to nature as possible, just as a painter would do with a landscape. It has to be just right: I hate badly reconstructed patina.”

The Buick Roadmaster’s rumbling Nailhead V8 musters a useful 300bhp

Frans benefits greatly from his previous career as a graphic artist and his experience as a painter.

He has a mastery of traditional techniques, such as stamping: he does this with a rounded sponge that doesn’t leave any edges as he applies layers of diluted paint to the base coat.

This then dries streak-free, after which he gently sands it back.

He also has a technique for subtle rust spots: he uses a special paint with iron particles in it, which he then allows to corrode.

‘The Buick Roadmaster has been lowered and lives up to its name in every way: it’s the king of the road’

Once the panelwork is to his liking, he preserves it with linseed oil or a matt varnish.

Generating a crackle finish is also a skilled process: “I use different types of paint, each with its own shrinkage behaviour. When I put them on top of each other, that automatically creates the look I am going for.”

Sometimes Frans uses paints designed for graffiti – for example on chromed parts and wheels.

“The paint adheres to everything and is very strong – it stays beautiful for a long time,” he says, pointing to the bright red wheels of the Buick.

The Buick Roadmaster’s interior is the best preserved here

“Wheels are very important, as are tyres: the police tend to look at them, and with a car of mine you quickly attract attention,” says Frans.

“If the wheels and tyres look neat, they know that the car is also fine under the skin – I always get a few thumbs-ups as they drive past, and I’ve never been pulled over in any of my cars.”

The Buick looks fantastic, as it did at the 2019 Concours d’Elegance Paleis Soestdijk nestling between all the shiny and ‘correct’ machinery, like a party crasher ignoring the dress code.

There’s plenty of space in the Buick Roadmaster’s comfortable rear

It’s a 1957 seventh-generation Roadmaster four-door hardtop sedan, with a 6-litre Nailhead V8 in the bow mustering a healthy 300bhp and featuring the signature four ‘ventiports’ in the front wings, a pronounced grille and handsome ‘Dagmar’ bumpers.

You do have to take extra care when climbing aboard, because the pronounced curve of the windscreen – a new phenomenon at the time – results in extreme A-pillar intrusion and it’s easy to catch your leg painfully – hence the ‘knee-killer’ nickname.

Refuelling time leads to a bit of a hunt, before the filler is located – eventually – under an inconspicuous flap in the rear bumper, which is a work of art in itself.

The jet-age Buick Roadmaster’s fantastic tail-lights

The tail-lights are housed in two large bulges, which resemble the afterburners of a jet aircraft, while the twin exhausts also emerge through the bottom corners of the bumper.

The Buick Roadmaster has been lowered and lives up to its name in every way: it’s the king of the road.

The Dynaflow automatic ’box has only two gears, but the V8 delivers 400lb ft of torque – more than enough to propel the Buick, in which Frans says he has seen an indicated 125mph on the speedo.

Yet the Roadmaster is at its best cruising, the V8 quietly murmuring, the body gently rocking over poor road surfaces, responding obediently to inputs via the huge green steering wheel.

Renovated wheels and tyres are a Rustlook signature

Step harder into the throttle, however, and the V8 instantly takes on a menacing air, like Tony Joe White being pushed off the stage by Jimi Hendrix playing The Star-Spangled Banner.

The Buick becomes a favourite within a few miles.

This is a time machine, taking you to an America of yesteryear and sending your imagination into overdrive as you conjure great road trips: coast to coast on the old Lincoln Highway; through the Appalachian Mountains; across Nevada on America’s Loneliest Road; or 470 beautiful miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Or simply to New Jersey, where this car spent 25 years in a shed before being rescued.

Driving for hours with a Rand McNally atlas on the back seat, Hank Williams on the radio and a Coke in your hand, searching for your own slice of the American dream.

Yes, you could do that with a new Chevrolet Corvette or a shiny restored classic car, but there’s nothing quite like a vehicle that wears the traces of the past as decoration.

Images: Lilla Leopold

Thanks to: Frans Mandigers, whose work can be found at instagram.com/mandigersart_rustlook

The rat emerges from the rod

The remarkable patina of the field-find Packard has been preserved to prevent further deterioration

The classic motoring scene has many subcultures, each seemingly more fascinating than the last.

Just pay a visit to Santa Pod or the Bonneville Salt Flats to see for yourself, or head to a gathering of hot rods, such as the National Hot Rod Association meeting at Pendine Sands.

Hot rods owe much of their appeal to their Minimalism, with all of the shapes that make a car appear sexy – such as a low roof, a long bonnet and huge wheels – taken to the extreme.

Over the years, however, hot-rod culture became less about late-night street races and more about polished trailer queens, with chrome-plated bumpers, engines and even axles, plus immaculate paintwork.

Artist Frans Mandigers used sponges to add some rust spots to this 1964 Lincoln Continental

In response, a counter-movement arose.

It started to gain traction when a hot rodder showed up with a car that hadn’t been painted yet – and it looked really good.

The ‘rat rod’ was born from this revolt, leading to ever more wild machines incorporating all manner of parts, but always with a big V8 at their heart.

A subspecies of this genre are the ‘rust rods’, constructed from mainly rusty sheet metal and as extreme as possible, some appearing to come straight from a Mad Max film.