Some students in NAIT’s Auto Body Technician program are restoring a piece of history – a 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible.
It’s not just any classic car — it was built specifically for then Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip to ride in when they made their inaugural royal visit to Canada in 1951, before she became queen.
“We don’t work on just ordinary, everyday vintage vehicles, but when it’s something like this that has such a historical value to Edmonton, to Canada…we couldn’t say no,” said instructor Ryan Pomedli.
“We thought that this would be a fantastic opportunity for the students to work on something historical.”
The federal government bought 60 vehicles for the royal visit. They were stationed across the country, including a few 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitans.
Princess Elizabeth is assisted by Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as they leave their car as they tour the Canadian Exhibition grounds in Toronto on October 13, 1951.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP
“The original owner would have been the Canadian government, but it was designed for her to be toured around in,” Pomedli explained.
“It went through a couple of owners over the years afterwards. It sat in a private collection for approximately 50 years, and it had been restored at one point in time, but the restoration was about 50 years old and it just needs freshening up.”
One of the Lincolns eventually fell into the lap of a local car collector who decided it would be a good project for the NAIT students.
1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan.
Courtesy: Leigh Kovesy
“The condition of the car looked pretty good,” Pomedli said.
“It wasn’t really rusting, but the paint was bubbling a little bit. It had scratches on it, a couple of minor little dents.”
The auto body students recognize it’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often.
“We’ve heard from other classes that they’ve never worked on full restoration,” NAIT student, Brayden Nilsson said.
“Being the first person to start working on it before it goes to paint is kind of cool.”
This is the third class that’s been working on it and another will soon take over to paint and polish.
“We hope to have the car finished, assembled, polished, beautiful for our car show in June,” Pomedli said.
The 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible being restored at NAIT.
Charles Taylor / Global News