Unleashing the Beast: The Diesel-Powered ’62 Lincoln Continental by Nate Wilson

Jason Sands Jason Sands . July 31, 2023 . Diesel World

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Nate Wilson’s Wild 5.9L Cummins Lincoln

If you’re looking for a dare-to-be-different ride, you don’t need to look much further than Nate Wilson’s wild Cummins-powered ‘62 Lincoln Continental. The big boat is one of the few diesel-motivated cars we’ve seen, and for good reason; it’s hard to shoehorn a giant 900lb engine into cars! Nate put a bunch of work into making the diesel work in the Lincoln however, and it’s even backed by a manual transmission. It was just different enough we had to take a look.

The big 5.9L Cummins looks right at home in the Lincoln’s engine bay, but its power output of 500hp and 1,100 lb-ft is way more than the factory engineers could ever dream of making.

Nate mounted the engine far back enough in the frame that he had space for a custom 4-core radiator as well as a Treadstone intercooler, to keep the intake-charge cool.

It’s hard to tell, but there are two turbos there. The Holset HE351 is mounted in the factory location, while a 78mm S400 is mounted up top, feeding into a custom downpipe. The entire setup produces an estimated 50psi of boost.

Nate makes no bones about the fact that the swap didn’t happen overnight. “I had a Cummins-powered ‘38 Dodge car hauler, and I always wanted a big diesel in something low and bagged,” recalls Nate. “The Lincoln turned out to be the perfect choice.” What started out as an idea led to a 5-year project from start to finish. The entire center of the car had to be cut open and reworked, not only to fit the big Cummins engine, but the NV5600 transmission too. Nate and his partner-in-crime at Wilsonz Kustomz Zachary Hite also fabbed up engine mounts, and cut the oil pan so the engine would fit without scraping.

The interior is one part of the Lincoln that Nate left pretty much alone, other than a few custom touches like the Dakota Digital gauges in the factory cluster.

The seats for the Lincoln have a factory feel, but again Nate added his own touches. Here you can also spot the transmission tunnel, which is fairly unobtrusive in a car that’s six feet wide!

After he installed the powerplant, there was still framework left to be done. Nate wanted the Lincoln to sit as low as low could go, so he acquired a complete rear 4-link frame from Choppin’ Block Chassis Products that would work with the factory rear Dana 53 axle. The rear frame works in conjunction with air-ride parts from Airlift, as well as a compressor and tanks. The twin tanks (and compressors) also power the front air springs, which were integrated into the factory A-arms. Battery power for all of this and the diesel engine is no problem thanks to a giant 1,426 cca Group D battery from an excavator.

Here you can see the air ride at work, as the Lincoln can adjust its height from “frame dragging” to “speed bump” and everywhere in-between.

A couple concessions were made on the hood of the Continental for the exhaust and intake tracts. Even with the humps and bumps, the overall look still fits well within the theme of the car.

When it came to power, having a stock 215-hp engine motivate the 5,000-pound Lincoln would be almost as bad as if it were in a truck. Since Nate is a metal grinder by trade, he thought it would be cool to fabricated his own set of compound turbos—even in the tight confines of the Lincoln. Air starts with a Holset HE351 out of a later common-rail Dodge, which is then further compressed by a big S478 up top. The pump has also been turned up thanks to a set of 4,000-rpm governor springs, delivery valves, and a set of 6×0.014-inch injectors from Diesel Power Products. The engine gets its fuel from a 175-gph FASS fuel system, was also resealed and received a fresh head gasket, which is good since it cranks out a conservative 500 hp and 1,100 lb-ft of torque according to Nate. The NV5600 five-speed transmission is stock, but a new single disc South Bend clutch sends power back from the engine.

The wheels on the Lincoln are actually off of a Jeep, and Nate decided he just liked the looks of them.

You can barely see the ‘15 Camaro SS brakes peeking through, but they’re there, and with the horsepower the Lincoln produces, it’s probably a good thing they are.

Nate’s build is one of those rides where an immense amount of time went into building not only what is seen, but is unseen. The factory vacuum system is very trouble prone for instance, so Nate rewired the entire car from front to back making it all electronic. Diesel touches have made their way into every corner of the build, as even Dodge window motors run the factory windows. The braking system, an often-ignored item, was also re-worked with a Corvette master cylinder and brakes from a Camaro SS. Now the Lincoln can not only go, but stop too. All in all, Nate has built another one of his one-of-a-kind rides, as even if you don’t appreciate all the subtleties it’s still a Lincoln with a Cummins! And that’s beyond cool in our book.