1953 Lincoln Golden Sahara II

The Golden Sahara began life as a 1953 Lincoln Capri owned by custom-car magnate George Barris. An opportunity to transform the car into something more unique happened by accident - literally. While towing a friend's car, Barris ran into a truck bed causing the top to peel off. Barris now had a donor car to customize - funding for the project came from Jim Skonzakes, an Ohio-based customer better known as Jim Street. It is unclear if either Barris or Skonzakes could have predicted the futuristic extravagance that ultimately resulted from the build, or as the 1955 Motor Trend cover story titled it, 'The $25,000 Custom.' At the time, this was an astronomical price tag, considering the 1953 Lincoln Capri cost roughly $3,500. Exotic materials and amenities such as 24-Karat gold paint (made from fish scales), a half-bubble top, white mink carpeting, and a built-in refrigerator attributed to the cost. It was given a tape recorder, in-dash television, high-end radio, and specially made illuminated tires by Goodyear. The engine remained the 317 cubic-inch Lincoln V8 from the Capri, developing 205 horsepower and backed by an automatic transmission.

George Barris and his team, namely Bill De Carr, handled the first transformation of the car into a Jet Age custom. A second transformation occurred in the Delphos Machine and Tool Shop in Dayton, Ohio, in 1956. The total cost of the project is said to have exceeded $75,000, which translates to nearly 3/4 of a million dollars in today's currency.

Barris contributions to the project including the bubble-shaped open roof, wraparound windshield, a drastically re-worked front end, single tail fins, Kaiser tail lights, old bullet bumper, gold-plated trim, gold-anodized panels on the lower section of the rear fenders, and the fish scale pearlescent paint scheme.

At the time, this was one of the first pearlescent paint jobs. 'The one thing I wanted to get, was that I wanted a gold pearl, and there was no pearl in those days,' Barris explained. 'That was in the early '50s, so where would I go to get gold pearl? You can't just take white and put gold in it. So Shirley and I went down to the fish market, and I remember fish were very 'pearlish' looking. And I had the fish guys turn all the sardines over so their bellies were showing till I found the right belly that had the gold. So we took it and scraped the scales off the belly and put it in a jar and took it back to the shop and mixed it in with a natural cellulose clear lacquer and toner lacquers. And then I based it in a very dull white and then sprayed that over it, and it just came out really pearly gold. The only problem was it was very hard to smell it because it smelled like a fish.'

The interior treatments and appointments were created with the help of Glen Hauser's Carson Top Shop. Gold and white brocade fabric was used for the seats, the door panels and dahs were padded, and white mink carpeting covered the floors.

The completed custom car was called 'The Golden Sahara,' and made its public debut in 1954 at the Petersen Motorama held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. The car sat on a large turntable next to an extensive lineup of Barris custom-built cars, where the big lights fully illuminated the pearlescent fish-scale paint.

The car's popularity at the Petersen Motorama led to its demand at other car shows and events. Street toured the car around the country from 1954 to 1956, in part, to recover the costs of the car's build. It was 'rented' out for displays at dealerships where it attracted crowds where it went. It was used in commercials, ad campaigns, and on magazine covers. It became the Seiberling Rubber Company's 'face' of the company's 'Tire of Tomorrow' campaign.

The popularity and success of the first build led Street to commission a second build of the car, with the work handled by the Delphos Machine and Tool shop out of Dayton, Ohio. The project was led by Bob Metz, who altered the windshield, hood, and roof, and added stacked quad headlights with frosted covers. Additional gold plating was added to the sides of the fenders, and new twin-V tail fins and new bumperettes were added to the back.
An elaborate electronic control system was built by Jim Rote that included a uni-control lever that acted as an aircraft control stick. It controlled acceleration, braking, and steering. Thus, the steering wheel was completely removed. The automatic braking system used antennas installed in the front bumperettes as sensors to search for things in the car's path. The wheels were built with glass portions that lit up and acted as turn signals. Goodyear used the project to experiment with tires that lip up when the driver applied the brakes, or in inclement weather. They literally glowed in the dark.

A voice control system and a remote could open the doors as well as start and shut-off the engine. The same system could be used to accelerate and brake the car. This system was essentially one of the earliest experiments of an autonomous car, with no need for a driver.

The dramatic changes brought about a new name, the Golden Sahara II, with costs reaching the afore-mentioned $75,000. It embarked on another country-wide tour which attracted even more attention. Crowds flocked to see the remote-controlled and self-driving car that cost over $75,000. It was used in the 1960 fantasy-romance film Cinderfella starring Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn, and Judith Anderson. The car's automatic operation features were put to use when Lewis descended the red-carpeted steps of the movie mansion and was welcomed when the handle-free doors opened as he approached.

The car was used on the game show 'I've Got a Secret' in 1962, during which Street was asked by host Gary Moore to demonstrate several of its capabilities, including its ability to travel as a driverless vehicle.

In the late 1960s, the car vanished from public view and its whereabouts remained a mystery. Nearly five decades later, the car emerged from the Ohio home of Jim 'Street' Skonzakes, where it had been stored since its disappearance in the 1960s. It was brought to Dana Mecum's 31st Original Spring Classic Auction where it was certainly one of the highlights on the docket. As the gavel fell for the third and final time, the car had found new ownership for the sum of $385,000 inclusive of buyer's premium.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2020