Kinda reminds me of the one Sonny gets hit in in the Godfather. 

Beautiful car!  It's a shame about the drivetrain swap as it originally would have had a flathead V-12 in it.  Not a powerhouse by today's standards, but cool nonetheless.  IIRC, maybe the last V-12 installed in an American car?

As an aside, the song Hot Rod Lincoln was about a Model A with a Lincoln V-12 in it.

DonSSDD wrote:

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The flathead Lincoln V12 was a dud, they blew up a lot and Lincoln had a factory kit offered to swap it for a V8 flathead.

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According to what I've read (have never owned one), the early ones had problems with cooling and cylinder wear, but those engineering issues were addressed, and they became quite reliable once the problems were fixed.  However, like other aspects of society, reputations are hard to kick, even when the facts show otherwise.

Regardless, you don't buy a '48 Lincoln to be the fastest guy in town, and IMHO the V-12 is much more interesting an engine than anything else that would be in there (i.e. small block Chevy).  To each his own, of course. 

If I were to guess, I'd say whomever did the swap probably had trouble getting parts for the 12 (or maybe couldn't drive a manual trans in that hilly area?), so had a ubiquitous small block Chevy and automatic put in, as every street rodder in town would have been doing.  Just a guess, though.

Regardless of the drivetrain, it is a beautiful car - one of Edsel Ford's few direct effects on final product, before his untimely death.

Hopefully the car finds an appreciative buyer.