‘It looks amazing': Restoration of 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible for Princess Elizabeth tour finished
One of the 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertibles that Canada bought for Princess Elizabeth's tour is seen on June 21, 2025, after being restored by students at NAIT in Edmonton. (Galen McDougall / CTV News Edmonton)
One of the 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertibles that Canada bought for Princess Elizabeth's tour that year has been restored to its former glory.
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology students who did the work over this school year revealed it to owner Ron Lyons on Saturday.
'I was flabbergasted. It looks amazing,' Lyons said in an interview with CTV News Edmonton. 'I think the kids in the program here did an amazing job restoring it and invested a lot of time and effort. It turned out beautiful.'
According to NAIT auto body instructor Ryan Pomedli, the car was one of 60 the Canadian government bought for the future queen.
Lyons, owner of the Legends Golf and Country Club east of Edmonton, purchased it in 2024 for the club's Golf Car Museum.
Having worked with NAIT to restore other vehicles for some 20 years, he was familiar with the caliber of work done by the NAIT program – yet still impressed by the students' latest efforts.
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Ron Lyons & 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible
Ron Lyons stands in front of his 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible that was restored by NAIT students in Edmonton in 2025. (Galen McDougall / CTV News Edmonton)
1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible
A view of the interior of one of the 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertibles that Canada bought for Princess Elizabeth's tour that year and restored by NAIT students in Edmonton in 2025. (Galen McDougall / CTV News Edmonton)
1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible
A plate on a restored 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertibles, one of 60 that Canada bought for Princess Elizabeth's tour that year, reads 1951. (Galen McDougall / CTV News Edmonton)
'My car was in pretty decent shape when I first got it, but they took it up to another level – like, to an elite level.'
Of entrusting his restoration projects to NAIT, Lyons added, 'It's not really the past, it's the future, right?'
'Having good, safe vehicles and properly repaired, and all that is important to the industry… At NAIT, the kids are properly trained. They're respectful. They have a beautiful, clean shop. They have the best equipment. They have the best instructors. And there's 80 of them going out into the industry and making the car industry safer.'
One of those students, second-year Beverly Burke, was one of the last to work on the convertible. Her group sandblasted and painted the wheels.
'It's a once in a lifetime opportunity,' she said.
'Cars built in the 1950s, they don't build them like they do now.'
Lyons plans on showing off the project at a few shows this summer before putting it on display at his club's museum.
He told CTV News Edmonton, 'I have a nice spot for this. It's gonna have its own little bay.'
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Galen McDougall
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