NAIT students restore antique car used for Princess Elizabeth’s 1951 visit to Canada

NAIT autobody students have spent months working on a piece of history, a 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible built for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Canada.

Students at NAIT are working on restoring a piece of Canadian history by freshening up a 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible built for a royal visit.

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Queen Elizabeth II, back then Princess Elizabeth, rode in the antique car during her visit to Canada that year. It was one of 60 such cars built in 1951.

Students have been giving it new life by putting on new tires, painting the wheels and underbody, adding new hubcaps, polishing and detailing and more.

Eighty students have played a role in helping restore the convertible with around 1,500 hours of work since February.

“Being able to go back in time and work on a vehicle of this sort is definitely a cool experience, I didn’t think I’d be able to do something like this, especially in school,” said auto body student Svitozar Krynytskyy.

He says the history of the car adds the “coolness factor” of the experience.

“It’s something you get to tell your kids one day, you know?” said Krynytskyy.

According to NAIT auto body instructor Ryan Pomedli, the car was purchased in 2024 by Ron Lyons, owner of the Legends Golf and Country Club east of Edmonton, who has previously had NAIT students restore other vehicles for the club’s Golf Car Museum.

“We’re excited to be a part of the ongoing history to be able to move this car forward and hopefully it can last for other generations to be able to see,” Pomedli told CTV News Edmonton.

Pomedli said it’s very infrequent NAIT’s auto body program gets to work on older cars.

“When we heard the history of this car, we wanted to jump on board.”

Barry Cochrane’s dad is the former owner of the ‘51 Lincoln Cosmopolitan and had it for more than 30 years. He originally bought it in 1975 at a dealership in Calgary.

“It was really special, my dad was proud of that car and we used it a bit. We didn’t use it a lot but we really cherished it,” Cochrane said.

He says he’s thrilled students are refurbishing it and says the work is fantastic after looking at photos of the progress.

The car will be on display at NAIT’s annual car show, which runs this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the school’s Patricia campus.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson and Alex Antonyshyn.