by Jerry Organ
The HSCA prepared a limousine scale drawing based on original plans from
Hess & Eisenhardt, the Cincinnati, Ohio firm that took a stock 1961
Lincoln Continental convertible and "stretched" it into JFK's
Presidential parade car, codenamed the "X-100." Many other modifications,
including several out of sight in the trunk and engine, were done.
Thomas Canning utilized the drawing for his relative alignment study and
trajectory analysis. Canning observed the positions of people in the car
could be co-related to a line drawn between points on the same plane. Though
Canning didn't make use of them, among the more prominent points of reference
are the door jamb lines at the point where they meet the line of the car
rail, the plane with the most opportunity for points of reference.
I noticed there were minor items on the car rail not shown on the drawing,
that could be possibly used as points of reference. A metal catch is visible
on the car rail at both sides of the rear seat, presumably for securing
one of the roof configurations stored inside the trunk.
One correction (above; in orange circles) was necessary for the drawing.
The limousine had what's been called "suicide doors." On the stock
Continental of the time, the front door opened as usual, but the rear door
opened from the point where the front door shut. The hinge was at the rear
of the door, rather than the front. Where the rear door hinges, the door
jamb that transects the car rail is angled, a characteristic incorrectly
rendered at a right angle on the HSCA drawing.
A notable reference point (above) is the base of the rollbar post where
it attaches to the car rail. The original drawing merely portrays it as
a rectangle. I have added in a line to represent the chrome strips that
ran along the outside of the "wind wing" window. I have also tried
to incorporate the wind wing's side grooves. Dashed lines represent (very
roughly) the rollbar's side-taper as it went up to bend at the top into
a horizontal strip with four cutouts that served as handholds.
The drawing and photos above show that the aerials on the trunk (blue) and
the two metal catches near the rear seat (green) have been added. The orange
circles highlight the door jamb angle. As a check, I applied five points
of reference at the car rail to the drawing (cyan). And got a match. Purple
circles isolate the additions to the rollbar post and wind wing window.
The result is a limousine drawing that's corrected an oversight, and supplies
new points of reference.
Note: The top of the wind wing window and point where the rollbar turns
horizonal is very preliminary and not to be used as reference points.
Digital design and contents:
(c) Copyright 2004 Jerry Organ.
All rights reserved.
Photographs have individual copyright.
