Jonathan Ward is a man of wild ideas. One need only take a look at his epic creations like the ICON Bronco or ICON Thriftmaster to realize just how vast and wide his imagination goes when it comes to creating his own renditions of timeless classics.

The Zephyr, pre-restoration.

Ward is not just a man with a taste for steroid-rage trucks. He also has a place in his heart for the forgotten figures of car history as well. Case in point: the Derelict program, a branch of ICON that finds broken-down and busted cars of the past and restores them to their former glory (and then some), per the client’s request.

One such example is this ’46 Lincoln Zephyr, which was found by Ward in South Dakota. It had been kept completely stock with original paint by its original owner, and fortunately the body was structurally sound enough to refashion into a killer street machine.

The sketched-out plan.

As we see in the video, the restoration process for ICON is a very involved one, and high-tech as well. Laser scanners are used to recreate a 3D rendering in CAD, where the engineers can tinker around with virtual concepts on how to refashion the car with lighting, electronics, trim, engine bay space, and more.

After Art Morrison’s chassis shop is consulted for ideas on how to proceed with the build, the plan is set in motion as the chassis is preassembled to check fit and raw metal. Ward stresses that the vintage aesthetics of the car be left the same–in this case, the dashboard and speaker vents–while upgrading everything else to bring the car into the modern age.

These upgrades include items like a made-to-spec, mandrel-bent steel frame, a new Coyote V8, JRI adjustable suspension, Strange 9-inch axle, Wilwood disc brakes, and much more. In spite of all this, the car still maintains its exterior look and soul with its patina and trim kept intact.

As for interior, the look and feel of luxury has been restored with deer hide upholstery and Aston-Martin Mohair headliner. The instruments appear stock while concealing modern VDO units and the modern sound system is kept out of sight while being cleverly controlled using the stock switches on the dashboard.

“The point of the [Derelicts] is to celebrate the originality of the as-found car,” Ward explains. “We infuse it with all the best in contemporary engineering and creature comforts…to breathe new life into these vintage classics.”

See more of what ICON has in store by visiting their website and checking out their Facebook page.