The Lincoln Project

Ant's got the summer off and a baby due. Rather than put his feet up or paint the nursery he decides to fulfill a childhood fantasy…to own a 1950s Alfa 158. Unfortunately this would set him back around $20 million to buy…so he's going to build one himself from the ground up! He has 12 weeks until his baby boy is born and 12 weeks to complete his dream build. Easy!

It's week 2 of Ant's ambitious Alfa 158 build. He's found a donor 1950s chassis and is about to find out if it's fit for purpose with a healthy dose of media blasting. Once that's done the build can begin in earnest. Ant takes us deeper into the inspiration for this build and his passion for the early years of his favorite motorsport, Formula One.

It’s week 3 of Ant's Alfa 158 build and he visits an Alfa specialist hoping to buy a live rear axle. After a test drive in an unloved Alfa Spider with no clutch pedal he ends up getting more than he bargained for. The axle, plus gearbox and engine. Win win. Unfortunately fitting these parts to his Alfa is not going to be easy but overcoming these problems are part of the joy of building your own car…or so Ant says anyway.

Ant is beginning to feel the pressure of his ambitious Alfa 158 build. The only place he can get the correct body mold on short notice is his own shop back in England, more than 5,000 miles away. The trip home reminds him of his first workshop, where he began his journey to become the master mechanic that he is today.

As the Alfa project nears the halfway point, a torn bicep throws a wrench in Ant's plans. He'll have to call in reinforcements, including the camera crew, to help with the build. When Ant's wife Christina stops by to make sure he isn't overdoing it, she's surprised to learn that the 158 is a single-seater. A family car might have to be Ant's next special.

Ant's 158 and injured arm are both progressing steadily, but he still needs lots of help from the camera crew. Making matters worse, the body is still in transit from the UK and might not fit the chassis. Ant also visits a collection that includes Michael Schumacher's 2002 champion Ferrari.

Ant hits week seven of his Alfa build and takes the team on a surprise pilgrimage to see an original Alfa 158. He is starstruck and even squeezes into the $20 million beauty for a selfie. This was meant to be a research trip, but who says you can't have a little fun too?

Ant Anstead is not a patient man. It’s week eight of his build, and the engine for his Alfa 158 is still missing in action. There are still loads of work to be done, which is why he's been putting in early mornings, late nights and weekends, sometimes without the camera crew.

Ant's at Monterey Car Week, hoping to sweet-talk a few bigwigs into giving him permission to take the completed Alfa 158 to the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. But the car isn't finished, and his arm still isn't fully healed, which means the crew is going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

There are three weeks to go in Ant's ambitious Alfa build, but his new baby could come any day now. With the clock ticking as the project enters the home stretch, he gets good news about his plan to unveil the finished car at the US Grand Prix, but there are a million critical details to sort out before he can make that dream a reality.

With the deadline looming 11 weeks into the Alfa 158 build, Ant has yet to even start the engine, let alone give the car a test drive. The end of the project also means that Ant needs to finalize the look of his creation, so he seeks out the advice of legendary designer Chip Foose.

Ant has to strip the Alfa 158 down, paint every part and rebuild the car in time for its debut at the US Grand Prix. After that, it's time to put the car through its paces on the track. It certainly looks like a race car, but he has to prove that the performance lives up to expectations.