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View Full Version : Oh Lordy, I now own a Fordy (a Lincoln actually)..


njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:12 PM
My dad called last week and gave me the ultimatum to come and get his dad's old Lincoln or he was going to give it away to charity. None of the other siblings or cousins wanted it, even though I asked them repeatedly over the years. So I figured since I already have my grandmother's 1975 Firebird, I should at least reunite them so they can be together once again.

: http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/486411/1

It is a 1971 Lincoln Continental Town Car Golden Anniversary Edition. They made 1040 of them painted in Golden Anniversary Moondust Metallic, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lincoln Motor Car.

http://automotivemileposts.com/lincoln/lincoln1971goldenanniversary.html

The car is kind of special for a number of reasons. The least of which was that I remember sliding across the back seat with my siblings when he’d drive us around back in the 1970s. The thing was like a luxury liner. It had the neatest speedometer I ever saw – it was like a tube of liquid that would roll from left to right to show you the speed.

The Lincoln was my grandfather's "gold watch" when he retired. His name was Simon and he started out working as an accountant in the 1920s with a company that became Paramount Pictures. When the TV was invented and Paramount wanted to get into television broadcasting, the Federal Government, due to anti-trust laws, forbade a movie company from owning a TV company as well. So Paramount created a separate company called the American Broadcasting Company (ABC Television) and Simon split off to work for ABC.

Over the next 55 years he worked his way up to the executive level, attaining the position of Vice President in 1960. He never wanted to be the president of ABC, as that was a position held by one of his friends and Simon preferred being the guy who ran everything behind the scenes instead of the guy on the podium. He hired and fired many a famous person at ABC (for example Simon was the man who hired Howard Cosell originally). Over the years I have met several people who commented that he was the most formidable businessman they had ever met and that they knew his name well because his signature was on every paycheck they ever received.

As part of his position he met and negotiated with many a bigwig. We have photos of him with every U.S President between Truman and Nixon. He was at every Olympics that ABC covered from 1960 to 1976. He was the ranking ABC person in charge during the Munich games in 1972 when the terrorists attacked the Israeli Olympic Team. He traveled to many foreign countries and met many of the world’s leaders. Though we only got some background “off the record” stories from associates of his after his passing, I do know that he had some connections with some of the “agencies” that kept us safe during the height of the cold war. Most of them revolving around how he was able to place “their people” in locations that normal people would not normally be able to penetrate into.

The Lincoln was ordered for him in 1971 as his business car and was given to him when he retired the VP position in 1972. He went on to join the Board of Directors until 1984. He passed in 1991 and the Lincoln went to my dad. I borrowed it from my dad in 1992, had it painted and gave it back to him. It has traveled only 200 miles since the paint job 21 years ago. Most of the trips were down to the local Lincoln Mercury dealer for issues resulting from not driving the car enough. The final straw was when the service manager at the dealership asked if my dad would like to have the car junked as it wasn’t really worth them working on any more. I had a few choice words for that guy when I called him back.

In any case, here she is:

These are a couple interior shots of the mildew that accumulated from 21 years of sitting in a garage in the dark:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/SDC11840.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/SDC11840.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/SDC11841.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/SDC11841.jpg.html)

After mixing up a bucket of hot water, bleach and dishwashing detergent I was able to get rid of all the mildew. It now looks like this:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010007.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010007.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010003.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010003.jpg.html)

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:15 PM
http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1000994.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1000994.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1000996.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1000996.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010001.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010001.jpg.html)

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:23 PM
The car has 85,000 miles and EVERY piece of paperwork imaginable.

Here's the kitchen table full of invoices, broadcast sheets, warranty ID cards, even three pairs of my grandfather's prescription sunglasses, running the fashion gambit from the 1950's RayBans to the 1970's Elvis glasses.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/papers1.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/papers1.jpg.html)

The original bill of sale:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/Billofsale71.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/Billofsale71.jpg.html)


And here is a neat archival piece - the big bosses at ABC noting their negotiations with Ford to get Simon a 21% executive discount on the car. Interesting factoid: L Martin Pompadur is a mega-millionaire, media mogul now.


http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/ABCletter.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/ABCletter.jpg.html)

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:27 PM
Each of the 50th Anniversary cars was built to order. Here is the 24 carat, gold plated plaque and the personalized one next to it with Simon's name:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/placque1.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/placque1.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010006.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010006.jpg.html)

Simon was the consummate tinkerer. Even though he wasn't a mechanic, he gathered a ton of materials to really help me with the car, two generations later:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010013.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010013.jpg.html)

Here's close up of the trunk lid with the "OK Paint" stamp still in place:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010014.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010014.jpg.html)

Xplantdad
08-31-2013, 09:30 PM
That's cool as heck Steve!!

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:30 PM
And the engine. It's the 460/365 horsepower, premium fuel 10.5 to 1 compression, 500 Ft/lb torquemonster.

And yes I finally own something that is supposed to have a Ford "CAUTION FAN" sticker on it.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010018.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010018.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010017.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010017.jpg.html)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/P1010016.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/P1010016.jpg.html)

Oh, and for you detectives out there. Notice anything strange about the A/C system???

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:37 PM
Here's some archive photos of Simon:

With Nixon in 1971. (Simon is the one with the suit that fits. He was always an impeccable dresser.)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/Nixon71.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/Nixon71.jpg.html)


With Jack Kennedy and a very pregnant Jackie Kennedy before the 1960 Nixon/Kennedy Debates that ABC sponsored.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/Simon.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/Simon.jpg.html)

Here's a cool behind the scene's shot of a nervous looking Nixon on the teleprompter while a very relaxed Kennedy responds to a question:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/DebateCamerashot1.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/DebateCamerashot1.jpg.html)


In Israel in 1971 drinking martinis with Golda Meir, and Yitzak Rabin

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/GoldaampSi.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/GoldaampSi.jpg.html)

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:56 PM
I have spent the past week, changing the 15 year old oil, replacing the Champion plugs with Autolites and replacing the right hand exhaust manifold gasket which had blown out years ago and the dealer didn't want to fix...Amazingly, every single exhaust manifold bolt came out easily - none broke off.

The funny thing about this car is the reaction you get from people. I am used to driving musclecars and getting the "thumbs up" from the forty-something and younger crowds who see me drive by.

I have had this yacht for less than a week and everywhere I go it is the 60, 70, and 80-somethings that are waving at me. It's hysterical! My mechanic buddy is threatening to find me a "Huggy Bear" outfit to wear while driving it.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/lincoln/Antonio_Fargas_Huggy_Bear-217x273.jpg (http://s599.photobucket.com/user/nk15268c/media/lincoln/Antonio_Fargas_Huggy_Bear-217x273.jpg.html)

Postsedan
08-31-2013, 09:56 PM
The size of that Lincoln, does it even fit into your garage?

Great story and pics <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

Dan

njsteve
08-31-2013, 09:59 PM
I had to relocate my daughter's car to my wife's car's spot and leave the wife's car outside (it's the oldest one of the daily drivers). The Linco-saurus is 19 feet long and 5200 lbs. It barely fit in to my 24 foot trailer - with a 1/2&quot; to spare on either side.

Postsedan
08-31-2013, 10:38 PM
My mechanic buddy is threatening to find me a &quot;Huggy Bear&quot; outfit to wear while driving it. __________________________________________________ _________________________________

Now THAT, I would love to see.......DO IT Steve <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

Dan

mockingbird812
08-31-2013, 10:45 PM
Good news is, you can use the massive trunk as a workshop since the car will invariably take up your entire garage!

Bill Pritchard
08-31-2013, 10:47 PM
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the service manager at the dealership asked if my dad would like to have the car junked as it wasn’t really worth them working on any more.</div></div>

Yep, it sure looks like it's ready for the scrap heap to me <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/bs.gif

I'll bet the service mgr would have been out of a job if his boss ever found out that &quot;it wasn’t really worth them working on any more&quot;.

Cool land yacht there, Steve <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve
08-31-2013, 11:33 PM
Oh, and another funny story: You may notice that Simon has something of a large, flat nose. He got that as a Golden Gloves boxer in his teen years.

He met his future wife (my Gramma Rose) on the beach in Brooklyn, NY in the 1920's. She was with a gaggle of her girl friends and Simon was with a bunch of hooligans that were trying to make small talk with the ladies. Eventually the two groups combined and there was a flip of a coin between a couple of the girls (Rose being one of them) over the last two boys. Gramma Rose lost the coin toss and got stuck with Simon, the guy with the busted nose....and the rest is history.

So, in the true-est Forrest Gumpish sense, my entire family wouldn't be here but for a lost coin toss almost a century ago. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

Postsedan
08-31-2013, 11:41 PM
I bet it was HEADS <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif

Dan

bergy
09-01-2013, 12:48 AM
That car really cleaned up nicely - gotta keep it in the family!

jannes_z-28
09-01-2013, 09:08 AM
Cool car, it must be a moment for you when you are going to put on that Caution Fan sticker after fixing the engine bay.

jannes_z-28
09-01-2013, 09:10 AM
What's that tin jar on the left inner fender doing there? Is that the A/C thing you ask about?

njsteve
09-01-2013, 11:22 AM
Actually that &quot;tomato juice can&quot; is a vacuum reservoir for the hide-away headlights and the power door locks.

The weird a/c observation is the fact that it is entirely a General Motors Harrison A/C system, and not a Ford system. It is using the GM A6 compressor and the firewall evaporator box and POA valve are the ones used by all GM cars during the 1960's and 1970's.

Norwood
09-01-2013, 01:23 PM
Very cool Steve that you are able to have these cars that have family memories....

olredalert
09-01-2013, 01:23 PM
----For many, many years the GM compressor was the standard of the industry. Nothing else could compare! I guess Ford just realized that if they were to compete with Cadillac they had to step up to world class AC.......Bill S

njsteve
09-01-2013, 01:43 PM
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">----For many, many years the GM compressor was the standard of the industry. Nothing else could compare! I guess Ford just realized that if they were to compete with Cadillac they had to step up to world class AC.......Bill S </div></div>

Ah, yes, no one else had a compressor that could double as a rust proofing application device by spraying oil from the front seal all over the engine compartment. This car had the same tell-tale oil spray line across the inner fender and on the under-hood insulation that my Firebird(s) have. I had to pull out the four hood pad panels as they were mouse infiltrated and oil impregnated from the compressor.

We will recharge the a/c system with R12. It still has some R12 in the system but needs to be topped off.

Next on the to do list is replacing the front calipers, one of which is sticking. I had to special order the front brake hoses. They were very hard to find. None of the regular suppliers had them. Only one company makes the special steel and rubber lines for these cars. They had them to me in three days. Calipers should arrive on Tuesday.

Then a couple of valve cover gaskets. And then pull the Autolte 4bbl carb and have it redone.....

GaryC
09-01-2013, 07:40 PM
Can you say SUPERFLY? That car is sweet. Back in the day growing up as a teen in Atlanta that would be our cruise to Florida car. My mom had a 65 Continental, with the suicide doors and that long 'LA' mirror and she thought that car was big. I wonder how many people could fit in there. We shoved 18 people in a 65 Impala 4 door one night. I bet at least 22 to 25, maybe more if you used the trunk, but you wouldn't have any place to put the kegs.

MrsBillyBobcat
09-01-2013, 08:15 PM
<span style="font-size: 14pt">SUPER COOL Steve!</span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
He met his future wife (my Gramma Rose) on the beach in Brooklyn, NY in the 1920's. She was with a gaggle of her girl friends and Simon was with a bunch of hooligans that were trying to make small talk with the ladies. Eventually the two groups combined and there was a flip of a coin between a couple of the girls (Rose being one of them) over the last two boys. Gramma Rose lost the coin toss and got stuck with Simon, the guy with the busted nose....and the rest is history.

So, in the true-est Forrest Gumpish sense, my entire family wouldn't be here but for a lost coin toss almost a century ago. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif </div></div>

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"> <span style="font-size: 11pt">Love it!</span> </span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

68l30
09-01-2013, 08:50 PM
Love it! Now thats a car for cruising in style, AC blowin cubes, soft seats and enough springs and shocks to dampen the crap roads of today. Reminds me of something I'd see on Cannon or The streets of San Fransisco...Catchin air and smoking the tire in a quick getaway ..I cant wait to follow this one!

Rim blow steering wheel correct? Dash is awesome...



BIG

njsteve
09-01-2013, 10:39 PM
Yup, That's the original rim blow steering wheel. And it still works.

Simon's great-grandson (my son) thinks the rim mounted horn element is the coolest thing. If you look closely, you can even see the two noticeable wear marks where my Grandfather would place his thumbs at the junction of the spokes at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions.

When we went back in the house, I showed my son one of Simon's sunglasses from the glove box that still had his great-grandfather's thumbprint on the lens. My son thought THAT was really cool. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve
09-01-2013, 10:45 PM
I spent a couple hours with my son detailing the interior. Used half a bottle of leather cleaner. Everything inside is leather except for the door panels and dash.

Here's the results. That rectangular, silver decal on the ashtray door is the original seatbelt instructions that Simon never removed. So it stays put.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2013/09/full-1359-6341-p1010022a.jpg

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2013/09/full-1359-6342-p1010021.jpg

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2013/09/full-1359-6343-p1010027.jpg

njsteve
09-01-2013, 10:48 PM
And I cleaned up and repainted the original dealer emblem that I neglected to install back in 1992 when we repainted the car. Stuck her back on in the original spot.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2013/09/full-1359-6344-p1010025.jpg

mockingbird812
09-02-2013, 12:37 AM
Sharp Steve!

WILMASBOYL78
09-02-2013, 12:25 PM
Very cool...looks like a small aircraft carrier <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

K code Mustang
09-02-2013, 06:30 PM
Steve, your Charger was a connection between myself, my father, my grandfather and other family member who worked on it at Suburban Dodge. When I came across the folder for your car, I shared it with my dad, grandfather and uncles. The stories they all told were priceless and will never forget the time we had together just sharing a common interest. I am glad to see that your son has the interest in learning about his great grandfather. The time you are spending with him now will stay with him forever.

njsteve
09-02-2013, 08:44 PM
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: WILMASBOYL78</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Very cool...looks like a small aircraft carrier <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif </div></div>

Handles just like one, too! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve
09-02-2013, 08:45 PM
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: K code Mustang</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve, your Charger was a connection between myself, my father, my grandfather and other family member who worked on it at Suburban Dodge. When I came across the folder for your car, I shared it with my dad, grandfather and uncles. The stories they all told were priceless and will never forget the time we had together just sharing a common interest. I am glad to see that your son has the interest in learning about his great grandfather. The time you are spending with him now will stay with him forever. </div></div>

Thanks John. We all have a lot of good memories with that car. We should have a &quot;family reunion.&quot; We can have it inside the Lincoln. Everyone could fit.

elonblock
09-04-2013, 11:36 PM
I love the whole family connection story. That's too cool!

PxTx
09-05-2013, 01:06 AM
You have some great stories Steve. Thanks for sharing a car that could one-up Steve McGarett ride.

resto4u
09-06-2013, 11:35 PM
There was one on ebay recently. They were available in other colors also, ebay car was green.

njsteve
09-06-2013, 11:37 PM
Do you have the link? They made 1040 in gold and the remaining 535 in other standard colors.

njsteve
09-11-2013, 11:39 AM
Grandpa's car actually fits in the garage...once I moved a lot of stuff out of the way.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2013/09/full-1359-6515-p1010264.jpg

hvychev
09-12-2013, 03:23 PM
Another amazing story Steve.....holy cow, do you guys ever get rid of anything???? Grandpa's car, grandpa's car, Charger you've had for decades...wth??? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve
09-12-2013, 05:06 PM
No, we don't throw anything away. My dad was cleaning out my old room the other day and found the original odometer statement from that 1971 hemicuda convertible I sold back in 1987. So I need to send that to the present owner.

ronebee
09-12-2013, 06:33 PM
pretty great that you have this car. I have my Grandfathers 64 Corvette Coupe that he bought new in '64. That lincoln is badass.....

njsteve
09-19-2013, 10:20 PM
The reproduction license plate arrived today from www.licenseplates.tv. (http://www.licenseplates.tv) TV-77 was my grandfather's plate issued by the State of New York. the official &quot;TV&quot; plates were specifically issued to television station employees, similar to the official &quot;PRESS&quot; plates they have today. Since WABC was 77 on the AM dial, he chose that plate early in his career and kept it for decades. When he officially retired he had to turn the plates in, which didn't make him too happy at the time. So now his car has its (new) old plate back again. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2013/09/full-1359-6686-p1010391.jpg

68l30
09-20-2013, 06:06 PM
Looks great! That is one LARGE front end.... Kinda the last thing you see before getting run down... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif


BIG

Tracker1
09-23-2013, 01:58 PM
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ronebee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">pretty great that you have this car. I have my Grandfathers 64 Corvette Coupe that he bought new in '64. That lincoln is badass..... </div></div>

That's pretty cool. You should do a Member's Rides story on that '64 - love to hear about it.

Man, a family could live in that Lincoln Steve

njsteve
08-17-2014, 12:06 AM
I need to get one of the unique A/C hoses rebuilt for my Grandfather's 1971 Lincoln Continental. The hose was rubbing against the master cylinder, and wore a hole in the rubber section of the hose. These cars were unique in that they used a GM A6 compressor and the complete Frigedaire A/C setup just like any 1970's GM car. No one makes the replacement hoses for them.

Does anyone out there recommend a specific shop that can replace the rubber hose section and reattach the ends (or replace them)?

Thanks.

firstgenaddict
08-22-2014, 08:07 PM
Someone on the CRG had modified/made a set of dies for a Weatherhead hydraulic crimping machine to replicate the factory crimp on the AC hoses (your appear to have the same crimp), you will have to do a site search as it was a few years ago if memory serves.

njsteve
08-24-2014, 08:52 PM
I ended up sending the hose to Classic Auto Air in Tampa. They gave me a price of $112 to redo the hose with my ends. Hopefully done in a week or two...or as soon as the cold weather hits.

I did find an NOS Ford hose for the other side high pressure line for $45!

firstgenaddict
08-24-2014, 09:46 PM
If their crimp is exactly the same as original let the GM guys know, as this was the issue the person on the Camaro Research board faced when he ultimately decided to modify a set of current dies to produce the identical crimp on the production line installed assembly.

TimG
08-28-2014, 06:50 PM
What a great story, I so wish I had one of my Grandfathers old Cadillac's for the garage. Amazing pictures and he sounds like an amazing man. Thank you for sharing.

njsteve
10-16-2016, 08:00 PM
Thanks to Enio45, who sent me the bulk section of hood insulation he found, I was able to reproduce the original insulation sections for the hood on Grampa's Lincoln. Hopefully the mice won't like this stuff as much as the old stuff they chewed up while it sat in my Dad's garage for a few decades. I'm glad I saved the old pieces to use as patterns.

The whole process only took about a half hour (minuse the several times I had to chase the stuff across the driveway when a gust of wind came through). <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthrea...d-id#Post671822 (http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/671822/Searchpage/2/Main/71506/Words/hood+insulation/Search/true/re-insulation-underhood-id#Post671822)

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2016/10/full-1359-50564-img_2643_2.jpg

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2016/10/full-1359-50565-img_2644_2.jpg

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2016/10/full-1359-50566-img_2645_2.jpg

DW31S
10-16-2016, 09:07 PM
Great story Steve and cool car. While our interests mainly focus on muscle cars, I think (I know I do) most of us appreciate any nice car, especially one with a story like Simon's attached to it. I have a friend who names my cars by the first name of the previous owner.......that Lincoln will forever be &quot;Simon&quot;. Congrats on the save. That service manager should be appalled and embarrassed for THINKING, let alone SAYING that to Simon. The dealership principal should be notified and the story explained in its entirety. Oh yea, one more thing......we're watching &quot;Killing Lincoln&quot; right now.....coincidence???

njsteve
10-17-2016, 12:21 AM
LOL. I cannot imagine how anyone back in the day thought that driving one of these behemoths was in any way relaxing.

It is truly frightening to have negative road feel or for that matter, any idea where you are in your lane or when the steering might actually start...er...steering.


If I were an advertisiing executive back in the day, I would have phrased it this way:
<span style="font-size: 17pt"><span style="font-style: italic">
<span style="font-weight: bold">The 1971 Lincoln Continental: the automotive equivalent of Botox.</span></span></span>

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

Xplantdad
10-17-2016, 08:18 PM
LOL!!

njsteve
02-02-2017, 12:45 AM
Grandpa's Lincoln made the big time: It just came out in the April 2017 issue of Hemmings Classic Car. The guys from Hemmings shot it last year when they came out and did the features on Enrico's SD455 and Gramma's Firebird all in one day. The car barely fits within the page! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2017/02/full-1359-57259-lincoln_p1_2a.jpg



http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2017/02/full-1359-57263-lincoln_p3_4.jpg

DW31S
02-02-2017, 10:22 AM
Congrats on the ink!

njsteve
02-02-2017, 11:48 AM
Thanks. All my siblings and relatives were excited to see it in print...(and taking up all the room in my garage, and not theirs) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

RPOLS3
02-02-2017, 02:22 PM
Congrats, neat story for sure.

KevinW
03-31-2017, 03:03 PM
Steve, this story made me think of your Grandpa's Lincoln :D

http://jalopnik.com/for-6-000-will-this-1971-lincoln-continental-mark-iii-1793815404

https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/6065004139.html

https://images.craigslist.org/01616_4a6s6cOQnJM_1200x900.jpg

njsteve
04-02-2017, 12:01 AM
Too small! :-)

njsteve
09-16-2018, 03:17 PM
Looks like my dog is a jinx. Part 1

Two weeks ago I took our Jack Russell out to a cruise night in Grampa's Lincoln. We got 3/4 of a mile from the house when the left rear tire disemboweled itself.

I heard a thump and then something sounding like a football thrown into a blender. Luckily we were only going 20 mph when it happened so I stopped within a few yards. No real damage since the tires are so skinny and fully contained inside the skirts. I backed up into a neighbors driveway and noticed the sound would disappear when in reverse. So I got a brainstorm: it seems that when you back up, the delaminated section would roll back up onto the tire carcass like when you pull the toilet paper roll too hard and have to re roll it by spinning it backwards.

I then spent the next 45 minutes backing up in the opposite lane (with the direction of traffic) on the side street by my house. That worked out to 1 mile per hour since I was 3/4 of a mile away and it took 3/4 of an hour. (Feel free to chime in if my math is wrong). The dog just loved it. He was wagging his tail the entire time standing on the seat. I, on the other hand pulled a lower back and neck muscle from being twisted around looking out the back window for 45 minutes.

We got home and I pulled all the old tires off. Luckily I had a set of unused Goodyear Eagle ST 225/70x15 sitting in the garage and mounted them on the car blackwall side out. They were close enough to the factory 225/75x15 Michelin radial tire option that came on the car originally. I did check with Tamra at MK Insurance and she did some research: but the collector car policy specifically excludes tire road hazards from the policy.

njsteve
09-16-2018, 03:28 PM
Looks like my dog is a jinx. Part 2

Last weekend I had replaced the master cylinder and sanded and repainted the brake booster. I also pulled out the starter to get it rebuilt locally to solve the hard hot start issue. Turns out it had a bent armature. He had it fixed overnight and I put it in Saturday morning. Boy is that thing heavy, especially when you have to lift it one handed and try to squeeze it in sideways between the steering linkage and the frame.

After I got the starter in, I took the Lincoln out yesterday to buy dogfood for the dog. As I merged with traffic on a local side road, the transmission shifted weirdly into third - actually it sounded like it was shifting and the engine RPM changed but the car was not moving forward any faster. I manually shifted into second and the problem disappeared. I put it in drive and it then shifted normally to third.

I got the dogfood and went to drive to my buddy's garage to tell him about the shift glitch. We discover that the vacuum line to the transmission modulator was not connected. That seemed like a totally logical reason for the weird shift incident. I thank him and go to leave. I put it in reverse and back up a few feet and then shift to drive.....nothing happens. No first gear, no second gear, no third gear. No forward movement at all. I was like the shifter linkage fell off only I still had park, reverse, and neutral. So Al, my mechanic buddy declared my transmission DOA and I called AAA to tow it home. Luckily I was only 6 miles away and they flatbedded to my driveway and I was able to back it into its space in the garage.

njsteve
09-16-2018, 03:34 PM
Well, I had been thinking about pulling the engine and transmission in order to regasket everything since the cardboard under the car looks like the Shroud of Turin with a perfect image of a 460, a C6, and a 9-inch diff all exactly reproduced in oil drips in outline form.

So I guess yesterday's tranny adventure has pushed me over the edge and I now have my next Fall/Winter project to play with. Out comes the 365 horse/500 lb torque, 10-1/2 to 1 compression, 460 and the non functional C6. I have a local old-time transmission rebuilder lined up for the C6. I am also going to install a dual exhaust on this car since it still has it's 2-1/4" single pipe (rusty) muffler setup on it now. That should wake things up a bit for the 5500 lb car. Hot Rod Lincoln, here we come!

Stay tuned!

And here is the jinx dog trying his best to feign innocence while hiding underneath his bodyguard.

big gear head
09-16-2018, 06:58 PM
That car should have the 9 3/8 rear end, not the 9 inch. Keep this in mind if you ever have to buy parts for it.

njsteve
09-16-2018, 07:56 PM
Thanks for the info. I will have to start reviewing all the factory service manuals that my grandfather bought for the car back in the day. There’s half a dozen Ford service volumes in the trunk.

njsteve
09-18-2018, 11:08 PM
Time for some preliminary tests...I warmed up the engine for a half hour (and even tried putting it in gear and low and behold, drive works again!) in preparation for a compression test. I pulled the plugs and the coil wire and propped the throttle wide open.

Here's the results:

Cyl 1: 205 psi
Cyl 2: 205 psi
Cyl 3: 210 psi
Cyl 4: 207 psi
Cyl 5: 205 psi
Cyl 6: 206 psi
Cyl 7: 205 psi
Cyl 8: 207 psi

I guess the rule of thumb is that you want them all within a 10% range of each other. Looks like this is around a 1% range!

And here are the plugs. They appear to be burning nicely for the 443 miles I put on the car in five years. Running on 93 octane plus some 100 low-lead Avgas.

njsteve
09-18-2018, 11:13 PM
Since the engine was already warmed up, I pulled an oil sample and I'll send it out for analysis just to see what it says. Once I get the engine out and on the stand I'll pull the pan and check the main and rod bearings. I don't plan on touching the short block other than maybe a new oil pump, rear main seal, and gaskets. I will most likely pull the heads and get a valve job and new valve seals installed. Maybe new valve springs if they don't meet spec.

John Brown
09-19-2018, 01:26 AM
Been a long time since I had a Ford with transmission problems, but when I had shifting problems like that it was because the aluminum valve body was worn and the valves that were supposed to move freely were hung up by a ridge of aluminum. I pulled the valve body, removed several of the valves and lightly scraped the openings in the valve body till the valves were able to move freely again. Of course your problem could be something completely different, but I'd ask someone familiar with those transmissions before going to all the work of pulling the complete transmission.

njsteve
09-21-2018, 12:17 AM
My old time mechanic friend said the same thing - valve body issues. But from sitting so long - over 27 years since my Grandfather passed and the car has only driven around 1000 miles in that timespan, it is time for a freshening up.

mockingbird812
09-21-2018, 12:40 PM
Ah, detective work. MacGyver is back at it! Good luck and consider leaving JR at home until you sort things out!

njsteve
09-23-2018, 10:57 PM
Spent the weekend unbolting everything and removing the engine and transmission. I now realize why the factory manual recommends removing the engine by itself and the transmission later. This has to be the world's longest transmission! The adjustable leveling engine lifting saddle really came in handy as I had to pull it at a diagonal to get it to clear the nose since the entire front end rose about a 10 inches in the air once the weight of the engine was taken off the frame. I then had to pull the front tires and lower the body to the ground on two floor jacks just to get the assembly to clear the nose. Did it all by myself, with the wife and son only assisting during the final maneuvering over the front sheetmetal when someone had to hold up the trans yoke to clear the final hurdle while the hoist was pulled forward.

njsteve
09-23-2018, 11:05 PM
I only broke two bolts during the entire process: one was a tiny 1/4" mounting bolt for the choke tube assembly to the intake and the other was the top water pump to timing cover 3/8" bolt. Everything else came out easy which is pretty darn amazing for a car that spent it's life in New Yawk.

Here's all the parts. I wasn't able to mount the engine to a stand today as I did not have the 5 inch by 7/16"-14 bolts that the 460 uses - much larger than the 3/8" bolts that usually go with GM engines. I had one old GM motor mount bolt that was perfect but without the other three, I was dead in the water. Going to the local Fastenal store tomorrow to get the right grade 8 bolts for the stand.

Time for cleaning that enormous engine bay. I'll be borrowing my friend's pressure washer his week to get all the old grease and gunk off the engine bay and the front suspension.

One thing I did find was missing: the water pump backing plate. My Dad brought the car to the local Lincoln Mercury Dealer to have the water pump replaced back in 1998 - they also did the timing chain at the same time since they broke a bunch of water pump-to-block bolts and had to pull the timing cover off anyway to drill out the broken bolts. (and set the timing to 5 degrees AFTER TDC when they were finished!!!). Looks like the dealer never bothered to reinstall the backing plate that gets sandwiched between two gaskets behind the water pump and directs the flow into the engine. Luckily the car never overheated since it was never driven around much after that repair job twenty years ago. I guess that also explains why the fan belts were wearing a bit weird due to being cocked from the 1/16" misalignment from lacking the water pump plate.

njsteve
09-24-2018, 12:47 AM
By the way, does anyone happen to have an original power steering pump dipstick? The metal curled part of the handle broke off and is missing from mine. They make a chrome repro but I'd prefer an original one in case anyone has an old Ford rusting away in the backyard somewhere...

njsteve
09-25-2018, 02:58 AM
Got the 7/16 x 5 inch bolts this morning and got the engine on the stand. Boy is this thing big and heavy. I started the disassembly and have already broken two 3/4" Craftsman sockets trying to pull the heads off. Those are some torqued down bolts! I'll need to use an impact rated socket tomorrow (after I buy one).

There is a ton of gunk inside that engine. When you touch it it crumbles more than smears. So it looks like I'll need to completely take this apart and hot tank the block to get all the goo out. That's what comes from 47 years of cold starts and limited driving. When I drained the oil (that only had 400 miles on it) - it was like black coal coming out of the drain plug. Can't wait to see what the oil analysis will say.

I pulled the first main cap to check the bearings. The crank looked great but the bearing was all copper. The rod bearing I checked looked fine and still had all its material intact. I'll Plastigage each one before I pull it all apart in the coming days. I like to know exactly how things were wearing in case I just go with a polish and re-bearing at STD size.

Interesting thing I am learning about Fords - they number the cylinders 1 through 4 on the passenger side and 5 through 8 on the driver's side. Not 1-3-5-7 and 2-4-6-8 like a GM. All the rods are number stamped.

big gear head
09-25-2018, 12:25 PM
A friend of mine put a big block Ford together many years ago and put the rods and pistons in like a Chevy and couldn't figure out why they didn't look right.

njsteve
09-26-2018, 01:04 AM
I got the engine fully apart today. Almost got a hernia too, breaking loose those $%#@*& head bolts with my old trusty diesel mechanic 3/4" drive ratchet and a pipe on the end of it.

The rod bearings looked decent but you can see the small copper wear pattern on the tops of each rod bearing - most likely from my Dad running the 10-1/5 to 1 compression engine on 87 octane for the random times he was driving it over the past couple decades. OUCH! All the mains were at the copper layer top and bottom. The crank itself looked very nice. I guess the original Ford Clevite bearings did their job and sacrificed themselves instead of the crank journals.

I Plastigaged a couple bearings and the rods looked to be really tight: much tighter than the minimum 001. line on the paper. The mains came in at .002.

I had to borrow a ridge reamer from the local autoparts store to get the minor ridge out of the tops of the cylinders so as not to damage anything coming out.

The lifters has a varnish buildup and were sticking in their bores at the top of their travel so I just left them there and turned the block over and then pulled the camshaft out while the lifters hung upside-down. I then pushed them back down their bores and they slid out nicely from underneath without scratching the lifter bores at all. The original camshaft looked decent but there was varnish on the surface in spots. All the bottoms of the lifters were evenly worn with a hint of concave wear.

The combustion chambers on the heads looked very nice, as did the pistons. Not much carbon buildup at all.

njsteve
09-26-2018, 01:13 AM
And here's the giant assemblage of parts as of this evening.

njsteve
09-26-2018, 07:27 PM
I dropped off the block and all the engine parts at the machine shop today. The machinist noticed the "Felpro blue" on the deck surface and said that the headgaskets had been replaced sometime in the past. It had to be when Grampa had it as I have no paperwork documenting any major engine work since we have had the car since 1991.

We also notice how badly the valve stems are chewed up. Looks like we need a new set of valves and rocker arms, at least.

Stay tuned for further episodes of "As The Wallet Opens..."

big gear head
09-26-2018, 07:41 PM
I don't think I've ever seen valve stem tips look like that before.

Jonesy
09-26-2018, 08:13 PM
Wow Steve when you make up your mind to do something, things get done.
This will be fun to follow.:biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

Canuck
09-26-2018, 09:26 PM
Steve
I am following along, great project. How many people did it take to lift the hood off?
I know a fellow up in Vermont that is into these older Lincolns. Let me know if you want his contact info, he may be able to offer some info of tricks he has learned over the years.
Couldn't help but notice Grandmas Firebird and your old Suburban in the background.

Paul

njsteve
09-26-2018, 09:39 PM
Thanks for noticing! It took three people to get that hood up and away. As we moved it to the side we all heard the nuts and acorns inside the hood framework rolling around. Lots of homeless chipmunks got evicted from the Lincoln when I moved this thing out of my Dad's garage in 2013.

At least now, Gramma and Grampa will both have freshly rebuilt, matching engines. The funny thing is that they both have the exact same mileage at the moment: 85,000 miles.

njsteve
09-29-2018, 04:54 PM
Spoke with the machinist yesterday. The block is all cleaned up already. As usual he is my mechanical conscience. He said the cylinders, once honed, would be around .005 larger than a std bore and: "Yeah you could slap it together with the original pistons and it would run OK but since its apart you might as well do it right..."

So we are ordering a set of hypereutectic cast pistons for the block (which are actually rather cheap) in .020 or .030 over. As you may recall, this version of the 460 has 10-1/2 to 1 compression instead of the '72 and newer, which are much lower for regular gas use. He found a set of the correct high compression pistons and we will go with that.

I was going over some of my grandfather's original paperwork from the car and got a good laugh when I read the engine specs and it said: "use gasoline of 99 octane rating minimum."

mockingbird812
09-30-2018, 01:48 AM
Great work. Thanks for the update! Cool cruiser to be sure!!!!:biggthumpup:

Astock
09-30-2018, 03:24 AM
Not your average soccer mom Suburban 1500. Good color too.

njsteve
09-30-2018, 02:30 PM
Yeah, our 1995 K2500 diesel 'Burb was last Summer's project: pulled the original engine and replaced it with a new AMG updated 18 to 1 compression HUMVEE refit engine bought right off the assembly line in Ohio. Turns out the original engine had flaking bearings from the old head gasket loss back in 2013. Found out from an oil analysis. Lucky I pulled it because we found all the main webs had cracked in the block. (A common malady with these). Here's that thread in case you need some heavy (pun intended) entertainment.

https://www.dieselplace.com/forum/63-gm-diesel-engines/21-6-5l-diesel-engine/549473-6-5-engine-just-blew-up-my-95-suburban-not-happy-camper-18.html

We bought this truck brand new back in 1995 so she's a keeper!

njsteve
09-30-2018, 07:49 PM
Borrowed my buddy's pressure washer yesterday and spent the afternoon blasting the engine compartment, and as much of the underside that I could reach while the car was on jackstands.

Here's the rear differential shots. The weird harness going to the pinion hub is actually a prehistoric version of ABS that would monitor the differential speed and pulse the breaks at an amazing (for the time) 4 pulses per second to prevent rear brake lockup. Unfortunately the valve component that sits in the engine compartment failed years ago with an internal leak and was removed and thrown out by my Dad's favorite Lincoln dealer...

Gotta love that old blue Permatex attempt at sealing the leaking pinion gasket by the same Lincoln dealer.

big gear head
09-30-2018, 08:51 PM
That is the 9 3/8 rear end, not a 9 inch. If you ever have to get parts for it then this is what you need to ask for. The pinion housing is sealed with an O ring, not a gasket. Sometimes you can pull the pinion housing out without having to remove the whole chunk, but many times you have to remove the chunk and loosen up the backlash before the pinion housing will come out. When you remove the pinion housing there will be shims between it and the chunk. This is how the pinion depth is adjusted. Don't damage these shims. It's been several years since I built one of these, but I think the shims are larger than what a 9 inch uses, and I'd hate to have to find replacements.

njsteve
09-30-2018, 09:48 PM
I think I'll just live with the oil drips for the time being given the complexity of the repair. Looks like the dealer loosened the bolts and tried to inject blue Permatex in the gap, and then tightened it back up.

njsteve
09-30-2018, 11:01 PM
Here's the engine bay after pressure washing. You can see some of the original factory markings on the sway bar and in the passenger side front fender behind the battery tray. Does that say "427 COPO" ??? (Just kidding)

I already started buying up suspension parts - upper and lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings., etc. Perusing my Dad's repair orders from the Lincoln dealer I could see that they already replaced the inner and outer tie rods, idler arm, the center link assembly, and the sway bar and strut rod bushings around 500 miles ago (in 1998).

njsteve
10-02-2018, 05:13 PM
Engine progress! Block is already tanked, bored, honed and cam bearings installed. Heads are next. The Speed Pro H535CP .030 pistons are installed on the rods. These are an updated version of the factory piston with valve reliefs instead of a compression lowering pocket in the center.

With the factory DOVE-C heads it is well over 10 to 1. Once I CC the chambers I will know exactly what it will be. The Speed Pro spec says 10.8 to 1 with 72 CC chambers and 10.3 to 1 with the 77 CC chambers.

njsteve
10-03-2018, 01:02 AM
Got the oil analysis today. Looks interesting in that it shows iron wear. That could be the cast iron rocker arms where they were grinding away at the valve stem tips. The high lead is from the leaded fuel most likely. My SD455 had similar high lead readings from using the same leaded 100 octane AV-Gas. Though the bearings on the 460 were down to copper on the mains. The machinist said the bearings looked like every other big block Ford he has taken apart over the years.

njsteve
10-08-2018, 07:02 PM
Picked up the major stuff today today. I dropped off the exhaust manifolds to get surfaced. Years of blown out exhaust manifold gaskets pitted the mating surface on the manifolds. As you may have guessed it, the dealership would just charge my father for replacing the donuts in the exhaust pipe to manifold flange and call it a day, completely ignoring the actual cause of the exhaust leaks...and the noise.

I highly recommend Rogers Speed Shop in Garwood, NJ in case anyone needs any machine work done. They are an old time machine shop with experience that goes back at least five decades. They have done the machine work on all my Pontiacs over the years. They know Fords too (and Chevys of course). https://www.facebook.com/Rogers-Speed-Shop-136305069751697/

big gear head
10-08-2018, 08:18 PM
Don't you just love the look of freshly machined parts?

njsteve
10-08-2018, 11:19 PM
They smell good, too! I had to oil them all down quickly as it was raining when I got home with the parts today.

Canuck
10-09-2018, 12:31 AM
Steve
Interesting Oil analysis. My 03 GMC Yukon XL 2500 had high Lead content because Chevron 94. I dropped to 91 Octane and Lead ratio dropped significantly. I use Mobil 1 and change at 4500 mile increments.

mockingbird812
10-09-2018, 06:00 PM
EWWW, dems purdy!!!!

njsteve
10-09-2018, 10:06 PM
Got these back from Rogers Speed Shop today. They were able to clean up the flange area nicely. They should seal well now. The Clevite 77 main and rod bearings arrived as well as all the new cast iron rocker arms (@ $16 each - that hurt! This engine uses a unique style of rocker arms instead of the $5 stamped steel rockers). The ARP hardened oil pump drive arrived via Amazon this afternoon. I think I actually have all the parts to assemble this now.

The funny thing is that I pulled the engine to get the transmission rebuilt and the tranny is still sitting on the dolly in the garage. I was going to wait until the engine was assembled so I had less time for the rebuilt trans to sit and use up warranty time in case there is an issue with it later.

njsteve
10-14-2018, 09:08 PM
Chased all the threads in the block this morning. Then I installed the rear main seal, bearings and crank today. Oil clearance is .002, checked with the old Plastigage green. Nice, leisurely day in the garage.

njsteve
10-18-2018, 09:44 PM
I checked all the ring gaps in the cylinders today. All top rings were .024 gap. All second rings were .028. Got everything ready for piston/rod installation this weekend.

scuncio
10-18-2018, 11:36 PM
Great progress.

njsteve
10-20-2018, 06:00 PM
Got all the pistons and rods in today. Plastigage check on each rod bearing clearance was .015. Rotational torque when all eight were installed was 300 inch pounds (25 ft lbs).

njsteve
10-20-2018, 10:15 PM
Installed the original camshaft back in the engine and degreed it. Since I didn't have a solid lifter to use for degreeing purposes, I wound up disassembling one of the original hydraulic lifters and replacing the inner spring with a 5/16 nut and and reassembling it. It worked great.

I reused the existing timing chain and gears since they had all of 400 miles on them (and 20 years since the dealer installed them).

The factory intake centerline spec is 110 degrees and it turned out to be between 108.75 and 109 degrees. (after three readings). So I guess it is a little over one degree advanced which is perfectly fine with me.

Here's the factory specs on the 460/365 horsepower camshaft:

engine...............lobe lift.....valve lift.........open (btdc)... IN dur...EX dur....overlap.......hp.....................torque .........comp ratio
1971-460(4v).....253/.278...442/.486.......16 deg..........256.......270........36 deg .....(365hp@4600)[email protected]

256°/270° @ SAE
193°/206° @ .050"

.253"/.278" lobe lift (.443/.487 valve lift)

110°/116° lobe centerlines –

113 Lobe Separation Angle

njsteve
10-21-2018, 07:51 PM
Still at it today. Measured the deck clearance with the dial indicator. Came out to .037. CC'd one of the chambers and got 74 cc's. Installed the cylinder heads, lifters, push rods and a new set of rocker arms. Then installed the intake. It weighs a ton! I think it was almost as heavy as one of the cylinder heads.

Worked out the calculations for compression ratio and it comes to 10.78 to 1. It should be "peppy" as Gramma used to say.

mockingbird812
10-21-2018, 08:37 PM
Nice! Now that is healthy!!:biggthumpup:

njsteve
10-21-2018, 09:42 PM
Thanks!

BTW, in case anyone wonders, the VIN stamp on these blocks is on the rear of the block, just below where the driver's side cylinder heads bolts up.

scuncio
10-23-2018, 02:26 AM
Pretty stout grind for a stock Lincoln cam!

njsteve
10-23-2018, 10:58 AM
While GM dumped the compression ratios in 1971 down to 8.5 to 1, Ford (and Mopar) held out to the end. From what I am learning, in 1972, Ford used an 8 degree retarded crank gear sprocket and much larger combustion chambers on the heads to this drop the compression (and horsepower) on the 460, drastically. This was the truly the end of the Cretaceous Period for engines. The power went from 365 to 245 (212 in '73) and torque from 500 to 342 ft lbs. Even with the SAE to net ratings that was still a helluva drop.

That was the main reason I wanted to degree this cam was to make sure the dealer didn't put on the later retarded timing gear set when they did the water pump repair back in 1998. I guess this was the first thing they actually got right at my Dad's local Lincoln dealer.

John Brown
10-23-2018, 11:44 AM
In the late 70's I had a customer with a 76 460 Ford truck with a big camper on the back. No power, poor mileage. Sold him a timing chain and gears for a 70. Big difference. He had no idea that Ford had retarded cam timing on those things. To say the least, he was a happy camper after the change.

njsteve
10-27-2018, 10:12 PM
Since the engine is mostly back together I was able to drop off the C6 at the transmission shop. It's an old Lee Myles that has been in business for 50+ years, in Union, New Jersey. The owner knew my uncle back in the 1970's when my uncle owned the Lee Myles franchise on Kennedy Blvd in Jersey City, New Jersey. It's a good shop. They have rebuilt transmissions for me for several previous projects. I even had them call me once after I dropped off an M22 and they called me back the next day and said it doesn't need rebuilding, just a couple of new gaskets: no charge. Nice!

I got the heads, intake, lifters, oil pump and pan on. I tried installing the Felpro rubber valve cover gaskets that came in the overhaul set and got extremely displeased when I went to put oil in the engine and it immediately started pouring out between the valve covers and the heads. The frikken things slid out of alignment when I tightened the valve cover bolts even though I had glued them to the covers beforehand. I HATE RUBBER VALVE COVER GASKETS. I have a set of old time cork gaskets in transit now.

I was able to paint the engine outside yesterday before the rains came.

Wanna know what the hardest part was? Getting the distributor to drop in and align with the oil pump drive. I spent an hour trying to get it into any position that would drop in and connect to the new ARP hardened oil pump driveshaft. No dice. Even though I test fit everything beforehand to make sure it would connect properly and not have any issues. So I gave up and then decided to prime the engine with a 1/2"drill and priming tool. Got 55 psi and ran the drill until oil came out every rocker arm bleed hole while I hand cranked the engine over to get all the lifters filled. I then tried for another hour to drop in the distributor and finally got it to plop in, coincidentally aligning the rotor in the exact same spot I had photographed it in when I took my disassembly photos (at TDC of #1 cylinder).

72-SS-L48
10-31-2018, 08:52 PM
Great progress! Really enjoying the updates on this thread.

Regards,
Dave

njsteve
10-31-2018, 09:34 PM
Thanks. It's fun to challenge yourself once in a while with something completely out of one's automotive comfort zone. I never worked on a Ford before. It seems that a 460 Ford is just a blue-painted, big block Chevy with the distributor at the wrong end. Look at the valve cover bolt pattern and the way the staggered valves are laid out.

big gear head
10-31-2018, 11:20 PM
And the cylinders are numbered wrong.

njsteve
11-01-2018, 01:31 AM
Naw, the engine is just backwards.

Look at where the sump is in the oil pan, combine that with the distributor location and it's a backwards 454.

njsteve
11-07-2018, 09:24 PM
Picked up the transmission today. Total rebuild cost was $950. They also sent out the torque converter to be rebuilt since there was a lot of sludge in the transmission due to the fact that the seals were so petrified that the servos were not fully engaging and all the front clutches completely burned out. All the friction material wound up in the fluid and pan. Probably that last couple miles of driving did the most damage. Should be good to go for install this weekend. I have been cleaning, painting and trial fitting the brackets and accessories over the past week or so.

njsteve
11-10-2018, 11:25 PM
Plopped the old 460 into place this afternoon. Rather uneventful when you don't have the transmission attached. It took, at the most, twenty minutes. I did have the take the wheels off and lower the nose down so the engine would fit over the front header panel without the hoist hitting the garage door.

After it was in place I used a floor jack to support the back of the block til I get the transmission installed tomorrow or Monday. I borrowed my buddy's truck jackstands so I can get the transmission and trans jack under the car.

njsteve
11-11-2018, 10:05 PM
Got the transmission installed today. Boy that was not fun. The transmission jack's deck height is 10 inches off the floor and there is no way you can slide the trans under and into the tunnel area and then try to manhandle it onto the jack. Too darn heavy. So I put the car up onto the truck jack stands which are still not high enough. I ended up putting the trans on the jack and finagling it under the car by angling the base and dropping the bellhousing area and then moving it around between the right side brake rotor and the wheel well.

It then took four tries to get the transmission to bolt up to the engine. I thought I had the torque converter seated with two "clunks" but it turns out this one is supposed to clunk a third time to be fully seated into the front pump. (Things you learn when this is your first Ford project). Otherwise you get within 3/8" of bolting up and then no go. Very frustrating. But in the end I got it done by the time it was getting dark. I have a large railroad tie section holding up the rear of the trans till tomorrow when I can put in the crossmember and get it all into position, once and for all.

mockingbird812
11-11-2018, 11:20 PM
Nicely done Macgiver! Adapt and overcome!!! That thing is a BEAST! Thanks for the update!!! :biggthumpup:

njsteve
11-18-2018, 10:25 PM
Well today wasn't much fun. I have been attaching accessories and hoses, etc. I went to tighten the transmission cooler lines to the transmission and the adapter that is attached to the case snaps right off...flush with the case. Gee, how about pulling the trans for a fifth time?

No way.

So I jacked up the transmission from the back end and pulled the transmission cross member. I then angled it down as far as possible to get a clear shot at the fitting area. After an hour with a tiny chisel tapping in a counterclockwise direction I was able to see the remaining threaded section move. Luckily I had a 40-year-old Easy Out that I bought back in high school in the bottom of my tool box. I gently tapped it in with a small hammer and it stuck enough to be able to wrench the piece out. I'd get maybe an 1/8th of a turn and the Easy Out would fall out. (hence the name, I guess???). I reinserted, tapped and wrenched for another half hour til I got the sucker out of there. Thankfully no damage to the threads in the case.

I then went to the local NAPA which of course had every other fitting but the one I needed (Of course their inventory said they had it in stock). They called the other store in town who's inventory said they had two...I had him ask them to put their hands on one and tell me if it was actually there. IT WAS! So off across town I went.

They had the correct fitting for $1.80 and I was happy again. Installation went fine and the transmission is back up in place. Of course the hydraulic cylinder in the transmission jack failed so I had to use a floor jack for support of the tail shaft but all is well again.

Here is the offending fitting:

njsteve
11-18-2018, 10:48 PM
And here is crazy 1970's gas crisis modification #1.

I bet this was some trick that my Grandfather probably got out of the J.C. Whitney catalog back in 1972 or so. He was the ultimate tinkerer and backyard mechanic wanna-be. I know he is smiling right now and slapping his knee, while winking to my Grandmother and saying: "Well, the kid found THAT one...lets see what he finds next..."

:-)

I couldn't figure out why the heck I could not get the transmission kick down lever to adjust and operate the transmission lever. I would pull the throttle all the way back and it would never contact the lever. Then it occurred to me to check full throttle to see if it was fully opening all four barrels of the carb. When I disconnected the cable I could get about an inch more travel in the throttle arm than when the cable was attached. I then I looked closer. The cable has a built in return spring in the form of a tightly wound coil spring on the cable itself. When you pulled all the way back it would stop.....up against what looked like two octagonal spacers.

Only they weren't spacers, they were 1/2" threaded nuts that someone had cut a notch out of and then slipped them over the cable behind the spring and clamped them closed with a vice grip. Thereby preventing the throttle from opening the last inch and/or engaging the four barrels, and/or activating the kickdown/internal pressure adjustment in the transmission. So that probably didn't help the lifespan of the transmission either.

Anyway, I used a cutoff disc on my Dremel tool and removed the offending spacers and lo and behold I now have full throttle capability and a working kickdown lever. Whodathought?

So, in conclusion, I imagine that not only will the rebuilt engine be a bit peppier than it was originally, it should be a helluva lot peppier than I ever experienced in this car either driving it in my adult years, or as a passenger, in my early childhood, now that it has a functioning four barrel.

njsteve
11-22-2018, 01:28 PM
More stuff going on. Got the original date coded alternator and smog pump back on. Jeez - these Fords have everything bolted to everything else with individual belts for everything, as well. That monster 460 engine looks tiny in that enormous engine compartment, doesn't it? Looks like a 289 in a Mustang engine bay. At least there's room to work!

big gear head
11-22-2018, 02:17 PM
Looks like it would be fairly easy to change the spark plugs.

Canuck
11-22-2018, 04:27 PM
I think there should be a "Grandpa's" car section at MCACN next year.

njsteve
11-25-2018, 12:52 AM
Success! She started and ran today. Once there was fuel up to the carb, she started right up.

Still up on the jackstands. I installed the Y-pipe without mufflers and she sounds like a monster truck (Didn't BigFoot have a 460 in it originally?).

I had a minor scare when I partially burnt the wiring harness ground by the voltage regulator due to one of the alternator leads being hooked to positive terminal on the back of the alternator instead of ground. Ugh! Should have reviewed my own photos better.

I also had to replace the leaking joint in the trans cooler line where a prior mechanic used a compression fitting to join two sections instead of correctly flaring the ends and using the correct flared adapter fitting. Luckily NAPA had the fitting in stock this time.

Drained the oil and the magnetic drain plug was totally clean. Refilled it with 5 quarts of 10W30 Pennzoil. The transmission shifts nicely and doesn't leak.

Tomorrow I will unwrap and fix the burnt harness wire. I will also pull out the rear seat to replace the center seat belt bolts with a couple of longer bolts that can pass through the rear bulkhead about an inch more, so they can be used for dual exhaust hanger mounting points. (I hate it when muffler shops just crank in a couple of monster-sized sheet metal screws into your floor to mount the mufflers from -Not gonna happen here).

Jonesy
11-26-2018, 10:02 PM
That's gotta be a big relief getting all this stuff taken care of. Leaks are a big pain for cars that have sat a long time. I know this first hand. Every time I move a car there's a puddle.Cant wait to see how it performs vs the old setup. You gotta go burn some rubber :D

njsteve
11-27-2018, 10:02 AM
I stopped in a local shop recommended by a friend and asked about exhaust. Hopefully by the end of the week we should be able to get it done. I also went to the local Fastenal store and ordered two 2-1/2 grade 8, 7/16x20 bolts for the seat belt/exhaust hanger duty. It was hard to find a bolt with a long threaded section that didn't have way too much unthreaded collar area. Wound up with a 12 point shouldered bolt. Hopefully this should work.

Also have to get that gigantic hood back on the car!

I haven't done anything with the air cleaner as the large circular decal is currently on backorder and has been for a while.

njsteve
11-28-2018, 11:53 PM
Got the exhaust done today. Took it out for its maiden voyage 10 miles to the exhaust shop. Ran great - no issues at all (other than no hood and open Y-pipe). It took around 6 hours at the local shop. They really did a nice job. They used all existing factory frame holes for mounting points. Never needed to use the seat belt bolt holes as they decided to use the upper frame cross member which had bracket holes already.

They had some really ingenious methods of making mounts, such as the brackets they created that attached to the bottom bolts of the transmission mounts and went out laterally to reach the head pipes. They mated them nicely to the sections of the Y-pipe after it was dissected. The hard part was the over the axle tube creation. That took 3/4 of the time spent. Ended up using Magnaflow 12226 2-1/2"mufflers. Total price was $1,000 including tax - two mechanics working on it for over six hours and 30 feet of pipe, plus the mufflers.

It sounds nice and rumbly now. And much peppier too! Grampa would be happy. :-)

scuncio
11-30-2018, 03:31 AM
Looks great! That throttle cable mod is hilarious.

njsteve
11-30-2018, 11:02 AM
It's a time capsule of American ingenuity, I tell ya!

454_Malibu
11-30-2018, 11:26 PM
Just Curious, why didn't u have them start at the exhaust manifolds,, The front pipes look very rusty,, Great Thread.

njsteve
12-01-2018, 01:06 AM
Yes, it was somewhat surface rusty but the steel was still very heavy gauge and solid. The Lincoln had a very unique double-walled flange that has a specific type of donut gasket. No one makes a replacement flange so we used the factory section. I had to buy five different "donuts" before I found the correct sized 2-5/32" inner diameter replacement. It's a Felpro #60218 in case anyone needs the part number.

I cleaned up the original hood hinges today. Soaked them in 5 gallons of "Purple Power" degreaser since last night. That took off the 47 years of accumulated gunk but left the original phosphate finish intact. I have them soaking in engine oil now. Hopefully tomorrow we can get the hood back on finally - with all the family participating. It's like moving a ping-pong table around.

njsteve
12-03-2018, 01:13 AM
Got the hood back on. The hinges came out great from soaking and oiling.

Took her out for a drive to my buddy's garage and dismounted the 33 year-old Goodyear Eagle ST 225/70x15's that I put on in an emergency when the old tires went bad a couple months ago. (This set is actually the set of tires that the second owner of my '73 SD455 put on the car in 1985 when he blew up one of the Firestone 500's driving it from Arizona to California).

I had a set of recent 255/60x15 BFGs that were on an extra set of Honeycomb wheels in the garage. I dismounted them from the rims and mounted those on the Lincoln's steel wheels - blackwall side out - looks very sinister..

I then remounted the old Goodyear Eagle ST's on the original set of Honeycombs from the SD455, and stored the remaining Firestone 500's in the back of the garage. I know: it sounds like the automotive version of Three-Card-Monty.

Anyway, I will try to post some photos tomorrow when it is sunny out. It was raining all day today - and I spent most of the day scrubbing both sets of tires and making them presentable again.

I also spent a couple hours cleaning the garage of all the remnants of the engine build, finding my lost tools, and throwing out the cardboard boxes, empty paint cans, dirty rags, etc.

njsteve
12-03-2018, 07:58 PM
Here she is in all her Titanical glory. I let my wife drive the the ship around the block. She was happy to attempt to steer it into port but drew the line at attempting to back it into the garage, which requires a 6 point turn to get it docked without the aid of a tugboat.

The engine runs great. It really pulls when the throttle is mashed down. I backed the timing off a degree or two, to the factory spec of 6 degrees BTDC. Once I get a couple of gallons of 100 octane AvGas in the tank, I can readjust it again. It purrs like a kitten. The loudest thing under the hood now, is that Ford power steering pump. It makes a rather annoying chugging sound.

Crush
12-03-2018, 09:18 PM
Man that of been cool to have in HS!! Ha!
Looks great

olredalert
12-03-2018, 09:50 PM
----Heavy weight muscle! love your attention to the details, Steve...….Bill S

njsteve
12-03-2018, 10:00 PM
Thanks! Next project is the control arm bushings and ball joints. All the other suspension parts were replaced by the dealer 20 years (and 400 miles) ago.

Then maybe I will find some way to get some tunes in it. It has the original "Town and Country" AM radio. It's one of those signal seeker radios that mechanically tracks across the dial to find the most static-ey station and then locks onto its signal. It would be nice to find an AM/FM and then throw some speakers in the trunk. That 1000 square foot trunk would make an awesome echo chamber.

Canuck
12-03-2018, 10:16 PM
Nice job Steve, you need some whitewalls on that ship,check out Diamond Back Classics in Conway ,SC for something Suitable. A Michelin with a 3/8 whiteall would be cool.
Dual exhaust is sweet.

njsteve
12-03-2018, 10:43 PM
The car actually came with the optional Michellns back in 1971. Do they still make Michelins in white stripe? 225/75x15 is the original size. I thought these Vogues were kind of cool - white stripe with a gold pinstripe around it. Not a fan of the heavy tread pattern though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SET-OF-4-235-70R15-VOGUE-CUSTOM-BUILT-RADIAL-VII-TIRE-GOLD-WHITE-235-70-15-/252158663306?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10#viTa bs_0

njsteve
12-03-2018, 11:08 PM
BTW, here's a '71 in action in an episode of Hawaii 50, back in the day...

big gear head
12-03-2018, 11:37 PM
The 460 looks like a small block under that hood.

njsteve
12-04-2018, 01:11 AM
Ain't that the truth! Any time I can use a 12" extension on a spark plug socket and still not touch the inner fenders, now that's some livin' room, I tell ya!

njsteve
12-08-2018, 08:35 PM
I couldn't leave well enough alone. And since none of the dealers have any idea when, or if ever a new batch of the "Continental 460 4V" decals will be produced again, I figured it was time to restore the air cleaner. I bead blasted the original paint off and the minor surface rust. Luckily the entire snorkel assembly is attached to the base with two screws and is easily removed. I then primed it, used some glazing putty on the pitted parts of the lid and then repainted it with the same Ford blue from the engine block. Came out nice if i do say so myself.

Got 50 miles on the new engine so far. And used a half a tank doing it!

mockingbird812
12-08-2018, 10:33 PM
Yeah, that looks good! Nice job McGyver!!!:grin:

njsteve
12-17-2018, 06:56 PM
I finally found the big, round, air cleaner lid decal at a Lincoln restoration shop out west. I located a used, unbroken, power steering pump dipstick on ebay for $20.

I repainted the radiator support and the large vacuum tank for the headlights. The hood latch assembly got the same treatment as the hood hinges: soaked in purple stuff for a few days and it came out great, with the original, green zinc plated finish untouched. Cleaned up the washer reservoir, as well. The inner fenders are gigantic pieces of black plastic about 1/4" thick, so they can't really be painted. Maybe some Armorall on them will shine them up nicely? Lots of other little details to attend to in the engine compartment to keep me busy.

Jonesy
12-17-2018, 08:57 PM
I would just leave the fender wells. Armor all will just attract and adhere dust. Looks great :biggthumpup:

njsteve
12-17-2018, 11:28 PM
I cleaned the driver's side inner fender with some diesel fuel on a rag. It cleaned off the old residue nicely and was glossy for a day and then it absorbed into the plastic and that is what you see now. I haven't cleaned the passenger side yet.

It's an odd engine compartment/hood hinge setup. If you look closely you can see that the passenger side hood hinge mounts inboard of the hood's underside frame structure by about 6 inches, while the driver's side hinge mounts outboard of it, directly to the inside of the fender. That is why there is that black section that is bolted to the upper inner area of the passenger fender.

njsteve
12-23-2018, 09:04 PM
Today I tackled the front suspension. I pulled the upper and lower control arms out and the coil springs. Rather easy to remove everything. I did find some interesting stuff though. First, I was looking and looking for the passenger side shock absorber stud so I could remove the nut. All I found was the hole where it should have been. This is what I found when I unbolted it from the bottom of the control arm...

In examining the stud it appears that the dealer never bothered to install the upper bushings, washers, and nuts on it. The threads were untouched for the entire length of the threaded area. (other than the marks where it was banging around inside the coil spring). I never heard a thing while driving! Luckily, I have a new set of front shocks that were the ones that I got from Midas under the lifetime warranty for Gramma's Firebird several years back. It just so happens that they are the exact same part number for both cars! How's that for good Karma (Car-ma)?

njsteve
12-23-2018, 09:17 PM
Everything came out without a single broken bolt! All four original riveted ball joints are nice and tight - just as tight as the brand new AC/Delco ball joints I bought three months ago. They are going to stay in their boxes. (Unfortunately it's too late to return them to rockauto).

The other oddball thing I found was that the passenger side upper control arm bushings were rotating in the upper control arm. I wondered why it was so easy to move the control arm up to free the spindle. And then I saw the problem. At least it made for removing the control arm pivot very easy. I just removed the outer nut and washer and popped them out with a screw driver. I checked the new bushings for fit and the are tight and need to be pressed in properly. The driver's side bushings will take an air chisel to get out.

Here's all the parts after cleaning in purple stuff. Got some masking of the ball joints to do, before I can sandblast and paint the parts.

scuncio
12-24-2018, 01:36 PM
That passenger shock situation is crazy.

njsteve
12-24-2018, 10:43 PM
It's just crazy. It means that when it was installed, the "mechanic" never even put the lower bushing and washer on it. Otherwise that lower bushing and washer would have been permanently retained in position by the bend once it kinked over on itself.

I went over to my buddy's garage this morning and used his bushing press tools to install the lower control arm bushings. As for the uppers, we damaged one (or it was defective). When we pressed it in, onto the shaft, the outer case pressed in fine but the inner rubber just stayed in place about an inch out of the bushing. We have a new Moog bushing coming in on Wednesday and that should take care of it. Then I can clean and paint everything.

I also got a second opinion on the ball joints. He checked them and agreed that they were nice and tight and there was no need to replace them. The rubber seals were all still good too.

njsteve
12-27-2018, 08:59 PM
Got the last bushing installed on the upper control arm and everything is painted semigloss black. I have been soaking the spindles and coil springs in used engine oil after degreasing them. Interesting stuff here: the spindles are technically a two-piece unit with the caliper bracket safety wired to the spindle frame. All the paint markings and even the white plastic ring around the spindle are intact. The left and right coil springs have different paint codes. I assume to identify two different spring rates.

njsteve
12-30-2018, 09:31 PM
Got everything buttoned up today. Yesterday I reinstalled the upper and lower control arms, washed out and re-greased the wheel bearings, and after remembering to borrow the coil spring compressor from my buddy, I was able to install the coil springs. They just needed that inch or so of arc, to get them back into position to be able to swing the lower control arm up with the floor jack. Today I finished up the brakes and sway bar end links and lubed the ball joints and tie rods. Took her for a ride and she really does ride nicely now. Especially with two functioning shock absorbers in place.

The old boat actually did a one legged burnout while attempting to get up to speed with traffic on a local road. Those 2.8 rear gears are rather hard to get moving but once they do, it actually pushes you back into your sofa when the four barrels kick in.

I am thinking about swapping out the steel rims and hubcaps for some later model Lincoln turbine wheel. It would save some weight, look classy and get rid of the really out of round steel wheels. The first 20 years of my grandfather commuting over all those New York City city potholes did a number on those rims

njsteve
12-30-2018, 09:47 PM
Here's those later aluminum turbine rims on a 1971 Lincoln Mark III. 15x6.5 inch, 4.5 by 5 in bolt pattern. They came on a lot of Ford and Mercury products in the 4.5" bolt pattern during the 1980's. The Lincolns actually used a 5 inch pattern later in the 1970s but switched back to a 4.5 in the 1980's. So I need a Ford set with some Lincoln center caps.

njsteve
01-12-2019, 08:46 PM
I installed the Redi-Rad I got for the car in December. Pretty interesting contraption. It allows you to play your music on the AM radio via your cellphone. It adds an input lead that goes in the headphone jack of your phone, Ipod, DVD player, Beta-Max, or whatever.

Pretty simple installation if you can reach the antennae lead on the back of your radio along with a ground lead and a power lead to the fuse box. The antenna lead just plugs in series with the factory antenna and you set the radio to 1000 on the AM dial.

In other words it took several days of dash disassembly on this car to get to the back of the radio which is in the top section of the dash, above all the automatic A/C climate control duct work. I waited a few days for my cuts and scrapes on my hands to heal before reinstalling all the parts.

Here's the website: https://redirad.com/

Now I can play some appropriate theme music while cruisin' the scene with my Detroit lean.

John Brown
01-12-2019, 08:55 PM
I recall the dash pad on my fathers Lincoln was easily removed so he had access to the radio from the top. Maybe different in different years though.

njsteve
01-12-2019, 09:12 PM
All access is from the underside on this car. And of course Ford decided to have the lead also plug in from the top of the radio, not the bottom. Jeez!

scuncio
01-13-2019, 01:13 AM
How would you rate the Redirad sound quality? I've been contemplating buying one too.

njsteve
01-13-2019, 03:13 PM
It actually is better sound quality than any AM radio channel. It is essentially playing the car speakers as a set of earphones off your cell phone. You could even set up one of the satellite radio portable units and play it the same way, out of it's earphone jack and into the redirad cable. I have one of those SiriusXM units that I move from car to car. I'd just need to figure out a spot for it's little magnetic antenna since this car has a thickly padded vinyl top that won't allow it to go there..

Now I have to check and see why my rear door speakers aren't functioning. The Continental has four speakers, one in each door (none in the dash or rear deck). The two fronts sound fine. I was going to pull the door panels and regrease all the window tracks anyway, so I guess this pushes up the schedule of the next fun project.

scuncio
01-14-2019, 04:34 AM
Thanks for the feedback and good luck with your speaker project....

njsteve
05-09-2020, 09:14 PM
It's been a while but I recently started playing with the Lincoln because I'm bored. :-)

Last week I pulled the doors panels off and cleaned out the petrified grease from all four window track systems and regreased them all with a tub of chassis grease and PB Blaster. It's amazing how they all now actually will go all the way up and all the way down without having to rev the engine to 3000 RPM to give it extra juice.

I also sprayed the door lock mechanisms and they work nicely now too. The Lincoln uses an vacuum/electric door lock mechanism. There are solenoids in the dash which send power to relays when then allow the vacuum to push or pull the door lock button up and down. So instead of simply having a single solenoid like a modern car, they have 100 feet of vacuum line, 12 gauge wires with heavy amps and several relays involved. All so it can have some satisfying "ka-chunk-a-swish" sound when the switch is depressed.

When I was in the front doors, it appears that the dealer had been in there once before - all the weatherproof paper was shredded and missing in sections and there were several drilled holes at the bottom where they removed the power window motors to replace the plastic gears inside that crumble with age. This is actually the factory recommended repair procedure instead of removing the entire window and regulator assembly to get to the power window motors. Of course they didn't bother greasing all the moving parts of the window tracks properly at the same time. They just greased the main slider which just allowed the regulator to bind on itself when half of it was old grease and half was new. Sigh!

I found the speaker problem - the right rear door speaker was blown...and the left rear was never installed. I was lucky enough to find two NOS Ford speakers on ebay. One for $63 and the other for $85. After reading all the factory manuals my grandfather bought back in 1971 it seems that the AM radio only used three speakers though the car is wired for all four. So all I had to do was screw the left rear speaker in place and all four worked nicely (or as nice as 50 year old NOS Ford speakers can sound).

The best part was while searching for the speakers I found a 1971 AM/FM stereo radio from a 1971 Lincoln Continental on ebay as well. It's a unique one year only radio. And it was only $84 and already checked out and fully working.

Today was the fun part of removing the AM and installing the AM/FM. and getting the wiring to match up. You have to remove half the dash just to get to the three screws that hold the radio in. Two hours of labor to get to the radio and 2 minutes to install it.

Now everything actually works - the AM/FM radio, four speakers, four power windows and four power door locks! YAY

markinnaples
05-13-2020, 03:15 PM
Nice job Steve. That is one beautiful Lincoln.

GM Powertrain
05-22-2020, 01:56 PM
Steve, how about a factory 429CJ intake and Q-Jet, 2 1/2 mandrel bent dual exhaust and a 3.25 Traction-Lok for it?

njsteve
05-22-2020, 07:02 PM
It has a weird 9-3/8" rear with the prehistoric rear wheel ABS that took its pulse sensing off the pinion. So I doubt anyone makes gears for it.

I'd would like to find some 429 Ford polished aluminum valve covers for it. That would be a cool addition. Or a Boss 429 head conversion...

big gear head
05-23-2020, 01:54 AM
The 9 inch chunk fits in place of the 9 3/8 chunk. You can't put a 9 3/8 chunk in a 9 inch housing because the ring gear will not fit into the housing. From the back side the 9 and 9 3/8 housings look the same, but if you look at the opening in the front you will see that the 9 3/8 housing has notches to clear the larger ring gear. So any 31 spline 9 inch chunk will fit into your 9 3/8 housing. I have a 9 3/8 Traction Lock chunk, but I can't remember what the gear ratio is.

njsteve
06-21-2020, 11:39 PM
I spent the day pulling apart the steering column to fix the tilt assembly. All late 1960's through the late 1970's Ford tilt units have a flaw in their design. The .25 cent pin that is supposed to be press fitted into the lower tilt housing slides half way out over the years and no longer fully engages with the teeth on the locking pawl assembly. So if you tilt the wheel and apply pressure downward, it will disengage and ratchet down into your lap. Rather disconcerting if it happens while you're driving.

Luckily my Grandfather bought all the repair manuals for the car back in 1971 so I just followed the instructions on how to get to that spot in the column. Three hours later I arrived at the destination.

A Cougar specialty store sells an upgraded pin made from tool steel that has C-clips on both ends so it wont slide out. I had to get mine out to get the correct measurements before buying it.

You can see from the photos, the hanging pin, and the chipped bottom tooth on the pawl. Luckily this is the uppermost tilted position that only Private Detective Frank Cannon needed to drive his car.

njsteve
06-21-2020, 11:49 PM
I also disconnected the heater core. Since I only drive this car in the summer there is no need for heat. Plus, it has that Rube Goldberg automatic, hydromatic, thermostaticly controlled climate system that only allows you to pick a temperature between 65 and 80. No fan speed, No vent control. Just High, Low, Off, Vent, Defrost and De-Ice. It is annoying as hell to have the system constantly opening and closing the heater box and A/C vents to maintain a temperature. Kind of like being in the shower when someone flushes the toilet and suddenly you get scalded.

So I did a little searching on the interwebs and found that a company makes a 180 degree, 5/8" to 3/4" heater block off hose for LS engines (for $11) that was the exact radius I needed to route the heater hoses together. I then bought a couple of rubber caps for $3.

It works great. Now the GM Frigidaire, R-12-filled A/C system actually works and doesn't blow intermittent hot air to even out the temperature to an exact 65 degrees when what I want is an exact 45 degrees all the time. Too bad I can't get the fan speeds to boost in to overdrive.

njsteve
06-21-2020, 11:55 PM
BTW, I would love to put a cool Shelby style wooden steering wheel in the car in case anyone has any aftermarket/repro ideas out there. Any suggestions Ford guys????

L_e_e
06-22-2020, 12:31 AM
I spent the day pulling apart the steering column to fix the tilt assembly. All late 1960's through the late 1970's Ford tilt units have a flaw in their design. The .25 cent pin that is supposed to be press fitted into the lower tilt housing slides half way out over the years and no longer fully engages with the teeth on the locking pawl assembly. So if you tilt the wheel and apply pressure downward, it will disengage and ratchet down into your lap. Rather disconcerting if it happens while you're driving.

Luckily my Grandfather bought all the repair manuals for the car back in 1971 so I just followed the instructions on how to get to that spot in the column. Three hours later I arrived at the destination.

A Cougar specialty store sells an upgraded pin made from tool steel that has C-clips on both ends so it wont slide out. I had to get mine out to get the correct measurements before buying it.

You can see from the photos, the hanging pin, and the chipped bottom tooth on the pawl. Luckily this is the uppermost tilted position that only Private Detective Frank Cannon needed to drive his car.


Yep, you were spot on.....LOL :beers:

a pic of Frank Canon in full tilt up for the younger crowd.

njsteve
06-22-2020, 01:05 AM
Awesome!

njsteve
06-26-2020, 07:08 PM
The fancy-shmancy pin with the C-clips arrived yesterday and I put everything back together today in about two hours. And the tilt now works and holds firm in "Huggy Bear," all the way up to "Frank Cannon" positions without ratcheting down. Amazing. All that work to replace the 25 cent pin with a $32 pin with clips.

I can't complain since West Coast Couger identified a problem, created a solution, and sell a part that fixes it exactly.

https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/catch-locking-pawl-tilt-steering-column-repro-1970-1973-mercury-cougar-/-1970-1973.html?attribs=79

Here's the pin: (it's the thinner one of the two. The thicker own is for the locking lever itself.)

big gear head
06-26-2020, 07:55 PM
I have an advantage, having a lathe, mill and heat treat oven in my shop. When I need something like that I can usually make it pretty quick.

njsteve
07-15-2020, 09:39 PM
I decided to treat the old Lincoln to a new steering wheel. I found a replica 1960's Mustang wheel from GT Performance. It's a lot better quality than the Grant stuff and has CNC machined hubs and horn button assemblies. I did have to wait a week after finding out I needed a horn assembly spacer ring to move the button out by 1/2" to avoid the internal wire terminals hitting the end of the steering shaft under the horn button. The alternative is grinding off the end and I did not want to do that.

So here is how it turned out. The wheel is the same 15" diameter as the original rimblow wheel. The added bonus is that all three horns now work in harmony. The old wheel seemed to have certain sections of the wheel that would play certain individual horns on the car. Weird, I know.

Crush
07-15-2020, 09:45 PM
It’s officially a race car!!

olredalert
07-16-2020, 03:03 PM
----Now you're talking! Nice looking wheel......Bill S

tom406
07-16-2020, 04:08 PM
GT Performance makes nice wheels that aren't prohibitively priced. I used a 3 spoke wood one on the '66 GTO restomod build a few years ago. It was well constructed-vintage looking with proper amount of dish, but had a modern large diameter grip. They also had a Pontiac horn cover for it as well. (It was nice to find good things off-the-shelf occasionally on that build.)