Father, son and a V8

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LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Tuesday 20th November 2012
quotequote all
SHE RIDES

Guess who's got a brand new MOT!

Tiny bit of work required - new exhaust mount and a bit of wiring etc but she's road legal!

jbi

12,671 posts

204 months

Tuesday 20th November 2012
quotequote all
nice one... did the MOT tester sort the niggles out for you then?

where are going to take her for her first drive?

Edited by jbi on Tuesday 20th November 17:59

airportparking

1,314 posts

162 months

Tuesday 20th November 2012
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Wow never saw this when first posted, but just wow what a story !

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Tuesday 20th November 2012
quotequote all
jbi said:
nice one... did the MOT tester sort the niggles out for you then?

where are going to take her for her first drive?

Edited by jbi on Tuesday 20th November 17:59
Tightened up a loose hose near the power steering pump and topped it up, it seems a lot quieter now, the vacuum leak can wait as its not a massive issue smile

I've got a particular CD and a couple of cigars to get first, but the first stop will be the cemetery and then I'll hit the road and see where it takes me.

Minemapper

933 posts

156 months

Tuesday 20th November 2012
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Great job!

Having just spent a weekend driving a Crown Vic rental in the US, I'm struggling to get my head around running something that size in the UK. Fabulous thing in it's natural environment though, and remarkably effective at clearing a path in 'undercover' black. cool

LuS1fer

41,135 posts

245 months

Tuesday 27th November 2012
quotequote all
Blimey, as one resurfaces, another is struck down:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239161/Ca...

getawayturtle

3,560 posts

174 months

Wednesday 28th November 2012
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LuS1fer said:
Blimey, as one resurfaces, another is struck down:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239161/Ca...
Gutted frown

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
Oh that is a shame frown horrible thing to happen to a loved car.

Latest update:

Thanks to the frankly stunning weather we've been enjoying for the first half of the year, I haven't really been driving the TC all that much.

However that is not to say that its been quiet on the American front....

The TC has been hunting badly and I am sad to say that I have been messed around with by numerous mechanics, some who work on the car but give up, others who promise to get it in but always seem to have another car to work on and to "give us a call next week".
Finding a mechanic you can trust seems to be very difficult these days, I often feel like the lead in a car based romcom - I want to open my heart and trust but I keep getting let down wink

After gratuitous usage of intake cleaner the hunting seems to have disappeared, but its raised another issue (isn't that always the way) in that the car now has a slight misfire. It could be all manner of things but as the car is still drivable its not a massive concern at the present moment.

What *is* a concern is the frankly god awful stereo - a 'RoadMaster' cassette deck that makes anything you play seem to come from deep down in the Mariana Trench. Its the same headunit that came with the car way back in 2006 and it was a pile of crud then, time has not been kind to it. In fact its only saving grace was a 6 CD changer however that has appeared to have died in the wilderness years when the car was out of my ownership.

This will simply not do!

Fortunately due to the somewhat lassez-faire attitude that was prevalent when the Town Car was built, taking the dash apart is easy and getting access to the headunit is simply the matter of a 8 screws.

Perhaps this ease of access should have been taking as a warning sign....

On prying the unit from the dash I was greeted by a rats nest of bodged wires - multiple colours, different gauges, ground loop isolators and a whole load of electrical tape!

Oh joy of joys!

Now to be fair some of this wonderful craftsmanship was my own but still this needed to be sorted properly this time. So out come the wire strippers and a female ISO harness and half an hour later we've got a relatively clean wire job that should last.



Doesn't look too bad either, I have speakers that I want to install but I am quitting whilst I'm ahead this time smile

Speaking of upgrades - I am in the process of locating the parts needed for the fabled H.O conversion.

The engine used in the Lincoln is a 5 litre 'Windsor' V8 that is very similar to the engine used in the Fox Mustang at the time, so much so that a lot of parts are bolt on. With a new cam, cylinder heads, headers and injectors you can go from the Town cars mighty 160 bhp to around 225 and have the benefit of a stronger platform for tinkering further.

So far the parts have come in at £360 and fitting is probably going to be around £700 ish but I think it will be worthwhile.

Time to get saving wink

LuS1fer

41,135 posts

245 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
Misfires are oftendown to old, overheated or burnt plug leads. A new dizzy cap and rotor and a set of leads should eliminate it (Don't forget to sketch which lead goes where first...). Failing that, a new set of plugs won't go amiss.

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
Indeed, though I think it could be duff injectors as all the rest of the bits are brand new.

I also installed a brand new EGR valve yesterday as I accidentally won one on eBay hehe

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Thursday 20th February 2014
quotequote all
Holy resurrection batman!

I've finally sourced all the parts for the upgrade and am now waiting outside the mechanics to drop it off! He's going to be taking pictures as he does stuff so more to come smile

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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Day 0 progress:




Upper intake, lots of hoses and the radiator removed

williredale

2,866 posts

152 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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I'm glad to see this progressing. smile

jaisharma

1,013 posts

183 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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Very nice story good luck!

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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This is the big pile of parts that are going into the car:


TommoAE86

2,668 posts

127 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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Awesome work here and a really wonderful thread! Having a soft spot for yank tanks makes me love this even more smile

mark387mw

2,179 posts

267 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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Great to see the progress.
I have followed this from the start and a re-read of your opening post is well recommended especially to new readers.
Looking forward to your new exploits once you're back on the road. thumbup

Grant76

1,381 posts

205 months

Friday 21st February 2014
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Top stuff op, lovely story.

LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Saturday 22nd February 2014
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Cheers guys, I'm looking forward to actually driving it this Summer (last summer I did about 50 miles!)


LincolnLovin

Original Poster:

2,773 posts

218 months

Monday 24th February 2014
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Sunday update!

Cam shaft, Cylinder heads and Exhaust Manifolds have been removed!

Although we are not retaining the cylinder heads both seemed to be in decent condition which is a good sign. There seems to be a reoccurring theme with this car in that all parts seem to weigh a bloody ton. Each exhaust manifold is about 10 kg, which is crazy considering how small they are, by comparison the replacements are about 8kg combined.

Whilst the exhaust manifolds are weighty they have nothing on the cylinder heads which are difficult to more about outside of the car and damn near impossible to lift out of the engine bay. My finger in the air attempt at weighing them would say they are about 30 kg each, sadly the replacements weigh the same so no adding lightness just yet.

Two problems have highlighted themselves, one is that the exhaust is shagged - both the Y pipe and the EGR pipes are corroded and falling apart. The Y pipe is an easy replacement however the smaller EGR pipes may cause problems, I'll find out this week.


The other is to do with the coolant, or lack there of.

When Chris took the radiator off there was no coolant in the car, which is never a good sign and what was left stunk to high heaven (and was rust coloured). He also found an ice like substance in the thermostat (see picture), now I haven't a clue what it is and since the cylinder heads and gaskets were fine I am not sure what could cause it.

He's managed to get the drain plug off the engine so he's going to flush the block and see what happens.

New parts to order:

o2 sensor, thermostat and headbolts (although these are non stretch bolts it makes sense to replace them