Dad's 1947 Lincoln coupe

[Dave Sherman]

It was a long and storied journey, but my dad's 1947 Lincoln is finally home. Dad had it since college, and he was the third owner. The odometer has rolled over twice (!) since he's had it. He retired out in Arizona about 15 years ago, and he had worked on trying to get it roadworthy again as it had been dormant for a while. Unfortunately, he had some significant health issues crop up last year, and my sisters asked me to take the car since it looks like mom and dad will be moving into assisted living soon. Looks like I have some work ahead of me. It's got some electrical problems, a weak starter, non-functional power windows, and the paint is not great. On the plus side, he did finish putting a new clutch in it, replaced a worn out final drive bearing in the transmission, replaced the brake lines, overhauled the brakes, and it has new radiator and heater hoses. Also have several boxes of spare parts for it.

After an aborted attempt to tow it cross country with a U-Haul car carrier, I left it to the pros and they delivered it this morning. Mom, Dad, and my sisters are glad it arrived safely, and hopefully I'll have it roadworthy again soon.

Some deets:

1947 Lincoln model 76H coupe
292 cubic inch (4.8l) V-12 engine
3 speed manual transmission with electric overdrive
Power windows
Remote control AM radio
Electric clock
Trip odometer

 

[bullwinkle]

THAT’S the definition of a lead sled! Chrome looks really good too! Don’t see those often here.

 

[fantastic]

Excellent example! Let us know your progress.

 

[gman2304]

Good for you! A pic of that V12 would be nice! If only that back seat could talk !

 

[drtyler]

Thats quite all right.

I would get the mechanicals and brakes sorted, and enjoy it. Wash, clean, polish the exterior as best you can, but I wouldn’t consider new paint.

 

[TheLastWord]

Yes awesome. 6V or 12V electrical?

Engine pic a must!

One piece windshield!

 

[daves87rs]

Very cool!

 

[Al]

Wow

 

[NormanBuntz]

It's good your garage is deep enough to hold that long beauty. Gotta love those fender skirts.

 

[TCL]

Is that a ticket on the passenger side window?
Beautiful car!

 

[eljefino]

Nice! I'm digging the styling compromise of having vs not having running boards.

 

[loneryder]

How are parts availability?

 

[JHZR2]

Neat car. Can wait to hear about the rebuild.

V-12 that’s awesome!!

 

[Dave Sherman]

Good for you! A pic of that V12 would be nice! If only that back seat could talk !

You've got it!

Yes awesome. 6V or 12V electrical?

Engine pic a must!

One piece windshield!

6 volt, positive ground just to make things interesting. Must keep reminding myself that black is positive, red is negative.

Thats quite all right.

I would get the mechanicals and brakes sorted, and enjoy it. Wash, clean, polish the exterior as best you can, but I wouldn’t consider new paint.

That's actually not the original color. Dad repainted it twice, first a light blue and the color you see now. Was originally a very dark metallic blue, there are some places where it has flaked away and you can see the original color underneath. No plans to paint it anytime soon, but some places need some touch up to keep the rust at bay.

It's good your garage is deep enough to hold that long beauty. Gotta love those fender skirts.

Ha ha, no kidding! When my sisters asked, I told them I had to measure the car and my garage first, since it only cleared dad's garage by a few inches. It's a long car at 18' 6".

Is that a ticket on the passenger side window?
Beautiful car!

Heh, no, that's the receipt from the tow truck, I just stuck it there for the moment. The car transporters delivered it on a semi truck, but they couldn't get it in my garage since it's not running at the moment. Had to call a local flatbed truck to move it the last 50 feet since my driveway is a hill.

 

[Dave Sherman]

How are parts availability?

Let's just say I'm glad dad scrounged a bunch of parts from a parts car, some parts are pretty hard to find. I've got a spare carburetor, distributor, generator, starter, a couple of master cylinders, rebuild kits for the wheel cylinders, a spare radio, spare window pump (the power windows are hydraulic) a couple of water pumps (it uses two), and he still has a spare engine block and transmission. He also has a crate of parts that I'm planning on hauling back later this year. Apparently I can still get oil filters for it, and I brought back a couple dad had on hand.

Oh yeah, the one big question. What oil should I use? I'm partial to Rotella T5 10W-30. I'm pretty sure dad used Pennzoil 10W-30.

 

[captainbeandip]

Wow, factory 6v power windows from 1947? I would have never guessed that was a thing. I just googled power windows and found out the first vehicle to have them was a 1941 Packard. Bleeding edge of the technology for sure.

What is a "remote control" AM radio? Is the radio actually some huge thing filled with vacuum tubes that's located in the trunk or something?

Very cool car!!! I think most of them were destroyed by Tommy gun fire back in the day.

Edit... I just processed that you said hydraulic windows. How does that work? Is there a hydraulic pump driven by the engine that sends fluid through rubber hoses around the door hinges some how?

This car has so many things about it that I'm not even able to comprehend right now.

 

[Jdeere562]

That would be a neat old car for parades if you get things all sorted out!

 

[fdcg27]

This is a lovely old car, especially since it's largely original.
We had some family friends who had a post-war Continental V-12 that they inherited in similar circumstances.
It was a ragtop and was a neat old car. They also had some sort of pre-war Rolls which I remember riding in.
Anyway, this is a really special car and I wish you the best of luck in putting it back on the road.
An unrestored original with family history going back decades is priceless for the sentimental value it has.
As they say, a car can only be original once while it can be restored as many times as someone wants to pay for.

 

[Trav]

Loving that car, it checks all the boxes!

 

[drtyler]

Let's just say I'm glad dad scrounged a bunch of parts from a parts car, some parts are pretty hard to find. I've got a spare carburetor, distributor, generator, starter, a couple of master cylinders, rebuild kits for the wheel cylinders, a spare radio, spare window pump (the power windows are hydraulic) a couple of water pumps (it uses two), and he still has a spare engine block and transmission. He also has a crate of parts that I'm planning on hauling back later this year. Apparently I can still get oil filters for it, and I brought back a couple dad had on hand.

Oh yeah, the one big question. What oil should I use? I'm partial to Rotella T5 10W-30. I'm pretty sure dad used Pennzoil 10W-30.

Valvoline VR1 10W-30 is at Walmart now in 5 quart jugs. Engine probably doesn’t need the extra zddp, but its priced pretty well. I use it in many older cars.