Today, got the hazard flasher put back together and reconnected. Got it back in place, and noticed that the driver's side courtesy light was out again. Darn thing has been driving me up the wall as it comes and goes. Found out the bullet connector that goes over the hazard switch was being flaky. Got it replaced, put it back together, and that's when I found the frayed spot on the wire the hard way. It bumped the body of the hazard switch and SPARK! Yikes! No damage, thankfully. Got some heat shrink tubing on that section of wire, and got it lashed out of the way. Now the courtesy light is working reliably, the hazard flasher is working, and I got the aftermarket reverse lights working again.
Dad's 1947 Lincoln coupe
- Thread starter Dave Sherman
- Start date
I've got the new wires bundled into the loom material, and almost got them routed into place. One of the screws for the clips that holds the harness in place was also the screw that held the coolant recovery tank in place. That's another one of dad's modifications, it didn't have one originally, the coolant overflow just discharged onto the road. The inside of this tank was pretty messy, and I couldn't see the coolant level. Surprisingly, toilet bowl cleaner and a bottle brush works quite well for cleaning these things. Seems wire handled bottle brushes are a thing of the past, because I needed to bend it to reach it all. That's OK, the plastic handled ones bend pretty easily if you heat them over a heat gun.
Do you know how many. miles were on it when your dad picked it up? Original block and engine? A guy that used to ferry passengers from my local Nissan dealership was a hoot. Walt said his dad had a Hudson that the engine was shot at 40k miles and he helped his dad rebuild it on the shop workbench.
The wiring harness came out nicely, and it looks nice. Got it all routed and tucked away, and it's all working.
Just when I thought things were progressing along, Murphy had to throw a wrench into things. The right side water pump (there are two) decided to let go. It's dripping coolant at a pretty good rate. The left side probably isn't far behind, it's very wet.
Fortunately, there's a guy who specializes in rebuilding them. I could buy a kit and do it myself, but I'm not confident in my ability. I reached out to him, and his price is pretty reasonable. Took me 3 hours, and the service manual doesn't mention that you pretty much have to take the distributor off first. The water pumps are off, they are reasonably degreased, and the rebuilder is ready for them. Guess while he's rebuilding them, it's a good time to revisit the window pump.
Just when I thought things were progressing along, Murphy had to throw a wrench into things. The right side water pump (there are two) decided to let go. It's dripping coolant at a pretty good rate. The left side probably isn't far behind, it's very wet.
Fortunately, there's a guy who specializes in rebuilding them. I could buy a kit and do it myself, but I'm not confident in my ability. I reached out to him, and his price is pretty reasonable. Took me 3 hours, and the service manual doesn't mention that you pretty much have to take the distributor off first. The water pumps are off, they are reasonably degreased, and the rebuilder is ready for them. Guess while he's rebuilding them, it's a good time to revisit the window pump.
Not sure how many miles when dad got it, but he thinks it may have rolled over once before got it. It has rolled over once he's owned it. It's either got 130,000 or 230,000 miles on it now. Not the original block though, he had a parts car and rebuilt the engine from that one. The original engine is in pieces in the back of my garage.
No news on the water pumps yet, but it's only been a little over a week, and the guy was projecting 3 weeks to rebuild them. I got back to the window pump, and the first surprise was while it was sitting in the trunk, it didn't take long for the relief valve to get stuck again, necessitating some penetrating oil and getting it to move freely again. I bought a new solenoid, and now it runs without the terminals getting hot. However, still no fluid coming out of the outlet. Called up Hydro-e-lectric, and looks like I'll be shipping it off to their experts to give it a clean bill of health.
Really eager to drive it for the first time, especially now that it has working lights again. Oh well, Hydro-e-lectric says it's only about a 1 week turnaround on the window pump, so if I get it off to them this week, maybe I'll have rebuilt water pumps arriving about the same time.
Really eager to drive it for the first time, especially now that it has working lights again. Oh well, Hydro-e-lectric says it's only about a 1 week turnaround on the window pump, so if I get it off to them this week, maybe I'll have rebuilt water pumps arriving about the same time.
Getting closer to that light at the end of the tunnel. After 3 weeks in capable hands, the water pumps have been rebuilt, and they look brand new! Big shout out to Skip Haney in Punta Gorda, Florida who specializes in vintage Ford water pumps, distributors and coils. Water pumps are back in, and replaced a bunch of old hose clamps. The hoses are new, thankfully. Picked up 7 gallons of coolant, since the stated capacity is 27 quarts, and I certainly got more than 6 gallons out it when I was draining it. Got it refilled, got the distributor back in, and the engine fired right up. Knock on wood, just one small leak from a loose hose clamp, but looks like all the coolant leaks are fixed.
In other developments, the power window pump is kaput. I sent it out Hydro-e-lectric, and they concur, it's beyond repair. They couldn't get more than half the rated pressure out of it, so it was not going to work. So, plan B is they have a new design pump to replace the old one. Looks a little different from the original, but it mounts and works the same. They knocked a little off the price since I let them keep the old one as a core, but a brand new pump is on the way and should be here any day now.
In other developments, the power window pump is kaput. I sent it out Hydro-e-lectric, and they concur, it's beyond repair. They couldn't get more than half the rated pressure out of it, so it was not going to work. So, plan B is they have a new design pump to replace the old one. Looks a little different from the original, but it mounts and works the same. They knocked a little off the price since I let them keep the old one as a core, but a brand new pump is on the way and should be here any day now.
Wow! If the internals of the water pumps have been given anywhere near the detail that the exterior has, you should be in great shape for the cooling system.
I've seen specialty rebuilt parts for exotic cars before, and they don't look like they got near the attention that those pumps did.
I've seen specialty rebuilt parts for exotic cars before, and they don't look like they got near the attention that those pumps did.
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Lots of progress today. I had one leaky hose clamp at the radiator that I replaced and tightened up. That one was a pain, it's near the fan and it's in a tight spot being next to the radiator. Then, I had bought new spark plugs for it a while back, and it dawned on me they were still sitting on the passenger seat. Looking at the old ones, they had definitely seen better days. I remember it must have been around 1985 when I helped dad replace them.
Once I confirmed the coolant leaks were fixed and the the spark plugs were regapped (ugh, regapping 12 spark plugs stinks), I decided that it might be time for a drive, finally. I can say that the last time I know for sure it was driven was probably 1996. Finally, after more than a year of tinkering in my garage, It made a short drive and back, but I see it's going to need a few things yet. It was hesitating badly on acceleration, so I'm wondering if I have a vacuum leak or the distributor advance is flaky. Also heard a squeal from the belt, so I guess I need to tighten the belt a little more. On the plus side, it rides nice, the engine sounds smooth, temperature stayed normal, clutch and drivetrain sound fine.
Once I confirmed the coolant leaks were fixed and the the spark plugs were regapped (ugh, regapping 12 spark plugs stinks), I decided that it might be time for a drive, finally. I can say that the last time I know for sure it was driven was probably 1996. Finally, after more than a year of tinkering in my garage, It made a short drive and back, but I see it's going to need a few things yet. It was hesitating badly on acceleration, so I'm wondering if I have a vacuum leak or the distributor advance is flaky. Also heard a squeal from the belt, so I guess I need to tighten the belt a little more. On the plus side, it rides nice, the engine sounds smooth, temperature stayed normal, clutch and drivetrain sound fine.
Well, pooh. After scratching my head on why it was having trouble idling and hesitating at low speeds, I thought I would check the compression. Found two unpleasant surprises. First surprise, those brand new spark plugs I had put in before my brief test drive? When I pulled all 12 plugs to check the compression, the 6 on the left bank were a little sooty. The 6 on the right bank are still shiny 
. Who knew it could run that well on 6 cylinders? The other downer was cylinder #10 only registered 40 PSI of compression, and #3 shows 50 when all the others were 90-110. Yuck. Ignition problems are easy (but annoying) to fix, that's not so easy to fix. Put the spark tester on all 12, and sure enough, left bank has nice, bright, even flashes, all the right bank is showing random weak flashes. Houston, we have a problem!
. Who knew it could run that well on 6 cylinders? The other downer was cylinder #10 only registered 40 PSI of compression, and #3 shows 50 when all the others were 90-110. Yuck. Ignition problems are easy (but annoying) to fix, that's not so easy to fix. Put the spark tester on all 12, and sure enough, left bank has nice, bright, even flashes, all the right bank is showing random weak flashes. Houston, we have a problem!
Have you considered a piston soak? The rings may be gummed up after all this time, you may have already done it but I have not read the whole thread.
Nothing good comes easy 
All part of the adventure! Thanks for the updates.
All part of the adventure! Thanks for the updates.I could try that, I had only put a couple squirts of oil down the spark plug holes initially. Since the exhaust is looking a little smoky, perhaps that's what's going on.
Today, tried to get the new window pump going, and ran into a snag. It's an aftermarket pump, and they don't tell you up front that it's not a drop in replacement. Got it mounted, made a bracket to re-locate the solenoid, but it turns out the outlet fitting is different from the stock pump. Grr... Looks like it might be a creative combination of fittings to get it connected.
Getting to this low compression issue. On the plus side, I stuck my borescope down in through the spark plug holes, and it looks good. Valves are not stuck, and they are opening and closing. I ran it briefly, pulled the spark plugs, and on a whim, put the adapter from the compression tester in, and ran an air hose from my compressor to try to figure out whether it was leaky valves or rings. I had run it briefly, so there were some fumes from blowby, and after pressurizing #10 and #3 with the valves closed, I saw some smoke blowing from the breather tube, but I didn't hear anything from the exhaust pipe or the carburetor, so perhaps it's just some sticky rings.
Any tips on trying a piston soak?
Getting to this low compression issue. On the plus side, I stuck my borescope down in through the spark plug holes, and it looks good. Valves are not stuck, and they are opening and closing. I ran it briefly, pulled the spark plugs, and on a whim, put the adapter from the compression tester in, and ran an air hose from my compressor to try to figure out whether it was leaky valves or rings. I had run it briefly, so there were some fumes from blowby, and after pressurizing #10 and #3 with the valves closed, I saw some smoke blowing from the breather tube, but I didn't hear anything from the exhaust pipe or the carburetor, so perhaps it's just some sticky rings.
Any tips on trying a piston soak?
Some success, I did a piston soak on #10 and #3, and the compression tester is showing 90 PSI on those. Pulled the coil off, and cleaned up the terminals with some De-oxit. Putting it back together and crossing my fingers, the spark tester is showing strong spark again on the right bank. Indeed, the MMO I put down those two cylinders ensured there are no mosquitoes in my garage. Wife got home just as I had it running, and asked if I'm driving it again. Ah, that's a hard NO until I'm sure it's going to keep running on 12 cylinders 
. The IR thermometer confirmed both cylinder heads are hot, so good for now.
. The IR thermometer confirmed both cylinder heads are hot, so good for now.Son your gona drive me to drinkin if you dont stop driving that hot rod lincoln...... 
I heard this on the radio yesterday and wondered how this car was coming along. Thanks for the updates!Son your gona drive me to drinkin if you dont stop driving that hot rod lincoln......
Been a little while, busy with home projects and other things. Today, doing some routine maintenance that hasn't been done in a while. No telling when the last oil change was, but it was probably more than two years ago. Dad left me some new oil filters, so today was changing the oil since it's had some Berryman's put down the cylinders.
Small snag when the new oil filter includes a new gasket for the housing, but it's a paper and the diameter was a little too large to fit in the lid without kinking, so I re-used the rubber gasket. New filter and 5 1/2 quarts of Rotella T5 10W-30.
After the oil change, some attention to the oil bath air cleaner. Yuck! Quite the collection of sludge and grime in that. Washed the element, dumped the sludgy oil out, wiped up the crud, and filled it with some fresh oil.
Now I've got a suitable hose to connect the replacement power window pump, the pump was returned after having an adjustment done on it, and hopefully the power windows will work again!
Small snag when the new oil filter includes a new gasket for the housing, but it's a paper and the diameter was a little too large to fit in the lid without kinking, so I re-used the rubber gasket. New filter and 5 1/2 quarts of Rotella T5 10W-30.
After the oil change, some attention to the oil bath air cleaner. Yuck! Quite the collection of sludge and grime in that. Washed the element, dumped the sludgy oil out, wiped up the crud, and filled it with some fresh oil.
Now I've got a suitable hose to connect the replacement power window pump, the pump was returned after having an adjustment done on it, and hopefully the power windows will work again!
