Impressive work on an impressive car...
Dad's 1947 Lincoln coupe
- Thread starter Dave Sherman
- Start date
So close, and yet so far. I wanted to get to the window cylinders to make sure they weren't frozen before trying to raise the windows. Between dad's memory, a not-very-detailed service manual, and some fragmented info on the internet, I got the door panels off. Ford did not make it easy. Have to take the upper window frame out, and they had clever and undocumented ways of hiding fasteners that hold the door panel on. The good news is I can grip the window and lift it by hand, and the window cylinder is moving freely. I hooked up the hydraulic line, reconnected the window switches, reconnected the battery, and... Pump runs, but no movement. 
I pulled the hydraulic hose off the firewall connection again, verified again it's pumping fluid, but if I put my thumb over the end of the hose, there's no pressure building up. Argh... I don't see fluid gushing out anywhere, so I have a feeling maybe the pressure relief valve is stuck open. It's supposed to open if you run the window up until it stops and return fluid to the reservoir. Since I don't fluid leaking out, and it's obviously not producing the 200 PSI it's supposed to, I have a feeling that's exactly what's happening.
Ah well, guess the pump will be coming out again another day. Enjoying a little single malt Scottish highland goodness right now after a busy weekend.
I pulled the hydraulic hose off the firewall connection again, verified again it's pumping fluid, but if I put my thumb over the end of the hose, there's no pressure building up. Argh... I don't see fluid gushing out anywhere, so I have a feeling maybe the pressure relief valve is stuck open. It's supposed to open if you run the window up until it stops and return fluid to the reservoir. Since I don't fluid leaking out, and it's obviously not producing the 200 PSI it's supposed to, I have a feeling that's exactly what's happening.Ah well, guess the pump will be coming out again another day. Enjoying a little single malt Scottish highland goodness right now after a busy weekend.
Interesting.So close, and yet so far. I wanted to get to the window cylinders to make sure they weren't frozen before trying to raise the windows. Between dad's memory, a not-very-detailed service manual, and some fragmented info on the internet, I got the door panels off. Ford did not make it easy. Have to take the upper window frame out, and they had clever and undocumented ways of hiding fasteners that hold the door panel on. The good news is I can grip the window and lift it by hand, and the window cylinder is moving freely. I hooked up the hydraulic line, reconnected the window switches, reconnected the battery, and... Pump runs, but no movement.
Ah well, guess the pump will be coming out again another day. Enjoying a little single malt Scottish highland goodness right now after a busy weekend.
View attachment 248383
What if both sides were activated at the same time?
Robust construction like everything else. Same basic design 75 years later.
Lube the slider tracks.
100% do not ever repaint!!!!!!
Update: The window pump is giving me big headaches. Rebuilt it with a kit I bought, but it doesn't behave right at all. Could not raise the windows at all while it was in the car, and after disconnecting the hose, it's pumping fluid but there's no pressure behind it. I'm thinking the relief valve may be sticking, but it works smoothly when I test it by hand. Even the folks who supplied the repair kit are stumped. The spare pump I have has a stuck rotor and a stuck relief valve, so I don't know if that one can be resurrected. On a whim, searched around and found somebody had a window pump on eBay from a '47 Continental it appears they are parting out. Here's hoping that this one is in reasonable condition, or pick the pump that appears to be in the best condition and send it out to the rebuilders.
With some surprisingly warmer temperatures, my garage is not freezing at the moment and I can work on it a little. My wife and her mom got their heads together, and found a suitable keychain for it for Christmas with the old Lincoln logo on it. I also went shopping for some parts, namely new hydraulic window hoses and a new ground strap. It must have been replaced at some point, because the ring terminal was 3/8", but since it has to go to the 7/16" cylinder head studs, somebody (possibly my dad) had fabricated an adapter out of a scrap of sheet metal. No doubt that thin piece of metal was not helping when you've got hundreds of amps of cranking current, so with a shiny new ground strap going directly to the stud, it's cranking way better. Stinks that the drivetrain is running well, and it wants to go for a drive for the first time in 15 years, but it's raining and I still don't have all the lights working yet. Soon, I hope!
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
How the heck did I miss this thread?!
Love the old Lincoln flathead V12. My grandfather had the same engine in a 31' Shephard boat that unfortunately was destroyed in a boathouse fire (not our boathouse, we didn't have one long enough to store the boat at the time) along with several other boats back before I was born. The engine survived and it sat in the engine room of our boathouse, along with many others, for years until his death. No idea who owns it now, as it was sold in the estate sale. Wild to see how nary identical the marine application was to the automotive one!
6V positive ground was VERY common back in the day. We had a few boats that were setup with that system, though it was not uncommon to convert them to 12V negative ground during restoration (along with modern gauges that looked period correct).
Here are a couple of pics of the one we owned, sorry they are B&W:
2nd pic, to the left of the V12 is a Chrysler inline-8.
Love this project and look forward to seeing future updates!
Love the old Lincoln flathead V12. My grandfather had the same engine in a 31' Shephard boat that unfortunately was destroyed in a boathouse fire (not our boathouse, we didn't have one long enough to store the boat at the time) along with several other boats back before I was born. The engine survived and it sat in the engine room of our boathouse, along with many others, for years until his death. No idea who owns it now, as it was sold in the estate sale. Wild to see how nary identical the marine application was to the automotive one!
6V positive ground was VERY common back in the day. We had a few boats that were setup with that system, though it was not uncommon to convert them to 12V negative ground during restoration (along with modern gauges that looked period correct).
Here are a couple of pics of the one we owned, sorry they are B&W:
2nd pic, to the left of the V12 is a Chrysler inline-8.
Love this project and look forward to seeing future updates!
It's no fun when the garage is too cold to work in, progress has been quite slow. I was working on trying to resurrect the window pump I found on eBay in the basement. Unfortunately, the pump rotors and relief valve are frozen with rust, but I think the motor parts and the solenoid are usable. Also used it as a Guinea pig, since a number of folks on different sites have suggested using ATF as the hydraulic fluid in the power windows instead of brake fluid. I gather the old hoses are not compatible, but I have new hoses to put in. I took some of the rubber parts from this old eBay pump, soaked them in ATF, and they are not swelling or disintegrating. I'd much rather use ATF, since the brake fluid turns into rusty sludge if you don't replace it annually like the service manual says. Likewise, the window cylinders will weep down if you leave the windows up long term, and that's why the paint along the bottoms of the doors has been touched up over the years. ATF would probably be kinder to the paint, and won't rust the system out from the inside. I was a little concerned about damaging the rubber seals, but multiple folks have said they have had no problems switching over to ATF.
Today's only progress was tightening the generator belt. Started it up for the first time in a couple months, and I'm impressed that it starts right up after a couple months at 30 degrees. Noticed the belt was vibrating a lot and starting to slap the nearby radiator hoses, so I tightened it up. Just need it to warm up so I can replace the hydraulic hoses in the doors, and figure out what's wrong with the turn signals.
Today's only progress was tightening the generator belt. Started it up for the first time in a couple months, and I'm impressed that it starts right up after a couple months at 30 degrees. Noticed the belt was vibrating a lot and starting to slap the nearby radiator hoses, so I tightened it up. Just need it to warm up so I can replace the hydraulic hoses in the doors, and figure out what's wrong with the turn signals.
It's been a month, but finally we have some warmer days and I'm not going to get numb fingers from the cold. Power windows on hold for now. Change of plan, digging into the lights. Oh, dad, you were pretty smart for modifying the lighting so it has an aftermarket hazard flasher and the turn signals and brake lights are combined. Unfortunately, dad didn't leave me any notes or diagrams. The one hard to read factory schematic I found is quite different from what I'm finding under the dash. Tried probing around under the dash and under the hood, and here's what I've found so far:
-Found the wires for the left and right rear signal lights, and they disappear up into the steering column. At least they each light up if I unplug the bullet connectors and jump them to the battery.
-I think I've identified the two wires for the front signal lamps, since it appears they each have a wire branching off towards the speedometer, presumably the turn signal indicators.
-Turn signal flasher has battery voltage going to it even with the ignition off, which is not what the factory diagram shows.
-Some of the things like the door courtesy light are out again, but it appears there's a split in the power distribution, so some things may have come off a large wire the branched off of the window pump solenoid, which is disconnected at the moment.
Also found I should probably not leave the battery connected. Found one chafed wire that was nearly touching the metal steering column, and my meter showed me it was live even though the ignition was off. Indeed, probing around some of the circuit breakers, there are a number of places that are live even when the ignition is off.
-Found the wires for the left and right rear signal lights, and they disappear up into the steering column. At least they each light up if I unplug the bullet connectors and jump them to the battery.
-I think I've identified the two wires for the front signal lamps, since it appears they each have a wire branching off towards the speedometer, presumably the turn signal indicators.
-Turn signal flasher has battery voltage going to it even with the ignition off, which is not what the factory diagram shows.
-Some of the things like the door courtesy light are out again, but it appears there's a split in the power distribution, so some things may have come off a large wire the branched off of the window pump solenoid, which is disconnected at the moment.
Also found I should probably not leave the battery connected. Found one chafed wire that was nearly touching the metal steering column, and my meter showed me it was live even though the ignition was off. Indeed, probing around some of the circuit breakers, there are a number of places that are live even when the ignition is off.
Ahh... Finally a nice sunny day and I've got the big jobs with the yard, the house, and the other cars out of the way. Back to work on this project. Battery is in great shape, and with very little cranking the engine roared to life. Now onto the dodgy lighting. Between the factory diagram, a generic 7 wire turn signal switch diagram, and some probing around, I now have all the wires identified. Looks like most of the problems might just be dirty switch contacts. Used some clip leads, and confirmed both rear signal lights work, the right front signal and dash indicator light up, and the left dash indicator lights up. No left front signal though. Hopefully just a bad bulb. There's an aftermarket hazard flasher unit, and was able to scare up some documentation on it even though it was probably from the 1960s. After a couple hours of probing around, now I've got all the signal wires identified and labeled.
Now to figure out what's wrong with the left front signal lamp, and to replace a bunch of old Scotchloks with something better. Eventually I'd like to run new wires to the headlights and taillights since the wires are looking a little shabby.
Now to figure out what's wrong with the left front signal lamp, and to replace a bunch of old Scotchloks with something better. Eventually I'd like to run new wires to the headlights and taillights since the wires are looking a little shabby.
I always enjoy reading the latest update, when you are able to share your progress with us. I really admire that you keep getting back to working on the car, and haven't given up.
After some consulting with the vintage Lincoln expert and my dad, we figured out the trick to getting the headlight bezels off to find out what's up with the turn signal lamp. A little pushing to unhook the tabs, and it's off. The good news, the turn signal and parking light filaments are good. The bad news, the gaskets between the turn signal lens and between the turn signal bucket and the body were very crispy and came out in several pieces. Worse, those wires from the socket had rubber insulation - in 1947. Now the wire insulation is like dry cake frosting. Just a little pushing on the insulation, and it crumbles. So, I did some shopping and I've got some assorted spools of automotive wire and wire loom on the way. Looks like I've got some rewiring and making some new gaskets ahead of me.
So glad I got the turn signal/parking lamp housings out. Those wires were extra crispy. Even the jacket crumbled into pieces as I was pulling them out. Drilled out the rivets holding the bulb sockets to the housings, and I got the rubber grommets out from the housings. Surprisingly, the grommets are still good. I've got wire and wire looms, and I've got some new bullet connectors on the way. I'm thinking I'll solder the new wires to the remnants on the sockets and cover them with heat shrink tubing, but it looks like I'll need some #8 machine screws and nuts to replace the rivets.
Didn't get to spend a lot of time on it this weekend, a little trouble with a widespread power outage, having to get the generator going since the family was coming Saturday for stepson's graduation party, and we had FIL's birthday party today. Got the crispy wires off the turn/parking light sockets, soldered new wires on, and got some heat shrink tubing to protect the bare wires. Both lamp sockets fixed, now making some new gaskets for the lamp housings and lenses.
Back from vacation, back to this project. Today, making new gaskets for the turn signal housings. The old gaskets pretty much crumbled into several pieces, so I couldn't really use them as templates. Scratched my head on how to make new ones (NOS ones are ridiculously expensive), and came up with using some cut up file folder to use as a template. Used some masking tape to tape it to the fender, cut out the center to make a hole for housing, and mounted the housing to trace it out. Used these to make new gaskets from the sheet of rubberized cork, and since it's out of sight behind the headlight bezel, it doesn't have to be perfect. Now on to repairing the wiring to the headlights, so I have some new headlight sockets on order.
You are the right man for this job! Nice work.
Many thanks!
Today, got the lamp housings reassembled, wires fed through new looms, reflectors and bulbs put back in, and new bullet connectors on the wire ends. Got them reinstalled with the new gaskets, and cut some gasket paper to use on the lens retainers. The lenses are glass, and the dummy lenses in the bezels have felt on the retainers to protect the glass. Figured since they are already chipped along the edges, better to protect them. Got the looms fed through the fenders, and jumped each of the wires to the battery. Success! Nice and bright. New headlight connectors should be arriving tomorrow.
