Are amber parking lights correct for that vintage?
Dad's 1947 Lincoln coupe
- Thread starter Dave Sherman
- Start date
You may have a bad condenser. Those do fail and no spark then.
Tiny carb for 12 cylinders!
I've read each post with relish.
This is quite the project.
Hydraulic window cylinders, all the wiring so far...and you haven't addressed the interior except for mentioning replacing some carpeting.
1) Is the "it's only original once" proviso applicable here being the car has been repainted twice already?
THINK: That ship has sailed.
2) NOONE has mentioned those horns! Do they toot?
3) Given the car's flat windshield, is it a sports car? I ask because my MG TC, TD and TF1500 friends cited flat windshields as a criteria.
4) Airbag it? ...so you can do the bouncy-bouncy SoCAL thing? (only kidding)
This is quite the project.
Hydraulic window cylinders, all the wiring so far...and you haven't addressed the interior except for mentioning replacing some carpeting.
1) Is the "it's only original once" proviso applicable here being the car has been repainted twice already?
THINK: That ship has sailed.
2) NOONE has mentioned those horns! Do they toot?
3) Given the car's flat windshield, is it a sports car? I ask because my MG TC, TD and TF1500 friends cited flat windshields as a criteria.
4) Airbag it? ...so you can do the bouncy-bouncy SoCAL thing? (only kidding)
I don't know. The lenses are not tinted, they have amber bulbs behind them. Dad made a few changes to the lighting to be more in-line with modern lighting requirements, so it would not surprise me if they weren't original.
Lots of progress this weekend. The electrical system on this car is really the weakest link at this point, but I'm making lots of improvement. The parking/turn lights are reinstalled, the headlights have new sockets and harnesses made, and I got the fog lamps repaired. The fog lamps weren't showing any signs of life before, but I'm not ruling out that the fog lamp switch could have problems. I ohmed out the fog lamp wires, and found one was open circuit, and the other showed what looked like an appropriate resistance for a light bulb. Took a chance and jumped that lamp to the battery, and it lit up, but very dimly.
Got the fog lamps out, and found the wiring to those was just as bad as the turn signals and headlights. Also found that the ground lug on one had broken off inside the housing. At this point, pretty much all the wiring from the firewall forward is going to be all new. Eventually I want to rewire the whole car, but at least the wiring under the dash is in much better condition. Also discovered that the wires to the front lights have been tinkered with before, because I found some messy splices under the hood covered with old electrical tape. That settled it, I'm not messing around with this messy wiring, it's getting replaced.
Today, I overhauled the headlight switch because I had no lights at all in the parking light position. Turns out it's easy to disassemble. Got the corroded terminals cleaned up, cleaned up the old, dried up grease, and put some dielectric grease on the contacts and detents. MUCH better now, all the contacts are working, the dash lights work in both positions, and the switch works smoothly. At this point, all the exterior lights light up when they get power, the headlight switch is working properly, and I've almost got the old wire loom under the hood removed.
Got the fog lamps out, and found the wiring to those was just as bad as the turn signals and headlights. Also found that the ground lug on one had broken off inside the housing. At this point, pretty much all the wiring from the firewall forward is going to be all new. Eventually I want to rewire the whole car, but at least the wiring under the dash is in much better condition. Also discovered that the wires to the front lights have been tinkered with before, because I found some messy splices under the hood covered with old electrical tape. That settled it, I'm not messing around with this messy wiring, it's getting replaced.
Today, I overhauled the headlight switch because I had no lights at all in the parking light position. Turns out it's easy to disassemble. Got the corroded terminals cleaned up, cleaned up the old, dried up grease, and put some dielectric grease on the contacts and detents. MUCH better now, all the contacts are working, the dash lights work in both positions, and the switch works smoothly. At this point, all the exterior lights light up when they get power, the headlight switch is working properly, and I've almost got the old wire loom under the hood removed.
Today, I got the main lighting harness and dimmer switch out of the car. Turned out to be a good thing, the horn wire was bundled into the loom running along the side of the hood, and it was fraying. New horn wire made with new bullet connectors, and I've a good portion of the new lighting harness made. I found a company that makes reproduction wiring harnesses, but they are expensive. Between wire, connectors, wire ends, and wire loom, my expense has only been around $200 so far. Hopefully I can finish up the wire harness tomorrow.
I’d suggest putting it back how your dad had it, and driving it once or twice a month.
The car is priceless, and doesn’t need new paint. IMO
I knew a Doctor that had a ‘68 Jag in college, and years later restored it factory.
Told me he liked it better before the restoration.
The car is priceless, and doesn’t need new paint. IMO
I knew a Doctor that had a ‘68 Jag in college, and years later restored it factory.
Told me he liked it better before the restoration.
Not sure. The 46-48 Lincolns were the last American cars to offer a V-12, so that makes them pretty unique. Dad tells me a lot of them had later V-8s installed instead. I've only seen two others at car shows, a 46 and a 48 that still had the V-12.
That's one of the reasons I'm not buying the expensive reproduction harness, dad's modifications wouldn't work with a factory harness. Trying to keep his mods since it meets modern lighting requirements. I'm on the fence on paint. Some parts really need some touch up. I know getting it done professionally would be expensive.
Got a few things done to it this weekend, I've got the bulk of the new wiring installed under the hood, and I've got the dimmer switch reinstalled under the floor. I didn't correctly guesstimate the number of bullet connectors I would need to build a new harness, so I'm short a couple. New ones on the way, but I've got most of the lighting reconnected. I went at it with the grease gun and got the dozen or so grease fittings lubed up. Curiosity got the better of me today, and I finally had to see if it could leave the garage. I can safely say it finally moved a few inches on its own power!
Got the wires situated where they need to be, and with the delivery of parts today, got the last of the connectors soldered on. Plugged in all the connectors, and we have lights again! I had to remove the new loom to route the wires, but it's coming along. Now to get the turn signals working!
It's alive! That is cool to see all the lights working. Now it looks like more that something filling up a spot in the garage. Great work.
Turn signals and brake lights are fixed!!
I think it was a combination of the flaky bullet connectors under the hood, a couple more flaky bullet connectors under the dash, and this thing...
It's an aftermarket hazard flasher unit that dad added, probably in the 1960s. Not a complicated design, but the wires used some "vampire taps" to clip on to the brake and turn signal wires. Well, you can imagine how well the vampire taps were working after some 50 years. It's supposed to pass the brake light signal through, but when you turn it on, then the flasher flashes the brake and turn signals together. Seems those vampire taps weren't passing the brake signal through, and since it had dirty contacts, the flasher itself wasn't working. Got it uncrimped and shot some contact cleaner into it, and it seems it will work again. Definitely ditching the vampire taps to reconnect it, however. Got the brake light wires jumped together, so the brake lights are alive, and the signals are working now that I've replaced the bullet connectors.
Almost roadworthy!
I think it was a combination of the flaky bullet connectors under the hood, a couple more flaky bullet connectors under the dash, and this thing...
It's an aftermarket hazard flasher unit that dad added, probably in the 1960s. Not a complicated design, but the wires used some "vampire taps" to clip on to the brake and turn signal wires. Well, you can imagine how well the vampire taps were working after some 50 years. It's supposed to pass the brake light signal through, but when you turn it on, then the flasher flashes the brake and turn signals together. Seems those vampire taps weren't passing the brake signal through, and since it had dirty contacts, the flasher itself wasn't working. Got it uncrimped and shot some contact cleaner into it, and it seems it will work again. Definitely ditching the vampire taps to reconnect it, however. Got the brake light wires jumped together, so the brake lights are alive, and the signals are working now that I've replaced the bullet connectors.
Almost roadworthy!
You may want to try Poppy’s Patina, or the Vice Grip Garage brush on clear. Both can be brushed on or sprayed and offer protection the old paint currently cannot.
I’ve always been a restore it fully person, but some cars should be preserved as survivors.
I too missed this thread!
Very very cool. Period.
Very very cool. Period.
I surely do appreciate y'alls comments and advice, they are encouraging to get it back to being roadworthy again. I'm happy to share this project and I'm glad you all enjoy reading about it. My family, especially my dad, are thrilled by the progress, and I'm happy to be applying everything dad's taught me to be able to bring his baby back to life. Seems a little daunting at times to work through all the kinks, knowing there are more kinks to get through yet, and probably many more kinks I haven't found yet, but I have to remind myself the MG needed a lot of work to get it back on the road after a long hiatus.
No pictures this evening, but I got half the new wiring bundled into the new loom material. Also made a new harness for the oil pressure sender since that wire was also fraying a little. Got the wires tucked up under the edge of the hood and got the brackets back in to support them. Also got the hazard flasher reassembled, so it's ready to go back in under the dash.
No pictures this evening, but I got half the new wiring bundled into the new loom material. Also made a new harness for the oil pressure sender since that wire was also fraying a little. Got the wires tucked up under the edge of the hood and got the brackets back in to support them. Also got the hazard flasher reassembled, so it's ready to go back in under the dash.
