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New owner of old Lincoln....


Guest Lincoln54Capri

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

Greetings...............I'm in the process of purchasing a 1954 Lincoln Capri 4 door sedan and I have a couple of questions. Was A/C available that year? I saw a list of available options and A/C wasn't on it. I'm not a big fan of A/C on old cars anyway but I was just curious because that's right around the time it became available on some makes of cars. Also, what kind of gas mileage should I expect from this 4500 pound tank? Is premium necessary with the 317.5 V8 engine? I'm sure I'll be back later with more questions. Thanks in advance...............Dave in KY :)

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Guest 65Starfire

I believe that AC was not available from the factory until 55. If you are lucky with a rebuilt carb and a petronix point replacement with platinum plugs you should get around 12/17. Use Premium gas and an oil with zinc.

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

Thanks for the info. The windshield has several rock chips and some wiper marks. Does anyone make replacement windshields or do I need to find a used one in a junkyard somewhere?

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Guest 65Starfire
Thanks for the info. The windshield has several rock chips and some wiper marks. Does anyone make replacement windshields or do I need to find a used one in a junkyard somewhere?

They are not that uncommon - you may want to try the Lincoln Mercury Old Parts store and see if Herb has one. They have parted out a bunch of cars... They may know of someone who makes new glass as well.

www.lincolnoldparts.com/

Good luck!

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

I checked Herb's site and he doesn't have one listed. Can you recommend a fabric company other than SMS that may have some material similar to the green cloth used on the seats in my Lincoln? I need to have the front seat redone. The only thing wrong with the back seat is a split in the end of the fold down center armrest which may be able to be sewn back together so I may leave that one as it is....

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I found a new windshield on Craigslist for a '54 Lincoln for $200 already boxed up but it's in the Seattle area and the guy doesn't want to ship it.

The Lincoln is being delivered tomorrow so I'll get to check it out for the first time. The seller is leaving around 6 AM and is 40 miles north of Chicago (about 360 miles away) so hopefully he'll be here right after lunch. Here's some pics of it.

1954LincolnForSale147.jpg photo by John_Mc_photos | Photobucket

Would anyone happen to know of any other Lincoln web sites with forums similar to this one? This thread has been viewed 140 times and only one person has responded. Thanks again for your help, 65Starfire. What part of the country are you in?

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Guest 65Starfire

I'm in New Orleans and you may want to visit the Mark II Forum (www.markiiforum.com) There are a lot of helpful guys there just don't call a Mark II a Lincoln cause its not. However a lot of the running gear is similar and this guys PARTICIPATE!

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

There's a '56 Mark II for sale on the site and the seller calls it a Lincoln Continental Mark II. My '54 isn't a Mark II, it's a 4 door Capri. Do you know of any LINCOLN sites that have forums?

I talked to the seller a few minutes ago and he was 50 miles north of Indianapolis so he should be here in about 3 hours at 1:30 PM ET. He said he hit a bunch of potholes going through Chicago and one of the headlight trim rings fell off....

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

The sun finally came out yesterday for the first time in almost a week so I took some pics of the Lincoln. I bought a set of Cooper radials for it on Monday and it drives about 110% better than it did with the bias ply tires. It runs great and since the heater works I can enjoy driving it this time of year.... :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest gvicari

KY, in case you haven't consummated your purchase, I have put my 1953 Lincoln Capri COUPE up for sale. Much more appealing than a 4 door. It's on my company website www.vicariAutohaus.com. See Vicari Autohaus | LINCOLN | Palatine, Illinois . Drove it all summer, turned a lot of heads. Moving on to other fun cars this summer. $13,993 rock bottom firm. Unmolested. $4500 service work done in the past 1.5 years. Runs strong.

Gary Vicari

gvicari@ToyotaArlington.com

847.485.1200

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Guest Lincoln54Capri

The previous owner replaced all the brake lines and cylinders and they work fine. I don't really care how "tired" they look, as long as they work fine that's my only concern....

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Guest 65Starfire

I'm glad to hear that I always check the breaks with a single cylinder a leak can lead to no breaks fast! Again congrats!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Air conditioning was an option on the Lincoln in 1953. The evaporator was mounted in the trunk and there were two clear plastic tubes that distributed the cool air in the passenger compartment.

Gary, What kind of work was done to the Lincoln? I saw a photo of a similar car that only moved going backwards on E-Bay last spring.

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Guest Lincoln54Capri
I have put my 1953 Lincoln Capri COUPE up for sale. Much more appealing than a 4 door.

It's also much more expensive than a 4 door. Besides, most of the people who will be riding in the car are in their 50s and 60s so I decided to be more considerate of them and buy a 4 door this time....

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