Ray500
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Posts posted by Ray500
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Most of them I've ever seen are painted black in the undercarriage. I think any interior would be the same as the main color of the vehicle. Doors, under dash, floors and such usually match the exterior color unless someone does a customer paint job and then it could be anything. My '41 Zephyr coupe was undercoated sometime before I got it which protects the underside from harsh weather like the northern states where they salt the roads in the winter and that's very corrosive. I wouldn't remove that unless I did a full off body restoration which mine didn't need. For those who live in the snow states the undercoating keeps the chassis and sheet metal from rusting, even in wet climates. It depends on whether or not one actually drives in weather where the car is exposed to the elements. You might get an as-built report if Ford has one. I have mine and it tells about paint and what the vehicle is equipped with when made. Ford lost some of the as-builts in a fire many years ago, but still has a lot of them. Check it out!
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Another idea if you don't trust doing it yourself, I do see some of the merchants do go out to locations and replace windshields. They might make a house call to yours if you ask them. At least call a couple of them and ask if that's an option to at least remove the old glass without breaking it.
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You're gonna destroy the glass seal anyway getting it off, but you can get seals at some places like Steel Rubber and such. The main goal is to preserve the glass as that is hard to replace. A few years ago I was able to get new glass for some of my door windows on my '41 complete with the proper script label. Expensive, but worth it. But not sure about that rear glass. If you can save it that's the best. And the idea of softening the old sealing material is good. After so many years usually the rubber will bind to the glass making it a challenge to get it off a little at a time to expose the glass and get it out of the old seal. I've seen glass people use utility knives to loosen the edges around a glass and remove as much of the old seal as possible. Take your time and good luck with it!
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The way you do it is to go to the nearest auto glass shop and have it properly removed. Otherwise you might break the glass and good luck finding another one!
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Most of the manuals Ford put out on Lincoln weren't always that good. Having a parts catalogue like the one Chris Harrel at Boos Harrel Lincoln (on line) that's free will go a long way in helping identify various parts. Having a car in pieces isn't a good thing, you never know if all the parts are original or even for your model. Body manuals out there can help in putting things together. As to the engine, you might be better off having a company like H&H in California go through it and make it right rather than trying to do it yourself. They have the knowledge of flat heads and can make it run properly and then you can assemble it. You might find other mechanics to assist also. It's well worth the investment to do it right.
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In searching for a remedy of your problems with the ignition, if you think your distributor has any issues, I'd pull it off and send it with the new plates to Skip Haney in Florida for a full check out and calibration just to eliminate that part of the problem. When I checked my 41 Zephyr for distributor problems, I would mount the new (reburbed) plates on one side, measure the gate between the points inside the distributor between the rotor and the 6 points on each side of the distributor and make sure they only have about a ten- thousandth of a gap or distance between the rotor and each plate point that is connected to the spark plugs. Wide gaps mean weak spark delivered to the spark plugs! Do it with the distributor off the engine and do each side while observing it through the open side of the opposite gap with the rotor. Rotors also need replacing at times! If that's OK then the timing on the distributor needs to be reset. Without a setup you won't get it properly syncronized! That's why I recommend you have Skip check it out and sync it and you can put it back on the engine and see where you're at. You also need 2-3 volts dc on each terminal where the caps are. New capacitors should be on it too! These are simple items, but if you want it to run you have to know what's going on with the diatributor. Yes, new 7mm plug wires are also important! Make sure you terminate each end of the plug wires properly so they make good contact. It should run properly if you do these things! Good Luck!
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Contact H&H Motor rebuilders in California. They rebuild all sorts of engines and probably stock the correct gaskets. A photo of your block without the heads would also help in identifying the gasket. The hole pattern on the blocks should be the determining factor in the correct ones. If you have some different heads that could be a problem. Water ports are important for proper cooling and you don't want any water in your crankcase with improper gaskets! Otherwise you will need to get some samples from suppliers or send them one of your old ones to match up!
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Yep....the original was the best, but at least this one has some great 'futuristic' styling in concept. Of course anyone with the original has a much more valuable car! It would have been nice to see it restored to it's original beauty and substance, but the modified one pictured is still a work of art! Let's hope no more of them get their original design changed to this degree!!
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The plates have a 'lock in' tab on them so they fit snugly on the side of the distributor. Just carefully rotate them till they lock into position and put the spring retainer in place an you should be good to go! Once they're locked in place they won't rotate. That way they line up with the rotor operations to fire all 12 plugs synced into place!
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Leaving the ignition turned on can heat up the coil and burn the points without the engine running. And you don't want to charge the battery with things running or turned on in the car. I really prefer to disconnect the battery from the vehicle when charging the battery. I once tried one of the battery cutoff switches, but as it turns out I was losing voltage and current going through the switch. When you only have 6 volts you have to make every volt and amp count! And as batteries do wear out their output drops as they age. I do prefer the Optima battery since it doesn't leak acid on the engine. I'm still waiting for a lithium battery replacement for the traditional 6 volt battery, not sure if they will ever make a good replacement.
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You can charge the battery connected to the vehicle, just make sure of the polarity of the charger leads. Yes, Lincolns of this vintage use positive battery terminal as chassis ground. Just be careful what you hook up keeping the grounding in mind that is different from modern vehicles. Ole Henry's engineers seem to like to be different, no real engineering principles in grounding the positive battery lead. But being kept in perspective as long as the devices of the vehicle are observed, it'll work. Old Fords did the same things along the way! I prefer to leave my Optima batter disconnected from vehicle with a trickle charge to keep it up so when I need it and just reconnect the battery to the car. And you always had to remember when jumping the battery when it ran down from another vehicle, if it was a negative ground you had to keep the leads and vehicles isolated. If the vehicles ever touched each other while trying get the battery jumped you could have some interesting sparks with the two different grounding systems!
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Wes it's a beautiful car! It's always so sad when they've been 'rat-rodded' by those who think they know better than the engineers who created them. Throughout the 40's-60's and beyond we've lost a lot of classic cars to the scrap heap by well-meaning people not realizing the true value of these vehicles. This one appears to be original enough that it can be saved by the right person so dedicated. Luckily parts are available, but it all gets so expensive as time passes to find what you need. Perhaps one day we'll see it strolling down the road reminding us of a much different time when we might have there to understand and appreciate it!
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Nothing can challenge your ambitions on these cars like getting down to the problems that need attention. Yes, those conduits that hold the plug wires are challenging. If you have them off the car best to renew them as you don't want to be doing that job very often. Those wires are 7 mm and are available from different sources, They need the insulation of the 7mm sizes, but getting 6 of them in those conduits can be challenging. I have found that if you mark and pull out the old cables, then cutting new ones to length is the easiest. They mostly need to go in individually, but with a little silicon lube on them they tend to cohabitate easiler. Just be careful around the distributor with the bakelite plates as they are brittle and will crack. Someone does rebuild them. I got a set some time ago when I redid the distributor the last time. Biggest problem I was having was the gap between the rotor and the pins on the plates. There needs to be no more than .010 gap so the spark doesn't have to jump so far. So new or rebuilt rotor and plates are important for the best performance. Good luck with it!!
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The distributor plate is just fitted on the side of the distributor and has 6 spark plug wires attached on each side of the distributor. They might seem 'glued' on, but they should come off with a gentle prying. If you have NOS replacements or the newer rebuilt ones I would install them. If you're careful when you get the plate off the side of the distributor you can see exactly where each plug wire is inserted. You can replace them one at at time or carefully mark them to get them back to their proper hole plug or it won't run! If you notice there are numbers on each plug of the plates on each side as to the corresponding spark plug number position. Carefully unplug each wire and insert it into the new plates and the reattach it to the distributor. Make sure it's locked into position on each side of the distributor. This would also be a good time to replace the spark plug wires (7mm) if you have the ambition!
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Measuring the voltage across the resistors tells you the drop you should expect on the distributor connection. Of course start with clean connections everywhere you can from the battery to the distributor terminals. Ignition switches can be a problem at times. The most important voltage measurement is from ground (positive) to the terminal that comes from the under dash resistors. If it's below 2.5 volts (points closed) need to trace it backwards toward the battery. Yes, you can hook up the distributor without the resistors, but if you leave it that way you'll fry the coils eventually. For a short period it should be fine to get things running. You need clean tight terminals to insure the proper flow of current. I also use a little clear silicon grease on terminals once things are working correctly to keep corrosion down.
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The old fuel lines on these cars were ordinary steel, subject to rusting and corrosion. i am replacing mine with a new 1/4" stainless steel line along with a new electric fuel pump to assist the engine in starting and running. Some might say it's not the original type, but it's functionality that is the subject here and keeping things running. Same with brake lines. Yes cleaning out fuel tanks is important too since we can't get new replacement ones that also can be made of stainless steel. Any new stainless steel fuel tanks are just 'boxes' to hold fuel, not to mimic original tanks. I don't like the idea of coating the inside of the fuel tank with coating material, it can in time break up and clog the system, that's what the filters are good at preventing. But the nature of rusting steel, junk gas with ethanol that adds water to the gas is the big problem. But remember these cars were never produced to last 100 years of which we've shown them can actually happen!
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Check out H & H in California. Great flat head rebuilders!
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Sounds like you have piston ring issues and maybe valve issues too. If you did a compression test on a cylinder and you got oil out of the tail pipe, might be a piston ring issue or a valve issue. If you didn't fill the upper cylinder with oil to do a pressure test not sure how the oil could be coming out of the exhaust system! Usually you just squirt a little oil in each spark plug hole, let it set for a short time and then with the pressure gauge you crank the engine to see what pressure is pumping up by the piston in each one. It should be reading and holding over 100 psi for a good cylinder! If not then either the piston rings are bad or the valving has issues, perhaps both! Also you could have a bad head gasket leaking. Doesn't account for the oil in the exhaust system. The firing camber has to be properly sealed including the valves to get an accurate reading of compression on your pressure gauge!
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Ford clutch plates have 5 springs I believe, Lincolns have more. They are interchangable but you might get more vibration with fewer springs. That became an issue when I had my transmission and overdrive out getting them repaired. Call Chris Harrel @ Boos Harrel Lincoln to get the correct one. Also important is to have the flywheel removed and resurfaced for the best clutch plate connectivity. Any warpage with the flywheel will give you vibrations in the drive line. There may not be any new V12 clutch plates, but they do rebuild them when works. Just like disc brakes, fly wheels warp when they get hot, and they don't return to their original surface integrity when they cool off. Don't forget drive line bearings too!
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Those circuit breakers for the lighting circuits are just in line and don't have any polarity. You can get a complete electrical diagram @ Boos Harrel Lincoln website and down load it to see how it's wired. It's in a pdf format, and this site doesn't allow those types of files. You can download it and print it out if you need to follow the electrical diagram. They also put the wiring colors on each of the circuits, and providing your wiring is still new enough to see colors it should be easy. Having an electrical diagram can help you at times when you have problems. The 39-41 electrical systems are very similar! Good luck with it!
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If you use one of the packaging services, FedEx or UPS, you get a tracking number so you can keep up with your package. You can also insure it for a more money and that way they pay better attention to getting it properly delivered. On an important package also you can have them hold it at one of their stations and go pick it up to avoid any mis-delivery situations!
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Skip helps all of us in need with the delicate repairs of the V12 engines. He seems to be one of the few remaining doing repairs. We lost Jake Fleming some time ago, and not many are picking up the trade as the demand might be waning from other times. If the V12s are to remain running properly the ignition systems will need further repairs and in some cases replacement. None of us are fans of Henry Ford for not simplifying the components and engineering of these engines, but they are the heart and soul of the Lincolns. The dozen or so years of their being installed in the vehicles speaks loudly of them, but those who own them also struggle in a time frame when few original parts are available. Back in that day and time at least there were car dealers and repair shops that supported them. So give Skip time to help you as he's probably overloaded!
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You might try to reach him through the Ford Barn as he's been associated with them in the past. He's usually a very busy guy, so might take some effort to contact him. He's one of the few for Lincoln coil rebuilding and setup for the V12 distributors. And his water pumps are the best rebuilt for the V12. Since we lost Jake Fleming down in Dallas a while back it's not easy to find people with the equipment and know how to assist with these critical items to keep the cars running!
'46 Continental Cabriolet : Color for the floor pan, inside the boot & door skin and chassis rails
in V12 Lincolns Only
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Most all restorations I've seen have the same color inside and out from the factory. Dashboards can be a bit different, but everything else follows color patterns inside the vehicles. If you're not going to enter the vehicle into judging contests, not that important. But traditionally I would keep the color scheme the same. To me that will keep the value of it in coming years. We've seen enough 'rat-rods' of more modern day ideas, but we love these cars for their originality and looks. To me that will also be the attraction of future generations who will also want to collect these cars for their uniqueness and looks. Restoration means just that......restore it to original! Don't forget to send photos when you're finished!