Taylormade

Oh, and thanks everyone for the help and generous offers.

Well, problem solved. As usual, my wife said, "Let me see that!" after listening to me grouse about the problem for an hour. She carefully unwound the wire (individual strands, not solid) and discovered the tip was actually a domed tack similar to the one in frank29u's photo. We still couldn't get the wires off the tack, but we could see the ends did not extend into the dome. So, they weren't molded in. I took the tack out to the garage, clamped it in the vise, hit it with a less than one second blast from my MAP torch and the wires just fell away. So, I'm thinking the pointed end of the tack was covered with a light coat of solder and then jammed into the end of the wire. You learn something every day. Behold the offending part.

Hmmm, looks like they changed things by 32. No copper tube on my setup. Since the wires run through the springs on my socket, I would be worried if there was no insulation right up to the contact end. I'm thinking of making a reverse mold in hi-temp silicon, chopping up some electrical solder into tiny pieces and putting it into the depression, heating it up with a torch and dipping the end of the wire into the solder.

Just the next time you get to the shop would be fine. If he's still around it would save me some time.

I would be interested.

No, we made the car noises at the upholstery shop. On the wiring, I wonder if they had a small mold they poured the hot solder in and then dipped the exposed wire into it while it was still liquid. There must have been a simple and quick way to produce these things at the factory.

Then maybe the wiring was original. I guess it must have mummified into what made me think it was plastic. So, now what?

As I said earlier I picked up my front seat from the upholstery shop. Looks good. The new wood base I made fits perfectly which was a relief. It was hard to get a straight on shot due to current storage in my living room corner and the parallax makes the top buttons look crooked - which they are not. I'm working on my headlight wiring which was in rough shape. This is the wiring section inside the headlight itself. The socket on the left is for the bulb, the one on the right fits into a receptacle in the headlight shell and connects to the wire that goes through a chrome conduit and through the fender. As you can see, the wires are totally shot. The plastic coated wires indicate that this has been rewired in the past. The wires run into the socket through the fiber spacers and one wire through each of the two springs inside. Everything, with the exception of the wires, just needed to be cleaned up and reassembled. I have a question concerning the replacement of the wiring. This setup has the usual wire running to the raised buds or bumps that are contact points. I would like to save the original parts if possible, or am I making a mistake and should I go with replacements at this point? I assume the wire is soldered into to these tips, but I'm amazed how clean the joint is. I see virtually no signs of solder anywhere. Is there a narrow post extending down from the tip the the end of the wire surrounds and then everything is soldered? Do I need to be careful when I loosen this joint? I don't want to melt the tip in the process. Any advice here would be welcome. I also noticed the the wire insulation covered everything right to the base of the tip. I can see pulling the insulation back when making the first solder, then pushing it back up when finished. But the second set would seem to be a problem as the wire is short and I doubt the stiffness of the insulation would allow me to pull it back enough to solder. Let me know what you think. As I've stated before, electrical wiring is not my strong point.

A really cool and interesting car. My only problem, and I say this with disappointment because this is a lovely car, is the seventies paint job. Who, why and when did restorers decide that beige bodies with chocolate fenders was the way to go? It’s not even mildly charming, like the old avocado green kitchen appliances - and that was the original color. I’m not sure what the original color/colors were on this car, but it had to be more attractive than the current paint job. Again, not denigrating the car, just someone’s past mistake in choosing those awful colors.

Thanks, Mike, for letting all us armchair idiots know what a bunch of losers we are. Glad you took the time to breeze in and admonish all of us, as you apparently don’t sit in front of your keyboard ready to tear into posts “like a butcher with a clever” like the rest of us. This must have been a one time occurrence when you happened to do exactly what you’re criticizing the rest of us for doing. Nice to have someone with your acumen in all things automotive set the forum straight.

I think Gunsmoke is just pointing out that here are very few people - even on this forum - who could undertake a restoration of this car, or who would want to, given that they would be deep in a hole financially when (if ever) they finished it. You are going to have to find a Marquette enthusiast - few and far between - with either the hands on ability, or the deep pockets to restore this car. Hard enough, but add a ten grand starting fee and you’re in never never land. He is stating the truth, either you want to sell it or save it. No one is going to promise, with any certainty, that they will “save” the car. In most cases, the buyer will probably store it in his garage/shed, look at it affectionately and dream about a restoration that will never happen. Then they - or their heirs - will flip it. They are your cars to do with what you will, but if saving them is your number one priority, better storage should have been a major consideration. Congrats on keeping them all these years, but face it, as you yourself have stated, most of them are rough and a mess.

This is brutal Matt, and nothing I can say will make it any better. I remember my frustrations trying to take my rubber mounted Floating Power transmission apart on my 32 Dodge Brothers. It was a nightmare. Now I can do it blindfolded. I know you’re a long way from solving your problem, and that you may never solve it, but I sure hope things will work out with the Lincoln. The fact that this happened to a knowledgeable car dealer like yourself gives all of us pause when considering buying a higher end car.

PM sent. Thanks.

Thanks, I may be able to make it work.

The shot is perfect, but the resolution is a bit too low. Is this off the net or one of your personal photos?