ralphmyles

There is some unfortunate truth here; I recently graduated from an engineering school, and the number of people going into the field (ME) that have no mechanical aptitude is alarming. I find people who work in the manufacturing industry tend to be more hands on and enjoy/want to learn many different hands on aspects of the job (welding, machining, casting, etc.). Also, fields like electrical/robotics engineering seem to be attracting more people with a hands on aptitude, but they often don't seem as interested in cars, especially antique ones. That being said, I was the president of my school's motorsports club which had no trouble attracting 150+ members, most of these members were studying mechanical engineering and like working on their cars. The problem is that their interests almost exclusively lie in modern vehicles like CarNucopia describes; trying to get them excited for classics is moderately successful however. I have a few friends that didn't really know about classic cars until I took them to the Misselwood Concours in Beverly, where they were able to at least see some beautiful prewar classics and subsequently began taking interest in them. I think the problem is exposure for so many young people; without seeing something like a big prewar Packard or Pierce in person, you can't truly appreciate the scale and inherently mechanical nature of them. I think if owners of big classics brought their cars to more casual car shows, they would be surprised by the amount of attention they get. I have a gut feeling, however, that many of the big classics that adorn the grass of a typical concours would struggle to make it even 50 miles down the road without some mechanical or electrical failure. There was an open Locomobile, for instance, that was struggling to climb a light grade and fumigated the show field with the now vaporized friction material of its clutch - a sight like this does nothing but lessen the interest in owning a classic for many people. I know I've gotten a little off topic, but if young people are going to buy classic cars they need to gain an interest first, and for this to happen, they need to see ones that are properly functioning and see them more frequently. Maybe I can convince some of you in the central MA area to come to the WPI car show this spring and get some young engineers interested in old cars!

Anyone know where I could source a remote filler line for a 1955 Coupe Deville brake master cylinder?

The car offered for sale is a 1947 Lincoln Continental Coupe in mostly original condition. The car is very solid overall with its twelve cylinder engine running strong. While on the subject of the engine, the factory intake manifold was replaced with an Edmunds unit that supports two carburetors instead of one. The rare manifold appears to have been with the car for quite some time as its overall condition matches that of the rest of the engine bay. This Continental has been cared for its entire life, this is evident by the rust free condition of the frame and body. The interior is also in good condition with the upholstery on the seats having been redone. The rest of the interior is original, including the steering wheel which is amazingly crack-free. The car runs and drives superbly, with shifts effortless on the column shifted three speed and working overdrive. This car would make a great driver for anyone looking to own a unique, reliable classic, and is located near Fitchburg MA. Asking $24,900 OBO Email: aodhaganleach@gmail.com

Matt- My Lincoln also did not fill to full capacity, I had just assumed there was some residual coolant in the block. However that puking happened when I filled mine up a few times but eventually went away. I assumed the system was just naturally purging air out. It should be noted that my car later vapor locked but due to an exhaust leak in the heat exchanger gaskets. I was advised by a mechanic at the Canton Car Museum to tap and plug both to avoid any problems. I assume this exhaust leak was also contributing to the heat problem and was difficult to notice because it was not very loud. I would make sure your car does not have this leak and even block the heat exchanger with a 1/2 NPT plug down the road to prevent any problems...

Just got the car running cool, I guess it was puking coolant as you said Matt. Thanks for all the help everyone!

Thanks a bunch for all the details Matt... I'll follow up on some data when I get back home. My gut is telling me that, as you said, the system is not full (32 quarts). If I remember correctly the car took ~28 quarts.

Thank you very much for the detailed response, I am away from home at the moment and can follow up on specifics this weekend. But here is the full chain of events: the car needed a generator repair, so we removed it along with the water pump as they are tethered via rag joint, after re-installing the two components we filled it with coolant and tested it to make sure it was charging. Later that day we took the car for a quick test drive, initially it seemed fine but after about 10 minutes the temperature gauge was pinned at the limit, and it started blowing coolant out of the radiator cap, the hood latches were even hotter than hell. After this we drained the coolant and let the car idle while filling the coolant slightly above the core and within 5 minutes it boiled over like a Yellowstone Fumarole. Unless of course this is the puking which you described as we did not drive the car following this. Should the car be running when it is filled? Am I supposed to prime it in some way? Sorry if these are stupid questions as I am used to working on simple inline 6s and 8s which are hard to break, and not these multi-cylinder beasts.

The car starts up fine and runs like a swiss watch for about 5 minutes but boils over within minutes of this and cannot be driven. The water pump has been rebuilt and the overheating problem seemed to start after the generator was rebuilt, which involved the removal of the water pump. Am I missing something? From what I can tell, and have been told, the car does not have a true thermostat, instead shudders in front of the radiator. There is no steam in the exhaust, and the motor seems to run fine. I would appreciate any help!

Will do! I will be picking it up in about a week.

Just sealed the deal on the car... I think I got a good one!

Thank you! I'm going to see it tomorrow and will be making a decision on it, it is an all original car with original cedar green paint.

Thanks! That helped a bunch! SO the only difference is wheelbase?

I have the chance to buy a series 40 46SSE and have been searching around to find out what the difference is between a series 40 special and a series 40 deluxe special. If someone could help me out that would be great! Thanks

We only recently acquired the car, Also the car now lives in central Massachusetts, but it certainly would be great take the car home at some point!