abelincoln

Don't have any cables in stock, but you should ask if there is a Columbia two speed axle, an overdrive, or a straight three speed. All require different lengths cable. For the latter two, you might find a Ford cable that would fit. Abe

I installed a remote cylinder fill chamber on the inner fender well. I needed to do this as we replaced the master with a dual diaphragm power brake unit and Wilwood dual master cylinder under the floor, and the fill caps didn't line up with the hole in the floor. As noted there are more opportunities for leaks, but the fill chamber and hoses are not under much pressure. I also rigged up a cap so I can apply low pressure compressed air under the hood to bleed brakes. Works pretty good. Abe

Made a few improvements to the underside: Right side Added a dipstick by tapping the drain plug to 1/2 NPT and pluming in a Moroso dip stick. Replaced starter with a Powermaster flathead compound Ford model. Also visable are Red's headers for dual exhaust. Left side Full flow oil filter held by a Lowes home improvement bracket to oil pan Saginaw power steering gear form 92 Camero. Reds header

Its easier if the hood is off. I've found it better to remove the generator assembly giving you a little room to lean to the rear. Then stand on the gunwalls, lift, and cuss. If hood is off, you can use a block and tackle. Abe

Tell me about the oil pans. PM at trades707@juno.com thanks

Speedway motors sells roller bearing sets, would steer easier than stock. Best to check the size though, I also thought a Ford set could work, maybe there is an oversize set, or a truck set? Terrible job to do yourself unless you have specialized pneumatic or hydraulic tools. Abe

I read somewhere, H&H and others will add material to crank, and offset grind for a bit extra stroke, and more horsepower.

I've heard of folks using Chevrolet bearings in flathead Fords. I've not personally seem one done this way, but worth checking out with a competent rebuilder. Abe

John: I have the 48 model armature that is about 1/2 inch longer, unfortunately, we also needed a new one. I found a rebuild shop that had an armature on the shelf that worked for a little while. Must be some other vehicle that used the longer armature, but I couldn't find which. The flywheels are also different, and supposedly more flexible than the Ford or earlier Lincoln. I found a Powermaster gear driven replacement at Summit Racing that works if you shim the starter enough, about 3/32 to clear the gear. Its also shorter overall, and you don't need the flaky bracket to the pan bolt. However, the starter needs 12 volts. One idea I didn't investigate was to find a truck 11 inch flywheel and clutch. Then I think you could use the stock truck starter. Need to check if the crank end holes are the same. Abe

I went to my local Friction Supply to turn drums and flywheel. They had the wheel cylinders in stock. Must have been used for other vehicles as well. Abe

The stock solenoid relay is a convenient place to make other connections to accessories, so I've left in place. Could extend the start wire to the new starter though. I did have to put a jumper wire on the starter.

My 48 V-12 starter died. It had been rebuilt by two shops and still wouldn't turn over the engine. So I took it out and put a couple of nuts on the through bolts to run with jumper cables. With no load, it turned slowly and began to smoke, I tried to find a new armature to use with a Ford starter, the Lincoln unit being about 1/2 inch longer that the Ford armature due to something called a "flexible flywheel". Not much luck there, but I came across a Powermaster model 9507 that shoves the gear into the flywheel from the front like a modern starter rather than pulls in from the back side like old Fords and Lincolns. 12-Volt supply is required. There is only about 1/16 inch clearance between the gear and the flywheel, but I discovered the mounting plate on the pan was warped on the bottom side. So I squeezed the mounting plate as far as I could and tacked to the pan, then used a 5/16 washer on the high side to mount the starter. This moved the starter a bit toward the front and provided some additional clearance. Bonus, don't have to use the flaky support to the oil pan mounting bolt. Its a gear reduction starter, so it with turns the considerable authority. Coming soon an attempt to start engine. Pic.tures show old and new, and starter in car. Note Reds header and Moroso dip stick.

H&H Flatheads in California has new manifolds with different carburetor arrangements. Bit pricey though.

Don't know about coil resistance, but you should have 2-3 volts at the points terminals on the coil assembly when engine is spinning. I once used a 0.25 ohm resistor to drop voltage from a 12 volt battery to try to run the engine. Worked, but resistor got really hot. Might try a re builder, I've used Flathead Doctor in Portland.

FuelTech is quite flexible. Make your own RPM curve, adjust for manifold vacuum, engine temperature, post-start, or make your own. Almost too many variables. I'm looking for a shop with a Dyno to help set up everything.

Thanks for the interest. Had to think about timing quite a while, draw pictures, etc. Ended up with a FuelTech controller which reads the hall-effect pickup, and fires according to a preset table of angles. So I just entered the firing order, and the degree for each coil for the odd fire engine. However, I'm using two wasted spark coil assemblies, so I have to tell the controller when to fire the twin cylinders that are 360 degrees apart in firing order, eg 1 and 11. You are right, should we have used another controller, like Holley, we would need two pickups, double set of sensors, etc. Abe

Keep up the great advice. I've made a few of those mistakes also. Abe

The V-12 distributor is an electro-mechanical work of art, but mine would not take a hotter spark. I also wanted to mount an air conditioning compressor and a power steering pump. So I had three pulleys custom made one for the crank pulley and two for the water pumps. I then had Dutchman in Grants Pass, OR rebuild the water pumps with reversed impellers to turn in the opposite directions. I had a new crank spacer machined to mount the crank pulley. I had a Chevrolet 6 inch crank damper hole ground to fit the Lincoln crankshaft. Then we fitted a serpentine seven rib belt belt with tension and idler pulleys. I made an aluminum plate to replace the distributor with a bearing to hold a dummy shaft that would key into the camshaft like the old distributor did.. I also put in a rod to mark where TDC should be. The crankshaft damper is fitted with a 60-2 toothed wheel and a hall-effect sensor. A Fueltech controller counts the pulses and decides when to advance spark. We're using two VW/Audi wasted spark coil assemblies to generate spark. Brackets were fabbed with 3/8 X 1" bar. Will it work? We'll find out when its past freezing, I'll put in the radiator and check for leaks. We've lovingly packed the original pieces should some future owner want to return to stock. Abe

I'd check for interference. I had a bale on the distributor get bent a bit and touched the belt. Abe

Your pan looks pretty good. Mine had so much gunk the oil wouldn't come out when I pulled the plug. Some of us use the Melling M-15 high volume pump and a pickup tube from Speedway motors to replace the stock. Can't hurt, but if there is a lot of wear and increased clearances, pressure might not go up much. Abe

Having pulled the pan more times than I'd care to mention, I finally figured out that if I used a 2 X 4 under the frame, I could use a long jimmy bar to force the center of the wishbone down far enough to fit four short pieces of 2 X 4 between the center ball and the frame where the ball was mounted. You have to jockey the pan a bit and maybe break loosen the gasket, but should come right out. When re-installing, I put generous amounts of Permatex oil resistant sealer on both the pan and the rear bearing retainer to seal the dip in the back of the pan. Hold the oil level indicator wire up with a clothes pin on top Abe

My 48 vent for all the world looks like a 49 Ford vent I used to have. Maybe some other Ford part would fit?

The original V-12's used an oil slinger instead of a seal. Likely someone has put in a Ford rear seal If so, did the slinger get ground off the crankshaft? Possibly the upper seal holder is in wrong? I'd get new Ford parts and start over. Abe

Might take to someone with a dyno to run the car under load, and sniff the exhaust to get carbs adjusted best. Abe

I've had some luck with Transmission Exchange company in Portland, Oregon. I agree with Tom, pretty much has to be the interlock mechanism. There is also an extra pawl inside that later BW OD's didn't have. If this has slipped, might cause problem. 47-48 units have an electrical interlock on the side of the OD housing you can feel free to disconnect.