The Car Which Shall Not Be Named III (1935 Lincoln K)

[Matt Harwood]

5 minutes ago, AB-Buff said:

Matt, Ray Theriault has these in stock at his house. He does it on an exchange basis.
Lynn

 

I regret that I have only one "thumbs up" to give this post. I just e-mailed Ray and we'll see what he says. Thank you once again, Lynn!

[Matt Harwood]

Thanks to Lynn, I now have a set of engine mounts on their way from Ray. They should be here by the end of the week and they cost about half of what Steele charges (although I got an E-mail from Steele saying that they don't believe they can do them anyway). So some very good news there.

 

Since I'm kind of in a holding pattern on big jobs until the mounts show up, I tackled some of the busywork that I'll need to finish sooner or later. The first was cleaning and painting a few of the brackets that go with the engine mounts. I don't know where they go or how they fit, but they were in the box labeled "Engine Mounts" and I can see the outline of the big oval-shaped plates on the inside of the frame. So at least that's a clue. I'm hoping it will be apparent once I have the engine mounts in place. 

 

  

Bolts and bracketry for the engine mounts.

 

I also used the wire wheel to clean up the mounting bolts, which are unique with large shoulders and built-in washers. It certainly appears that the heads were painted black, perhaps because they were already in place when the frame was painted? I don't know. I'm debating whether to paint them black before I install them or touch them up afterwards if they're too obvious.

 

Speaking of touching up hardware, I also spent some time painting the large nuts that hold the engine blocks to the crankcase. Right now they're just natural steel, but looking at some of the factory photos, it appears that they're painted to match the blocks so they blend in a little better. So I sprayed some of the gloss black paint we used on the engine blocks into a cup and used a brush to paint the nuts. Spray paint doesn't brush on very well, so it'll probably take a second coat tomorrow. Meh.

 

  

One coat of gloss black on the engine block nuts. They'll 

need a second coat tomorrow.

 

I'm debating whether to paint the nuts on the front cover. On some restored cars, they appear to be painted. The factory photos are difficult to discern, and on the two original cars of which I have photos, they're too grimy to determine whether they're painted or just oily. I'm leaning towards painting them to blend in. 

 

 

Do I paint all these nuts and bolts to help them blend in?

I'm leaning towards "yes."

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[charlespetty]

The water distribution tube nuts and bolts are painted black on my 1937 K.  My front cover nuts are not painted nor is the front cover.  None of the nuts looked to be painted in this engine photo from my owner's manual. 

 

[keiser31]

I doubt the factory would have painted the accessories/nuts/bolts after installation on the engine.

Edited March 1, 2023 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[DonMicheletti]

I agree with Keiser31.

Going back, after assembly, to paint the parts would be too expensive and time consumnig.

[Matt Harwood]

Well, too late. I painted them. I agree with you guys and don't think Lincoln would have painted them, but maybe they used black oxide fasteners or something? What makes it tough to know is that some cars have silver front covers but I've seen an equal number with black front covers. Same with factory photos--some silver and some black. Since mine is black (which I prefer and which makes sense--why would they paint the details on the engine black except the front cover, which they painted silver to match the raw aluminum crankcase?), I painted the nuts black as well. I'm pleased with how it looks. It's a small thing and not very visible, but I'm OK with it even if it might be incorrect.

 

Painted nuts blend in a little better.

 

Once I was done painting, I opened what I have been calling the "Dr. Francini Box O' Mystery." It's a bunch of parts that I couldn't quite identify. Now that I have more familiarity with the car, I recognized a few, including the clutch throwout bearing, which I'm definitely going to need. It was pretty obvious how it fits into place, so I cleaned things up, including inside the bellhousing, added a coat of grease, and slid the throwout bearing into place. The bearing was still smooth and easy to turn, so I didn't bother replacing it, although I have a brand new one. It looked like it would require some substantial force to get it off of there so I left it alone.

 

 

Cleaned out the bellhousing.

 

  

Throwout bearing and housing. There's a recessed area

inside the housing that slides on the input shaft sleeve.

It was packed with ancient, hard grease. I cleaned it out

and re-greased it. I left the bearing itself alone, it's in good shape.

 

   

Then I greased the  input shaft, slid the throwout bearing into place

and connected the retaining spring. I also added a little grease on the 

clutch fork where it contacts the bearing housing.

 

  

I found this felt seal in the Box O' Mystery and thought maybe

it would fit on the input shaft or the clutch somehow. It does not.

The diameter of the hole is bigger than the input shaft. So

where might it fit? I have no idea.

 

These two threaded pins have been puzzling me

for a while, too. Are they even part of the car?

They look kind of modern.

 

 

Then I noticed these big bosses cast into both the

bellhousing as well as the back of the crankcase. And

sure enough, the pins fit perfectly, with the threads 

screwing into the crankcase. No idea what the holes in

the pins are for, maybe cotter pins on the back side of the

bellhousing? These pins will either make installing the

engine easier or a lot harder. I guess we'll find out.

 

In some of the videos, you may have noticed that the starter still clatters a bit, as if the bendix wasn't quite getting out of the way fast enough once the engine fires. It almost looked like the gear was bouncing on its seat, causing the clattering sound. Obviously that's unseemly for a Lincoln and eventually would cause some damage to the teeth, so I took the starter to my friends Jeff and Earl at Certified Auto Electric who rebuilt it two years ago. The electrical part had plenty of oomph (you can see in one of those videos where it turned over that giant engine for almost a minute) but I asked them to look at the bendix. Looking at the wear pattern on the teeth, Earl noted that it seemed to be extending too far and perhaps that's why it couldn't get out of the way fast enough. I took it to them on Monday and they called today to say it was fixed. They adjusted the extension of the bendix drive and added a return spring to give it a helping hand to get out of the way and prevent it from bouncing. I was surprised by how light the spring is, but they said that was all it would take to make it work properly. They're smart guys, so we'll give it a try once everything is reassembled.

 

Starter drive now has a return spring to help

get it out of the way faster.

 

Then my glasses fell off and I stepped on them, so I went home. 

 

[AURktman]

Looking like good progress.  I know what you mean about aggravating glasses, mine fall off my face every time I bend over. I’ve gotten lucky so far that I haven’t smashed them.  

[JV Puleo]

Those look like alignment pins...you screw them in and slide something over them...like a starter. Then remove one at the time using a bar or something to turn them through the hole and replace it with a bolt, one at the time.

 

And black paint is a big improvement over rust whatever the factory did.

 

OOPS...you've already figured it out.

Edited March 2, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

Matt, sometimes the pins go in after the piece is almost aligned...you jiggle it around until one pin catches...then do the same for the other one. Once both are in lining up the attaching bolts should be much easier.

[EmTee]

Pulverized! 

 

 

[Matt Harwood]

New engine mounts arrived today. Thanks Ray and @AB-Buff!

 

[Zimm63]

Pins help align the engine and trans to help ensure the input shaft is going in straight?  

 

I have used similar home made versions on various vehicles to help install transmissions.   Engines were in place though, your results may differ.  

 

[m-mman]

18 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

Same with factory photos--some silver and some black. Since mine is black (which I prefer and which makes sense--why would they paint the details on the engine black except the front cover, which they painted silver to match the raw aluminum crankcase?)

The problem with pictures. This engine was made from 1932 (low cost consideration era) to 1939 (just move out what we have on hand) and it’s not always clear if the picture is documenting a standard production version or a display engine for a show chassis. 
Without a judging manual where the experts have agreed on the finish of each piece I wouldn’t think that it’s that critical.  
make it however you like it best. 

[Matt Harwood]

First thing this morning I went to the machine shop and collected the remains of my donor engine and other rebuild leftovers. I'm going to clean up the main parts and assemble a display engine that I can put in our lobby. No pistons or rods or valves, but nobody will notice. It should be an interesting display piece, as it really is a handsome machine.

 

Leftover engine bits will become a partial

display engine in our lobby.

 

Nevertheless, it turned into a frustrating afternoon. About 2:00, Michael, Roman, and I set about installing the engine. We hitched up the cherry-picker and pulled the engine off the test stand, whereupon I could install the engine mounts. That went smoothly enough. Then we positioned the engine by the frame and gradually pushed it into position. We quickly realized that Dr. Francini probably removed it with an extreme nose-up attitude and a bit of a twist to get the engine mounts past the steering box (which he unbolted and temporarily moved to the top of the frame). We duplicated this action and discovered that the frame is EXACTLY the thickness of an engine mount too narrow to let the engine drop into place. So we removed an engine mount, cajoled the engine into place, and then reinstalled the engine mount.

 

 

Installed the new engine mounts.

 

  

Roman, Michael, and I maneuver the engine into place.

So far, so good.

 

We found that those alignment pins work precisely as designed and slid right into place. I took this as a good omen. I was mistaken, but at the time it seemed like a good thing. Along the way, we also sacrificed a fuel line and the vacuum line for the power brakes to the gods of geometry. They did not smile upon us.

 

   

Reinstalling the engine mount and jiggling the engine in

hopes that the input shaft would slide home. It did not.

 

Once it was physically between the frame rails, we spent the next two hours jiggling the engine, adjusting the nose up/nose down attitude, lifting it, lowering it, jacking the transmission up, lowering the transmission, and spinning one of the rear wheels to try to align the input shaft with the clutch. We removed the alignment pins and got even closer. Sadly, it was all for naught. We got really close, but not close enough. It just would not close that last inch or so.

 

So close, yet so far...

 

Then I had an unhappy thought: did our machinations and prying accidentally knock the clutch out of alignment? Using a mirror to take a look, we realized that yes, it sure looks like the clutch is no longer aligned properly. We decide to remove the engine, which also involved re-removing one of the engine mounts and cranking it back into a nose-up position. We got it out, set it on the ground, and sure enough, the clutch was not aligned properly, at least not anymore. That's part of my job over the weekend: remove the clutch and realign it. Hopefully Monday we'll have better luck now that we have a better idea of what's involved and maybe we won't need to brute force it.

 

We must have knocked the clutch out of alignment

while we were pushing and shoving the engine.

 

And this is where we left it.

 

Dang.

 

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[38Buick 80C]

you will get it, just be methodical  and walk away when it's not going the way you want... Easier said then done, I know, from experience.

Edited March 4, 2023 by 38Buick 80C (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

This isn't all that bad. You did figure out how to get the engine in...the alignment issue is a PIA but it's small potatoes compared to the headache you had taking it out.

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

Matt, this reminds me of a similar situation I had many years ago. I had rebuilt an engine and was trying to get the engine and transmission to marry up. Nothing I tried worked. My dad came out and sat down on the stairs to see what was taking so long. He told me that the license plate screws were loose and that was the problem. After a short argument, I grabbed a screwdriver and tightened the screws. They may have turned a 1/16 of a turn. I threw the screwdriver on the bench and climbed up on the bumper. As soon as I grabbed the water pump I heard a loud thud. Low and behold the two married up. I climbed down, looked at dad and said I’m going to bed as it was late. I now understand the lesson he had taught me and still use it today when needed. Mike

[EmTee]

Can you leave the alignment tool in place (and secure it) while you make the second attempt at installing the engine?  Then remove it when you are ready to install the transmission.

[Zimm63]

I assume the car has a torque tube, which is why you are trying to install the engine to the trans, as opposed to installing the engine then the transmission?  Lots of work to pull the transmission out?

 

Have not had a lot of luck doing it your way, for the same reason you are having trouble.  Easy to knock the clutch plate out of alignment with the pilot bearing.   Difficult to square up the engine to the transmission.  

 

Stupid question- is there any way to get the clutch to release when you are at that last inch point?  It would be on the input shaft and could move a bit which could help you get the input shaft into the pilot bearing.  Have to be darn sure the engine and trans are square to each other to avoid bending something though.  

 

Easy to be helpful from about 8 hours down the road, eh?  

 

Lock up the hammers.  You'll get it.  

[dibarlaw]

Yes Matt lock up the hammers! Much simpler endevor putting back the engine in my 1925 Buick Standard. Still dealing with torque tube and transmission. BUT... We spent over 1 hour twisting and tilting. No motor mounts to deal with but the engine trunion must fit between the frame mounting blocks. All I needed to do is get a spreader to push the frame apart about 1/16" to get things to slide in place.

 The engine did not have the head on at the time otherwise it would interfear with the freshly painted firewall. I still had to use a comealong to get the engine back up to the front cross member to align and bolt up.

Later I had my happy helper install the head with me.

 I had to walk away several times to rethink the next step.

 

 

[Matt Harwood]

I think I made some real progress today. First up, realigning the clutch. I pulled it apart and everything was fine, just misaligned. But before I put it back together, I test fit the clutch disc on the input shaft and... it didn't fit!  Holy crap!

 

I initially thought the clutch rebuilders had perhaps swapped my disc with another similar one (it looks a lot like one from a GM Muncie 4-speed) but then I flipped it around and tried installing it backwards. It slid right on until the leading edge hit the input shaft splines where it abruptly stopped. Looking closely at the splines on the transmission side of the clutch disc, I could see some very minor distortions that were probably from their jig holding the disc when they relined it. I used a small file to clean up the edges of the splines until it slid onto the input shaft easily. It isn't loose and it will still need to be lined up EXACTLY, but it definitely had me thinking that this was at least part of the problem that kept us from getting the engine installed.

 

When reinstalling the clutch, I again used my homemade alignment tool but realized that there was still a bit of play in the nose where the 3/8" socket extension passed through the plastic tool. Upgrading to a 1/2-inch drive extension eliminated that play. I wrapped some electrical tape around the square end of the extension until it was a snug fit in the pilot bearing and a little more around the female end of the extension so it would fit snugly inside the plastic alignment tool. No play in the tool now. The disc slid into place and again, I used a pair of studs to help hang the pressure plate. I cleaned the old Lok-Tite off the bolts on the wire wheel, then reinstalled them with fresh Lok-Tite and new lock washers. Torqued to 50 lb-ft. and all was good again. Looking into the pilot bearing area, the clutch is perfectly aligned. This, of course, left me wondering if perhaps my previous effort wasn't quite exact enough. Between the distorted teeth and a potentially misaligned clutch disc, it's no wonder we struggled. I hope I've cured the problems that stopped us.

 

My new, improved clutch alignment tool seemed

to do the trick.

 

 

This time I know the alignment is right.  Was it off

last time? I can't say for certain.

 

To buy us a little more maneuvering room, I pulled the front seat floorboards. The carpet and padding are a mess and new carpets are on my priority list after the car is running again. And to get the carpets out, I had to remove that goofy heater, which I never liked anyway. I'll figure out how to cover those holes and make them look neat. With the floorboards out and looking at all the stuff bolted to the transmission as well as the crossmember that's directly under the bellhousing, well, it leaves me queasy at the thought of removing it. I'm not convinced that task would be any easier than what we're doing now.

 

Adios, crooked heater.

 

 

I don't mind removing the heater and can

always reinstall it if I feel that I need a front seat

heater (the factory heater is still in the back seat).

I'll figure out how to hide those holes neatly.

 

Floorboard, carpet, and padding removed.

 

There's an awful lot of stuff going on around

that transmission. I'm not sure pulling it

will be any easier.

 

I also discovered that the transmission has a nice little access panel in the bellhousing that should give someone a clear view of the clutch and input shaft as they're coming together, which, again, can only help. If we can get it lined up just right, I think it'll slide home.

 

 

Access door in the bellhousing will make it easier to align

the engine with the input shaft.

 

And while I was working in that area, I noticed that there are two pretty dangerous-looking wires that connect to the starter solenoid. One is +6V power and one is ground to the starter button, but they're a little frayed. I decided to replace them while I have good access. I peeled off the crumbling outer sheath from the wiring harness and discovered that both wires were in pretty good condition beyond the area that was exposed. A few nicks from where the outer shell had failed, but nothing serious. Instead of replacing the wires and ripping them out of the wiring harness, I'll simply use some shrink tubing to fix the areas with damaged insulation then enclose it in fresh tar-impregnated wire loom that will match the rest of the harness. I'll do that tomorrow.

 

  

Starter wires are a little frayed but I can probably

salvage them. A little heat-shrink tubing and a

new wiring loom to hide it and it'll be good as new.

 

 

Am I foolish for being optimistic? I feel like I'm the living embodiment of Einstein's definition of insanity.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[Gary W]

Matt

I've used a port-a-power in many Model "A" engine installations to just slightly expand the frame to allow the mounts to settle into position.

[38Buick 80C]

Yesterday was the car helping you. All these little details you found are meant to be fixed and the car knew it. Slow and deliberate, you will get it done. I'm extremely confident in that. Like Ed I  want a ride once you have it all in precision working order, which no doubt will be soon.

[Zimm63]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but how much confidence do you have in the transmission?  Everything else has been crap, why would you expect that to be good?  

 

Glad to be 8 hours down the road, hard to hit me with a thrown wrench from there.  

[Matt Harwood]

1 hour ago, Zimm63 said:

Not to be Debbie Downer, but how much confidence do you have in the transmission?  Everything else has been crap, why would you expect that to be good?  

 

Glad to be 8 hours down the road, hard to hit me with a thrown wrench from there.  

 

Contrary to popular belief, I really did drive it a few times. We took it on a day tour and it finished about 90% of the 50-mile drive. Transmission had zero issues. I recall clean shifts, no noises, no problems with popping out of gear, good synchros. I changed the gear oil in it right when I got it and I'll change it again because it has been sitting for three years, but I'm not expecting any problems in the transmission department. 

 

Believe it or not, I actually DID drive it home

a few times.

Famous last words, right?

[Matt Harwood]

Today was another one of those days where I expected to work but just couldn't focus enough to get much done. I wanted to finish that wiring job and get the wires pulled through the firewall, so that's what I did. I encased the one wire in shrink tubing and finished the splice on the other one, then used some wire loom to protect them. Both wires were in a single wire loom before, but they're slightly thicker and don't fit in the 1/4-inch loom that I have so I simply separated them. That was kind of a mistake because getting two wires through a space that formerly held only one was a challenge. The firewall is a sandwich of materials, with the metal outer firewall, some kind of fibrous middle layer for insulation, and then another layer of metal on the inside. The wires just didn't want to go through on their own. Eventually I succeeded by using a length of stiff wire as a fish tape and pulling them through one at a time. Then I secured them with the original metal clamp and all was good. No frayed wires, good insulation, and a correct look. Nice!

 

Sealed up the wires with shrink tubing.

 

 

Then managed to feed them through the firewall along side the

speedometer cable and fuel gauge capillary tube.

Secured it with the original metal clamp.

 

Fresh wires ready to connect to the starter

once it's back in place.

 

I also found my car's body tag after I removed

the seats to get some additional working space.

 

Before I went home, I had another look at the engine itself and saw that while there are studs around the perimeter of the bellhousing, there were two threaded holes in the very bottom that didn't have studs. I went to the hardware store on my way home and picked up some 3/8-24 bolts of various lengths. I'll turn them into studs that I can screw into the engine side of the bellhousing to act as additional alignment pins. Hopefully that will improve our chances of getting everything straight.

 

Monday night I have a band concert at my kids' school so I won't be trying to reinstall the engine unless we decide to tackle it during the day. We'll see how things go, but Mondays are usually pretty busy at work.

 

[Matt Harwood]

BOOM! More tonight...

 

 

 

[dalef62]

I will be over tomorrow for a ride Matt!  Looking good!

[AB-Buff]

On 3/5/2023 at 12:01 PM, Matt Harwood said:

 

I also found my car's body tag after I removed

the seats to get some additional working space

Matt, I added a list of body manufacturers that Lincoln used. Yours was done by the Lincoln motor company. Usually that was a Murray body. I’m not sure how much Murray did? If any. Yours was the 75th one built of the model 543.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

One would think this calls for an all nighter...

[95Cardinal]

I think it's champagne o'clock!🎉👍👏🥂

[Matt Harwood]

OK, a real update now. Michael, Roman, Melanie, and I spent two hours this morning getting that engine into the frame. It wasn't easy, but we eventually prevailed (obviously). I attribute our success to several factors: One, I realigned the clutch. I now believe that it was misaligned the entire time we were trying to install it last time. It probably isn't possible to move a clutch disc when the full clamping force of the pressure plate is on it. So that was my fault. Two, we used the original alignment pins as well as two studs I installed in the bottom of the bellhousing. Having four points of alignment seemed to help. And three, being able to see the clutch disc and input shaft through that window in the bellhousing was EXTREMELY helpful. It allowed us to get the splines lined up perfectly and slide it home.

 

 

It fits!

 

It still wasn't easy and required a lot of pushing and shoving. I used my angle finder to help get both the transmission and the engine at the same angle, but I'm not sure how much that helped. It still fought us and hung up about 3/4-inch from being fully seated and then with one big push it popped into place. We secured a few of the bellhousing studs with new lock nuts and snugged it up so it couldn't come loose.

 

Angle finder was a good idea but difficult

to implement and I'm not convinced it

helped much.

 

That was the hardest part, but it wasn't the only hurdle to clear. Getting those rear engine mounts into place was also a real challenge. It would have been easy if they were just bolted to the frame, but no, there are little spacers between the frame and the mounts (those oval-shaped steel pieces I painted a few days ago). I probably don't have to mention that there's exactly zero clearance and they had to be pounded into place. Then we somehow had to align the holes perfectly enough to get bolts into the frame. Again, we eventually succeeded but that was about two hours' worth of work. 

 

Engine mounts were a challenge to secure

to the frame. Those bolts have to go through

both the mount and the spacers and into blind

holes in the frame. Not easy to align everything.

 

These little spacers fought us tooth and nail.

There was 0 clearance so they were pretty

well wedged in there. 

 

Tonight I finished up with the front engine mounts, installing new 5/8-inch bolts through my new rubber bushings that I installed months (years?) ago. I also installed the steering box, which gave us a bit of a scare--if you look at the photos, you can see that we had it rotated up on top of the frame. With the engine in place, would it rotate back into position? It took some creative maneuvering and the removal of a few parts, but yes, it did rotate back into place. I secured it with new hardware, although I forgot the adjuster quadrant that still needs to be installed.

 

Front engine mounts secured. I'll paint these bolt

heads black to blend in.

 

 

Once the steering box was back inside the frame, we

attempted to align it for hardware. Not easy. Michael

sat inside the car and held the steering column to get

everything lined up. I just thought he looked funny 

sitting low like that.

 

Steering box secured with new hardware.

I still have to install the adjustment quadrant,

whose outline you can see forward of the

steering shaft. I'll paint these bolt heads black.

 

And one piece of bad news--the black wire I made

for my horns to the junction block is now about

1/2-inch too short. I made it with the steering box

loose and never thought about how it would fit.

Stupid me, now I have to lengthen that wire with

the engine in the way...

 

After all that, I went home, exhausted. A very good day, one that leaves me optimistic that this thing will run once again.

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Looks good to me. I might see you for dinner tomorrow around 615. I’ll give you a ring when I land.

[dalef62]

You know when you fire this thing up and move it out of the garage you, Melanie and all your help will breathe a sigh of relief, and the antique car community will respond with a thunderous applause that will be heard around the world! 

Keep at it! 

[edinmass]

Never fear……..I’ll be at the Harwood garage in just a few hours, with my three pound sledge hammer. We will get everything to fit. 😎

 

Also, one MUST remember, there is nothing tighter than a good cross thread.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Ed you should be walking in the door just as Matt puts last bolts in place on the nose by now....

[edinmass]

Steve……works for me……Road Test!

[Zimm63]

7 hours ago, edinmass said:

Never fear……..I’ll be at the Harwood garage in just a few hours, with my three pound sledge hammer. We will get everything to fit. 😎

 

Also, one MUST remember, there is nothing tighter than a good cross thread.

Does the TSA ever get curious as to why you are traveling with a BFH?    Do you carry it on, or put it in checked luggage?  Enquiring minds want to know.  

 

[ply33]

1 hour ago, Zimm63 said:

Does the TSA ever get curious as to why you are traveling with a BFH?    Do you carry it on, or put it in checked luggage?  Enquiring minds want to know.  

 

He is probably picking up a new one at the big box home center on the way from the airport to the shop. . .

[AURktman]

2 hours ago, Zimm63 said:

Does the TSA ever get curious as to why you are traveling with a BFH?    Do you carry it on, or put it in checked luggage?  Enquiring minds want to know.  

 

It’s on his keychain. 😀