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

[Matt Harwood]

My drive to work this morning was somewhat inconclusive. I took the long way (about 10 miles) so it could get properly warmed up, but it's only about 60 degrees outside this morning. It ran like its old self with temperatures around 160. Oil pressure was 40 at cold start and eventually crept down to about 25 at speed when it was warmed up. When I pulled into the shop and let it idle for a few minutes, temperatures crept up to about 175 and would probably have kept going but I shut it down.

 

And once again, the idle screw TIGHTENED itself somehow, increasing the idle while I drove. I've never, ever seen that happen and now it's happened twice. There's a spring on the idle screw so I'm going to try to stretch it a bit to increase tension.

 

As for temperature, I think I'm going to install the restrictors when I change coolant later this week. This Lincoln never used a thermostat and that water pump moves A LOT of water. When I first got the car years ago, I installed the restrictors and they made a notable difference (I eventually got it to run at 160-170 with a buggered radiator and an engine full of crud with a hole in it, so I know it can be done). This is contrary to Lynn's experience, but it really seemed to help in this car's case, because it overheated almost constantly when I first got it. The restrictors were the only notable change beyond trying to clean out the radiator a bit.

 

This is the crude but effective restrictor I used

when I first got the car and it was constantly

overheating. It seemed to work.

 

And for oil pressure, given that it was showing over 40 PSI when I fired it up this morning, I think it's the oil not the pump. I'm running straight 40-weight PennGrade1 as recommended by Frank the engine builder. I don't think it has the viscosity stability I need, even though there are 12 quarts of the stuff in there. The engine might still be a little tight so there's a lot of extra friction in there, adding to the oil temps. And finally, I'm not convinced that the factory gauge is accurate--I'm going to install an accurate aftermarket gauge in the glove box next to my temperature gauge tonight and get a reading directly from the main bearing galleys rather than at the top of the engine past the camshaft on a 90-year-old gauge. You may recall that during testing on the stand, the two gauges I used had a 10 PSI difference, with the one on the oil galleys always reading higher. Check the video, which I've indexed to the moment we're discussing the pressure discrepancy:

 

 

So that's the plan. No panic, just trying some changes to see if things improve. The thing only has 150 miles on it, after all.

 

 

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

[AB-Buff]

Matt on your carburetor idle screw. I’m not convinced it’s turning. I’m thinking as your engine is breaking in. It’s just idling faster. Like you say there’s lotta friction going on. So make a mark or take a photo of it or do something to make sure you know exactly where it is and go drive it a little bit and see if it does it if it has moved and it idles a little faster, at least know what it is. By the way, every engine I’ve ever switch to synthetic the idle is increase 400- 500 RPMs. 

[charlespetty]

My 1935 ran hot just like yours.  I currently have a 1937 K that runs nice and cool.  The one big difference between these two cars is the four blade fan in my 35 and the six blade fan in my 37.  That six blade fan moves enough more air to make a big difference in the temp.  

[EmTee]

8 hours ago, AB-Buff said:

I’m thinking as your engine is breaking in.

I wouldn't switch to synthetic oil until I'm sure that the rings have seated and the engine is 'broken-in' properly.

[edinmass]

18 minutes ago, EmTee said:

I wouldn't switch to synthetic oil until I'm sure that the rings have seated and the engine is 'broken-in' properly.

 

Absolutely NO synthetic until the engine has 4000 miles on it. By then you should’ve changed it five or six times.

[AB-Buff]

I’m going to disagree with you to the 300 miles it’s broken in. But he’ll probably never put 4000 miles on that car. I’d be surprised,  I have a 33 Chevy that I put 7000 miles on it after the rebuild. I drained the oil at ~250 miles I put synthetic in it. But like I said it’s your car you do what you want as far as oil. Just change it periodically. I knew I was going to get crap on this. 😂

[AB-Buff]

Just out of curiosity, those that are telling him not to put in synthetic. Do you guys actually use synthetic in anything?

[edinmass]

I use it all the time…..but not In newly rebuilt engines. The rings won’t seat and it will smoke and burn oil.

 

AB- lots of people drive their stuff. More than many realize. 1000 miles isn’t really that much to do in just a few days. I have driven my Pierce 12 over 300 in just one day.

Edited June 6, 2023 by edinmass (see edit history)

[AB-Buff]

Ring seat pretty fast nowadays. Unless you’re using some new old stock 1930 something piston and ring. Today’s ring seat within just a few minutes of running.

[Matt Harwood]

Ignoring the synthetic oil debate for a moment, is it really possible that by driving it 25 miles yesterday that the engine "broke in" enough to actually make the idle speed go up due to reduced friction? And even more in the 10 mile drive to work this morning? I'm not saying it isn't possible, but that seems remarkable.

 

I'm not going to change the type of oil quite yet. Frank the engine builder says PennGrade1 40 weight, so that's what's in there. He owns the engine as much as I do at this point. I'm not going to argue with him. 40 weight should be sufficient for warm weather driving. Maybe I'll switch to 20W50 at some point, but for now I'm going to trust my engine builder. 

 

As far as oil pressure, as I said, I'm not convinced that the factory gauge is accurate nor that the pressure it's seeing is what is in the bearings. That large, blue gauge that I installed on the test stand was connected to the bypass manifold at the oil cooler and showed what I would think was the true oil pressure, typically 10 PSI higher than the factory port on top of the engine. The bypass manifold is designed to bypass the cooler if the oil is too thick to flow through the honeycomb. Essentially, it's just a spring-loaded plunger that covers an orifice leading back to the main oil galley. Pressure gets too high, spring compresses, plunger opens the return opening. Simple and effective.

 

To connect a gauge, I machined a sleeve that takes the place of the plunger. It is open to the pressure from the main galley and still blocks the bypass opening. And since there's a handy pipe plug on top, I can simply install a fitting for an oil pressure gauge. Easy! Here are some photos to help with the explanation:

 

Plunger and spring removed from housing.

 

 

 

 

Sleeve with oil pressure gauge fittings on the left,

original plunger and pipe plug on the right.

 

Sleeve allows oil directly from the main galleys

to flow to the oil pressure gauge fitting while

also sealing the bypass hole.

 

Oil pressure gauge fittings in place of the pipe

plug.

 

But unfortunately, the fitting is pretty hard to reach

now that everything is assembled.

 

So it was my plan to install the oil pressure gauge this evening but it started to look like too big a project for a few hours after work. I'll save it for the weekend rather than take the car offline for a few days. There's a lot more to it than just connecting some fittings. Routing the capillary tubing, finding a hole through the firewall, making a grommet, mounting the gauge, etc. That's going to take at least a day.

[edinmass]

2 hours ago, AB-Buff said:

Ring seat pretty fast nowadays. Unless you’re using some new old stock 1930 something piston and ring. Today’s ring seat within just a few minutes of running.

Yes, I agree the modern ring packages do seat fast……but not with synthetic. I usually go extra miles as many pre war cars and many modern motorcycles use the same shared oil….and you can also get clutch slippage. 

[trimacar]

I installed a restriction in the upper radiator hose of my Pierce eight, for a different reason (radiator overflow when letting off gas from speed), but the car does run cooler.  Same thing, water pump moves a lot of water.

 

No fancy plug, though, just a freeze plug with a 5\8 inch hole drilled in it.  Yes, that small hole allows plenty of water to pass.

 

On the 40w oil, I have a friend who builds engines.  He doesn’t like the heavier oil, as it won’t always flow well in the small nonpressure areas of an engine, such as cam bearings.  Now, before anyone says that won’t happen, it will, and did to me, the reason for the discussion with him…..

Edited June 6, 2023 by trimacar (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

Matt, I suggest you stick with water and No-Rosion until you sort out all the cooling issues. Glycol will only reduce heat transfer ability and is also messy when having to take anything apart and hot glycol does bad things to paint should you have an overheating issue. Once everything is sorted then make the change.

 

Also, when I rebuilt my LaSalle, I was amazed at how much the temps came down as it broke in for the first few hundred miles.

 

I’ve been so busy on my own projects and posts that I haven’t kept up with yours. I went through the same issue not long ago…gotta catch up on the reading now. Best of luck and thanks for sharing.

Scott

[Stude Light]

14 hours ago, trimacar said:

I installed a restriction in the upper radiator hose of my Pierce eight, for a different reason (radiator overflow when letting off gas from speed), but the car does run cooler.  Same thing, water pump moves a lot of water.

 

No fancy plug, though, just a freeze plug with a 5\8 inch hole drilled in it.  Yes, that small hole allows plenty of water to pass.

 

On the 40w oil, I have a friend who builds engines.  He doesn’t like the heavier oil, as it won’t always flow well in the small nonpressure areas of an engine, such as cam bearings.  Now, before anyone says that won’t happen, it will, and did to me, the reason for the discussion with him…..

Full pressure on all bearings vs all or some splash lube makes a difference.

 

My 39 LaSalle is all full pressure - crank, rods, cam and does like heavier oil. My 23 Stude is all splash and likes lighter oil. My 21 Olds is full pressure on everything but cam bearings so I’m sticking with 10w30 in that engine.

 

I assume the Lincoln is full pressure throughout.

[AB-Buff]

Matt, something to look at in your spare time. When I had my bellows out of the radiator, I had taken it in to the house, put it in a pan of water to my wife’s delight and measured the temperature when it started to move, mine just starts to move at 160 degrees. So when I adjusted the shutter system I have it set up so the shutter start to open immediately, no slack . You can adjust that so that there’s slack, so it opens at a higher temperature. I would just double check to make sure that it is opening when you think it is.  You can probably watch this without taking anything apart. Maybe use an infrared gun also to look at the temperature right around the Bellows. All of that water coming out of your engine is directed to that bellows. Also my engine runs much better at 185 to 190 than it does at160. But I can’t get it there unless it’s 85-90 degrees plus outside.
 

Edited June 7, 2023 by AB-Buff (see edit history)

[nsbrassnut]

Hi All

 

A note on what I experienced several years ago when breaking in a freshly rebuild and somewhat tight Packard 120 8 cylinder engine. I promised it for a friend's wedding and only got it running a couple days before the date. So it had less than 10 miles when heading out for a 60 mile drive to the wedding site.

 

The first impression felt like I had to "hold the pedal down" to keep up a steady 50-55 mph. Then about 4 miles or so down the road I could feel the change in the engine. By the time I got to the destination with about 70 miles on the car it felt more like I had to "let up on the pedal" as the car wanted to run.

 

I forget the temperatures that I saw at the time. Nothing overly hot, and nothing overly cold either. Mind you this one runs a thermostat in the outlet of the head so perhaps less of a change in operating temperature once the thermostat starts to open.

 

I might never have noticed the difference if I hadn't done the one long drive right after the engine was recommissioned.

 

Since then its run a bit over 25,000 mostly trouble free miles. And what troubles have been experienced had nothing to do with the main engine internals after the rebuild either.

 

I wonder if anyone else may have had a similar experience?

 

Wishing you the best of success with the Lincoln by the way.

 

Drive Safe

Jeff

[Matt Harwood]

Thanks for the info, Lynn. My bellows (and therefore the shutters) are offline. I have it permanently open to maximum. Someday I'll fix it, but right now it's just acting to hold the headlights in place.

 

What I did finish tonight is finish the headlight wiring--my double-ended female bullet connectors showed up. It was easy to connect everything and then secure it with some conduit. The lights should be working, but the hi-beam switch on the floor is buggered. Parking lights work just fine and jumping the low-beams made them work, but I think the LED bulbs are not working with the hi-beams. I did a bunch of continuity tests and the problem isn't in the wiring and I bypassed the relay so It has to be the bulbs. I'll investigate. In the meantime, I have parking lights and will have low-beams as soon as my new floor switch shows up.

 

Lo-beam headlights working.

 

My detailer, Michael, also found the bumper bolt covers that I couldn't locate the other day. He was an ace labeling everything so he was able to lay his hands on them pretty easily. Installation was simple--just a screw secures them. A nice finished look.

 

 

Bumper bolt covers installed.

 

And lastly, I reinstalled the restrictors in the upper radiator hoses. It was a little bit of a task getting them into the hoses, but the fit was tight enough that I'm not worried about them moving, even without securing them with another hose clamp on the outside. They're not going anywhere and externally the hoses look exactly the same so it's an invisible modification. Then it was the tedious process of refilling the sucker with EIGHT gallons of water.

 

The result? Well, hard to say. I took a nice, long drive home at about 50 MPH and it happily cruised at 170 degrees. However, it's only 68 degrees this evening, so not quite an apples-to-apples comparison with the other day. However, it did cool off to 160 going downhill, so I took that as a good sign that the radiator is rejecting heat. And at 170 degrees, that suggests that the engine isn't making a lot of excess heat. I'll have to wait for another warm day to really test it out and see if the restrictors had an effect, but I'm optimistic.

 

Oh, and then we did this:

 

 

You can hear the transmission buzzing a little bit, but that's about it. The car is surprisingly tight and rattle-free and even the goofball muffler doesn't sound awful in the video. It makes all kinds of awesome turbine-like sounds under the hood, which we both like, and the thing is powerful as hell--hills are a non-issue and it pulls low-speed corners in high gear without stumbling. A few more drives and she'll be a pro!

 

[EmTee]

The engine sounds wonderful!  It's nice to see the steady progress and having Melanie also behind the wheel will help expedite the sorting.  Drive on! 

[m-mman]

The real test to see if a car is going to fail is to put your wife or girlfriend behind the wheel. 
Problems you could never imagine typically happen then. 

[edinmass]

She sure had a big smile on her face! I recommend five hundred miles before you do much but check the oil and look for leaks……….drive in big circles so you never get too far from home. Car looks great. Looking forward to a ride soon. Best, Ed.

[TexRiv_63]

Looks and sounds great, I think you've got it.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Great video!!  Looking a lot like our house, dusty trusty ol' Model A roadster for me and a spiffy 40 Packard convertible Mrs. Mack has claimed (she pushed it, fell in love with it and that over ruled the practical purchase process).

 

Quite a smile on Mrs. Harwood's face.  Makes the efforts of getting there a little less painful I hope. 👍😊

[John Bloom]

If the Admiral is happy and onboard, it’s all downhill from there!

 

Steve and Matt......  shrewd and Strategic. 
 

 

 

[Matt Harwood]

Tried to get some work done tonight but it was one of those times when the spirit was willing but everything else was uncooperative. I was missing a few parts to install the oil pressure gauge, so I had to order those [hopefully] for Saturday.

 

My replacement hi-beam foot switch showed up, but it turns out that the terminals are arranged in such a way as to prevent it from fitting through the hole in the floor. I smacked the old switch on the floor a few times and it came back to life, so I reinstalled it, vowing to never touch it again. Parking lights and headlights work, but still no hi-beams. Meh.

 

I did manage to adjust the hood fit a bit so it would latch properly and hopefully eliminate a faint rattle. 

 

I installed a 1935 Ohio license plate. Interestingly enough I believe my plate is mounted on the wrong side of the car. All the other Lincolns I've seen have the plate on the left. I could remove and swap the taillight housings, I suppose, but that seems like asking for trouble with old wiring and gaskets and mounting hardware. I think I'll leave it alone.

 

1935 Ohio plate installed. I'm not running a front plate.

 

I tried hooking up my dwell meter once again and it still didn't work, so I tossed it in the trash. Who can recommend an (ancient) brand of dwell meter that is known to work on 6V cars?

 

Then I noticed a growing puddle under the car. Water. There's a persistent drip from the drain plug on the bottom of the water pump. It was leaking slightly before I took it apart yesterday, now it's leaking a lot more. I put fresh sealant on the threads, but it's still leaking pretty well. A drip every two seconds or so. I thought maybe it was the hose clamp adjacent to the drain plug, but no, it's the plug itself. It's almost like the water is going straight through the plug like there's a casting defect because of how it drips directly from the bottom of the plug. I'll pull it out again in the next few days and replace it with a brass plug and fresh sealant. I'm concerned that the pump housing is cracked around the threads, but we'll wait and see.

 

A downer of a day where nothing much happened, but I'll gather my resources to get a lot done on Saturday. The Buick-Olds-Pontiac show is Sunday but I still haven't decided if I'm going to go in the Limited. I'm still not much into doing car stuff beyond working on the Lincoln for Melanie.

 

 

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

[AB-Buff]

Sounds like you’re making headway. On your tail light, the law reads, or used to read that you need one tail light the tail light was either mounted in the middle of the vehicle or on the left fender (driver) so to this day, I believe you can run around with a burned out right hand (passenger) side tail light, and be OK. 😳

[Matt Harwood]

18 minutes ago, AB-Buff said:

Sounds like you’re making headway. On your tail light, the law reads, or used to read that you need one tail light the tail light was either mounted in the middle of the vehicle or on the left fender (driver) so to this day, I believe you can run around with a burned out right hand (passenger) side tail light, and be OK. 😳

Lynn, do you think the '34 taillight lenses you make will fit our '35s? I have two mis-matched taillight lenses and would like a matched set, even if they're not technically correct.

[AB-Buff]

32 through 34 tail light lenses are the same diameter, 34 uses a blue dot. 35 is smaller. I have thought recently of making a mold of mine just in case something happens to it, just like everything else that kind of stuff. It’s hard to find. Give me a few months and I’ll see what I can do.

BTW your car looks fantastic. I think it runs really nice. And I wish that engine was in mine!  Better yet I think that car would look good in my garage. It’s going to be a great runner. You’re going to enjoy it.

[edinmass]

 

Matt……just for a pick me up in your favor. My 1936 Pierce club sedan was just as bad of a ball buster when I restored it. I paid 3500 for what would be called a parts car. 27 months and 312,000 dollars later it was finished. I broke down several times in the first month. I parked it for a year before I went back to it. Sorted it and then took it on the show circuit. That was my entire life’s savings and 50k in the hole at the time. I was 27 years old. Fast forward to today….30 year later……No regrets and I still have the car with 20k miles on it. So that’s about 10k a year plus the opportunity cost of not having a stock market portfolio……l so I’m in the hole about 2m today. That should make you appreciate you Lincoln a bit more. No regrets……the car changed my life for the better. I would do it all over again.

Edited June 9, 2023 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

17 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

I tried hooking up my dwell meter once again and it still didn't work, so I tossed it in the trash. Who can recommend an (ancient) brand of dwell meter that is known to work on 6V cars?

 

I received this meter and a Monkey Wards socket set from my Mother for my 16th birthday (1969). Has served me well over the years, including recently on my Chrysler. Good luck finding one😁

[Matt Harwood]

Replaced the drain plug with a fresh brass one and it seems not to be leaking. However, there's still a leak coming from the lower hose, so I guess I'll have to see about changing the clamp to seal it up a little better. Very solvable problem.

 

I also got the oil pressure gauge mounted in the glove box. I'll run the line to the oil cooler bypass tomorrow. I wish the gauges matched, but alas, there is no matching oil pressure gauge for my temperature gauge. I think I just bought the cheapest one I could find back when we were first testing the car. Meh, it bugs me but I think I can live with it.

 

They're both Stewart-Warner gauges but

they don't match. I guess I'll have to live

with it. Hopefully there will be good info

coming from the oil pressure gauge.

 

Once I refilled the radiator [again] with 8 gallons of water, I fired it up. And again, I heard a light clattering noise. I thought it was my hood that was a little loose, but no, it was up front. Looking closer, I realized that the edge of the fan was just barely hitting one of the upper radiator hoses. How the hell can they be so close? Who thought that was a good design? Anyway, I loosened the upper hose clamp and twisted the hose a bit to add about 1/8-inch clearance. The noise was gone so I'm guessing that's as good as I can make it. Bleh.

 

 

Fan was actually hitting the upper hose. A little 

tweaking added some clearance, but I'm wondering

why Lincoln engineers decided this was a good idea.

 

Drove home the long way and temperatures seem to be pretty stable at 175 running at about 50 MPH. It warmed up to 180 sitting a red lights and cooled off to 170 on easy downhill stretches, but 175 seemed where it wanted to be. Of course, it's only 70 degrees out tonight, so that's hardly a stress test, but I'm still optimistic that it'll stay cool on warmer days. Am I foolish for being an optimist? I feel like it. We can only wait and see.

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[Grimy]

59 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

However, there's still a leak coming from the lower hose, so I guess I'll have to see about changing the clamp to seal it up a little better.

Matt, when installing new hoses, I have learned to put authentic clamps in the center of each hose, snug enough that they don't flop around, and use worm drive modern clamps initially and until after 20 or 30 heating and cooling cycles, during which a bond develops between hose and neck.  After such a period, remove one modern clamp at a time by "breaking the circle" (completely separate the tab from the gear) and slide the authentic clamp into place and tighten.  The authentic clamps are nearly impossible to bend back into shape once their "circle" is broken.

[m-mman]

I want to comment on your healthy change in goals.  Before going down the rebuild slide you were posting along the lines of “I want it perfect or 100% correct or no flaws”. You were doing excellent work (e.g. the fuel pump installation) You were going all the way at Pebble Beach speed.  
 

Then you collapsed with the transmission findings.  The self imposed stress stopped you. You needed a well deserved break. 
 

You have recovered and returned (hurrah!) and I notice that you are using “meh” more often.

I think this is a good reflection that you are putting the job in proper perspective by reducing your stress and increasing your enjoyment.  
 

100 points, Pebble Beach type perfection and being hard on your efforts is incredibly destructive. 
 

A reminder to all the people who read this saga, remember to enjoy your work and while we all want perfection, the hardest and most difficult thing to say in a restoration is “Stop, it’s good enough as it is”.  But this is a very important thing to say.  

It’s a hobby and the goal should always be to have fun.  
Glad that you have found yourself again.  

[Zimm63]

13 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

Replaced the drain plug with a fresh brass one and it seems not to be leaking. However, there's still a leak coming from the lower hose, so I guess I'll have to see about changing the clamp to seal it up a little better. Very solvable problem.

 

I also got the oil pressure gauge mounted in the glove box. I'll run the line to the oil cooler bypass tomorrow. I wish the gauges matched, but alas, there is no matching oil pressure gauge for my temperature gauge. I think I just bought the cheapest one I could find back when we were first testing the car. Meh, it bugs me but I think I can live with it.

 

They're both Stewart-Warner gauges but

they don't match. I guess I'll have to live

with it. Hopefully there will be good info

coming from the oil pressure gauge.

 

Once I refilled the radiator [again] with 8 gallons of water, I fired it up. And again, I heard a light clattering noise. I thought it was my hood that was a little loose, but no, it was up front. Looking closer, I realized that the edge of the fan was just barely hitting one of the upper radiator hoses. How the hell can they be so close? Who thought that was a good design? Anyway, I loosened the upper hose clamp and twisted the hose a bit to add about 1/8-inch clearance. The noise was gone so I'm guessing that's as good as I can make it. Bleh.

 

 

Fan was actually hitting the upper hose. A little 

tweaking added some clearance, but I'm wondering

why Lincoln engineers decided this was a good idea.

 

Drove home the long way and temperatures seem to be pretty stable at 175 running at about 50 MPH. It warmed up to 180 sitting a red lights and cooled off to 170 on easy downhill stretches, but 175 seemed where it wanted to be. Of course, it's only 70 degrees out tonight, so that's hardly a stress test, but I'm still optimistic that it'll stay cool on warmer days. Am I foolish for being an optimist? I feel like it. We can only wait and see.

 

Dumb question from someone who has never put a wrench on a pre war car.  Can the fan be spaced out a little closer to the radiator?  If so, it might improve the cooling as well as give better clearance from the hose.  

[Matt Harwood]

Well, one would assume that I would catch a break sooner or later, or perhaps that I would even be able to buy one for $50,000. 

But no, it appears that I cannot catch a break. This engine has no oil pressure when it's hot. Almost 0.

 

Oil pressure at 40 MPH.

 

Oil pressure at idle.

 

The new oil pressure gauge only confirmed that the factory gauge is accurate. I don't know what to do now. There's PennGrade1 40-weight oil in the crankcase, which should be plenty thick enough. There's 50 PSI at cold idle but as soon as it starts to warm up, oil pressure vanishes and it goes back to getting REALLY hot (it was 80 degrees today). 

 

What did I write a few days ago about insanity? 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[Grimy]

Nah, there's likely an issue in the relief bypass, Matt.  Someone else was having that problem on another make in the last week.

 

Welcome to the Inverse Midasian Syndrome (IMS) Club, of which I'm a charter member.  Since King Midas had the touch of gold, whenever everything we touch turns to caca, that's the Inverse Midasian Syndrome...

 

Once you can name it, you can deal with it.  Patience, my friend, this too will pass.

[edinmass]

My most important car mentor taught me the most important  lesson in fixing old cars. Never ,ever give up. It was a hard lesson to take to heart. I adopted it many years ago. In my signature line I have a comment. It says I can fix anything if you have the time and money.  The never give up part equates to time. I suspect your oil issue is solvable in the car. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by edinmass (see edit history)

[m-mman]

With all the testing you have done, the time on the stand before installation and the high quality rebuild by an expert who is knowledgeable about this engine, the chances for a catastrophic failure at this point seem very slim.  
Certainly an answer will be found. 

Sending you all the support I can. 
Your tenacity and determination is inspirational. 
 

[Matt Harwood]

Well, I don't think anyone can accuse me of not putting in the time and effort here. And it continues...

 

Unfortunately, there are no internal adjustments to the oil system that will cure this particular issue. The oil pump is non-adjustable and the bypass for the oil cooler has been, well, bypassed in favor of the oil pressure gauge. There's no way to lose any pressure there. There's an internal pressure relief valve, but it doesn't come into play until pressure reaches at least 65 PSI. Yes, the spring may be weak, but I'm not sure the symptoms suggest a weak pressure relief spring. 

 

I contacted my friend Mark Clayton for advice and he was kind enough to respond late on a Saturday night. Some of his advice was encouraging (185-degree temperatures are not abnormal, which my friend @AB-Buff also confirms) and some was just kind of ambiguous. Here's what he said:

 

Hi Matt,

 

As you well know this engine building thing is a very long discussion, but the short version is these 414 Lincoln V12 engines suffer from low oil pressure.  I have stacked gears and made spacers to make the oil pump gears 50% taller, and this made the pump put out 50% more flow, but no increase in oil pressure.  I got the idea from Tom Powels.  My 1934 Brunn Convertible Victoria idles at 15-20 pounds hot and has all the oil pressure in the world cold.  We dyno all our engines and I would have to dig up the data on this Lincoln.  I have some other 414 engines that we ran through the dyno too.  The internal oil pressure relief regulator should only come into play at pressures over 65 pounds.  There are so many places that you could lose pressure.  Almost endless.  We cut all bearings at .002 and end thrusts at .004.  We do not use the oil cooler radiator.  We bypass that and mount a remote modern oil filter by the vacuum can.  We run 15W-40 diesel oil with 2 bottles of ZDDP.  The oil pump has no adjustment.  185 is a perfect running temp.  At 40 MPH I think I’m more like 35 PSI.  I think the oil temps on the dyno run about 165 degrees (thus get rid of the cooler, it’s more like a warmer, and besides when it blows and it will, it’s a huge mess).  I have a 1936 almost finished and this build will hit the dyno soon, so we’ll see how it goes.  I can report the results if you like.  

 

Wish I had a magic bullet, but I don’t. 

Mark 

 

Even so, I spent one of those long sleepless nights turning this problem around in my mind. By morning I had a plan of action:

 

Step one was to change the oil to something other than the straight 40-weight in there now, which was suspect. Why it was setting off a minor alarm in my head, I don't know, but early on I felt like it wasn't holding its viscosity when things warmed up. So I bought three gallons of 15W50 (another $150, thank you very much) and did another oil change. Before I changed the oil, I took it for a brief drive to warm up the oil, but shockingly the low oil pressure problem hadn't fixed itself overnight. Interestingly enough, I got the engine up to about 185 degrees by driving it about 5 miles, but the oil itself was merely warm--it splashed on my hand when I drained it and it was like a warm shower, not hot at all. Nevertheless, the 40-weight oil came out pretty much like water. That wasn't encouraging but I was hopeful that a thicker, more stable oil might offer improvements.

 

Following the oil change, another test drive showed a minor improvement to oil pressure. Still 10 or less at idle and maybe 25 or 27 PSI at 40 MPH. That's certainly better than 0 and 17 PSI, and oddly enough, the engine felt noticeably smoother with the thicker oil in it. I took all that as a good sign. But it still wasn't a cure for the problem.

 

Step two was bypassing the oil filter, which dawned on me at about 3:30 AM. On these cars, the oil filter is a partial flow unit that pulls oil from the same fitting as the factory oil pressure gauge. Since I installed a custom filter housing with a modern spin-on oil filter inside, and that unit simply drains back to the crankcase, my theory was that oil was going through the modern oil filter with far less resistance than the original filter, killing oil pressure. To experiment, I disconnected the filter and capped the fitting.

 

Disconnecting the oil filter line

seemed to perk things up even more.

 

Another test drive with the oil filter line capped showed another minor improvement. Hot idle was still around 10 (the owner's manual says very low pressure at idle is OK) but at 40 MPH cruising speed it was 30-35 PSI. Not what I wanted, but at least not critical failure level. Temperatures were running at 180-185 and with Mark's advice, I was OK with that. Oil pressure definitely dropped as it warmed up, but it was never at an emergency level. Ambient temperatures were about 83 degrees, so it was a hot day. A good stress test.

 

The factory gauge, however, was now showing about 5 PSI MORE than the gauge in the glove box. I guess that makes sense, as the oil filter wasn't stealing its pressure anymore. And looking at the factory gauge, I have to think that 30 PSI is what Lincoln engineers must have considered "normal." It's right there in the middle of the gauge. There's no red area, of course, but traditionally the middle of the gauge is as "normal" as you can get. And in a 1935 Lincoln, that's 30 PSI.

 

Factory gauge shows dead center 30 PSI at 40 MPH.

 

Where does that leave me now? I'm not sure. I'm not as upset as I was yesterday, but I'm not planning any driving tours with it, either. I'll call Frank Seme and talk to him about what we might be able to do to stabilize the pressure. Maybe an oil cooler of some kind? I don't know and short of tearing the engine apart, I'm not sure where to find the missing oil pressure. I'm concerned, but at the same time, this is a pretty simple, basic, rugged machine. It doesn't need 80 PSI of oil pressure so maybe if I can get it to stabilize at 30 with plenty of volume (which it seems to have), that might be good enough for regular driving up to 55-60 MPH. As long as I'm using good oil (probably synthetic after it's broken-in) I don't think there's any danger to the internals at that level. It's not like I'm spinning it to 6000 RPM, right?

 

And just in case you thought I was cresting another hill and my luck was changing, while I was working the hood fell [again] and damaged the headlight [again]. This goddamned hood is the WORST design I've ever seen and I can't believe that the Lincoln engineers decided this was an acceptable setup on such an expensive car. Someone needs a serious kick in the head. The 70-pound hood is literally held in the open position by a little tiny flap of rubber that simply rests on the cowl. No detent, no latch, no little groove for it to sit in. Just smooth, shiny metal that slopes downwards in the direction the hood wants to fall. Check it out:

 

Yes, that little piece of rubber is the only

thing keeping the hood open. And yes, it

does slip and fall fairly often. Screw you,

Lincoln hood engineer.

 

Freshly repainted and repaired headlight

bucket badly maimed. Goddammit.

 

I don't know what we'll do next so I'm going to proceed with work on the car as if it's going to be OK. If nothing else, that might make it easier to sell if push comes to shove.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[MCHinson]

While this might need some modification to fit your car, I suspect it could solve your hood problem. Ford Model A owner's have been using these for many years to correct a similar design flaw in Ford Model A's.  

 

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-28-34-Ford-Stainless-Steel-Hood-Prop-Rod-Kit,2957.html 

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

Matt, while reading your post, I was thinking of my personal Chevy truck. It’s a 07 with a duramax. When cold, it holds 60 psi at idle. When hot at 75 with 2000 rpms it has about 25 psi. At idle, it’s closer to 15-20 psi. I run rotella 15w40. Mike