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

[F&J]

On 4/6/2023 at 7:54 PM, Bloo said:

That looks like a piece of the ball separator for a ball bearing.

 

If that is sitting on 1/4" graph paper grids, it looks too thick to be from a bearing separator.  More like a piece of snap ring?

 

In the other thread, Ed suspected a free wheeling issue and I lean that way too. (trans still shifts fine, but also Matt said the freewheel controls feel wonky)....so...is the noise coming from a free wheel part that is "moving around/hitting something" because a snap ring broke?

 

I have no idea what the oil drain passages are in size from the free wheel case back into the main transmission case. (for that chunk to be able to end up where it did. )  That "trough" where Matt found the chunk is the oil inlet well for the Free Wheel unit. The cluster gear turbulence would have easily lifted up that chunk and it ended up there.

 

Any web search gurus able to find a exploded view of the free wheeling unit?  I am assuming from common sense only, that that unit can be serviced/disassembled with the transmission still in the car?    Then just facing the chit job of moving back the torque tube rear end to be able to know exactly what let go?    Only scary part is which pieces need to be sourced to fix it, and how to find them. (maybe all it needs is a snap ring if that is what broke?)

 

ADDING before I posted...I just now looked at my Dads old repair books from his 1950s shop.  One book shows a trans cutaway view for Lincoln K but says "1935-1940". It is a conventional trans that never had free wheel, so it must be later 30s to 40 diagram.  

 

But, I also found a Flat Rate Labor Chart and under 1935 K, it says 5.1 Hours to remove and reinstall the free wheel unit.  Then it says 5.1 hours to overhaul the FW unit after it was removed.  So, it sounds to me like the FW unit can be unbolted from the trans without removing the trans.   

 

This does not sound too difficult including sliding the rear end back to pull the FW unit....if we believe the trans can stay in the car... Right???

.  

[edinmass]

Most free wheel units that do not include a sprag lock up for an overdrive unit are removable from the back of the transmission. Oftentimes, you can remove the guts from the free wheeling unit, and just lock it up in place……reverting back to a regular function transmission. About half of the late model Pierce cars had this done to them in the era…….for safety. 

[Steve9]

Matt, Please take a break from your quest to finish the Lincoln. You deserve it. Thank you for taking us on this journey with you also. Your passion reminds me of the British explorer Ernest Shackleton who braved the Antarctic winter and the loss of their ship to the sea ice and lost not a single man. Please read this story if you haven’t. We are your devoted crew and are with you on every step of this journey. Victory is within reach.

[Melanie Harwood]

Hi Everyone! I hope my presence here is okay and that you will allow me to share an update on Matt and the Lincoln.

 

Many of you have been following along since the car arrived and we were crushed by how inaccurately represented it was. We were SO EXCITED to get it and then ruined so soon after it arrived. When we were finally ready to start making the Lincoln part of our 'family' Matt dug in carefully with more patience than I have seen from him in our 15 years together.  It has been a labor of love and hate all at the same time but I think you all know that.  Most of you have been following our journey with this car so I don't need to tell you what has been going on over the past few years but every time we feel like we are close, something else kicks us. This past week, just as he was about to reach a huge checkpoint,  he got another kick and had to throw his hands up and walk away.

Many of you have suggested that Matt take a break but it isn't that simple. He can't just close the door to the garage and go back in a few weeks to try again because our garage is also our business. He can't take some time away from old cars and regroup because he has to show up every day and face 70 other cars that all seem to be waiting their turn to mess with him in one way or another. 

 

Fortunately, the Lincoln is out for the next few weeks at the upholstery shop getting new carpets, kick panels, and some other bits installed. That appointment was not something we wanted to miss, as we have been waiting patiently for our turn to bring the Lincoln in. So in a way, Matt is getting a forced break from the car and will be able to give some thought to what our next steps will be... when he is ready.

 

A lot of you have been checking in on Matt and are concerned, but he is just taking the best kind of break he can which includes not being here on the message boards for a bit. I know how grateful Matt is for all of your support, encouragement, and insights while he has been on this journey. We want this car on the road. We have plans for this car in our future. I know, without question, that Matt will get us to the finish line because he always does. 

 

Thanks everyone. Matt will be back!

 

[m-mman]

Thank you for the update. 

There is not a single serious car person here that hasn’t become overwhelmed with frustration and disappointment and walked away from a project. Sometimes for years and even decades. 

Matt has been sharing some very personal emotions that I know I have felt and are rarely admitted to publicly. His brutal honesty is such a contrast to the TV shows and car show stories. (“Oh yeah, easy project, did it all in a few weeks”) 

 

When I have hit the wall with my cars I feel alone because certainly nobody else ever has problems and horrendous set backs. 
When Matt shares, it makes it all seem more normal.  Then it makes my disappointments a little bit less. 
 

Thank you for being so open and honest.  You are doing us all a favor. 

[playswithbrass]

Melanie, what Matt is getting is what he most needs. a supportive wife and partner who understands exactly what he is going through. Restorations are not done in isolation, they are done with the family finances and energy. As such, helping him step back, not putting him under a deadline and getting done what can be done that will show some steps forward is the best way. Been there, done that!

Erica

[Wascator]

Matt should make this story into a book. Took me hours but I’ve read the entire thread.

[Melanie Harwood]

Just a quick update since I think you guys want to know what's going on. The Lincoln came back from the upholstery shop today and it looks beautiful. I wanted to give full credit to Joe and Dale at InteriorMotive here in Cleveland who did the work. It turned out beautifully! If you're in the area and need upholstery work, they are a great choice. They did new carpets front and back, reupholstered the front armrests with fabric that almost matches the original, and covered the foot rests in the back seat. They also made new kick panels and repaired the corners of the door panels that were coming apart from people's feet hitting them. We chose a carpet a little darker than original to help hide dirt. The old carpets were so light that everything made a stain. They also cleaned and oiled the wood moldings which was nice of them! We will have Michael Johnson our detail expert steam clean the rest of the interior to try to clean it up a bit because some of it is really looking its age. But for original it's pretty nice!

 

Here are a few photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Matt and our mechanic Roman went to get the car this morning. Matt mostly just pulled into the parking lot and parked it and walked away but Roman said that it seemed to drive just fine and that they were going as fast as 60 MPH in some places so I guess it's working well. I asked Matt and he said it drove as well as an unsorted car could and that he was going to ignore the transmission noise for now since it seems to be much less audible with the thicker oil in it.

 

It's supposed to go to the Stan Hywet Father's Day car show next month. Maybe Matt will put the front fenders and hood back on or maybe we'll just show it like this, I don't know. Now that it's back from the shop, it all depends on whether Matt feels like jumping back in and working on it. I'll know more later today after I see what kind of mood he's in. If he's happy, I'll know he's excited about the car. We'll see how this weekend turns out, he really hasn't been himself for a while now. Thanks for hanging in there with us!

 

 

[Walt G]

When you are able to drive down the road , all will seem well and some of the pressure you have been under for such a long time to "get the car right" will start to subside - the "fun" and "proud " memories will start to accumulate because when people see you drive by they will smile, you have made them happy.

[EmTee]

11 hours ago, Melanie Harwood said:

I asked Matt and he said it drove as well as an unsorted car could and that he was going to ignore the transmission noise for now...

Maybe putting the fenders and hood back on to allow driving locally while accumulating some 'easy' miles is the way to go.  That will allow the engine to break-in properly while sorting other nits as they emerge.  The transmission can be monitored and treated as a 'watch item' that can hopefully be dealt with later at a more opportune time.

[Matt Harwood]

Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. So here you find me, putting wrenches on this Lincoln once again.

 

But first, I would be remiss if I didn’t say thank you to all of my friends here for their kind words. The posts, the messages, the phone calls, all of them are greatly appreciated. It’s why I’m still standing. You are all generous people with big hearts and it is no small thing you’ve done. Thank you.

 

I picked up the Lincoln a few days ago at the upholstery shop, as Melanie mentioned up above. The work is pretty nice and I’m happy with the new carpets. It gives the interior a much more polished feel. The drive home from the upholstery shop was about 20 miles on surface streets with speeds between 35 and 45 MPH. The car drove well and without incident, holding temps at about 140-150 degrees and everything else in the normal range. Impressive power and the few times that I really leaned on it, it really pulled hard. Still, I didn’t embrace it—there was still a little noise audible through the shifter and a vibration at 35 MPH that I believe is the tires. I didn’t want to like the car, I didn’t want to enjoy the drive, so I didn’t. Back at the shop, I just parked it without any intention to work on it. My only real thought was, “Now that the interior is nicer, maybe it’ll be easier to sell.”

 

It is worth noting, however, that the transmission shifts perfectly. There’s just a little noise, far less than before, but it shifts cleanly and without any issues. That Amsoil SAE 250 synthetic gear oil works beautifully, the synchros are smooth, and if not for the noise, I wouldn’t suspect anything was amiss. I was thinking that I’d drain it after the drive back from the upholstery shop and see what the fluid looks like, but the stuff is so expensive that I’m hesitating. Plus, if I don’t look, it becomes Schrodinger’s transmission—it may or may not be broken.

 

Now it’s the long Memorial Day weekend. I had no plans, but I will say that I’m tired of sitting in my favorite chair trying to find things to watch on TV. Do I want to work on the Buick? I’m not angry at that car, although I haven’t driven it since last October—I’m just not very interested in cars anymore. I have an NOS temperature gauge and a replacement fuel gauge to install, new gravel guards to install, and a few other jobs that would be day projects (which I like best). Meh.

 

But then my son, Riley, being the awesome person that he is, asked if he could learn to drive a stick shift car (even though he’s only 14, we’ve been practicing driving in my 2019 Buick TourX with an automatic). I said sure, we could practice using the Audi Ute. He said no, he didn’t want to learn on a fast car because things happen too fast. He asked if I could teach him using the Lincoln because it has a shifter on the floor (unlike the Buick’s 3-on-the-tree). He really seems to like the Lincoln, probably because he and I were the only ones to successfully drive it any distance when we first got it . He’s sort-of thinking this is the one he will drive on tours when he’s 16. So that kind of changed my trajectory; that kid is something special.

 

So here I am on this long weekend, back to work on the Lincoln. Good or bad, I’m going to try one last time to put it back together and let everyone else drive it—Melanie is excited to drive it because it’s easy to handle and Riley is obviously interested. They can have it once it’s back together. A Full Classic for the rest of my family to use.

 

So what have I done this weekend? I made a kill sheet and knocked out a bunch of little jobs:

 

1.      Fixed the trip odometer (important on a car where the gas gauge doesn’t work). The fix was nothing more than pushing the knob back in from the reset position. Idiot.

 

2.      Adjusted the steering wheel so it’s straight. I actually blew it and didn’t adjust it far enough, but the fix felt a little destructive and I was afraid I was doing some damage to the steering box pitman arm gear, so I’m leaving it as-is. It tracks straight, the wheel is just off a couple of degrees.

 

3.      Adjusted the left front brake drum so it doesn’t pull slightly to the left on initial application of the brakes. It still pulls and I’ve adjusted it as far as it will go, so I think I’ll tighten the right front brake to balance things.

 

4.      Adjusted the right rear brake drum, which appears to be dragging for some reason on right turns. Don’t know if this is fixed because it seems intermittent.

 

5.      Fixed the exhaust rattle by removing the rubber mount and bolting the exhaust rigidly to the frame bracket. Don’t care, it’s quiet, and maybe someday I’ll have Tim Shaffer make me a new stainless exhaust system with all-new mounts.

 

6.      Replaced the fuel line from the in-line filter to the fuel pump now that I have the correct 45-degree fitting. Fuel line will now clear the hood, whenever I reinstall it.

 

 
Replaced the fuel line and fitting, looks much neater.

 

7.      Trimmed the passenger side windshield wiper blade, which was two inches too long and parked on top of the windshield frame.

 

8.      Changed differential oil to the same Amsoil synthetic SAE 250 that I used in the transmission. Even after all that work on the rear axle seals, the right rear axle is leaking fluid from behind the hubcap. Maybe the change to the heavier fluid will help?

 

9.      I reinstalled the radiator shutters. The Sylphon diaphragm is borked so the shutters don’t work, but since it was running at 140 degrees, I figured a little obstruction wouldn’t hurt. I hand-adjusted the shutters to be open about 85% and they’ll stay there. My theory is that it will also direct the air through the radiator and out the hood vents rather than blasting the firewall—and interior—with heat (thanks to my friend @AB-Buff for this tip).

 

  

Reinstalled the radiator shutters even though they're inop.

 

10.   I installed the distributor cover, although that may have been premature (more on that in a moment).

 

Installed the distributor cover.
 

11.   I primed and painted all the exposed nuts and bolts that I’ve installed. Painting them black helps them blend in better.

 

12.   I primed and painted the rub strips in the chrome trim on the trunk rack. These should actually be rubber strips, but since my rubber strips are long gone, painting them black was the next best thing. I’m still missing three of the chrome pieces, so it’s not perfect, but it’s better than it was.

 

  

Primed.

 

  

And painted.

 

13.   Filled the shocks with hydraulic oil. They were all bone dry. They all leak like hell, which is why they were dry. The fronts leak a little, the rears leak as fast as I can pour the oil in. They all need to be rebuilt, but there’s a tangible improvement in ride quality when the shocks are working. This will be a project for another day since they cost $500 each to rebuild.

 

 

Those were the little things that were just busy work and killed all three days of a long weekend. I still have a few other jobs, but final tuning is the only thing that really remains aside from putting the front end sheetmetal back together. Melanie drove it a few times this weekend and really enjoys it, so that’s good news. I need to make it reliable for her to use it safely.

 

All this work notwithstanding, I really want to get it running better. Actually, it runs superbly—I can lug this thing down to 4 MPH and it pulls cleanly in high gear. Check it:

 

Nice, right? Smooth, fast, powerful, effortless. Downshifts are completely unnecessary except for a dead stop.

 

But the idle still sounds like crap at the tailpipe. It runs smooth but doesn’t sound smooth. I have tweaked the hell out of the carburetor without much improvement. I am now thinking that the issue is ignition, not fuel. I will check plug gaps, point gaps, timing, and a few other things there to make sure things are right in that department. I want that perfect powerful hum that the great multi-cylinder cars have. On the road it sounds pretty good and pulls like a freight train, but the idle needs to be much better. I’ve been waiting until it was warm enough to get it up to a proper temperature for tuning and that time is now (it seems to stabilize at about 165 in 85-degree weather). I hooked up a vacuum gauge and it flickers between 20 and 21 inches of vacuum--suggestive of an ignition issue. You can hear how crappy it sounds.

 

Or maybe I should just accept good enough as being good enough and not screw things up chasing perfection. That’s what always gets me in trouble.

 

Oh, and eventually I’m going to need to reinstall the front sheetmetal. I’ll need some extra hands for that so maybe this week I'll have Roman and Michael give me a hand.

 

  

Time for some sheetmetal.

 

Time to get this motherfluffer across the finish line, even if it kills me.

 

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[Laughing Coyote]

17 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

Time to get this motherfluffer across the finish line, even if it kills me.

Glad to see you back at it. Give'er H_LL Matt!!!!  It's not going to win.

[edinmass]

Sounds like a lean burn misfire on the idle circuit. Try adding propane from a plumbers torch………don’t light it……just use it to add HC’s and see if it smooths out………..I can’t remember what the car has for a carb…….maybe the idle air bleeds are too small? 

[Matt Harwood]

On 5/30/2023 at 12:12 AM, edinmass said:

Sounds like a lean burn misfire on the idle circuit. Try adding propane from a plumbers torch………don’t light it……just use it to add HC’s and see if it smooths out………..I can’t remember what the car has for a carb…….maybe the idle air bleeds are too small? 

Tried that tonight and nothing changed. The carb is a Stromberg EE-1. I still think it's an ignition issue. I think the point gap is too wide and the spark is irregular. I don't think it's carburetor because none of the adjustments do much to change the idle quality. I'll keep trying.

 

But tomorrow I plan to reinstall the front end sheetmetal. I'll need Michael and Roman to help so we'll spend some of the day getting things bolted onto the front of the car. To prepare, I installed some nylon webbing on top of the frame to act as a pad. There are rivets on the frame and holes in the fenders to clear them, so I had to make holes in the nylon webbing. I took a 5/8" hole punch and heated it up slightly with a torch, then stamped the holes over the rivets with the nylon on the frame. Voila! Perfect fit. I glued it down using some clear adhesive and let it set up for a while.

 

   

Holes "cut" in the webbing and then secured to the frame.

 

There are also some smaller holes through the frame that are used to mount the fender itself, so I used an awl--which I also heated with the torch--to punch some holes for those bolts. Easy.

 

A heated awl made perfect 1/4-inch holes

for the fender mounting bolts.

 

While the glue was setting up, I started sorting out the hardware that I'll need for the installation so we have everything at hand when we're wrestling with those giant pieces of metal. And a BIG thank you to Michael Johnson, my shop manager, who sorted, bagged, and labeled all the parts that Dr. Francini removed as he removed them years ago. Tonight, several years later, it was easy to find what I needed. Nice work, Michael!

 

Michael sorted and bagged all the

hardware, which just made my life

a lot easier.

 

 

These seven bolts do all the heavy lifting

holding the fenders in place. I used fresh lock

washers on all of them and new 3/8-24x1 

stainless bolts on the running board end.

 

Tomorrow we enter the home stretch. I'm eager to see how it looks all finished.

[AB-Buff]

Matt, if you check the point gap, use a dwell meter not a feeler gauge. They should be at 36°. As long as you get both of them the same, as close to 36° as you can the synchronization will not change.

Lynn

[AB-Buff]

By the way, I think it sounds fine, check your points if you wish. Leave it alone put a few hundred miles on it. The vacuum is fantastic. After two or 300 miles put another vacuum gauge on it if you see the vacuum lower, adjust your carburetor a little bit to the best vacuum you can. If it’s still lower than 21 inches of mercury, then re-torque your intake manifold. I ended up doing mine several times. Sounds great Matt it’s going to be a good runner. I think you’re gonna love it! 

[edinmass]

Don’t assume the points are correct……..and if you like, send me the distributor and coils, I will put them on my tester. If adjustments to the carburetor do not change things, I bet it’s a fuel issue. Put a five gas machine on it to see what is coming out the pipe. I’ll be out your way soon, and we can play with it. I’m hoping to spend a week in Cleveland in July.

[Matt Harwood]

Nothing is tightened or aligned, but the big parts are together!

 

 

[EmTee]

That's more like it! 

[alsancle]

Welcome back Matt.

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

That’s one cool looking car!!!!!   We all are rooting for you. Mike

[95Cardinal]

What a beautiful car!

Go Matt, go!

[Matt Harwood]

Spent some time this evening aligning the fenders and hood. There was one bolt I couldn't reach and now I'm seeing that the car was assembled at the factory differently than I'm doing it. Obviously the radiator and grille shell were installed as a unit after the fenders were installed, but I'm not going to pull the radiator to do it the way they did. One missing 1/4-20 bolt won't make a difference. I got the hood to fit pretty well with even gaps all around--it's not quite as tight as I'd like it but it fits, it's even, and it doesn't bind so I'm calling it good. I also tried to install the headlight bases but they don't quite fit. I'm not sure why. I'll take a photo tomorrow and maybe someone has a thought. My guess is that the headlights were installed when the grille went in but before the fenders were secured in place so there was a little wiggle room. I may have to loosen the fenders to get the headlights to fit, we'll see.

 

My other problem is the headlight wiring. I have new harnesses, but both ends are male bullet connectors. Not quite sure how to make that work--there are double female bullet connector unions, but they're mail-order only and I'm not sure what size I'll need. I may just clip the male bullets from the headlight harness and install female connectors, then install the harness. There's a ton of wiring to do inside the headlight, including some modifications, but that'll have to come later.

 

Good progress today but frustrating that I couldn't cross any finish lines. I'll hit it hard on Saturday.

[Walt G]

On 6/1/2023 at 8:51 PM, Matt Harwood said:

I couldn't cross any finish lines

Matt you did, your car is so much further to being back on the road then it was a month or even a few weeks ago. Heck.  just having the sheet metal on it makes it a "whole car" again.

We all are proud of you .

Walt

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Anxiously awaiting details from the first tour when all is forgotten! 

 

Matt "Well, we had some minor challenges, you know, typical old car stuff...  Fun mostly recomissioning this ol gal.."  😉🐕👍👍👍

[Matt Harwood]

Lots of work got done today--I have headlights! It wasn't easy and they're not yet 100% (the hi-beams don't work) but they're mostly functioning as intended. I returned them to OEM functionality, which includes parking lights built into the headlight assembly. Figuring that part out was a real challenge, especially since my car has been converted to sealed beam headlights. Whomever did it, did a good job and it looks pretty correct (I didn't even notice until I took the headlights apart), but it definitely made my task a little more difficult.

 

I originally considered just adding some parking lights somewhere else, maybe behind the grille or on the bumper--something small and subtle. But then I found these Lucas sealed beam headlight assemblies that included what the British call a "pilot light." It happens to be exactly the same as the parking lights originally in my headlight--a smaller bulb offset and closer to the front of the headlight. Even better, it isn't technically a sealed beam, it uses an H4 bulb, which is replaceable without trashing the whole lens and reflector assembly. That sounded like my solution, so I ordered a pair of them. Hopefully folks won't notice the subtle Lucas emblem on the lens.

 

Lucas H4 sealed beam with a pilot light was

just the ticket to make my headlights work

like OEM.

Since the housing uses an H4 bulb, I now had a wide variety of choices in terms of bulbs, including LEDs. So I ordered a set of H4 LED headlight bulbs with hi and low beams in 2500K color, so they'd look like original bulbs (a little yellow, not blue-white). I also ordered LEDs for the pilot lights, same 2500K color. And since the H4 bulb uses a modern 3-prong connector, I ordered a pair of those with 12-gauge leads, just in case I have to switch back to incandescent bulbs with higher power draw. I have a brand new wiring harness, including the headlight leads, and they were unterminated on the headlight end, so I was able to connect the new harness to the H4 connector as well as a lead for the pilot light. I also added a ground wire to the frame since both the H4 and pilot light bulbs had separate ground terminals. There's already a ground wire that's soldered to the inside of the bucket, but I don't trust it given all the paint, dirt, nylon strap on the frame, etc. between the headlight and the frame. I soldered all the ground wires together so the headlights would have a good ground no matter what.

 

Terminals and bulbs for the Lucas sealed

beam unit. I used LEDs. We'll see how they

work when it's all together.

 

 

Assembled into the original Lincoln trim ring.

Pretty clever design, actually. You can see where

the pilot light is located in the housing.

 

Then I modified my new reproduction wiring

harness to accommodate the H4 bulb and a

separate ground wire that I'll attach to the frame.

 

Once I had all the wiring figured out, I had to get it into the car. That was a MUCH bigger job than anticipated. First I mounted the headlight stands and quickly discovered that the fenders and grille are not correctly oriented with each other--the grille was too low. There's that bar that goes from the headlight stand to the grille shell, and it was on an angle such that you could see a gap where the bar met the headlight stand. I couldn't fix it by moving the stand and I didn't want to use brute force to try to coax it into position. I agonized over it for about 20 minutes then finally dug in and did what had to be done.

 

Headlight stand and bar almost correctly 

oriented (note a bit of a gap where the bar

meets the stand). I had to remedy this before

I could move on.

 

So there was a fairly extensive detour where I had to loosen the lower radiator mounts on the frame, use a jack and a block of wood to raise the radiator until the headlight bars were perpendicular. To keep it there, I had to make some spacers to slide under the radiator, so I used the rubber washers I initially bought to use as spacers under the radiator (you may recall that I opted to use the rubber blocks that were already there). I cut out a portion of the washer so it could slide over the stud and worked them into position. This was NOT an easy job. But on the upside, the headlight bars now fit correctly.

 

I had to make a set of spacers to raise the radiator

and grille shell so the headlight bars would be

parallel. I ultimately used three per side, raising

the radiator about 1/4-inch.

 

With the headlight stands in place, I could try again to run the wiring harness. And again, it was just not cooperating. So I called Melanie and she came to the shop to give me a hand (there may have been some choice words uttered before that phone call). Working together we were ultimately able to get the harness into place. I don't rightly know how they did it on the assembly line, but I bet it didn't take two guys half an hour to do it.

 

With Melanie's help, we eventually got the

harness pulled into place.

 

 

Once the harness was in place, I could 

mount the headlight buckets and start

connecting the terminals. Red wires are for

the high and low beams, black is ground,

and green is pilot light power.

 

 

One problem I'm facing is that the folks at Rhode Island Wiring made a rare mistake--the body harness has male bullet connectors, as does the headlight harness. Obviously not compatible. I have to decide how to solve that particular problem, but by using some jumper wires I could still test the headlights anyway. 

 

Connecting some jumper wires down on the 

frame, I could test functionality. Pilot light

works as it should!

 

As does the low-beam headlight. Hi-beam

is still inop for some reason.

 

The way I have it wired, the pilot light will be on all the time, both as a parking light and when the headlights are on. This is because this circuit also feeds the taillights, which obviously need to be on whenever the parking lights or headlights are on. That's why I chose an LED, which will draw almost zero power--a little more light from the headlights never hurts.

 

A few problems that I still need to solve: First, I don't have hi-beams. I have two possible theories: one, the hi-beam foot switch is buggered. It doesn't work consistently and sticks sometimes, so that's my first choice. And two, perhaps the relay that powers the hi-beam isn't working. I'll order a new foot switch and I have a spare relay, so those are both solvable problems. My second problem is the incompatible male bullet connectors between the body harness and the headlight harness. I thought about simply cutting one set off and installing female connectors, but they're larger than the standard 5/32 bullet connectors at the auto parts store, so they don't fit. Since I have to special order something to solve the problem, I may as well simply order a bunch of double female unions instead. Easy, no cutting, no soldering, no worries about bad joints. 

 

I didn't have enough jumper wires to power both sides at the same time, so I could only test one headlight at a time. But it looks good:

 

Headlights should work well once everything

is in place and working properly.

 

 

And it's another step closer to being a complete car.

 

Tomorrow I'll do some additional diagnostics on the headlight circuit and install the front bumper and fog lights. And then, well, it's just a matter of putting some miles on it. I've driven it about 100 miles at this point, but I want 1500 miles on it before we take it to the Lincoln Homecoming in August.

 

 

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

[Bloo]

1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said:

One problem I'm facing is that the folks at Rhode Island Wiring made a rare mistake--the body harness has male bullet connectors, as does the headlight harness. Obviously not compatible. I have to decide how to solve that particular problem, but by using some jumper wires I could still test the headlights anyway. 

I believe some 1930s cars originally used a double female bullet in spots like that. It's not ideal because it's more connections, but I'm pretty sure they did it. I've no idea if that applies to your Lincoln or not.

 

 

[Walt G]

Thank you for taking the time to describe all that you did - all the "electricalness" . Bugger all that is something I never want to do.

The Lincoln Owner's Club meet was this past weekend in Pa. A close friend who has a Lincoln ( a 1935 KB as well ) attended . Some neat cars there but few LZ or Continentals from the photos I saw.

YOUR CAR LOOKS MAGNIFICENT MATT. Try to put all your aggravation in the past and replace it with the joy you now have my friend. The car has very clean lines I hope that Trip pea lites are not needed. They would interrupt the flow of that mid 1930s streamline design.

[Matt Harwood]

Well, I'm not sure what to make of this:

 

 

Installing the front sheetmetal has raised the operating temperature by about 40 degrees. I don't have an explanation other than reduced airflow. I am not pleased, given that it was running ice cold before. I figured it would get 15, maybe 20 degrees hotter and stabilize around 170 or so. Not 195 or 200. Obviously nothing else has changed other than the installation of the grille and hood (and I did open the shutters to 100% on second thought before installing the grille). The hood shutters are working and are fully open. There's a slight coolant leak at the drain plug I've been ignoring because I'm going to fill it with antifreeze/distilled water/No-Rosion in the next few days, and it might be down 1/2-gallon or so. Maybe. But that doesn't explain the huge leap in operating temps.

 

I've got no good explanations. Timing is right on, if anything the fuel curve is a little fat, and the exhaust is nothing more than a goofball cherry bomb muffler that offers little resistance. Needless to say, I'm discouraged and frustrated by this.

 

Moving on, I'm almost finished putting the car back together. The front bumper was a bigger job than expected simply because it was yet another situation where the way the factory assembled it is different than how I'm doing it and it got...complicated. See, there are these openings in the front of the fenders for the bumper brackets, but the brackets, of course, are supposed to be BEHIND the fender. My guess is that the frame is the same as 1934 but when they redesigned the fenders in 1935, they merely added spacers to get the bumper to clear the fenders. Look:

 

 

Opening in the fender for the bumper bracket.

Clearly the factory installed them before the

fenders went into place. I also note that someone 

else has been hacking away at these openings

for some reason.

 

So in lieu of removing the fenders to install these brackets, I used a Dremel tool to gently enlarge and re-shape the opening to the exact size of the spacer. Then it slipped right into place, and the bumper was easy to install from there.

 

 

Using a Dremel, I enlarged the opening to fit the bracket.

 

 

Then I could install the bumper brace. Sorry about the wax 

on the fender, I figured I should clean it up now while I could

still reach all the nooks and crannies. The paint is actually a

lot nicer than it looks in these photos--lots of overspray

and other grunge on it.

 

 

Once the brace was in place, the bumper was easy to install.

 

With the bumper in place, I could also reinstall the fog lights. I didn't wire them up, but at least they're in place so the front of the car looks complete. I find the front of the '35 Lincoln to be kind of plain and the headlights are a little small, so the addition of the fog lights--even though they're not OEM--adds a little contrast.

 

Fog lights installed but not wired.

 

I didn't have the energy left to install the sidemounts, but I have to admit I kind of like the car without them. I backed it out into the sunlight and took some photos.

 

 

 

Interesting contrast.

 

I took it for a 15-mile drive and then took it home. Everything was normal but the temperature kept creeping up and up and up. Sitting still it was obviously a lot more significant and it would recover slightly once I got moving again, but it hovered at 190-195 most of the time. Worse, I see that oil pressure was about 10 PSI at idle and 20 PSI at speed, although I don't know how accurate the factory gauge is--I'm going to install a more accurate aftermarket gauge in the glove box and connect it to the bypass manifold like I did when I was testing it on the stand.

 

Made it home without issue, but the heat

concerns me quite a bit. Also, the idle

skyrocketed towards the end of my drive.

Somehow the idle screw tightened itself

while I was driving. Huh?!?

 

So I'm a little concerned. I'm going to call engine builder Frank and see what he thinks--after all, he still owns as much of this engine as I do. I also understand that it's early in the sorting process and that there are still a lot of things yet to do. But the fact that the ONLY thing that changed was the addition of the hood and grille and it now runs A LOT hotter, well, yeah, I'm worried. Maybe I should reinstall those coolant restrictors I used on the car when I first got it. They seemed to make a difference in how cool it would run.

 

I guess I'll have to keep sorting and hope for the best. I'm getting real tired of getting kicked, though.

 

 

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

[alsancle]

What is the outside air temp and what was the temp showing at 30mph vs at idle?

[Matt Harwood]

3 minutes ago, alsancle said:

What is the outside air temp and what was the temp showing at 30mph vs at idle?

77 degrees during my drive. At 30 MPH it was 185-190. At a stop it was 195-200. I left it idling in the sun and it crept over 200 before I shut it down.

[alsancle]

Just now, Matt Harwood said:

77 degrees during my drive. At 30 MPH it was 185-190. At a stop it was 195-200. I left it idling in the sun and it crept over 200 before I shut it down.

10 degrees less across the board and I would tell you that was fine.  

 

I'm apologizing in advance because I know you already posted this back 20 pages or so,  but the water pump is rebuilt?  Radiator boiled and tested?  Running a thermostat?

[Matt Harwood]

5 minutes ago, alsancle said:

10 degrees less across the board and I would tell you that was fine.  

 

I'm apologizing in advance because I know you already posted this back 20 pages or so,  but the water pump is rebuilt?  Radiator boiled and tested?  Running a thermostat?

 

Yes, water pump rebuilt and functioning properly. $1800 worth of new radiator with a correct core and flow rate. No thermostat in the system, just the radiator shutters.

 

I'm thinking about reinstalling the restrictors I made when I first got the car and it was running hot. They seemed to help it run cooler by slowing the coolant a bit. That water pump moves A LOT of water.

 

The puzzling thing is that the only thing that changed is the installation of the grille and hood. It was running almost too cool before (140 degrees) and I was concerned that it would never get properly warmed up. This is a significant shift from baseline with no mechanical changes.

 

The grille does represent a rather significant

obstruction.

[alsancle]

I agree. Strange. Perhaps something else changed besides the sheet metal but it’s just not obvious.

 

Slowing down the flow Could potentially cool things off too. When guys take their thermostats out. They think it’ll run cooler and it runs hotter.

 

I know, Ed is preoccupied, but he may have something intelligent to say.

[EmTee]

My initial thought is the air pressure in the engine compartment increased with the addition of the hood and associated sheetmetal.  You said the hood louvers are open, correct?  Does this car also have splash pans to fill the area between the inner frame rails and the engine block?  If so, I wonder whether removing those (temporarily as a test) would have any effect on the air flow through the radiator (by reducing the backpressure) and therefore lower the coolant temperature.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

This may be stating the obvious but what is typical running temp in summer weather for this engine per other owners? 77 degrees out is not blistering heat but it could be a factor.  I would ring up a couple owners to get an opinion at least before being too worried.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[billorn]

I think putting in restricters is a good idea. Since this cars does not have a thermostat (or does it?) the water is possibly moving too fast. A car with a thermostat already has a restricter in a sense. I bet Lincoln engineers would have added one if they existed. Try it and see. What can it hurt?

[AB-Buff]

Matt

First off your car is looking fantastic. I wish it was in my garage in that condition right now, today! I think you’re really going to enjoy it when you get her all put back together and sort out, just a couple of small details to deal with. I have to point out. You have a freshly rebuilt engine and all of the tolerances are probably on the tight side. So it’s going to create a little more friction. I wouldn’t worry about it. I can give you an idea how mine is. On a hot day around 95 to 100 degrees, running down the road at about 55 to 60 mph, I have 3.33 to one rear in gear, so I am at a lower RPM than you.  But it runs around 185 to 190. If I pull into someplace or get stuck in a traffic jam, it can easily run up to 205 maybe even a little higher. I try to avoid those conditions on a really hot day. The fan just won’t pull enough air across the radiator to keep it cool. If you do end up like that, you’re better off, putting in a neutral and bringing it up it a couple hundred RPMs to get a little more air across the radiator.  I have to point out that as you know there is no thermostat in the water system. Lincoln used the air to control the temperature of the engine. Probably not a good idea but that’s what they did. Make sure the bellows you have in your radiator that opens up the shutters in the front of the radiator starts to work as soon as possible. Also on mine, the hood sides vents start to open up right at 100° by 120 they’re fully open if you don’t have those bellows make sure that they’re fully open all the times, I believe their spring loaded to be fully open. Also when I put my sheet metal on I had to file a little bit around the  grill shell, it was messing with the radiator shutter system, so make sure that is opening without bumping/rubbing into something. Then I would just drive it. Make a note of what temperature it is on your gauge when you’re running down the road, if you’re at 190 running down the road when it’s 85° to 100 out that’s probably OK. Mine runs a lot better around 190 than it does around 160. Then put four or 500 miles on it, change the oil. And , I’m probably going to get some crap about this but I run fully synthetic oil and everything I own. Even my lawnmower runs in synthetic. I run 5-30 weight in the Lincoln. I’ve probably put 5000 miles on that car in the last few years.  The valve spring pressure is just too low to worry about your cam wearing out. And it’s a roller cam so very little friction going on there. Synthetic reduces the friction a lot more than normal oil. If I had to drive it to New York, probably cost me a fortune and gas but I wouldn’t mind doing it. If I could stay out of the hail storms, I’d be good to go. But like I said, it will heat up in a traffic jam or going through a 15 minute wait through a drive-through or something like that. That fan just won’t pull enough air at an idle. Just make sure everything is good and continue to drive it. I will point out. Mine has a 34 grill in it not like yours. It’s been that way for 65 years to my knowledge. I don’t know if it was ordered that way or if somebody changed it. I’ll probably never know. You know Lincoln only use your style grill in 1935. I don’t know why. Maybe they like the looks of the 34, 36 through 39 grill better? Anyway, I wish my motor was as fresh as yours. I think yours is going to be a fantastic tour car! 
Lynn

[AB-Buff]

9 minutes ago, billorn said:

I think putting in restricters is a good idea. Since this cars does not have a thermostat (or does it?) the water is possibly moving too fast. A car with a thermostat already has a restricter in a sense. I bet Lincoln engineers would have added one if they existed. Try it and see. What can it hurt?

I tried that in mine when I first got it, made some beautiful restrictors with radiused edges and everything. Didn’t help a bit. Waste of time. And I would be worried about wasting your money and a rebuild. Keep it the way Lincoln built it it’ll work. Attached is what I made. One

[maok]

Matt, I would say that the airflow through the radiator has reduced dramatically now that you have installed the hood and other parts to the front end. If it's not too difficult, remove the hood sides to see if the temperature reduces. 

 

I'd be more concerned with the low oil pressure.