Certified Classic Lincoln Repair Shops

[Dredawg10]

I live in Georgia, 31088 zip code. I am searching for a qualified classic Lincoln repair shop or classic lincoln repair technician. My car is rarely driven, but before I start to increase my driving, I need my 1967 Lincoln serviced. Please help.

[action]

Not sure shops like that exist.

If your ride has not been moving much in the last 12 to 36 months and is in fairly good condition, I would look at the scheduled maintenance book or page in the owner's manual.

And I usually start with the following when I pick up a classic ride
Top off fluids not being replaced - power steering, brake reservoir, windshield washer, battery distilled water
Replace filters - oil, air and fuel. This is low skilled work nearly any tech can do. They may need a shop manual if unfamilar
Replace all fluids - oil, coolant and transmission. This is low skilled work nearly any tech can do
Replace fan belts, radiator hoses and heater hoses as necessary in conjunction with the cooling system flush. Again low skilled work

Tune up -
Replace spark plugs, ignition points, condenser, rotor & may be distributor cap. Then set dwell first and base ignition timing. This is higher skilled labor. Pay more for a tech or hobbiest that knows how to do this work
Set carb mixture and cold/hot idle speed
If battery is older a load test. This can be done for free at a fast moving parts store like Auto Zone or O'Reillys. Either in car or removed from car. Clean battery terminals if needed.
Will need shop manual for specs and how to adjust if not familiar.

Repack front wheel bearings, check front brake friction material and pull drums and check rear shoes. This is in between low and high skilled labor. For a tech that has never worked on older vehicles a quick study of the shop manual should be all they would need.

Lastly, check for operation horns, wipers, all interior/exterior lights including turn signals and brake. Repair or replace as needed

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[Dredawg10]

Thank you very much--great run down of activities to perform. I appreciate your feedback.

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Thank you very much--great run down of activities to perform. I appreciate your feedback.

I did forget to air up tires and check the manufacturing week and year of the tires. Old tires no matter how they look can lead to tire failure.

Much if not all of that is in the maintenance section of the owner's manual.

And a good tech will know how to do all of that. But know when to ask for reference materials. The skill is not knowing everything. It is in knowing what you do know and what you do not know. Then pursuing the unknown as the data for a 50+ year old car isn't new by any stretch.

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[Stuart M. Cohen]

For what it's worth, if you are looking for a mechanic, start with an independent guy who may or may not be associated with a place like NAPA. When you go talk with the guy, look at his age. If he's over age 40, he's a possibility since he's probably worked on cars with carburetors. Then ask if he's worked on older cars. If he says "no", he may still be in the running, especially if you have the maintenance manual. A older mechanic who is seasoned and has worked on old cars in his past might be able to work on the Lincoln if you have the manual.

When we took our cross country trips and needed a mechanic, I asked if they had experience on older cars. When in Myrtle Beach and the brakes went, I told the guy what I had and asked if they could work on it and he said "a 63? When I worked at the Ford dealership, the owner had a 67 and I kept it running for him". Now, this guy was the service manager, but was there to oversee the actual mechanics doing the job.

I'd also reach out to your local car clubs to see who they use. You might be able to find someone there. There's a guy in my local club who does restorations and repairs and he's currently working on my 30 Hudson.

[papawayne]

We've got a young fella up here in Maine, Just started out on his own after training at that restoration college in the midwest. (McPhearson?) Don't know a thing about him, but intend to pay a visit. My work is usually done by another young fella who grew up with Zephyrs. Wayne

[Mike]

No shop would be certified for working on classic lincolns and you'd probably be hard pressed too to find a place that specifically specializes in old Lincolns. The best way to find a shop is to skip the chain ones and look at independent ones like Stuart said. If they have older cars around that's a good sign. Even if they're from the 80s it usually means they're good at diagnosing non-obd cars. If you know of any good shops already ask them if they can work on it or know anyone who can. Sometimes they'll surprise you and shops also usually don't recommend other ones they don't trust. It's not a bad idea to ask parts stores too because they'll know if certain shops regularely buy parts for old cars. When you find a place you like stick with them but if there's always something you don't think is right keep looking. Maybe you'll find someone better but maybe you won't.

[Stuart M. Cohen]

"It's not a bad idea to ask parts stores too because they'll know if certain shops regularly buy parts for old cars."

Glad you mentioned this, Mike. I actually forgot that I did that. When we were in Napa, CA. and had problems with the brakes, I went to the local NAPA store and asked the guy who could work on the car. He gave me the name of a guy who immediately diagnosed the problem as the brake booster. When I pulled up to the shop, there was an old Model T truck in the lot. One day and $900 later (needed to get one overnighted from Colorado) the problem was fixed.

[TonyC]

From your location in Georgia, I would say that the closest "certified" Lincoln shop to you would be LincolnLand in Clearwater, Florida; that would be quite a drive for you. I'm not sure of the extent of your own automotive skills, but anyone who owns a vintage car of any make, especially if that make is a Suicide Lincoln, needs to acquire and refine those skills. I say this because these cars, to include your specific year, have very oddball component designs that no other car had, and most mechanics will not think about that when doing work. We veterans all strongly recommend acquiring a shop manual for your specific year if you don't already have one. That is not the same as the owner's manual, although that is also a very important piece of literary reference with its explanation of how all the little things of the car work, and the maintenance references. The shop manual will give details on repairs.

I had to learn my grand's Man-Of-War (incidentally, also a '67) myself for the most part. I happened to have extra good fortune by having a very good mechanic living nearby who was willing to teach me tricks of the trade, especially the talent of "exploratory surgery." There are several design flaws in your car that will need to be engineered out, things that the manuals will not get into; we at the Forum have learned of these gremlins and their fixes over the course of at least a generation of years.

So, with that caveat in mind, stick with this Forum. We know everything you will need to know about how to get your car operating even better than it did when new.

---Tony

[CaptainDave]

Always an interesting question. Stu's advice is solid. I think repair shops come in 3 flavors: slabside Lincoln specialists (example: LincolnLand); general restoration shops (example, Automotive Restorations Inc, Stratford, CT); and your "local guy." I'm lucky that my "local guy" has 2 people who like working on old cars and know them. I found him because when I drove by his shop, I'd always see 10 modern cars, 1 classic/12 modern cars, 2 classics/etc. There wasn't always a collectable car there, but maybe 2 out of every 3 drive-bys there they were. He's done good work on the car and it's great having him only 3 miles away. But the best thing about him is that when I go to him with an issue, we discuss it and he says, "sure, I can fix that" or "umm, I'm not sure I'm the best person for that problem." INVALUABLE! There's a lot that he does, but he'll gently suggest I go elsewhere for certain things, and that's when I make the much longer trek to a general restoration facility or one of the very few Lincoln specialists. Spend some serious time figuring this out in your area. It's worth the extra time you'll devote to research on the front end to avoid hassles later. Good luck!

[action]

I'm lucky that my "local guy" has 2 people who like working on old cars and know them.
He's done good work on the car.
But the best thing about him is that when I go to him with an issue, we discuss it and he says, "sure, I can fix that" or "umm, I'm not sure I'm the best person for that problem."
INVALUABLE! There's a lot that he does, but he'll gently suggest I go elsewhere for certain things
Good luck!

Knowing what you can not do is as valuable as knowing what you can do.

I believe Harry Calahan said it the best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG2cux_6Rcw

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