1977 Lincoln Convertible Restoration Project

[58limited]

I have just begun the process of restoring my ’77 Lincoln Continental convertible conversion. I have not seen another thread devoted specifically to these cars so I thought I would post pictures of the project.




I bought this car in June of 2007. It came from Massachusetts. I do not know which company performed the conversion on this car, so far I have found no tags or stickers to ID them. The conversion on this car, as on most late 70’s Lincoln convertible conversions, utilized leftover 1972 Ford Galaxie/LTD convertible parts: top frame, windshield, door glass, etc.

When I received the car the top showed signs of shrinkage. There was a little rust bubbling from above the rear wheel openings, the trunk was rusted out (I replaced that already), the front left pillar below the windshield showed heavy rust, and the dash was cracked. The top split along the right side not too long after I took delivery of the car. I would have started this project sooner, but Hurricane Ike forced me to postpone the project. Here are pics of these areas:







There is also rust on the driver’s door and along the bottom of the passenger door, some rust on the front right fender, the right rear quarter in front of the rear wheel opening, and rust showing around both tail lights. Fortunately I have a ’78 Town Coupe for parts with rust-free doors and front fenders. Even though the rust on the fender is minor, my body man advised me to use the fender from the ’78 to save a little money. We are going to cut the areas above the rear wheel openings off of the ’78 and weld them in to fix the rust on the ’77.






This past week I loosened the rear tack strips that mount the top to the rear deck and I found a serious rust problem that the previous owner did not address when he replaced the top several years ago. In fact, he half-assed the installation by bracing the rusted rear tack strips with aluminum strips and duct tape. It looks like I am going to have to remake the drainage channel and mounting surface for the top. Part of the trunk ,lip on each side is rusted at the weld points of the braces for the gas struts used to support weight of the trunk lid – this is the aftermarket accessory lid with the hump in it. The hump is made of metal. I understand that some are made of fiberglass. The area below the top well also has a few rust holes. We are going to use the ’78 as a donor for this also.









I decided to use my tax return start this project. I found new tack strips at Hydro-E-Lectric in Florida for $190.00 ( http://www.hydroe.com/ ) and they should arrive any day now. I called several places and this was the only company I could find that makes them for the LTD. I ordered a new burgundy canvass top with glass rear window this past week from the company that was the OE supplier to Ford and GM back in the day: http://www.aro2000.com/ The cost was $495.00. I ordered the weather strip set for the top from Dennis Carpenter for $450.00 ( http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/

Basically the biggest project is going to be reconstructing the drainage channel and top mounting areas around the top well/ rear deck. I’m going to a sheet metal shop tomorrow to see if they can fabricate some of what I need. The drainage channel is pretty thick; they may not have stock this heavy duty. We’ll see. More later as I complete the work.

[sykolincoln]

wow they actually put reinforcement in like that from the coachwork place that did the top originaly? yikes!! or was that added in sometime later? other than that cool build, my next build will be a vert

[58limited]

The straight reinforcements on each side actually hold/support the drainage channel under the convertible top, the curved ones hold the trunk lid struts. The ones in the center support the rear deck. All was done at the conversion shop as best I can tell.

After looking at it closer, it does not appear that the top part of the drainage channel, which is where the convertible top mounts, is welded to the rear deck. If this is the case, I can cut the reinforcements and the drainage channel should come out as a unit. It is made of thick metal and, despite the heavy rust, can be sandblasted and powder coated and re-used. One side has rust-through that will need to be patched. I'm hoping that it will come out of the car for repair as described, it will save a lot of work and money.

[sykolincoln]

I was just noticing that the welds on the reinforcements look shody, I dont know if its just the camera or maybe some dirt or what I was just suprised that a place woud do such work, in any case it dosnt take away from the fact that I love this car! Ive been facinated by vert 2 door lincs for a while well..... ever since I saw a mark5 vert.

[58limited]

Yeah, I understand about the shoddy looking work. Some of what you are seeing are welds. There is also debris and fiberglass that dripped down and was not cleaned up. These cars looked great when new and the thought process was that they wouldn't stay with the original owners for more than a few years. The people who could afford these generally upgraded to the newer "better" cars every few years. Even so, considering that the conversion process doubled the price of the car, I would expect better workmanship and material quality.

I grew up in the 70's. As a young kid, I always loved the Lincolns of the late 1970s and would gravitate to them at the new car show at the Texas State Fair. I fell in love with the late 70's convertibles when I first saw one as a teen in 1987. I almost bought one in 1991, but couldn't meet the price while I was in college.

[58limited]

Doing more work this weekend. I bought a weatherstrip kit, a new top motor, I have one NOS top cylinder and I am looking for another on ebay (it was cheaper than a new one). As noted previously, I've already bought a new top (burgundy canvas with glass rear window). I bought the top from ARO Convertible Tops and Glass ( http://www.aro2000.com/ ). This company has been in business since about 1919 and was the OEM supplier to Ford, GM, Chrysler and other makes from 1958-1976 and 1983-1995. The tops are produced using the original factory patterns. They are available in different grades of vinyl and cloth. My top with the glass window cost $495 plus shipping. Pads and cables are extra.

Today's project is trying to remove the rusted drain channel assembly. Yesterday I used an angle grinder with a thin cutting wheel to cut the supports.



Today I am drilling the tack welds that attach the body to the drain channel along the lip of the well opening. It appears to be tacked on the sides only. It is not tacked across the center of the rear deck.



Here is the passenger side well lip. There is 1/4" of body filler here. I don't know if it is from the conversion shop or a later repair. The metal is rusty under it.



Hopefully I'll have this assembly out today or later this week. Then I have to sand blast it and see what needs to be patched. The driver's side, as noted above in my previous post, will have to be re-fabricated.

[AnthLinc]

I completely understand your situation. I had a 1972 Andy Hotton limo. It was a cool looking car but I couldn't believe how much body filler was used on that car. When these cars were new the metal was new and an over use of filler was not a problem. If the body work lasted 5 years without cracking the company was home free. No doubt this was a cheaper way to go and I bet the builders figured that after 5 or 6 years the car would be junk anyway.

[KULTULZ]

The conversion on this car, as on most late 70’s Lincoln convertible conversions, utilized leftover 1972 Ford Galaxie/LTD convertible parts: top frame, windshield, door glass, etc.

That is a nice factoid to know and makes the finding of replacement parts a little easier I would imagine.

I want to see it when finished...

[Dan Szwarc]

This restoration is well worth doing and therefore, worth doing correctly.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Paige]

How is the car going? Still have it? I have just purchased my own restoration project 77 Lincoln convertible