Nic Sanford's 62 Lincoln Continental

[NicSanford]

What's goin on everybody? I've been posting my progress over at the Mel Engine Forum, and have since found this forum. Figure since I'm doing more than engine work that I'd get involved in the convo here.

So, a little about the car so far. A couple months back, I started my search for a 1977 LC, and on Sunday, May 1st, after doing a search on Craigslist, the last listing I find in a list of about 100 is for a 1962 LC, no pictures, short description saying the car is complete only. I've always wanted an early 60's model, but figure as hard as they are to come by, and as expensive as they are most of the time, I'd start my collection with a 70's model that's easier to come by and lighter on the pocket book. Excited to atleast check it out, my dad and I drive about an hour out to this tow yard in Oregon where the car was sitting. My dad being as pesimistic as he is tells me that for $2500 don't expect a lot. Many times they're rusted out, filled with dirt, have bad interior and paint, and that I could pay tens of thousands of dollars to get her in just "good" shape. As optimistic as I am, I had a good feeling that it was meant to be before we even got there. As it turns out, I finally got lucky in finding my perfect old school, and the project has been amazing so far. We even talked the guy down to $2000, and left a deposit for him to hold the car, and came to pick it up with a trailer and the rest of money a couple days later, May 3rd, 2011.

Here's some of the pictures, videos, and posts I've transferred over from the Mel Engine Forum...

[jsanford]

Welcome to the forum cousin! I don't see any picture though

Jeremy

[NicSanford]

May 1st, 2011. First time I saw the car at the tow yard...

First time I laid eyes on her at the tow yard. Love at first sight... ;-)

Right rear. They had to pop the trunk lock to get into the trunk. A little bit of rust on the rear of the trunk, but hopefully not to hard to fix...

Not likin' the broken wing window, but Lovin' the suicide doors. You can also see the light they installed in the left side of the grille...

Driver side...

Passenger side...

Backseats are a little dirty, but look really nice now that I cleaned and polished the leather...

[NicSanford]

Left a deposit for them to hold the car, and came back to pick up the car on May 3rd, 2011. Here are a few picks I shot on the way to her new home...

My lil one, Murray chillin' on the hood. I've seen a lot of Black on these restores, but I Love the white w/ red interior...

Strappin her down for the ride home...

Finally home... was a beautiful day, but a lot of work ahead...

The boys Lovin' it too. Izeyah on the left, Murray on the right...

[NicSanford]

Found some original wheels and hubcaps with nice tires from a collector on Craigslist for $100, and he threw in a right wing window for $25. This was a great find considering I found a set of 4 hubcaps on Ebay for $225. Have to admit they look pretty good on the Lincoln, although I'd like to get a set of 22's with some wide whitewalls when funds permit...

Four of these...

Wheel bath...

And she's comin' along. Got the wheels on and the wing window installed...

[NicSanford]

Murray and I testing out the electric...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfPSc5Kda18[/youtube]

[NicSanford]

Thanks for the welcome, Jeremy! I've since done a lot more work to the car, and will post the rest later. I've looked through some other projects going on here, and can't wait to see how they come along also. I look forward to chattin' it up with you all...

[Suicide65]

interior looks pristine! Have fun, it will be a labor of love.

[briven95]

Excellent buy! Looks like a clean and straight car with an amazing interior. Love the dark red leather, my first Lincoln was a 62 sedan with the same color interior. Your car is a late production car with the longer front door window switch plate to accommodate the newly optional power vents. How many miles on it? Brake and gas pedals look like they don't have much wear on them.
Did you prime the carb with gas or starter fluid before trying to start it? Sometimes you have to pump the accelerator a lot to get it started, if the carb float leaks down. Don't see very many white cars with the red interior. Good luck!

[NicSanford]

Thanks Josh & Brian. Yeah the interior is the highlight of the car so far. I wasn't too partial with red interior until I found this car, now I'm excited to clean it up and see how it turns out with a few applications of saddle soap and reconditioner. As for getting her started, I've since rebuilt the carburetor and the motor sounds clean and strong, although it still needs to be cleaned up a bit, and touched up on some parts. I rebuilt the master cylinder, and later found there was a hydraulic trailer break system and trailer hitch installed on the car, which we've since removed. I'm headed over to the garage today to hook up the new brake hoses and bleed the brakes, then she'll be ready to cruise. The mileage when I bought it showed 34,xxx, and I imagine with how strong the motor runs that there's probably 134,xxx original miles. When I got it, it had 84 tags, and DMV had no records of this car at all, so it's been garaged for 27 years. I'll pick up where I left off in previous pics. This project has been a blast so far, with only a few setbacks. Can't wait for the first time driving her without having to use the e brake...

[Stuart M. Cohen]

Congrats on your find and welcome! Car looks in good shape. Lots of luck with the resto. Where are you; somewhere in the Pacific Northwest?

Stu

PS: Love the shot of you using the tub to clean the tires!

[ReijerLincoln]

Welcome Nic. That is a very nice find. Have fun with it!

I think I've commented on your project on the MEL engine forum (just minutes before I was permanently banned for indirectly referring to thelincolnforum.net ).

One of the things I wanted to get your attention on, is the timing set. You should replace the original timing set with a modern set from Cloyes. Your engine was originally equipped with a cam timing gear that has nylon teeth and aluminium centre . They used these for quiet engine operation. The concern was quality off assembly, not longevity once out of warranty. It should have been replaced decades ago. Age alone will have caused the nylon teeth to become brittle and subject to breaking off, ending up in the oil pan and clogging the oil pickup screen, thereby choking off the oil pump (a fatal blow to any engine). If it breaks up, you're looking at bent valves, bent push rods, damaged pistons etc. More info here: http://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpbb3/v ... =1&t=30449

While you have the water pump removed, check if the two little bronze block thermostats are still installed. If so - remove and do not replace. The two water diverters next to them - in the two most outside holes - do need to be installed and in good condition.

Cheers,
Reijer

[papawayne]

Nice car Nic, and welcome to the forum. You must have a very understanding wife...keep her. My wife gets very upset when I bring car parts into the bathroom, but then, again, she's not from Maine and does not understand these things. have you considered joining the LCOC? I'm surprised that Stu didn't give you the spiel, unless he PM'd you or something.

[NicSanford]

Thanks Stu! Yeah we're in Portland, Oregon. Thankfully though the car was garaged so there's very little rust. Only rust I can see is on a small part of the back bumper. As for the tires, our condos won't let us use the hoses outside so it had to be the bath...

@ Reijer. Yeah I was wondering about that. Thanks for the response in the MEL forum. Glad I found you here. I'm actually gonna be taking off the oil pan after restoring the radiator. Just might find some of the parts you're talking about, although the motor runs strong. I'll probably have some questions for you as I get further in...

@ papawayne, yeah my wife is very understanding, and a keeper. By the way, what is the LCOC?

[NicSanford]

This weekend I got around to bleeding my brakes and installing the new brake hoses to find that the wheel cylinders were completely corroded and rusted stuck. I called NAPA, and to my suprise, the rear wheel cylinders were $8.69 each and in stock, and fronts were $25 each and would come in the next morning. So I pick up the rear wheel cylinders and install them, and pick up the fronts then next day. After installing the front right, I remove the wheel and drum to install the left front, to find that they gave me 2 front rights. They said it wouldn't be til Tuesday for them to get the right part.

Finding that the fronts have been replaced before, they seemed in descent enough shape to wake up by bleeding them through, and after bleeding all four with my dad I'm happy to say that I was able to take her for a cruise down the block and back with good enough brake pressure to stop. Although the brakes engage pretty close to the floor, I'm sure they'll be alright when we get the last wheel cylinder installed. I'm also happy that the brake booster is doing it's job.

Unfortunately in the process I found that my radiator has 2 very small leaks, and the hoses need to be completely replaced. Once I get the radiator fixed, brakes rebled, and the exhaust installed, I'll finally be able to cruise for the summer in good style. Not in tip top shape yet, but getting there...