1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe

[Maverick]

OH, MAN!! This engine is driving me nuts!! Drove it yesterday for 80 miles or so to a Dr's appointment and it ran awful. Had a hard miss on one cylinder from idle to cruise. Cursed it and parked it in the garage. So, this morning I had a start at a diagnosis procedure. First check the temp of the header tubes to see which one(s) is(are) misfiring. Then swap plugs and wires between hot and not so hot cylinders to see if the miss moves. That should point to or rule out ignition issues.

However, this afternoon it runs great. Smooth idle at 750 RPM and no flat spots.

Wonder if the issue is hot electronics? Coil? Ignition box? If (when?) it happens again I'll swap in a new coil and see what, if any, difference it makes. Would be a good idea to have a spare ignition box in the trunk so maybe I should be looking for one.

On the leaks, the small dose of Barr's Leak may have eliminated them. Didn't crawl under to have a look yet but there are no drips on the floor this morning.

Think its time to get some glass packs installed as resonators to quiet the exhaust some. Maybe after a more successful road test.

[Maverick]

More success!! I installed the larger air bleeds (see previous post) and, once its warmed up a little the skip on idle is pretty much gone. Also noticed the secondary float is a little high. Still need to install the larger jets to see if the plugs can get a little tan. Just hate to disassemble the new carb. Anyone use gasket softener to save old gaskets? Think I'll try it.

New FOMOCO Duraspark ignition module and new coil arrived from RockAuto. Chinese aftermarket modules don't have a good reputation. Hope the FOMOCO modules are still good quality -- haven't seen any complaints about them.

If the smooth idle continues, they'll go in the trunk as spares. If the idle miss returns, they'll get installed -- one at a time -- to see if they have any effect. I wanted spares in the trunk for road trips anyway.

Ordered some "performance" KYB shocks to tighten up the suspension a little. An old Lincoln should have a soft ride but currently its beyond soft to mushy. RockAuto has a discount going and KYB has a rebate. Its been said that this month is a good time to order shocks. Several manufacturers are trying to outdo each other on rebates this month.

[Maverick]

The skip on idle returned. Replaced the ignition box; no change. Replaced the coil, no change. So, there are spares for road trips. Also have an extra distributor so backups are available for the whole ignition system.

But I believe the problem has been found. I somehow got the rocker screwed down way too far on #5 intake valve. Can NOT imagine how that happened?!?! Could get it too loose if I somehow adjusted it off of base circle but how could I get it way too tight??

Found it with a leak down test. When I shot the header tubes with the remote thermometer, this time #5 was about 200* colder than the others. Pulling #5 plug wire had no effect on idle. Did a compression test and got 125 PSI with the other 7 plugs still installed. Not great but shouldn't affect idle. A leak down test had air hissing into the intake. Pulled the valve cover and discovered the problem. Don't think it did any damage, although it certainly could have. Idle is OK now. Haven't had it on the road yet but if the idle is good I'm sure it'll drive fine.

With that intake valve closing and the bigger air bleeds, the idle mixture screws now behave like they should. Think I'll drive it a while and check the plugs again before installing larger jets. Or, maybe I'll spring for a dyno pull with sniffer. Have to get the resonators installed before any dyno pull for sure.

The new KYB shocks work great. The soft ride that a big old Lincoln should have is still there but it no longer wallows around. Handles much better on curves. Maybe it won't get bigger sway bars. The take off shocks could have been original. More rust on them than on anything else on the car.

Based on some advice I read, the aux trans cooler was installed bypassing the cooler in the radiator. Advice was to not use the in-radiator cooler with an aux cooler in warm climates. After thinking about it some more, I think that's not a good idea in this case. The cooler is installed behind a hole in the bumper where the fan isn't pulling air thru it. So, when idling in traffic the cooler isn't cooling. The trans didn't act right and may have overheated when stuck for 30 minutes on the loop around Raleigh due to an accident. Gonna put the in-radiator cooler back in the loop.

Happy days are here again!!

[Maverick]

Think I know what happened when the lifter was adjusted way too tight. I suspect that lifter was empty of oil for some reason and it got compressed all the way before the push rod snugged up. So, then with the lifter compressed all the way, another half turn pushed the valve open a bit. That's consistent with where the adjuster was.

Took it for a spin this morning and it's running well.

I should figure out some way to contain the oil and readjust all the lifters running and hot. No one makes splash guards for those rockers.

[Basement Paul]

Small block Chevy guys just get a set of old covers and cut an opening across the top of them. Since it's best to final adjust them when it's running, it keeps the oil from running all over the motor, and the ones that like to spit the oil can be contained with a shop rag.

Glad to hear it's back on top.

-BP

[Maverick]

I made a set of those cut off valve covers for the 347 in the Maverick but it still threw oil all over. Didn't think about putting a rag over the top. If I had an extra pair of BBF covers I'd make some for the Lincoln. It doesn't sling oil like the 347 did. Maybe because the 347 was idled higher.

Thought about it and ordered some el cheapo chrome covers from JCWhitney, $35 shipped. Thanks for the nudge.

[MostMint]

Rather than cut the top off, slice it over the valve springs then bend the metal up. The shield will catch much of the shooting oil.

If you want to get real fancy put them on hinges (maybe two doors per side) so you can flip them up to make the adjustment.

[Maverick]

Good ideas. I'll see how little can be removed and still do the adjustments.

[TireSmoker]

If you wanna get more precise, just drill holes in the cover where the studs are at -- just large enough to get your socket through.

-Dave

[Maverick]

I use an end wrench on the nut and an Allen wrench on the lock screw to adjust them. Fortunately it doesn't throw much oil toward the intake so I'll probably remove the half of the top on the intake side. Should contain the oil well.

[Maverick]

Just got back from Henry's Muffler Shop with glass packs installed as resonators. They were about to install 2.25" glass packs in the 2.5" tail pipes when I caught it. Had to go with more expensive, stainless glass packs to get 2.5". They had assumed a stock 460 and thought 2.25" would be OK. Maybe so, but not for a 521 and expensive larger exhaust system in front of them. They apologized and gave me a deal on the more expensive stainless versions.

They found a little soot around their weld in the H-pipe and ran another bead over it.

The added glass packs made a big difference. The harshness at idle and light throttle is gone but still sounds mean when revved a bit. However, the "resonators" give it a resonance inside the car at 700 RPM idle. About like when you're sitting next to someone with a huge sound system and all you hear is base. May bump the in-gear idle to 750 to avoid it. Didn't notice it at higher RPMS.

Its getting kick back when starting hot with this new tank of gas. Initial timing is 14* BTDC, as it should be according to "The Mad Porter" on the 460 forum. I'll try some 89 octane or a different brand to see if it goes away.

The trans cooler in the radiator is now in the loop with the aux cooler. Plumbing has more joints than I wanted due to lack of the right fittings (1/8 NPT to 3/8 tube) to connect 3/8" tubing to the radiator cooler. Its OK I guess.

[Maverick]

Received the $35 valve covers for JCW. Cut along the center peak and removed the inside half off one and used it to adjust the valves again.



Several were too tight.

There's been a shudder in the brakes since the slotted rotors and perf pads were installed. Checked rotor run out and found one with .005" and the other .006". Spec is .003" max. Also checked width variation and found that undetectable in one and about .001" on the other.

I expect these calipers are particularly susceptible to run out because of the design. They're not sliding calipers but the older Ford style where a grooved block and heavy spring are forced into place to secure the caliper. I don't know how they manage to move but guess they do since they work OK.

Looked around for a shop that could do a precision skim cut on the rotors and called Brakes Plus in Cary. They don't work on cars as old as the Lincoln but agreed to turn the rotors. Got 'em done and shudder is nearly gone, very tolerable now.

Having a problem with kick back/pause when starting. Initial timing was set at 14*. Pulled it back to 10* with no change. This is with 87 octane and and 9+:1 compression. I'll try a tank of 89 octane and, if that doesn't do it, the starter will be replaced. There was a guy on the 460 forum selling strong starters for a good price but searching hasn't found him. If the higher octane doesn't fix it, I'll try harder to find him.

[Basement Paul]

I'm surprised you would run 87 octane, even with the reasonably low compression. Me personally, I don't even put 87 in my lawn mower (no joke). I really believe the extra octane boost makes everything inside a motor happier. This is purely my opinion and others I know will disagree with me, but in a performance application like your Lincoln, I would be running 92 all the time like I did in my Caddy which had only about 8.5:1 compression.

I don't believe this will help your starting issue though. I put one of these on my Mustang and it seems to be working very well (on my 10.5:1 motor), takes up a LOT less space, and weighs half as much as the stock starter. You just have to run the relay wire that went to the solenoid directly to the starter.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pwm-9 ... ke/lincoln

Good luck!

-BP

[Maverick]

Right BP, the Maverick 347 had a hi torque mini starter. Worked great and provided more clearance from the headers.

On the octane issue, I'm in the other school that thinks there's not a lot of advantage in using octane above whatever runs well in an engine with no electronic timing control/knock sensors. The aluminum heads and a block that's decked for quench helps avoid detonation. It only gets an occasional couple of pings on starting, never when driving. I'm also skeptical that higher octane will help the kick back/pause when starting but its worth a try.

I'm looking for a reasonably priced hi torque mini starter with good reviews. So far, the only suggestion is for a $250 starter from JEGS. Think I should find one for half that.

[Maverick]

Yesterday I took the Lincoln to an "All American" car show put on by the Piedmont Classic Chevy club. This is their 26th year for this inclusive show. Close to 200 cars with a LOT of REALLY nice cars, all 1990 or older. The Maverick won a trophy there a few years ago. Mine was the only Lincoln. Got some nice comments but didn't hang around for the presentations since it clearly was not in the running..

No starter kick back when I left. (Phew!!)

But today, with a cold engine, it did pause a couple of times before firing up. So, time for a new starter. Ordered a Powermaster mini, hi torque, Made in America starter from Summit. Good for 12:1 compression so should be no strain to crank the 521.

When the starting issue is solved it'll be time to go after a shake at cruise speeds. Sure feels like a wheel balance issue but I had the wheels balanced by Duty Tire who did an excellent job on the wife's car. Tire out of round? Weight fell off? Something in the steering, suspension or alignment? Have to figure it out before it gets any significant highway time.