1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe

[Fred32v]

You guys sure know how to have a good time. Way to go!

[wxo]

Besides working the camera, I was the first to drive it with the new 521. It was all I could do to keep from doing a burnout bringing it back into the garage.

[Basement Paul]

In the immortal words of Scorpio: "My, that's a big one."

-BP

[Maverick]

Yesterday, the battery was only strong enough to start it one time. Even after 30 min at 3K RPM, it wouldn't do it again. While cranking, the voltage dropped to 8, which doesn't crank the engine well and that's also on the low side for the Duraspark ignition.

Picked up a new battery at CARQUEST this morning and it starts INSTANTLY. With just some fiddling with the idle mixture, the QuickFuel carb also works well. Smooth idle at 700 in Park with very little drop in RPM when in gear. Comes off idle with no hesitation.

Maybe Saturday the trans cooler lines will get made and it should be ready for a test drive. I'm eager to see how the Broader Performance valve body does.

Assuming no hiccups, the next biggie will be a Traction Loc 3.25 rear end.

[Maverick]

CRAP!! One of the brass freeze plugs installed by the machine shop has a small leak. There was a 2-3" spot on the garage floor after several days. Haven't called the machine shop to see what they have to say.

I'd hate to add Bars Leak, or some other product, to a fresh engine but I also hate the thought of removing the LH header to get access to the freeze plug. Any opinions?

Still working on the trans cooler lines.

[Basement Paul]

I don't have any experience with freeze plugs unfortunately (or fortunately). I think that someone makes an expanding plug that goes over that hole and should seal it off, but that seems a little hokey on your fresh motor.

I feel your pain...

-BP

[Maverick]

I emailed Carl, the guy that supplied parts for the 521. Asked him, rather than the machine shop that installed the freeze plugs, because he had nothing to do with the leaking freeze plug.

Carl says use stop leak and don't worry about it:

Minor leaks like that are pretty common. They usually seal up on their own after a couple of heat cycles. If not, any sort of stop-leak should do the trick. A lot of shops put a tablet of the stuff in the block when installing new freeze plugs as standard practice. Nothing to worry about.

I like the sound of that!!. Wasn't looking forward to pulling the header or a dispute with the machine shop.

[GMJohnny]

Go to your local GM dealer and tell them that you have a Northstar engine
in your Cadillac and you need the tablets that the factory recommends to
throw in there as ritual to keep it from leaking. Those tablets are the best
stop leak that is on the market. They'll work.

GM

[Maverick]

Good idea! Actually, my wife's car IS a caddy with Northstar. I'll put some in her car too. Thanks.

[Maverick]

The cooler lines are done and no drips on the floor. Haven't gone underneath to see if there's any seepage but I expect all is well.

The Lincoln made it to the gas station and back yesterday with no issues. That was in preparation for a more substantial test drive this morning with WXO. I always feel better with a partner on test drives. Not sure I could push the Lincoln if it came to that.

Actually, there was one small issue. There's an "Engine" light on the dash that comes on intermittently indicating, according to the owner's manual, either low oil pressure or high coolant temp. According to the new gauges, which seem to be working fine, neither is the case. The temp sender and wiring are original so I doubt that's causing the problem. The aftermarket oil pressure sender has two blades, one for the gauge and a second for an idiot light. I'm guessing that aftermarket sender is causing the false error indication. Have some ideas on how to figure it out.

We put the hood on and, with careful (EDIT: apparently not THAT careful. With better light and the insulation out the air cleaner clears with almost 1/2". One less issue. ) testing, the air cleaner was found to hit the hood. I think a drop base would fix it but I'm not sure one exists with large enough diameter to fit the F150 air cleaner that has the "8.5 Liter 4V H.O." lid and is being fitted for a second cold air snorkel. May have to improvise. If a drop base isn't a solution, I guess the 1" spacer under the carb will have to come out. Hope not. So today's test drive was with no air cleaner. We removed the VERY dusty fiberglass blanket under the hood to avoid sucking all that dirt into the carb.









Today's test drive was up to an old-timey diner in a village 15 or so miles North where XWO had the "best butterbeans he'd ever had".

Two minor issues on the way up: the tach needs to be rotated on the steering column a bit to let the right turn signal go fully on and the speedometer is about 10% fast. Think we noticed the souped up speedo the first day on the way home.

When the ignition was switched off at the diner, it gave a big cough back thru the carb. Then, there was a big miss on the way home. Easy fix.



Put another cap on that 3/8" nipple and it runs sweet again. Its surprising it would run at all with that huge vacuum leak.

It needs 500 miles and the break in oil changed again (following Lunati recommendations, the break in oil and filter were changed after the cam break in) before we REALLY test it.

I think the small leak at the freeze plug is even smaller. Smaller spot on the floor this morning. Maybe it'll stop and I won't have to use the stop leak.

EDIT: Oh, yeah. And, the trans didn't downshift, 3->2. The kick down lever adjustment will be checked. Hope its not an issue with the Broader Performance throttle body.

[Maverick]

The second cold air snorkel is hooked up. Just need to pick up a 5" hose clamp from O'Reilly's tomorrow to secure the add-on duct to the air cleaner.



The original duct looks nice -- wish the add-on could match it.





Wasn't able to get a good picture of the "8.5 Liter ..." lettering with the lid under the hood but it looks OK.

Roads are wet today some no test runs.

[Basement Paul]

Looks real cool.

-BP

[Maverick]

Somehow when I read the axle code on the door jam I got the idea that it was a 2.75:1 rear axle and the intent was to replace the center section with a 3.25 Traction Loc. But, the tag on the rear end (WGC-K 2.50 9) says its a 2.50:1 . Went back and edited a couple places in a previous post.

Rechecked the door jam and, sure enough, that code (1) says it is a 2.50:1. The old brain is playing tricks again. Now I'm wondering the 3.25 is going to be too steep for comfortable highway cruising. The Maverick, with a 3.00, turned over 3K on the Interstate. I'll have to decide on some replacement tire sizes and check out an RPM calculator before the order is placed for a new center section. Think a pretty tall tire will fit in the wheel wells.

Might have to hang onto the current center section so it can be swapped if it was going on multi-state road trips.

[Basement Paul]

The tires on ran on the stock Caddy rims were 235-75-15. I had these on both 6" and 7" wide rims. They gave a good ride and a decent amount of meat on the road. Kuhmo made a medium and a heavier version (a 108T I believe). I got the heavier ones. And they have a nice size white wall and the price was good.

I think your Lincoln would have a stock size at 225-75. For some reason the Ford's were all a size smaller.

The way that motor is put together, 2800rpm running all day wouldn't hurt it a bit. I'd probably get the tires I wanted, install them, and drive the car with the 2.5 gear all over the place. I would think that would help decide from there what gear to get. I guess it depends on your ultimate goal for the car. If it's freeway cruising, a 2.73 or 3.08 would be ideal. But it's hard to have both 1/4 mile burner and freeway cruiser without an O/D transmission... Maybe the next upgrade?

-BP

[Maverick]

Right, 225/75 15s were stock and are on it now which, IIRC, are 27" tires. Looks like 10" wide, 29" tall tires would easily fit on the rear with the right back spacing. 255/60 15s might be good.

I looked for an auto OD. That would be ideal. But, the only ones that would bolt up to the 460 are big truck transmissions that won't fit in the tunnel. An AODE/4R70W with adapter will fit but, with lock up converter, even built ones won't stand up to the 460. Actually, a GM transmission might be a good answer but a GM trans in a Lincoln???

3000 RPM cruise isn't great but that's probably what I'll shoot for. I still have the short drag radials that went on the Maverick at the strip. At the track, they'll mitigate the higher ratio rear end some.

With the 2.50 gears in it now, second gear might be as good as third for top speed.