1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe

[Basement Paul]

Well, that looked easy!

-BP

[Maverick]

I THINK that will be the hard part of the performance improvements.

Anyone tried Dynomax VT mufflers? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wlk-17960

Seems like a good idea. I saw one review saying they're not good with a performance cam -- the flapper opens and closes on idle making an unpleasant noise. They'll take the mufflers back if you don't like the sound.

[Basement Paul]

My buddy has these on his '92 Lincoln Town Car and they sound great without droning on inside the car or being obnoxious outside. But you can tell it has a rumble. Keep in mind, his is a 4.6, and not a 460, but it appears that the muffler will handle the cubic inches.

http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/?page_id=11227

-BP

[Maverick]

I'd really like it to be quiet idling, around town. and cruising. The pressure operated valve sounds like a good idea. Kinda like automatic cut-outs. I'll see what the exhaust shop has to say about the different mufflers. I also emailed Carl, who specializes in 460s, to see if he has any opinions on the subject.

[Maverick]

WXO and I took the Continental to the muffler shop for a 9 AM appointment this morning. They didn't get at it immediately because they didn't have flanges for the collectors. He looked but didn't find any handy so he made some. Also made flanges to allow the H pipe to be unbolted from the headers and just in front of the mufflers.

Took a chance on the Dynomax VTs with the flappers that open by pressure. Henry's hadn't installed them before and were also curious about how they'd function. They function GREAT!! There's a little murmur on idle and the flappers don't open until about half throttle. Nice and quiet around the neighborhood, easing up hills and on on ramps, and cruising at 70. Mash the pedal and they open right up. Only thing I didn't care for was popping if you let off the gas abruptly with the flappers open. Ease off and no popping. So, they pop when you want them to. Like when the lady that was passing us on the inside. She backed off when the TB SS snorted and the Continental snorted and popped.

Henry's Muffler did a fantastic job on the exhaust system. Between making the flanges and installing everything, they put in about 5 hours and billed me $400 out the door, not including mufflers which came from Summit. I'm happy with the system and the price.

DYNOMAX Valve Technology




Handmade in America


Jim and Donald (shop manager) admiring the Lincoln.



He'll also come over tomorrow and we'll get the looooooong hood off. Then I can leisurely disassemble the engine and start the build.

[Maverick]

Good pictures!! Thanks.

[Basement Paul]

Looks great. Now get that video so we can hear it before you tear it all apart!

-BP

[wxo]

Looks great. Now get that video so we can hear it before you tear it all apart!

-BP

Sorry, BP, but the video didn't capture the sound very well. I decided not to post it. But on the way back from the muffler shop, on I540, the hot rod Lincoln came roaring to life. Unfortunately no video there either. I had to keep my eyes on my driving or the Lincoln was going to leave me behind.

[Maverick]

Forgot to mention the dimensions. Headers are 1 7/8 primaries with 3" collectors. Exhaust pipes and mufflers are 3". Tail pipes are 2.5". Thought 3" tail pipes would look out of place and might sound too harsh. Everything on the exterior -- except duals which came only on the Mark V, not the base Continental --, is staying original.

Engine disassembly has begun. All the original parts are being kept in case someone wants to return it to stock some day. Spent a couple of hours yesterday removing and tagging some of the myriad hoses and tubes that were used on the early smog engines. There will be a lot fewer after reassembly. It took two vacuum trees to accommodate all the "necessary" vacuum lines.

[Maverick]

Engine disassembly continues. WXO came today and we worked a few hours to remove the headers, intake and heads. He works cheap, just beer and tomatoes.

We used the engine lift to remove the intake and heads. Couldn't believe how heavy the BBF stuff is. Think the front end is up 2" with those parts off.














The original parts pile is growing.



Hope to shrink the new parts pile soon.

[Maverick]

Had another good day today. WXO came and we pulled the engine and trans out, separated them, and got the engine up on WXO's engine stand. The C6 is sitting on a dolly and has moved to the original parts pile area.

The patient is prepped for surgery.



Up, ...



up, ...



and away!



Separated and each on their own dolly. WXO's salary for the day: 1 beer and 2 tomatoes.



NOW, comes the FUN part!!!

[Basement Paul]

Hope you guys remember where all those parts came from...

-BP

[Maverick]

It'll be a challenge, for sure. I took lots of pictures of the accessory brackets.

[Maverick]

Found something that could be a minor problem or indicative that the short block has to go to the machine shop. Front cam bearing was installed crooked and is pretty messed up. Uneven wear, splinter off one edge, tool mark on the edge indicating someone wasn't using the correct install tool.









Hope to get a look somehow at the other cam bearings to see what shape they're in. If only the front bearing is messed up, I should be able to replace it myself. If the others need to be replaced, the rotating assembly has to come out and the block has to go the machine shop. That starts me down the slippery slope looking for another place to stop.

[Maverick]

A closer look at the cam bearing revealed a different story. The bearing ISN'T installed crooked; the bottom is squashed out both the front and back. Looks like the cam isn't touching the top of the bearing and its moved bearing material around from the bottom to the side. These pictures were taken with the "colonoscopy cam".

Here's what's left of the oil holes.





Bearing material was moved from the bottom of the bearing around the side with a definite ridge at the end of the moved material.



The bearing was flattened on the bottom and pushed out front



and back. Splinters were formed when the bearing was pushed to the front and back edges.



Doesn't look like the cam was even touching the top of the bearing.



I'm not sure what caused this but I suppose the same thing would happen again if the bearing was just replaced and run with stronger after market valve springs. I've asked Carl of CarsbyCarl to comment. If I have to disassemble the rotating assembly and take the block to the machine shop I'll be on the slippery slope again.