1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe

[GMJohnny]

I'd recommend a trans cooler. The Vette had some issues when I bumped the
torque converter to a 2400 stall. I cooked the trans after a rebuild and the rebuilder
said a trans cooler was a requirement. After doing it, it can be 100 degrees outside
and the trans temp is never over 125 degrees. The nice thing about this is the shifts
are always crisp. For the minimal effort required to install it, I'd have one for sure.

GM

[Maverick]

GM,

Yes, I've also read that a cooler is required for higher stall converter. Plan to install the F150 (?) cooler we picked.

125 sounds great. Where are you measuring the trans temp? After the cooler in the return line to trans? In the pan? Coming out of the trans on the way to the cooler? There was a sender in the pan on the Maverick but it read as high as 180.

I haven't figured out where to put gauges for the Lincoln yet. A tach is necessary and the others are highly desirable but I don't want to clutter up the interior. Trying to keep exterior and interior as stock looking as possible.

[Maverick]

The converter and valve body are ordered from Jay at Broader Performance. It'll take about 2 weeks to build the converter. Valve body could be ready sooner.

The valve body he recommended is one they build for trucks. It makes for very streetable shifts -- firm but not harsh.

The converter is a 12" maxed out for stall at around 2200. BP, I heard what you said about the weight and stall advantages of a 10" but Jay thought the 12" was a better fit for me. Plus, a 10" is another $150.

Jay thought the F150 cooler would be adequate. He commented that the cooler in the radiator could be bypassed but I think I'll plumb them both.

[GMJohnny]

Maverick,

I'm not certain where the C5 measures trans temp. It's one of many tidbits
of information offered in the Driver Information Center. I would think, though,
that measuring the temperature at any part of the trans would offer the same
or nearly the same temp, as the fluid is constantly pumped around in the
trans. I'd put the measuring device in the easiest spot possible!!!

GM

[Maverick]

GM,

Yes, if there's no cooler. If there is a cooler, the fluid is hottest when it comes out of the trans (actually right out of the TC on a C4/C6), coolest as it exits the cooler, and somewhere in between in the pan.

The Maverick sender was in the trans pan where the temp of the fluid on the clutches, etc., was measured. I could see putting a sensor in the trans output line to show max temp if the concern was fluid breakdown from heat or in the return line to measure cooler effectiveness. Three trans temp gauges seemed like overkill so one went in the pan.

[Maverick]

The stock 460 air cleaner has a factory cold air intake on the right side. A second one will be added that will enter the stock air cleaner base on the left side. Think its going to work well at the strip since the filter can be removed and two ducts will provide unheated air. Pictures will be posted when the engine is installed and the air cleaner set up.

The original top on the 460 air cleaner will be replaced with one from an '80s F150 with 5.8L/351W HO. The top is being polished and will come out OK.



The 521 CI stroker will be 8.5L. So, I'd like to transpose the 5 and the 8 on the air cleaner and renew the rest of the lettering. But, I'm not coming up with any good ideas on how to do it. Anyone have an idea? Racin Jason, you did a great job on the license plate. Do you have any suggestions for the air cleaner lettering?

[Basement Paul]

You should be able to buy that sticker new, and then just cut and paste from there. Remind Walt before Carlisle and we'll look for one for you...

-BP

[Maverick]

I thought about that but would rather have the flat black lettering on polished aluminum if there's a way to do it. Carlisle is a good idea if there's not a good way to get it painted. Don't think I could free hand it and get it to look right.

[Basement Paul]

Just take the lid to a local graphics shop, they should be able to match it up and make something to go in it's place that looks the way you want.

-BP

[Maverick]

Took the air cleaner lid to a sign maker today and he says they can make a vinyl stencil. The "art guy" is to call me to discuss it. I think its going to work out. Flat black header paint is ordered from Summit. The plan is to use HT aerosol on both the headers and lettering. It'll be fun if factory-looking 8.5L lettering is achieved.

Talked to Carl. The stroker kit was shipped last Thursday and should arrive at Boyette's machine shop on Wednesday, day after tomorrow.

I've been down with a cold the last week and haven't had much energy so nothing much has been accomplished. Did manage to mount the F150 trans cooler. It fit very nicely behind a similarly shaped hole in the aluminum structure behind the bumper. It'll get frontal air thru the grille and aluminum structure but will interfere very little with air to the condenser and radiator. That's good because the AC isn't very cold when the car is idling due, I think, to lack of air flow thru the BIG condenser. (I need to check the fan clutch some day when the engine is hot.)

Did some reading in the Haynes Tech Book for C4/C6/etc overhaul. Its a little intimidating. I might call a local trans shop and see what they'd charge me to install the Broader Performance valve body and some new seals. They'd no doubt find some other issues to repair.

The Haynes manual included a section on installing an aftermarket trans cooler. Found it interesting that they DON'T recommend using a radiator trans cooler with the aux cooler in a warm climate:

Generally, if you live in a cold climate, incorporating the existing cooler is a good idea, since it will allow the transmission to reach operating temperature faster. In a warm climate, it's best to use the auxiliary cooler by itself.

Since this car won't be driven much in cold weather, maybe I'll just plumb in the aux cooler.

[Maverick]

Picked up the stencil for the air cleaner lid and it looked great. Applied it, sprayed it, let it sit overnight to let the high temp paint cure as much as it will without being heated, pulled the stencil off and found a mess. Half of the stickum on the stencil stayed on the air cleaner lid.



Goo Gone takes it off but also the paint. I worked for a couple of hours with alcohol and got two letters cleaned up. emailed the sign shop to let them know of the problem with their stencil material, hoping to hear they had an alternative, but no response. Tried using Goo Gone to remove the stickum that's not right up against the letters and got too close. Messed up some letters. Guess I'll have to start over. They gave me two stencils. I'm thinking I could lay down some good masking tape away from the letters so there wouldn't be so much stickum. I have another stencil to try something.

Surely this isn't the first complaint they've had about that stencil material.

Stroker kit arrived on schedule, complete and in good condition. Boyette's called yesterday to say the block, etc. was ready. Picked it up today. Hot tanked, cam bearings installed, brass freeze plugs, Magnafluxed, miced, check line bore, .030" overbore, pistons installed on rods, rings gapped and installed on pistons, balanced, zero decked the block, and clearanced the block for the stroker crank.



They also think they found the reason for the failed cam bearing. The oil hole in the block that feeds the front bearing wasn't centered and would have allowed little oil to the bearing. They chamfered the hole to fix it.

I'm holding myself back on reassembly till I review the book.

Got a tach from Summit and have it mounted on the steering column and mostly wired. Need to pick up an AGE fuse tap for the switched power. I'll use the empty Sure Track (early form of ABS, option not installed) fuse holder for switched power to the tach and (not yet installed) oil and temp gauges. I'd like to have tach and gauges working before the engine is cranked.

Called a good trans shop and asked what they'd charge to install the C6 valve body and front and rear seals. $400-$500!! WXO has volunteered to help and it looks like we'll be doing it.

[Maverick]

No progress on the air cleaner lid. No response from the sign company. Think I'll take the lid to them and make them look at the mess their stencil made. They probably won't do anything about it but MAYBE I can at least embarrass them a bit.

The engine is on WXO's engine stand in the garage. Short block is assembled.



Everything seems perfect except the timing chain seems a little tight. With a firm push it moves only about 1/4" sideways. I guess it'll run in. Got the oil pan cleaned up and sprayed with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. Its a satin finish so some Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black will go on as a top coat.

Had Boyette's asked, I would have had them paint the block Ford Dark Blue but they didn't ask and sprayed it black. Now I'm glad they didn't ask. Rather than paint the pan, timing cover, etc Ford Blue, that stuff will be done in black. Everything under the hood will be black, aluminum, or chrome. Should look nice.

The used RH remote mirror I installed flops around with loose cables. Picked up a parts mirror with the same problem to experiment with and learn how to disassemble, tighten the cables, and reassemble it. There are two Phillips head screws under the mirror near the center that fasten it to the mirror enclosure. Nearly impossible to get out.



Managed to get them out of the parts mirror with this improvised tool.



Now that they're out, how in the world will I ever get them back in??

Picked up some hex head 8-32 X 1/2 screws because the hex heads will be more reachable with a 1/4" end wrench than the originals were with the bent Phillips screw driver.

To tighten the cables, two O-rings were inserted between the mirror and the cable bracket. (Should be visible in the above picture). Managed to get the mirror head remounted -- one screw one day and the other another day. The practice mirror is much improved and might be OK. These mirrors never did work great. Now to repeat the process on the good mirror.

FINALLY found a glass fuse tap for the switched juice to the tach. Checked three parts stores and Radio Shack and none to be found. Ordered 5 online. Could not find, not even online, any 3A or 4A 5/8" glass fuses to use in the empty fuse slot. Asked WXO to look at Carlisle but he called back to say he had three. "Walt's Tool Supply" is good for other stuff too.

[Maverick]

Chatting with WXO, he suggested maybe the mirror should come out of its backing plate to get access to the screws that mount it to the shell. CORRECT!! Got that info from the guy that sold me the R.H. mirror also. I disassembled the Maverick Sports Mirror without removing the glass from the backing plate and was thinking this one should be the same. Not so.

Problem is, its quite difficult to get the glass out of the backing plate without breaking it. WXO suggested heat gun and, right again. Still not sure I want to try it since there is an, albeit difficult, alternative way to go.

[Maverick]

Took the air cleaner lid in to the sign painter and showed the owner the stuck adhesive from the stencil. After a somewhat reluctant start, he said there was a different stencil material that should work better and he said they'd make new stencils from the other material. Hope to get some replacements next week.

Got the timing chain on, heads torqued, some external parts cleaned and painted, and measured for the pushrod length. Original push rods were about 8.570". Aftermarket heads, rockers, cam need 8.625" plus a hair.



After reading several different methods for measuring for pushrods, I settled on a method using the solid lifter I made, by removing the plunger from a hydraulic lifter, and an adjustable pushrod. The objective seems to be quite simple. An imaginary line between the center of the roller tip and the center of the pushrod pivot needs to be perpendicular to the valve stem at half lift. So, I used a dial indicator to establish half lift and adjusted the push rod to get the imaginary line perpendicular to the valve stem. Measure the adjustable pushrod and that's the answer. You wouldn't believe the peeing contest on the 460 form among the experts when one dared to post a video on how to do it.

When the pushrod length is correct, the roller tip will leave a NARROW witness mark CENTERED on the valve stem. Yep, got it!! Don't know if the picture will show it but the mark is less than .100" wide and nicely centered on the stem.



I'll call Carl on Monday and order pushrods.

Went to O'Reilly's yesterday and picked up a water pump gasket that was not included in the Felpro gasket set. They didn't have it in stock so the counter guy pulled one out of a water pump box, sold it to me, and ordered a replacement to put back in the box. Now, THAT'S looking out for the customer.

Made a run down South of Raleigh to check out a '79 Town Car that is being parted out. Picked up an ash tray for an experiment. Gonna try to put oil pressure and water temp gauges in the ash tray and wanted a spare to experiment with. Also picked up the dash bezels, a clock, and original radio. There's currently a combo backup camera/navigation system/audio unit mounted in a fabricated center bezel. I'll add those parts to the collection of original parts in case someone wants to return the car to original someday. I like the navigation system but don't care about the backup camera and would rather have the original audio so, who knows, maybe I'll take the center dash back to factory.

The clock runs but has some noisy gears and/or bearings. Hope some lubrication can quiet it down. Don't know if the radio works or not. The clock would be a neat add to the car.

[Racin'Jacin]

Sorry I missed this post earlier!!!

If you want the embossed look the easiest way is to make a metal pattern - you basically make a male and female pattern - with the female on one side and the male on the other. Then you just squeeze the metal in place. It's will take a little fiddling, but would look killer - IMHO. I've squeezed the metal in various ways - even a hammer will work if you're VERY careful - use a piece of flat stock to hammer on - too easy to dent it where you don't want dent elsewise! Vice, c-clamp - etc. The pattern is nothing more than THIN sheet cut out with a jig/band saw. The blade with will provide the die clearance. More clearance gives a softer look.

Decals could be cool too - you might even use them and blast the surface - would be a ood way to prep it for paint too.


Jacin