For now, I'm going for the stock-looking, flat black lettering on polished aluminum lid a la the "5.8 Liter 4V H.O." lettering. It'll be one of those very rare 8.5 Liter High Output Lincolns.
1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Moderators: MostMint, wxo, Fred32v, Basement Paul, ttamrettus
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Agree, embossed would look great. I'll watch for another lid to experiment with.
For now, I'm going for the stock-looking, flat black lettering on polished aluminum lid a la the "5.8 Liter 4V H.O." lettering. It'll be one of those very rare 8.5 Liter High Output Lincolns.
For now, I'm going for the stock-looking, flat black lettering on polished aluminum lid a la the "5.8 Liter 4V H.O." lettering. It'll be one of those very rare 8.5 Liter High Output Lincolns.
Maverick
Gauges
Got the tach and oil pressure and H2O temp gauges nearly installed. Needs a couple more terminals and connection to the coil and senders when the engine is installed.
I wanted to keep the interior pretty much stock looking so the ash tray became a gauge drawer for the oil pressure and H2O temp gauges.
I tried to fit 2" gauges in there but couldn't make it work. It won't be easy to read the numbers on the 1.5" gauges but it will be easy to see if the needles are in the normal range. The oil pressure sender has connections for both the gauge and the idiot light so at least the oil pressure warning light will still work. I'll try to find a place for the original temp warning sender so that will continue to work too.
The tach went on the steering column because I didn't want to put holes in the dash or have it that obvious.
Got free replacement stencils for the ones that left such a mess. The replacements worked fine so the air cleaner lid is done. Not sure what I'll do for an air cleaner base. Could paint the original black or maybe the aluminum base that came with the 5.8 lid can be spiffied up and used.
Its been over a month since the torque converter was ordered after an estimate of 2 weeks. emailed Broader Perf yesterday but no answer so far. If he doesn't respond I'll call him Monday.
I wanted to keep the interior pretty much stock looking so the ash tray became a gauge drawer for the oil pressure and H2O temp gauges.
I tried to fit 2" gauges in there but couldn't make it work. It won't be easy to read the numbers on the 1.5" gauges but it will be easy to see if the needles are in the normal range. The oil pressure sender has connections for both the gauge and the idiot light so at least the oil pressure warning light will still work. I'll try to find a place for the original temp warning sender so that will continue to work too.
The tach went on the steering column because I didn't want to put holes in the dash or have it that obvious.
Got free replacement stencils for the ones that left such a mess. The replacements worked fine so the air cleaner lid is done. Not sure what I'll do for an air cleaner base. Could paint the original black or maybe the aluminum base that came with the 5.8 lid can be spiffied up and used.
Its been over a month since the torque converter was ordered after an estimate of 2 weeks. emailed Broader Perf yesterday but no answer so far. If he doesn't respond I'll call him Monday.
Maverick
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Not a lot of progress since the last post. We were away one week and have been waiting on the Lunati pushrods, which are supposed to be here before the end of the week. Engine assembly is held up till they arrive.
Most of the cleaning and painting is done. Well, except for the engine bay. It was degreased and pressure washed once but another pass or two would be a good idea. Gotta get that done while the weather is still nice.
The valve body install was anticlimactic. After scaring myself reading about disassembly and reassembly of a valve body it became apparent that none of that was required. The whole replacement valve body just unbolted and bolted back in. No problem at all. Just need to change the input and output shaft seals and the trans will be ready to go back in.
Got the intake manifold out and cleaned and painted all the junk that goes on it (coil, vacuum tree, cruise control unit, senders for the H20 temp and warning light.)
Found a left over 1" spacer to go under the carb. (Hope I remember to check clearance before the hood is closed.) The carb studs that came with it were junk (crooked) but replacements were found at Advance. Another left over, a dual feed fuel line was too short for the QuickFuel carb and I almost ordered an adjustable kit from Summit but had a better idea: cut the front line and put the fuel pressure gauge in there. Probably not the best place for a pressure gauge but I only need it to be within a pound or two.
Now, if I could only find those two little plastic pegs that hold the cruise control unit in its mount ...
Gotta find a 1/4" throttle linkage ball to bolt onto the QF carb. Pretty cheap that they don't supply one.
Most of the cleaning and painting is done. Well, except for the engine bay. It was degreased and pressure washed once but another pass or two would be a good idea. Gotta get that done while the weather is still nice.
The valve body install was anticlimactic. After scaring myself reading about disassembly and reassembly of a valve body it became apparent that none of that was required. The whole replacement valve body just unbolted and bolted back in. No problem at all. Just need to change the input and output shaft seals and the trans will be ready to go back in.
Got the intake manifold out and cleaned and painted all the junk that goes on it (coil, vacuum tree, cruise control unit, senders for the H20 temp and warning light.)
Found a left over 1" spacer to go under the carb. (Hope I remember to check clearance before the hood is closed.) The carb studs that came with it were junk (crooked) but replacements were found at Advance. Another left over, a dual feed fuel line was too short for the QuickFuel carb and I almost ordered an adjustable kit from Summit but had a better idea: cut the front line and put the fuel pressure gauge in there. Probably not the best place for a pressure gauge but I only need it to be within a pound or two.
Now, if I could only find those two little plastic pegs that hold the cruise control unit in its mount ...
Gotta find a 1/4" throttle linkage ball to bolt onto the QF carb. Pretty cheap that they don't supply one.
Maverick
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Basement Paul
- Posts: 3399
- Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm
- Location: In the dirt.
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Sure looks purdy!
I'm wondering how well your cruise control will work with all that extra power. I remember the cruise in 32V's big olds when he put the 455 in it. It used to drive like you were rowing a boat. Stroke. STROKE. STROKE! I'm not sure if it was the bigger cam screwing with the vacuum or what, but it never really worked right. I do think it's cool that there are provisions on the intake for it though.
-BP
I'm wondering how well your cruise control will work with all that extra power. I remember the cruise in 32V's big olds when he put the 455 in it. It used to drive like you were rowing a boat. Stroke. STROKE. STROKE! I'm not sure if it was the bigger cam screwing with the vacuum or what, but it never really worked right. I do think it's cool that there are provisions on the intake for it though.
-BP
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Thanks.
Sure hope the cruise works right. Maybe we'll find out in a few weeks. The cruise bracket mounts on two bosses that also mount the throttle cable bracket. Then there's a third bolt hole on the cruise bracket that I haven't figured out yet.
The old crank was given to the machine shop (having no luck selling used parts and can't stand to throw them away) without removing the keys.
The machine shop installed one new key in the new crank but not the other. Couldn't find a listing or description for that key anywhere. Carl kindly got the measurements for the missing key, 1/4X7/8 which is ANSI 807. Not an easy one to find except in bulk orders. WXO checked Home Depot with no luck. I'll try the hardware store and Lowes before paying shipping and waiting on mail order.
Have to decide if the oil slinger in front of the crank sprocket goes back in or not. The double roller chain can scrape it and chew it up. There's lots of advice to leave it out when a double roller chain is installed. Looks like about 1/64" clearance on mine. I'd really like to have it in there to keep some oil away from the front seal and put oil on the chain. Supposedly its not necessary for either of those things. Decisions, decisions, ...
Sure hope the cruise works right. Maybe we'll find out in a few weeks. The cruise bracket mounts on two bosses that also mount the throttle cable bracket. Then there's a third bolt hole on the cruise bracket that I haven't figured out yet.
The old crank was given to the machine shop (having no luck selling used parts and can't stand to throw them away) without removing the keys.
The machine shop installed one new key in the new crank but not the other. Couldn't find a listing or description for that key anywhere. Carl kindly got the measurements for the missing key, 1/4X7/8 which is ANSI 807. Not an easy one to find except in bulk orders. WXO checked Home Depot with no luck. I'll try the hardware store and Lowes before paying shipping and waiting on mail order.Have to decide if the oil slinger in front of the crank sprocket goes back in or not. The double roller chain can scrape it and chew it up. There's lots of advice to leave it out when a double roller chain is installed. Looks like about 1/64" clearance on mine. I'd really like to have it in there to keep some oil away from the front seal and put oil on the chain. Supposedly its not necessary for either of those things. Decisions, decisions, ...
Maverick
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
The oil slinger was bent out to give it a little more clearance from the timing chain. Should be fine now.
Don't have the pushrods yet but its only Wednesday. They are expected by the end of the week.
Test fitting of things with the aftermarket intake, carb, headers, tall valve covers and air pump delete is going well. Had to move the cruise unit toward the center to clear the tall valve covers. Actually, it lines up better with the throttle lever in the new position.
Header clearanceing seems to still be OK with the new heads. Coil bracket might have to be bent a little or maybe find a new place for the coil. The F150 air cleaner clears everything.
Took a while to figure out the accessories and brackets. Can't believe I didn't take pictures before the stuff was removed but none to be found. The alternator and air pump had common brackets and mounts but the alternator mounts just fine without the air pump. Just had to add 3 washers to one bolt to keep it from bottoming. Hope to find a shorter bolt or a neater spacer 'cause the washers are quite noticeable.
The HUGE bracket that mounts the AC compressor and PS pump is in place waiting for those pieces to be bolted on. Did not detach the hoses so those accessories are hanging from the inner fender.
Things should move quickly once the pushrods arrive but then I always think things should move faster than they do.
The wife has been washing windows for 2-3 hours and not looking real happy. Think I'd better go do something productive.
Don't have the pushrods yet but its only Wednesday. They are expected by the end of the week.
Test fitting of things with the aftermarket intake, carb, headers, tall valve covers and air pump delete is going well. Had to move the cruise unit toward the center to clear the tall valve covers. Actually, it lines up better with the throttle lever in the new position.
Header clearanceing seems to still be OK with the new heads. Coil bracket might have to be bent a little or maybe find a new place for the coil. The F150 air cleaner clears everything.
Took a while to figure out the accessories and brackets. Can't believe I didn't take pictures before the stuff was removed but none to be found. The alternator and air pump had common brackets and mounts but the alternator mounts just fine without the air pump. Just had to add 3 washers to one bolt to keep it from bottoming. Hope to find a shorter bolt or a neater spacer 'cause the washers are quite noticeable.
The HUGE bracket that mounts the AC compressor and PS pump is in place waiting for those pieces to be bolted on. Did not detach the hoses so those accessories are hanging from the inner fender.
Things should move quickly once the pushrods arrive but then I always think things should move faster than they do.
The wife has been washing windows for 2-3 hours and not looking real happy. Think I'd better go do something productive.
Maverick
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Basement Paul
- Posts: 3399
- Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm
- Location: In the dirt.
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Looks badass!
-BP
-BP
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Pushrods arrived!! 
Now it can go together for real, not just a test fit.
Good thing some yard work got done this afternoon.
Now it can go together for real, not just a test fit. Good thing some yard work got done this afternoon.
Maverick
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
We had what should be our Winter weather here yesterday and last night. I ran the heater for two days steady trying to keep the chill off the garage this morning for WXO and me to put the engine and transmission in place. We got 'er done. Even got the headers in place, which is a real chore. Still need to torque everything down and lots of hooking up to do.
Lunch time means the traditional peanut butter (world's best from Krema in Ohio, http://www.krema.com/) and honey sandwiches on whole grain bread.
Lunch time means the traditional peanut butter (world's best from Krema in Ohio, http://www.krema.com/) and honey sandwiches on whole grain bread.
Maverick
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
I was going to title the first picture "Hey Walt, if we work hard enough, we can
have her going by midnight" until you mentioned peanut butter sandwiches for
lunch.....
GM
have her going by midnight" until you mentioned peanut butter sandwiches for
lunch.....
GM
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Some progress on getting things hooked up.
. Carb installed. Throttle and cruise hooked up.
. Fuel line mostly done with fuel pressure gauge, in-line fuel filter. 3/8" line from the fuel pump to the carb replaces the 5/16" original. Edelbrock fuel pump has 3/8" pipe thread for in and out. The threads are cut a little small so the fitting only goes in 3/4 turn by hand. Think if I tightened it with only a couple of threads it would break the pump body so I ordered a set of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 pipe dies and taps for $15 from Harbor Freight. When they arrive, the treads will be cleaned up on the fittings so they go in further.
. Motor mounts, cross member, and trans mounts all tight.
. Exhaust pipes connected. What a great fit!! Henry's did a good job on the exhaust. One GREAT thing about long tube headers is its SO easy to disconnect the exhaust pipes. It was a BIG struggle disconnect the exhaust pipes from the shortie headers on the Maverick.
. Accessories and belts all loosely in place.
. Drive shaft in. Man, is that thing heavy. Double u-joints on each end and a flange to the rear end with unevenly spaced bolts so it goes back in in the same position it came out.
. PCV valve, hose, vented oil fill cap are all in. Need to add the baffles to the valve covers to keep the oil where it belongs.
The kick down rod attaches to the QuickFuel carb a little forward from where the original carb had it. Ordered a Lokar kick down cable to solve the problem but it mounts to the Lokar throttle cable bracket, which I don't have. So, the cable is going back. Lengthened the kick down rod to make up the difference. Cut the tube and inserted the cut-off shank of a 7/16 bolt to add a little length.
Kind of a hack but was concerned that it wouldn't weld very well. Afraid that the tube would disappear before the more massive bolt would melt. Maybe the air cleaner will hide it.
. Carb installed. Throttle and cruise hooked up.
. Fuel line mostly done with fuel pressure gauge, in-line fuel filter. 3/8" line from the fuel pump to the carb replaces the 5/16" original. Edelbrock fuel pump has 3/8" pipe thread for in and out. The threads are cut a little small so the fitting only goes in 3/4 turn by hand. Think if I tightened it with only a couple of threads it would break the pump body so I ordered a set of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 pipe dies and taps for $15 from Harbor Freight. When they arrive, the treads will be cleaned up on the fittings so they go in further.
. Motor mounts, cross member, and trans mounts all tight.
. Exhaust pipes connected. What a great fit!! Henry's did a good job on the exhaust. One GREAT thing about long tube headers is its SO easy to disconnect the exhaust pipes. It was a BIG struggle disconnect the exhaust pipes from the shortie headers on the Maverick.
. Accessories and belts all loosely in place.
. Drive shaft in. Man, is that thing heavy. Double u-joints on each end and a flange to the rear end with unevenly spaced bolts so it goes back in in the same position it came out.
. PCV valve, hose, vented oil fill cap are all in. Need to add the baffles to the valve covers to keep the oil where it belongs.
The kick down rod attaches to the QuickFuel carb a little forward from where the original carb had it. Ordered a Lokar kick down cable to solve the problem but it mounts to the Lokar throttle cable bracket, which I don't have. So, the cable is going back. Lengthened the kick down rod to make up the difference. Cut the tube and inserted the cut-off shank of a 7/16 bolt to add a little length.
Kind of a hack but was concerned that it wouldn't weld very well. Afraid that the tube would disappear before the more massive bolt would melt. Maybe the air cleaner will hide it.
Maverick
Getting close!!
Too cold to do any work so I'll post a little progress.
NPT taps and dies FINALLY arrived. Took 10 days for Harbor Freight, FedEx, and USPS to get them here. Cleaned up the thread on the fittings so they went in in the fuel pump body 3-4 threads. Hopefully, the Permatex Aircraft sealer will prevent leaks.
Cooling system will be sealed up when the new heater shut off is installed. One nipple on the old one was corroded pretty badly. Just waiting for some less frigid weather to get out in the garage again.
Still waiting for 5/16" inverted flare to 3/8" barb fittings to arrive so the trans cooler lines can be made and installed. Those fittings are hard to find. Using the 3/8" aluminum tubing because I have it and the 3/8 aluminum lines will provide some cooling themselves. A fittings specialty Yahoo store claimed they had them over a week ago but they won't be shipped till Monday. Hope they arrive before Thanksgiving but its doubtful. For break in I'll probably have to make a loop of the cooler lines.
ONE of the two charcoal canisters was removed along with its five hoses. The other is tucked up behind the inner fender and body where it can't be reached or it would have come out too. Could have gotten to it before the headers went in. The vent line is capped and the rubber check valve in the gas cap has a new hole in it to vent the tank.
Wiring is almost done.
We're shooting for Monday -- weather is going to be good again -- to do the break in. Lucas break in oil is supposed to protect the cam. Lets hope it works.
NPT taps and dies FINALLY arrived. Took 10 days for Harbor Freight, FedEx, and USPS to get them here. Cleaned up the thread on the fittings so they went in in the fuel pump body 3-4 threads. Hopefully, the Permatex Aircraft sealer will prevent leaks.
Cooling system will be sealed up when the new heater shut off is installed. One nipple on the old one was corroded pretty badly. Just waiting for some less frigid weather to get out in the garage again.
Still waiting for 5/16" inverted flare to 3/8" barb fittings to arrive so the trans cooler lines can be made and installed. Those fittings are hard to find. Using the 3/8" aluminum tubing because I have it and the 3/8 aluminum lines will provide some cooling themselves. A fittings specialty Yahoo store claimed they had them over a week ago but they won't be shipped till Monday. Hope they arrive before Thanksgiving but its doubtful. For break in I'll probably have to make a loop of the cooler lines.
ONE of the two charcoal canisters was removed along with its five hoses. The other is tucked up behind the inner fender and body where it can't be reached or it would have come out too. Could have gotten to it before the headers went in. The vent line is capped and the rubber check valve in the gas cap has a new hole in it to vent the tank.
Wiring is almost done.
We're shooting for Monday -- weather is going to be good again -- to do the break in. Lucas break in oil is supposed to protect the cam. Lets hope it works.
Maverick
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
We got 'er done. WXO and our buddy Jim came over and the cam break in is complete after a few glitches. The engine fired right up and the new gauges (oil press and H2O temp) and tach all worked. Initial oil pressure was great at 60 lbs when cold but fell way off on idle when the engine got to 220*. (Think it may have run a little hot because timing was only 20* at 3K RPM.) The oil is 30W Lucas break in oil. Hope the oil pressure will be better when some multi-viscosity oil is in it and it running a little cooler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9TgY0BWbPI
Had a couple of fuel leaks that were cured. Think a small coolant leak at the bypass hose might have cured itself. I'll check it again.
The 5/16 inverted flare to 3/8" barb fittings for the trans cooler lines arrived with the mail today. A temporary loop in the cooler lines allowed us to do the cam break in today.
The engine idles very nicely and sounds good thru the tail pipes. 800 RPM in Park becomes 650 and smooth when in gear. No header leaks this time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msP8XWZUqAM
Think the Duraspark distributor will need to be recurved. With initial timing at 12* it looks like total will be up around 40 at 3k RPM. I'd like to get it to 12 initial and 34 total. There are instructions online for recurving the Duraspark -- something I haven't done before.
Gotta pick up a new battery. Although it started the engine once, it couldn't do it again. Voltage dropped to 8 when cranking.
Thanks, WXO, for being the photographer again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9TgY0BWbPI
Had a couple of fuel leaks that were cured. Think a small coolant leak at the bypass hose might have cured itself. I'll check it again.
The 5/16 inverted flare to 3/8" barb fittings for the trans cooler lines arrived with the mail today. A temporary loop in the cooler lines allowed us to do the cam break in today.
The engine idles very nicely and sounds good thru the tail pipes. 800 RPM in Park becomes 650 and smooth when in gear. No header leaks this time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msP8XWZUqAM
Think the Duraspark distributor will need to be recurved. With initial timing at 12* it looks like total will be up around 40 at 3k RPM. I'd like to get it to 12 initial and 34 total. There are instructions online for recurving the Duraspark -- something I haven't done before.
Gotta pick up a new battery. Although it started the engine once, it couldn't do it again. Voltage dropped to 8 when cranking.
Thanks, WXO, for being the photographer again.
Last edited by Maverick on Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Maverick
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Basement Paul
- Posts: 3399
- Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm
- Location: In the dirt.
Re: 1978 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Sounds great! Congrats...
-BP
-BP