Kelly's '66 Vert

[kelly2257]

Hey Gang,

I just wanted to introduce myself and my project, before I start up with a bunch of questions.

My story -- Dad bought the car in 1968 when I was in grade school. We lived near Salem, Oregon and he was friends with the owner of McKinley Lincoln Mercury. Family legend goes that Mr. McKinley drove the car when it was new, until the day he was dressed up suit and tie for an important meeting. Thought he ought to take the car through the high pressure car wash, came out soaked from water coming through the windshield gap. Soon as he got back to the dealership, he threw the keys at the used car manager and said "get rid of that sonofabitch". Next guy through the door was dad...

A few years later, the top stopped functioning. Dad wasn't inclined to take it in and had moved on to a canary yellow '68 Caddy Coupe DeVille w/472 (took my drivers test in that thing) so the Lincoln was parked. I started carefully poking around, and in the process learned to use an ohm meter and test relays and stuff like that. Then one day around 1975, I found the connector that snakes up through the soft top to the top lock motor had pulled apart, and got the top working again. Best day ever when dad got home from work that day and I could show him. I was 14. Went on to attend OSU, got an engineering degree, I like to think because of that experience.

Roll forward a great many years of storage, a bunch of out-of-order restoration steps, and finally a bit of time, and I have about a 80% completed car, 65K original miles, running and driving with a rebuilt 462, transmission, running gear and all the "big stuff". It's a practical restoration, this is going to be a driver, so following the recipes I found here for that (carb, brakes, etc.).

Anyway I just wanted to say "howdy" and that I'm looking forward to getting to know some folks on this forum, eager to share info that I have as well as learn a lot more about these remarkable cars.


-Kelly

PS: first problem, gonna need to find me a "C"

[rick]

Great story, Kelly. Welcome to the Forum. People here are great companions for these great cars.

Rick

[Lee]

Welcome, Kelly! There are a lot of good people here, with lifetimes worth of experience with your car. And glad to hear you plan to make it a driver!

[1Bad55Chevy]

Those 2 pics is all we get?
I vote for more pics!

[LithiumCobalt]

Welcome Kelly. You’ve come to the right place.

[Mike]

Nice story. So cool the history you have with it.

[frasern]

Every great car has a great story, thanks for that. And I love a garage with a staircase!
Good luck on the project, if you can't find that letter any closer, I have a jar full somewhere.

[CaptainDave]

Welcome! If you haven't already, please send the VIN to www.thelincolnregistry.com Thanks!

[bd94s10]

Kelly, welcome to TLF. Thanks for sharing your story. We are looking forward to more pics. If you haven't already checkout Lincoln Addict Podcast which is free and something I host/produce. I always give TLF a shoutout as there are great folks in here!

Call Kelly at Old Lincoln Parts in Clearwater and tell her I sent ya for the missing letter you need!

http://www.socalcustoms.com/Shows/2000/ ... /index.htm

PS I'm a big fan of '66/'67 Lincolns. I had a '67 sedan for a bit. I really dig the '66 interior as the seats changed more in '67.

[kelly2257]

CaptainDave: dumb question, where is the dataplate with the "Lincoln Data Plate Code" requested by the registry? (Have the VIN of course)

bd94s10: Subscribed! Thanks, will be great listening while working away.

1Bad55Chevy: here you go

That hood's around here somewhere...

Smooooooth

Temporary setup; real gas tank is shot, new one arrives Tuesday. Forum notes on this topic will be a big help!

Decent starting point, but seats and carpet have to come out for restoration...

Original Bill of Sale - guess it was first purchased by Cutler Mfg Co. but I think the rest of the Origin Story is correct...
Check out those options prices, man I wish I had those Floor Mats.

Enjoy

[Dan Szwarc]

CaptainDave: dumb question, where is the dataplate with the "Lincoln Data Plate Code" requested by the registry? (Have the VIN of course)

The Unofficial VIN plate is on the driver's door jamb. Shiny brass plate. I say this because the Official VIN is stamped on the inner fender inside the engine bay per the description in the shop manual.

[1Bad55Chevy]

Love it... absolutely love it! Not to mention your one of the few who actually still work on their own cars! Much respect hats off!

Is that the original paint on the car?

Welcome to the forum, there are some great people here! Tony, Nick, Lee, and Dan are probably the most knowledgeable helpful people on the internet especially in terms of Lincolns!

[Lee]

Well…Tony’s a bit jealous of new members with convertibles, but he’ll come around

Kelly, it looks from your pictures as if someone has swapped out the original 3 port fuel pump. If you don’t end up going to an electric fuel pump (my recommendation, but opinions vary) you’ll want to source one.

[LithiumCobalt]

Looks to be nicely equipped. Also appears that it is one of the few that left the factory without AC. Suppose in WA that isn’t a big deal, though. Good luck with it. Plenty of threads on here, including my own, of how to fix just about anything on these cars.

Oh, and a lot of people salivate over bucket seats too! They look to be in nice condition!

[frasern]

Leather seats are like a leather jacket, they look better with a bit of wear (imho), yours look great. The console may start to peel at the bottom, be cautious how you address that, the previous owner destroyed mine with solvent glue. I wrote a bit about re-enforcing the console floor in the bucket seat thread, I recommend this as a precaution, even if the console floor is still good.
Love the bill of sale, it looks like he traded in a '62 convert? As for the floor mats, they are re-produced, check LMOPS.