Our ‘66 Convertible Project

[blaroche]

Wanted to start a thread on our ‘66 Convertible we recently acquired. We purchased the car from good friends of ours, but it has been off the road for the better part of a decade. Sold new at Turbiville Lincoln Mercury, the car spent about 30 years in San Antonio prior to our friends purchasing the car in the late 1990s. It’s going to need a fair amount of attention before being roadworthy again, but we’ve already got a good start on it. After performing a compression test, we determined one cylinder has either a burned or stuck valve, as compression was at 95 psi, while all others were at 155-165 psi. A wet compression test didn’t change the 95 psi reading. It has also been determined that the engine most likely still has the original timing gear. So with all of this in mind, we’ve decided to pull the engine, send the heads into the machine shop, replace the timing set, and reseal and repaint the engine. This will also be a great time to replace vacuum lines, power steering lines, etc. and paint the engine compartment. We will also upgrade to a dual master, replace steering box isolators, and replace bushings, as we plan to drive the car a fair amount. The A/C lines will also be replaced, along with the receiver dryer and expansion valve. Lots of work ahead of us to get the car back on the road, but it should be worth it when all done. Fortunately the top works flawlessly and now all power windows and auto-drop functions. Off to a good start!

[puddlepirate]

Beautiful! I'm looking forward to seeing updates!

[Lee]

The most important question: does the under-dash 8 track player still work?
That brings back some memories!

[frasern]

Sadly, that eight track is not O E, but I see about every other factory option, even the correct floor mats, and everything looks to be in great shape.
If it was run with the old gas, it could have caused a valve to stick, check for a bent exhaust push rod on the cylinder that is low.

[LithiumCobalt]

That deep maroon is gorgeous. Sounds like you got a really good car. Enjoy!

[blaroche]

Thanks for the kind words! We popped a tape in the 8 track and it sounds like it plays, but no sound out of the speakers. It’s a Lear Jet 8 track and we will probably take it out, as it wasn’t factory, and we don’t have a huge stockpile of 8 tracks to play lol. The old gas may very well have caused the stuck valve. Regardless, we figured hardened valve seats and a head rebuild would do it good at 90,000 miles. Nick, we fell in love with the Royal Maroon. I see in your signature you want a 76 Fleetwood, we had a 76 Talisman we let go of about a year ago and have regretted ever since!

[papawayne]

My brother has a 72 Mark with an 8 track in it. Can't remember if it is OE or not. It is a good thing he is already divorced, because he spent huge money on tapes for it. He plays them for 15 seconds at LCOC meets. Wayne

[LithiumCobalt]

Nick, we fell in love with the Royal Maroon. I see in your signature you want a 76 Fleetwood, we had a 76 Talisman we let go of about a year ago and have regretted ever since!

I’ve always been a fan of darker colors on cars and on these Continentals it looks especially nice. I had a Pitcairn blue ‘67 convertible many years ago. Just a stunning dark color.

I’ve always been a Ford/Lincoln guy but that particular year Fleetwood really catches my eye. The epitome of luxo-barge excess and I love every bit of it. All class.

[blaroche]

Made some great progress today! We got the engine out and on its stand. Makes the 368 out of our Mark II restoration project look tiny!

[Lee]

I see you guys had lifting eyes screwed into the exhaust manifolds. Was there a reason you didn’t use them?

[blaroche]

I see you guys had lifting eyes screwed into the exhaust manifolds. Was there a reason you didn’t use them?

We were initially going to try using them, however the length of chain we would have needed to clear the valve covers would have been too long and our engine hoist would have reached it’s maximum height before clearing the car. So we ended up using bolts on the intake manifold. That being said, the engine leveler was a big help and brought the motor out nice and evenly.

[frasern]

Personally, I don't like using manifolds to lift, I know the factory does, but that is with a new manifold. Once they are seasoned they become brittle, and although I have never heard of one shattering under load, I just can't help being over cautious.
Good to see the progress, I have a MEL 430 and a Buick 401 in my shop, the Buick looks like a smallblock by comparison.

[Mike]

Me neither on the manifolds. I always try to use bolts in the block somewhere.

I always found the lifting plates that bolt on where the carb does strange too all that weight on 4 small bolts.

[frasern]

Above, I should have specified I don't like lifting on Exhaust manifolds, intakes are fine, as you are bolting through to the head. In principal, I don't like the carb flange thing on an aluminum manifold, but I have never used one. And I think they would be a bit tippy, but that may be a good thing sometimes.

[Dan Szwarc]

The manifolds are perfectly safe to use for lifting. Ford put 3/8-14 threads into bosses for lifting eyes. And then you're transferring that weight to 16 other bolts distributed across the block. Anything else is a hack, but do what works for you.

Cast iron doesn't get brittle with age. It's always brittle.

These manifolds cracked because of poor thermal design, not being used for lifting.