Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

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dan0
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Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by dan0 »

First post, new member. Introducing the car I slowly hope to bring back from hibernation.

Here it goes, the car was purchased new by my grandfather I believe. He had passed before I was born and I honestly never got full confirmation from my father that he was original owner. Regardless it has been somewhere in my family since new. Around the mid '90s my father purchased it from one of my distant Aunt/Uncles. It had gotten very little use after the original owner passed and only had about 21k miles on it. My dad drove it year round until about 2000-2001. It needed the seat belt repaired, gas was barely starting to rise, and he wanted something newer. He ended up in a VW New Beetle.

Since then it was garage kept, unfortunately my Dad is a little bit of a pack rat and the spacious rear trunk and trunk lid became a collecting space for junk :( He always talked about doing something with it some day but hasn't. I didn't think too much of it in the meantime. It wasn't until 2008 and I was preparing to participate in the B.A.B.E (Big Apple 2 Big Easy) Rally, that mention of it came up. The point of the rally is driving to New York to New Orleans in a beater $250 or less car. Surprising my dad offered the Lincoln to me for it. My intention in the rally was to scrap whatever car we ran and fly back so I declined but it intrigued me.

I took at picture around the time of it in the garage...

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Fast forward to around this year, I have been trying to help my parents clean up around their house with little success and I finally said, I'm taking the Lincoln this year. I made progress over the summer getting it out of the garage, but stalled since then. Next step is getting it to my house and garage either under it's own power or towed. I'll be perfectly happy if all I do is get it stored in my garage with crap piled on top of it.

Here's pictures of the extraction...


The main wall of junk removed.
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And there the wall of crap is (background under the tarp is the fireplace wood)
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But wait's there's MORE!
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Starting to pull.
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And it's out! (where I should have left it, three cars do fit across the bottom of the driveway..) Driver's side rear wheel is locked up.
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Hello!
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Bad rust, passenger side.
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Seats wiped down with "Nature's Best - Multi-purpose cleaner" (like watered down Simple Green)
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This is actually after I pulled it back out about 5 feet, I had it further forward to get it straightened out) I pulled it forward with my van and had to squeeze the van between that tree to get it out.
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Not closing right is kind of an understatement.
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Trunk off.
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Nowhere in the trunk to try down the pesky working hinge, didn't have a pry bar or enough energy to undo the spring.
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Slide back into the hinge but unbolted so it's weighed down for now.
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That looks a lot better!
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Dan Szwarc
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by Dan Szwarc »

A naked top 79. Nice.

Need a trunk? I have one. But I'm in Michigan.
dan0
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by dan0 »

Dan Szwarc wrote:A naked top 79. Nice.

Need a trunk? I have one. But I'm in Michigan.
I always really liked it being a naked top, and thus no opera window. :)

I'll keep it in mind about the trunk, it would be somewhat costly shipping from MI to CT.

I had my jump pack with me the day I dug it out and after a quick check of the air filter to make sure no critters were in there I did crank it over hoping it would be one of those miracle "It started right up moments" No such luck so now I need to try doing some actual work. I'll say my mechanical background is better at taking things apart than putting them back together...
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Dan Szwarc
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by Dan Szwarc »

As you can tell by my avatar and sig, I have a 77 with the much-maligned and misunderstood 400 motor.

However, there really is little to getting an old carbureted car to run. You only need two things: fuel and spark. Spark is pretty straightforward and fuel is really just making sure all the pieces work to get the fuel from the tank to the carb.

There are quite a few posts on how to bring a car back from the dead. i don't want to repeat the advice and I hope you will search for it carefully. Ask any specific questions and I'll help out.

By the way, since you're in Connecticut, you are close to Bakers Auto. You'll find most of the parts you need there, but don't buy anything from them until you've exhausted your search at the local stores and RockAuto.com.
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LithiumCobalt
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by LithiumCobalt »

Well, despite all of the stuff that was piled on and around the car, at least the car was stored indoors. It certainly could be in a lot worse shape had it been outdoors. Looks like you got a good candidate to work on.
Nick
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Current: 1971 Mark III, 2012 MKZ AWD, 2016 F-150 Platinum
WANTED: 1969 Continental sedan, 77 Continental Town Car w/opera window delete, 76 Fleetwood Brougham
dan0
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by dan0 »

Wish me luck, I'm heading down to my parent's house tomorrow to give a shot at getting it running.
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AnthLinc
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by AnthLinc »

Doesn't look to bad. My cousin and I parked a very nice 1937 Olds in my uncle's garage back in 1992. It's still there but my uncle is a bit of a pack rat and since that time the car has disapeared into the junk. My cousin wants to get the car out but I cringe at the thought of tunneling to it.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3806837

[ 1966 Lincoln Conv't ]
[ 1966 Lincoln Conv't Parts Car ]
[ 1972 Lincoln Limo ]
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Castrosua
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by Castrosua »

that is REALLY nice for how it was stored...i couldnt read what was written on the driver window..something about BE FREE? im dying to know lol

Still that car is worth restoring for the vinyl top delete...very nice and good luck
1972 Lincoln Continental 4dr, 1973 Lincoln Continental TownCar
1974 Ford Ranchero GT 500, 1993 DAC 112 UDM
1994 Rocar 112, 2004 Ford Crown Vic Sport
2014 Chevy Camaro 2LS, 2022 Dodge Charger 392 Hemi Scat Pack Wide Body
dan0
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by dan0 »

AnthLinc wrote:My cousin wants to get the car out but I cringe at the thought of tunneling to it.
It took a bit of work to get bit out of there and I did it in the summer. What was worse was the locked up brake. My plan had been to pull it up the driveway and then let it roll down driveway. Well I didn't realize it was locked up until then. So I had to pull it down the driveway to it's spot. The last 10 feet I couldn't drag it (ruin the yard) so I used a come a long to pull it. A lot of work but worth it.
Castrosua wrote:i couldnt read what was written on the driver window..something about BE FREE? im dying to know lol
We made a path to the car one day before I pulled it out and I wrote in the dust, "Soon you'll be free." As in free from all this junk piled on top of you.
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Castrosua
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by Castrosua »

LOL.. i thought it was something to that effect...well you got her free..now it needs to get up on its feet and roam too
1972 Lincoln Continental 4dr, 1973 Lincoln Continental TownCar
1974 Ford Ranchero GT 500, 1993 DAC 112 UDM
1994 Rocar 112, 2004 Ford Crown Vic Sport
2014 Chevy Camaro 2LS, 2022 Dodge Charger 392 Hemi Scat Pack Wide Body
dan0
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by dan0 »

Small update, made it from my parents to my garage (30 miles) via a tow

Loaded up ready to go at my parents house.

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Used my ATV to tow it most of the way in. The garage has a window at the back that I then used to until pull nearly the rest of the way until the height of the window versus attachment points stopped it. Luckily my Jetta's bumper was perfect height for the last few feet some some rubber protection.

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And with it fully in, with the front bumper touching the wall I have maybe two inches of clearance with the doors closed. I'll have to attach some rubber bumpers and essentially crash into the wall slowly every time I park it.

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Since it will be difficult to work on some things in the garage, I'm going to drill a hole lower in the garage wall so I can easily pull it back into the garage, that is until I get it running and can drive 'er in.
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cudak888
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by cudak888 »

No vinyl, eh?

Wouldn't you know - unlike every other one that has rust under the rear window, you have none - but it's starting everywhere else. Wouldn't you know it has to be the exact opposite on this end...

Best of luck with it.

-Kurt
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66Lincoupe
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by 66Lincoupe »

I travel to Norwalk a couple times a year. If you get any parts from Dan I might be able to pick them up at his place and get them that far for you... I was just there for Thanksgiving and I should be back again as soon as the weather clears up in spring...

Just let me know!
Rob
dan0
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by dan0 »

Back from the dead...

But unfortunately I think it is time to sell the Lincoln. It has now been in my garage for a few years without being worked on. At least I didn't pile stuff on top of it like my father did. I'm looking to get the garage space back and some money for a down payment on a new car.

I've reached out to some of my friends into cars to see if anyone thye know is interested then I remembered this thread and figured I would bring it back up. I have an idea of what I would like to get for it not sure what projects are going for currently. I have seen sold listings on eBay above $5k. This would be under that.
hotrod429
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Re: Introducing slowest project ever: 1979 Continental

Post by hotrod429 »

Bummer about the sale.

FWIW, my 73 Lincoln was the same deal. It belonged to my grandfather who I believe bought it in 82(?). It started to deteriorate and became less and less reliable. She sat since about the late 90's. We would start it here and there, but she would not drive. She mostly sat.

It wasn't until about 2013 that I really really started focusing on it. Carb was one of the first things. Then brakes shortly after. Then she stopped running again, and was parked for a while longer. I did a few things here and there, she ran again, and then she stopped running and was parked.

Then last year I made a lot more progress. While I was visiting a friend out of town, her neighbor mentioned that the water pump was noisy. I had to go out of state, and when I came back, I decided to do the water pump. Which led to the timing chain, and then a month or so later, pertronix.

Now she's daily driver. Brakes still pull to the right, and I'm sure one of the driver side ball joints is shot, so that's coming up soon.


My point is, just because it's sitting right now, doesn't mean that you won't get to it. You've had the car since 2011. That's short compared to a lot of other people projects. Don't lose hope. It doesn't have to get done all at once. One thing here and there eventually adds up!
1973 MK IV. Finally back on the road :)
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