69 Continental restomod build

[22h0ffers]

Hi my name is Nick and I’m in WA state, I bought my Lincoln probably close to two months ago now and just decided to do a build thread on it for input, suggestions and advice. Also to help me keep track of what I’ve done haha. But anyways, this thing has already put me through a lot but I’m looking forward to the end result.

Now I bought the car not running and it sat in the Washington sun and rain cycles outside for two years before I saved it. The paint is toast and there is some slight surface rust and typical QP rust ill have to repair. The top of the rear seats are way dried out and have busted open in a spot from the sun but other than that they are in good condition. But anyways, my first order of business was getting the car running! It still had points when I bought it so i tried a new coil and some other things but ultimately I just took out the old distributor and installed a new hei dizzy and gave that a full 12 volts all the time and bypassing that “resistor wire”.

[defrang]

Thats great that you got it started. Look forward to the progress.

[syfe1]

Congrats on the purchase Nick. The car look pretty decent for sitting for that long. What are your plans for the build?

[22h0ffers]

Thank you, but yes, I have a short term plan, medium plan and a long term plan. Short term is getting it running/driving like it came from the factory (lights working etc). Medium term is paint and body/rust repair and then when time/money permits I’d love to re do the interior and make it black instead of that green but it’s not terrible so that’s why it’s towards the bottom of my list. Also, I haven’t decided on what I’m gonna do with suspension/wheels tires. I’m not much of a low rider guy but these cars do look good slammed, but till I figure it out, it’ll be stock.

Anyways, I’ve done quite a bit in the time since I’ve bought it so Im playing a little bit of catch up with out having to write a million posts. I appreciate the interest! And any input, questions or concerns are always welcomed. I’ll admit that I don’t know everything haha.

[TonyC]

Nick,

Nice to see more detailed pictures of your car! Where suspension is concerned, I would strongly advise against any "slamming" or lowering or whatever other cheesy terms those dragging-belly types use. The car is inherently a low-rider, the suspension is good as is (well, save for maybe having worn springs replaced--but not with balloons) and will keep you hugging the road already. Heck, just park next to any 21st-Century Mini, you'll see what I mean.

Sounds like you have a good plan in place. Mine was somewhat similar, first getting Frankenstein running--which took me four years to do what with the punishment the last owner had done to him, and with station reassignments, war deployments, and the like getting in the way...and it still took me several more years to expel all the gremlins in the works. I also took some time to add some things to him that he wasn't equipped with, which you don't necessarily have to do at this point, but they could be nice to add later on to really give more status that Lincolns should always have. I know we discussed power locks before; that's one thing. Then there are other things--some attainable with stock parts, some aftermarket. My second stage is almost done: I've gotten everything working except the air conditioner, and I'm building up for that.

At least you had the flexibility of your 460 engine to give you more options with distributors. Do consider careful examination of the front cover if you have to remove the water pump for any reason (actually, you may have to do that eventually anyway, if the timing components had not been replaced from original--460s also ran nylon gears). Make sure there is a steel plate sandwiched between the water pump and the cover; it's a major insurance against a fatal breakdown.

Also, since the car had been neglected outside for so long, check around your windshield and back window for leaks. The sealant could have deteriorated to the point that rain water can leak in there, which is a nuisance at minimum. You can either use windshield cement to fill in, or you can have a glass shop remove and re-install the glass (but for the latter, do research on the most reliable shops in the area--that glass is very expensive and very hard to get, you don't want someone to be careless with what you have).

I and others will have a bunch of restoration and improvement tips for you.

---Tony

[22h0ffers]

Ahh yes automatic locks would be really convenient. That’s definitely something I’m interested in and will have to look into, but yes I do have that plate behind the water pump and that will lead me into the next part of my build...

After getting it running (I ruined the power steering pump on my first drive cause I had no idea these things couldn’t be ran dry and the previous owner installed it with a massive leak) i bought a freshly rebuilt pump and installed that, then I had to put in a new starter cause it gave up on me in between the last time I started the car. I got the new power steering unit bled out and it was running well and turning perfectly. I did a little driving around town (to grandmas and the gas station) for about a total of 30 miles till I put it back in the driveway. Later that same day, I go to give the father in law a ride and upon start up and made a nasty squeak noise which I hoped was the water pump but took the belt off to make sure and the noise was definitely coming from the motor.

Now upset and swearing I rush to take off the oil pan to see if I can’t see wtf is going on. I unbolted it and didn’t spend to much time fiddling with pulling it out cause I had time to calm down by then and realize that the problem was probably oil starvation and the motor is gonna have to be pulled anyways. Taking the motor out was really easy and upon investigation the oil pickup wasn’t attached to the pump, it was a loose fit and flopped off repetitively. Now understand the PO wasn’t the smartest and you could tell by the use of his rtv sealant in dumb places, putting mercon v in the tranny (which I still have to deal with) and then him taking off the oil pan and messing with who knows what (and I know all this cause of the books of receipts he gave me/what he told me and my observations etc.) So I’m pretty mad at him but it’s my problem now.

The motor now is at a well respected and expensive machine shop, the crank will be getting polished/balanced, cylinders honed, new pistons, a little bit of a cam, new intake and other typical motor rebuild parts so I’m looking forward to getting the back in about a month to month and a half is what they quoted. But enough talking, I’ll post the pictures!

[LithiumCobalt]

Yikes. Hard to know what you will run into with any old car. Glad that you are doing it justice and rectifying previous sins. Whenever I get the engine going after a long down time, that always gets me motivated to really plow my time and money into it.

[22h0ffers]

Haha yea, a lot of time and money. I haven’t stopped working on it though. None of the windows worked when I bought it and now I got 3 of the 4 working and the only reason the 4th isn’t working is because I haven’t opened it up yet. But that’ll be a future update when I have more time.

[Dan Szwarc]

The stick is the oil pump shaft, but you knew that.

[JonW]

Good luck on the project. Be prepared to spend a lot more money than you think! Lincolns are just that way. But the end result is worth it. I get more compliments on my slab side than any other car I own.

I will say one thing about slamming. I love the look, but the one car I've bagged in the past turned out to be a real PITA. It was a '94 Caprice wagon. That had to be one of the most ill-handling cars I've owned. Maybe the guy that installed the bags didn't do it right. But I also got tired of the compressor noise and the amount of room all the hardware took up.

On my '62, I had custom springs made. They're 1" lower than stock and a little firmer. While not slammed, I like the look and it handles a bit better in the curves. To me, that was the perfect compromise. Just food for thought.

[action]

To echo the above regarding suspension and to ask the question - It really depends on how the vehicle is going to be used.

The suspension handling almost doesn't matter if all you are going to do is drive slow and go to local shows. This type of driving below 35 MPH is exactly what some owners are looking for in a ride that turns heads at the local cruising ground.

Any driving above 35 MPH and the suspension has to have some ability to control the car on the road. Vehicles that are slammed have to have the ability to get it up and keep it up to perform. (err I said that out loud didn't I?)

If you plan on driving interstate on occasion, say to a LCOC car show, the vehicle HAS to have the ability to perform at least as well as original stock. (And much better is possible with today's tech) Otherwise you have a trailer queen that needs to be towed at distance. And only driven slow.

Looks versus money. Original stock will always be less money than some modification. The design and engineering is already done. You just have to find the part. As far as original suspension, usually that is a matter of replacing all of the rubber and nearly no hard parts except springs. (There isn't a metal spring made that retains OE height beyond the 30 year mark) May be leaking seals or gaskets of the power steering and that's it. For modified suspension, you are creating something out of nothing. It isn't like that hasn't been done before, however there are a lot of choices and none tailored to a slab side that I am aware of.

Good luck.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[mjs]

Looks like a fun project. What part of Wa are you in?

[22h0ffers]

Sorry I’ve been away, works been busy and hot which equals a lot of naps and not enough Lincoln time.

I do wanna drive this thing at 70 going down the highway so I figured at least stiffening it up is gonna have to happen. I’ve only had it up to 40 so far and it definitely handles like a boat, but I feel that also adds to the nostalgia a bit.

I’m in Puyallup! About 40ish min south of Seattle assuming no traffic (like that ever happens)

[Chaser8686]

I am working on a 68' how is this one coming along?

[TonyC]

Yes, give us an update. I like to think the machine shop gutted the block and hot-tanked it. With that age and the obvious abuse by the prior owner, I don't doubt the coolant and oil passages in the block were in dire need of deep-cleaning.

---Tony