Our ‘66 Convertible Project

[blaroche]

Lots of choices through Rockauto. I have the Melling HV in mine.

Great, we will get one ordered. Thanks again!

[blaroche]

Made some great progress degreasing and scrubbing the engine bay today. The radiator shop is done with the radiator and heater core, so those will be picked up on Monday. I stumbled across a set of metal exhaust manifold gaskets on eBay that claimed to be old stock reproductions/replacements. They were pretty cheap so I figured they would be worth a gamble. Interesting that the drivers side gasket has a C7VE part number. Hopefully these will work out ok.

[LithiumCobalt]

You found a set of original style exhaust manifold gaskets. They are extremely hard to find now. Consider yourself lucky to have come across them. I always like to use these rather than the aftermarket fiber nonsense that blows/burns out.

[blaroche]

You found a set of original style exhaust manifold gaskets. They are extremely hard to find now. Consider yourself lucky to have come across them. I always like to use these rather than the aftermarket fiber nonsense that blows/burns out.

Nick, thanks for the info! Yes, certainly glad to have found these.

[blaroche]

Been making good progress these past few days. I cleaned and re-wrapped the cloth engine bay wire harnesses and painted the passenger inner fender along with the cross member. Waiting to paint the drivers side inner fender until I finish swapping out the master cylinder for the 67 dual master. The proportioning valve should be here this coming week and I can wrap that up. I just don't want to take a chance of spilling brake fluid on a freshly painted inner fender. Aside from that, I rebuilt the carburetor yesterday afternoon. Still has the date coded tag on it, which I believe decodes as a November 1965 date. Aside from the dual master I’m hoping to tackle the power steering pump and fuel pump this coming week.

[LithiumCobalt]

Going to be show ready and no time! Looking good!

[Ranger Magnum]

I too recently acquired a 66 convertible. Looking forward to reading about yours

[CaptainDave]

Congratulations, and good luck! Please send the VIN to www.thelincolnregistry.com if you haven't already. Also, you mention some plans for the A/C system. Are you planning to keep it R-12 or convert it to R-134a?

[Dan Szwarc]

I did all of this to my 66.

[blaroche]

Congratulations, and good luck! Please send the VIN to www.thelincolnregistry.com if you haven't already. Also, you mention some plans for the A/C system. Are you planning to keep it R-12 or convert it to R-134a?

Thanks, will be sure to do that, I have already got our ‘67 up to date on there and need to for the ‘66! Great question on the A/C. Our ‘67 sedan I charged with R-12 when I went through its system a few years ago. Still blows at 28 degrees at the vents, even two years later. That being said, I probably only have about 12 useable pounds of R-12 left and want to charge our Mark II with it once the restoration nears an end (its system takes 6.5 pounds). Between the other cars we have, most use R-134 so I have 60 pounds of it on hand. I was contemplating charging the convertible with 134 since the system will be completely evacuated and it will be getting a new compressor. The receiver dryer is 134 compatible so I figured I would try 134 first. We have the sedan for extremely hot days, the convertible would be more for fair weather driving. So if the vent temp only gets in the low 40s I’d be ok with that. Actually, all of the lines and fittings came in the mail this past week so tomorrow I will probably be crimping the new lines. I’d be interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

[blaroche]

I did all of this to my 66.

Dan, I’ve read many of your threads and posts while working on this convertible and they have been unbelievably helpful! I had been hoping to accomplish more on the car this past week, but between work, completing a masters program, and spending the better part of 18 hours in the car to visit family this weekend, I haven’t accomplished much on it. Tomorrow should be free to work on it so I’m hoping to get a lot done!

[papawayne]

Keep doing it while it is still fun, and you have the time and your health. It is a great hobby. My cousin, who late in life discovered Model A's, turned his hobby into a job, and now, he is more in demand than he wants to be. To his credit, he ran a speed shop, closed it when he retired and then started becoming an A expert, in the same building. Wayne

[Lee]

Keep doing it while it is still fun, and you have the time and your health. It is a great hobby. My cousin, who late in life discovered Model A's, turned his hobby into a job, and now, he is more in demand than he wants to be. To his credit, he ran a speed shop, closed it when he retired and then started becoming an A expert, in the same building. Wayne

Wayne, I was a small time mechanic out of my grandparents garage in my late teens, and just that short experience convinced me that if you want to take the fun out of a hobby, start doing it for a living. For me, what was fun and breezy work as a hobby, suddenly became hard, dirty drudgery. It also helped me realize that I didn’t want to work that hard for a living.

[papawayne]

The guys that ran the gas/repair station in town hired a young fella to do the tires, brakes and the exhaust jobs that came in for that very reason. This freed them up to chat with the customers which is what they really wanted to do anyway. Sadly, I believe they both are dead, and have gone to that great tire and brake and exhaust facility, wherever it is. Believe it or not, the place has been transformed into a barbecue place where a mere sandwich is 15 dollars. I think it helps to keep a wood pile and a smoker outside. It is good for business. The hilarious thing is that I once had an ancient Mercury Grand Marquis from the early 80's that was missing a hubcap insert. It was months before I discovered that they had found one and installed it. They weren't talking, but I'm pretty sure someone else in town must have had a Mercury too and got gas there. Oops. Wayne

[blaroche]

No photos, but I did make some good progress yesterday. Removed the old master cylinder, metering valve, and proportioning valve. Mounted the PV2 proportioning valve and started making new lines for it. I’ll try and get some photos of this later to post. Also heard back from our machine shop, they said the heads checked out good but it definitely needed exhaust valves. They will also be replacing all of the valve springs. All of the PS lines should be arriving this week too, the flexible lines on the car had certainly seen better days!