My '80 Lincoln Continental Mark VI Coupe "White Lightnin"

[79lincolnlover]

Damaging a pricey camera would suck.

[tjc78]

Cell phone camera, FTW. I hardly ever use my good camera. Too afraid of damaging it, what sense does that make?

[LTDMan83]

Yar she sits. After a long needed wash.








I'm excited and looking forward to bringing her back to life, and getting back on the restoration work again.

Aggravating as it may be sometimes, I actually enjoy doing this stuff to old cars believe it or not.


The project begins again full force in T-minus 285h 48m 7s

[LTDMan83]

Engine Update

It's finally time for another update, 1st one in almost a year! Enjoy mangs.


The timeline didn't work out quite as I had planned for this car, due to myself buying an '80 LTD 2-Door, that I started restoring right off the bat, and with my hectic work schedule (having skills that are in high demand and responsibility sucks kids!). Things are going forward none the less though. I figure whats the use in rushing things, I like to take my time and enjoy the ride anyway. Here's the progress I have made thus far. I tore my yard the fock up doing this back here, it's ok though it'll grow back. Bought a cheap camera as well so I can take pics of my work without having to worry about messing it up.






Got the old 351 pulled. Started raining on me that day, still finished anyway though.
















Took the time to fully degrease the Engine Bay, De-rustify, Por15, and then Re-finish the top of the Crossmember where the motor mounts go, while it was easy.













Bought new Motor Mounts, painted them in Ford Dark Blue engine enamel (looks light blue in pics), and installed them. Replacement AOD cooler lines as well, since the original ones snapped off at the radiator.













Installed the "new" F1 302 HO engine, (originally from a '91 Thunderbird), has the Mustang Cobra Camshaft installed in it as well, and you can tell a nice difference in torque over the HO Cam. It only has around 120K on it, still runs like a top, has excellent compression, and doesn't use any oil whatsoever. I didn't see a point in taking the time to paint the engine when this is only a temporary engine, just to get the car running, driving, reliable, and on the road, before I swap in a brand new rebuilt crate 351w.



















Here's the table full of parts I have for her. I'm only painting the things that I am gonna keep after the SEFI 351w swap as well, since I don't wanna see them rust in the meantime. Painting the Upper Intake/EGR/TB & Intake Pipes just to make the engine look better, since it is the main focal point on the engine. Yes that is a 3G 130amp alternator you see sitting there, came out of my old '99 3.0L Taurus, ran for awhile in my old Marquis as well.







Lastly, after spending around an hour taking apart the old 351, this is the reason for the knocking, and eventual demise of the old engine. A burned up rod bearing on #7, paper thin and ready to fall apart. The PO must have driven the car for quite awhile after it started knocking.







Also acquired an NOS '80 Mark VI Front Bumper, with the slot in the middle like mine, on ebay for a mere $320, saved me over $500 vs having mine repaired and re-chromed. Pure Win!





























That's it for now, I'm still steadily working on her whenever I get the free time, and more updates are coming soon. Stay Tuned.

[marquisman]

nice progress! that frame is minty too...and that bumper!!!!

[LTDMan83]

Thanks!

Was a bitch swapping those engines in the car back there all by myself. My friend who usually helps me couldn't get away from work those days, so if I wanted it done, I had no choice but to get er done myself. I have alot of motivation naturally, so it wasn't that hard for me, just time and energy consuming. Having the front end off the car certainly made things easier.

The hardest part apart pulling off the front clip, was having to pull off that damn 1-piece Stainless Fender/Rocker Trim without damaging it. I spent more time on that than anything. The front wheels even have to come off to get that trim off without damaging it. I got it off without incident though, and thank god because the PS one is minty! Now, I get to start on repairing the very small amount of rust I found during disassembly, and then put the front end back on, before I start working on hooking up everything for the SEFI engine.

It's going to be a fun winter! I should be cruising in this beauty by the spring.

[chitownvic]

Looking good mang.. Love that bumper

[packman]

Nice!!! Yeah, that camera of yours exposed the film with too much light. Those parts look like the regular Ford Blue engine enamel. Now you got me thinking about painting my engine mounts.



Packman

[LTDMan83]

Thanks mangs.

I'm currently working hard, eliminating the minimal amount of rust found on the Front Clip, all it's mounting surfaces, parts, and hardware. Not a whole great deal to do as far as rust repair, but I am pretty anal about proper prep work, so I spend quite abit more time on the detail aspect of things during prep, that most people would.

Don't worry, I won't bore you all with pictures of rust being fixed. I'll be back with another update soon, after the front clip is back on, the SEFI conversion is finished, and I have a vid to prove how well she runs.

[miamibob]

PLEASE BORE US! Would love to see the rust repair.

[79lincolnlover]

PLEASE BORE US! Would love to see the rust repair.

:bump: We love pics of progress! :camera:

[Brandon]

Great deal man. Its looking good. I bet its gonna feel nice to be able to drive it. Especially having it this long and not being able to drive it. But good job mang. Take ya time and it'll all work out.

[LTDMan83]

Thanks man. Yea, it's gonna feel awesome when I finally get to drive this classic beauty. I really miss the feeling of floating down the road in an '80's Panther.

Took 2 weeks paid vacation off from work starting today, just because I am far too overworked and stressed out, and need a vacation right now. Headed out to Gatlinberg, TN this weekend to relax, and see some people. When I get back on Monday I finally get to get started on this project again.

GODDAMN I CANT WAIT!!!! This thing has been picking at my mind to get it finished, like you would not believe... At least the hardest parts are already done, swapping the engine in back there was a major PITA! It's all just Wiring and other misc tedious stuff from here, thank god. Should have more pics of progress next week.

[miamibob]

Take your time and it will turn out great - just a WONDERFUL project!!! Love a person that takes the effort to revive these beauties

[LTDMan83]

Update

Welp, as we all know life happens sometimes, and steals away your time for car projects, so I ended up not getting as much time as I wanted to in on this thus far. I have managed to get all the rust on the Front Clip repaired, got the original Core Support bent back into shape at work using some of their pulling machines, and the Fenders/Header Panel installed and aligned. Doesn't look like much progress, but it took a lot of work to get to this point, because of taking the time to restore everything along the way. I have a few pics to show of her thus far.




Installed some Core Support cross-bracing bars, to stiffen up the very flexible core support some. Made a nice noticeable difference in the overall stiffness of the front clip after it was installed.







Here is the Core Support, Front Fenders, and Header Panel installed and aligned. This is how she sits currently. Front springs still haven't settled back down, after having all the weight taken off of them during the engine swap, so she is still sitting a little high.
















Next up, I'll be installing the Hood, Fender Liners, NOS Front Bumper, and Stainless Trim. Need to get the hood on soon, to protect the engine bay from the mass amounts of rain we have coming for us this winter. Then, after all that's done, I can FINALLY!!! start on the SEFI conversion. Stay Tuned.