1977 Lincoln Continental Restoration Project

Just an update:

The car won't move now. The trans. is fine, but it's kinda sunk into the ground around an inch I guess from all the rain, and the force needed to move the car is more than the engine can handle in it's current state (if I give it any throttle so it moves above idle, it'll cut off) so it'll sit there.

A friend of mine in NY (who he and his friend are restoring a '75 T-bird) offered to rebuild my carb for free, if I sent it up there via UPS.

Everyone seems to be agreeing that the carb is dirty, and not allowing the fuel to flow and so on as it should, causing it to stumble and so on when any gas is applied. In the meantime, I'll be attempting to remove the tank, replace or clean the inlet screen, and flush the tank of the old gas. We're all hoping, after this, it'll run decent. I got it to run for a solid minute today, but it's still crappy. I don't like how it cuts off, most engines will turn a few times after the ignition is cut off, and thats it. This car, will "lock" the second the RPM's get low enough, and the whole car shakes. It'll fire right back up, but it makes you think it locks up every time you shut it off


I also put some Vinylex (by LEXOL) on the top and WOW. Before, it was a dark green oxidized top. Now, it's like 3 shades lighter, and has silver flakes in it. It's a beautiful color. shines nice too


So, this is where I am.

I love seeing these updates. Glad its going good for you William.

Thanks! I hope everything keeps working out this good. Tomorrow, I'm aiming to test the fuel pump. It's got getting any fuel from the tank, and the tank is under 1/2 now (I pumped as much as the hose could before the fuel level got below the hose) so it should be getting something. I'm thinking my problem lies within the lines (varnish) or the inlet screen in the tank is plugged. Even if the diaphragm is bad, it would still be pumping fuel (although it would be into the crankcase) which it is not.

drop the tank dump all the crap out and use new fuel line.. get some steel braided stuff with clamps that mount it to the frame.. then mount an inline fuel filter and pump and you should be alot happier with the end result. it wont be factory but it will be alot easier to run. you can even hide alot of it by doing it custom jobber.. if you need any help figuring what parts to buy i have done this a few times and it always works out great..

Good luck!

Here's where I'm at now:

Did some troubleshooting today, and, it appears the carb is bad (needs a rebuild)

I disconnected the fuel supply from the tank. Then, ran a line from the pump to the gas can. Primed the carb, hit the key...it ran......then....ran out of gas.

So I'm thinking...ok, guess the pump is bad.


Then, just about an hour ago, I decide to try one last thing before dropping $23.00 for a new pump. I disconnect the fuel line from the filter entering the carb. and kit the key. Fuel shot all over my windshield. Ok, so, the pump is working, fuel is getting into the filter, but not making it through the carb.


So, this confirms the fact the carb will need to be rebuilt. However.


What in the carb can go bad, to prevent fuel from entering the bowl? I guess the float is an option, but would that prevent it from running at all?

your floats could be bad or your jets are clogged.. it really isnt that hard at all to rebuild a carb.. i can take one apart and have it back together in about 20 mins.. you just have to pay attention to where everything goes.. rebuild kits cost between 5 and 20 bucks bepending on the carb.. worst case is look on ebay/craigslist for a rebuilt holley 650 or 750.. they usually run around 100 bucks around here..

Gotcha. Thanks for the info Joe.


My friend in NY will rebuild it for free, but whats the diff. between a 650 and 750. Is that the cfm?



It'd probably be a 750, as this is a big honkin' 4 bbl.

Correct. The CFM is the flow rate measured in Cubic Feet per Minute.

What kind of carb is it Will? Is it at Quadrajet? If it is then that carb although they have a terrible reputation can actually with the proper rebuild be quite the monster and can handle about 750cfm you just have to have someone who know what they are doing!!

Sorry for the delay, internet has been down today, and just got in from work.


Today, I took a hex screw off the front of the carb, and took a small screwdriver and poked around in there. Apparently, this dislodged the floar. Put the screw back in, started it up...and it ran without a prime

But, guess what? the float stuck in the DOWN position, allowing fuel to (after 6-7 seconds) run out of the vent tubes while the motor is running. I'm going to try and dink with it tomorrow and see if I can make it work somewhat, but the carb will need a rebuild. At least it's somewhat functional.



It's a Motorcraft 4350, FWIW.

Yep, your float is shot, it prolly has a small hole in it and got full of gas, thus sticking it open.

~~ Copied From Another Forum ~~

About 10:30 this morning, I removed the hex screw at the front of the carb, and shot three blasts directly onto the float assembly. came back an hour later, put the screw back in, and hit the key. Fired right up.

Counted the seconds down 7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0...no flooding. I was still waiting for it ,but it never came!

I ran it for a minute or so, until the fuel container ran out of gas, and shut it off before it ran out completely. Put some more gas in the container, hit the key, it fired right up. Ran it for two minutes, then it slowed down and cut off. At this point, I noticed some blue smoke coming out of the "breather" assembly on the LH side valve cover (which I don't think is good, but) the battery was low again (due to the alt. not charging-bad belt) so it's on charge now.


She's a runner!

Woo hoo!

well since you dont have to rebuild the whole carb all you got to do is take the bowls off and give everything a good cleaning with some carb and choke cleaner.. you could spray it directly into the hose your using as a temp fuel line and fire it up and it should clean everything out really good..

HELL YEAH WILL!!! Great way to ring in the new year! I hope the lincoln gets up and running soon and moving under it's own power!!

Well.........here's the thing. It'll run, but, as soon as blue smoke starts coming out of the breather on the LH valve cover, it'll cut off. It'll crank, and try to run once in a while, but it won't.

Once it cools down, it's fine. I'm thinking either the choke is sticking, or the timing is off.

Joe, I've tried that carb cleaner trick.....it'll allow the choke to work while it's running, but then it sticks again.


But, it does run.

It's been sittin so I wouldn't worry about the smoke too much.

rebuild the carb, what do you have to lose? after sitting for so long, it will only help. i still say get an edelbrock lol

Absolutely. I plan on taking it off this week and sending it to my friend in NY.

Well now that we know the carb is a problem and will be fixed soon lets turn our attention to this blue smoke coming out of the valve cover... Normally when blue smoke is present it means the crankcase is building pressure which you should have a PCV (positive crankcase valve) which allows built up pressure to be released into the carb to be burnt off. And seeings how when the blue smoke begins coming out of your valve cover and then the motor cuts off I'd be inclined to think that your building to much pressure and vapor locking. Pull your dipstick out and smell your oil you may have gas in the oil which could be caused by heavy floading which could also be the carb however there could be some other underlying problem you mentioned timing I agree if you have a timing light I'd check the timing. I'd like to think you've replaced the plugs already but they may be worth checking and maybe a good cleaning if some gunk made it thru the carb and has fouled out your plugs you could be getting leak down into the crankcase and build excess pressure. That's what I'd check while you wait for your carb to come back and I'd definalty get a PCV they can't be but a couple bucks at your local parts shop I know the PCV for my old 77 caprice was like 4.99 or something like that.

Good luck your getting closer!

Perhaps I neglected to add some details.

The PCV is on the right side (PS) valve cover. No smoke coming from that area. The smoke I see, is coming from the breather tube on the LH 9DS) Valve cover. This breather cover is supposed to connect to the air cleaner, and be sucked into the carb (I'm guessing.) The only reason it worried me, is because 1, the car would stop running, and 2. It's blue smoke. The engine has been sitting for years, so I expect that, but the reason I was concerned, is because I'm thinking it's getting hot enough up there to burn the old oil, but no fresh oil is getting up there to cool things down. I don't hear the valves clattering or anything, but I see no fresh oil in there either.




EDIT: While typing this, I burned my eggs. Eggs over burnt, anyone?

Well if your concerned about fresh oil getting to the valvetrain you could always pick up a set of VC gaskets take the valve covers off and just have someone crank it over without you little gas can so it doesn't start and see if fresh oil is coming out of your pushrods.

I did. Only cranked it for a few seconds, but saw nothing. OP light is on, but I'm going to replace the sending unit first. They are known for corroding and going bad, so I'll just replace that and see if the light is still on. IT doesn't "sound" like it's running dry, so I'm not going to worry too much. If it wasn't getting any oil pressure, and, esp. after sitting 10 years, it would have locked up by now.

True but also if your sending unit isn't bad then the screen in your oil pickup could be clogged and not getting enough oil I just hope that if thet is the case you don't run your oil pump dry and burn it up because I can't imagine that changing the oil pump on a 460 would be fun task to complete!!