1977 Lincoln Continental Restoration Project

the oil pump drive shafts in these things are just plain JUNK. like joe said, they're about the same size and shape of a pencil and sometimes i wonder if a pencil would be stronger lol. take the high road, whether it's broken or not, replace it with an ARP performance shaft. sure, they're more expensive than the OEM shaft, but it's worth the few extra bucks to know it's not going to snap. your best bet is to buy it from summit. most of your local speed shops mark their prices higher than summit. link -

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ARP-154-7903/

William, the link Chris posted would be well worth checking out. For less then $20, you get some good insurance.

Already checked it out. "Have to cut to fit"


I don't own anything that cuts steel.


I do appreciate the information, however. If worse comes to worse, I may just replace the whole pump, while I'm down there.

Hacksaw man, hacksaw.

exactly.. hacksaw.. that's how i cut mine for my f250.. and you don't have to drop the pan and pull the pump to check it.. just have to pull the distributor out, since that's how the pump is driven, the shaft is accessible from the distributor hole

Another option is fastenal. They sell hex stock that is tempered. I bought all sizes of this stock and made a set of impact hex bits for my 1/2 impact and they are some kinda tough!

won't work.. if my memory serves me right, they have a hole in the center for oil

Did your Bronco have a 460 swapped in? Just curious. You seem quite knowledgeable with the motor.




Think about this. The engine has been running for (I'm just rounding off here) ~ 40-45 minutes since I bought it. Sometimes it was idling, sometimes it was ~ 2-2.5K RPM's.



If there was NO oil circulation at all, like, literally, zero oil pressure. There is no way it would be able to keep running, as quiet as it is. Other than a water pump or alternator pulley squeal up front, it's quiet.


I completely agree with you about never to run an engine without OP. COMPLETELY.

And I'm not trying to argue with you, I honestly appreciate everything you've brought to the table.

I had a friend of mine who is building a 460 in a friends car ('75 T-bird)tell me, that if there truly was no oil circulation, the engine would have seized after 10-15 minutes, plus there would be a tremendous clattering sound.



What I'm thinking is this. If you feel I'm wrong, tell me, I appreciate different points of view. If the oil pump is driven by the dizzy, that means it's at the front of the engine. The switch for the oil light in the cabin is on the opposite end of the motor. I feel it has enough OP to keep the engine running without making it knock/clatter/make metal on metal noises, but there isn't enough flow at the back to plug the sendor to shut the light up.




Plausible?

my bronco and F250 both had 400M's.. a lot of the 'problems' cross reference to a 429/460. not to mention, i've been around quite a few cars/trucks with 429/460's, so i've learned a lot about them.. owning my own personal 400's only added to my BBF knowledge..

it's also quite possible that the oil passage way to the sending unit is clogged up with gunk.. do you have an air compressor and blow gun? if so, take the sending unit back out, spray in something along the lines of PB blast or some kind of penetrating oil and put the end of the blow gun firmly in the sending unit hole.. machine shops have special tools that actually snake through the oil passages to clear them out, i wish i could say i've seen 1 in a parts store.. but i haven't. so i would just use the tip i posted above and repeat it a couple of times to try clearing it out. you could also try cranking the motor(pull the coil wire off so it doesn't start) to see if anything is coming out. it's possible that you have a minor wiring issue, causing the light to come on and go out like it does.

as for it seizing so quickly, not necessarily true.. i had a 600 motor (CBR600RR) that i ran with no oil for a few hours, at all different RPM ranges, while i was tuning it (the guy i bought it from assured me it had oil, so i took his word for it). when i went to drain it.. not a drop. i dumped oil in it and it lasted a couple races before finally letting a rod go.


what it may eventually come down to is having to take the block to a machine shop who can bake it and clear the passages out. i wonder if a pipe snake would fit in the hole lol

William, pull the oil filter off. If oil has not circulated there will not be any oil in the filter (unless you prefill), if it is circulating, the filter will have black nastyness in it. Just a thought.

Good point. I'll have to wait until it dries up...too wet to get a jack under the car.

jack?! you can do it from the top!

Not on this car......Trust me.

sure you can.. just have to twist your arm in 25 different directions in which it shouldn't be able to twist lol

Just another update...been two weeks, not much more has been done.. between my grandmother, school, and work, there isn't all that much time left... I did get to cleaning the engine bay the other day, had some success with that...haven't cleaned the intake, however.



Any ideas on that? I've been told not to scrub the intake, as it pushes dirt into the textured surface, which may cause it to overheat..


No, I do not own a pressure washer.

I did, however, move it. It's sat in front of the shed/garage since 12/2? or something. It was time for a change. I decided to make it move, under it's own power. Started it up, let it warm up for a sec, and gave it some gas. Put it in reverse, and gave it 3/4 throttle. It backfired a few times out of the carb, but it began to back up (it had sunk into the ground a couple inches, so I was surprised it moved, really) I clicked it into Neutral, waiting for it to stop, before I put it into drive ( it isn't quite strong enough to keep running while in gear yet) and it died. I was worried for a sec, but it fired right back up, put it in "D" and gave it 3/4 throttle. It moved forward, right on up into the carport. And this is where it will stay. Mainly, to protect the vinyl top, and, to let the landlord know the car does actually run, lol.







And, my other vehicles will remain around this general area..

Looking good William! Thanks for the update!

Over 2 months...geez....I should be embarrassed


Well, I feel a good deal of progress has been made. The engine is the same as it was, BUT.


I'm pretty sure that I have oil circulation. Reason? My oil, which I changed in December, has probably 45-60 idle minutes on it, and it is BLACK as a new tire. However, the OP light is still on, which leads me to believe some of the passages (at least that one) in the engine are blocked from sludge/old oil contaminants. Plausible? It doesn't sound like it's running dry, so I think I'm good there....plus, after an hour of running...if no oil was circulating...something would have happened, or at least changed, by now. In the way it sounds, acts, runs, etc.

I have FINALLY managed to clean ALL of the old gas/algae/godawful smelling crap in the tank. Problem is....what's the best way to FLUSH the tank? What can I put in there to "clean" it so I can put fresh fuel in and hook up the fuel line?


Now, onto the major part. The body. As most of you know, the body on this car is in good shape, but, it does have some rust problems. Nothing severe, thankfully. Well, over the past 3 weeks, I've been sanding, sanding, and sanding. I'd check to make sure the area was down to bare metal (or as close as I could ever hope to get) and then clean it, and prime it. So far, so good I need to take pics of it all so far.

This is the first vehicle I've ever used Bondo on. And, I'm proud of myself. I've run into three spots where I've needed it (minor pitted areas) and after sanding and priming, you would have never known. Smooth as a sheet of glass.

The worst offenders are the usual trouble spots. The areas above the cornering lamp lenses, taillights, and around the corners of the vinyl top. But, nothing is too far gone, thankfully. A thorough sanding, inspecting metal to make sure it is not compromised, add a smidge of Bondo if needed, sand to flush, and prime.


Question is....If I hand sand and prime this entire car with spray cans....would it be decent to paint over? Or would it have to be removed for primer to be applied with a paint gun, so the final coat would look perfect?

I want to know if it's worth it to just sand the whole car, or just the trouble spots..


Anyway, there is my update.

id say if the old paint sticks paint over it

i have a few comments lol

1 - rattle can primer is sofficiant, me and my dad both use it with sikkens and akzo brand paint

2 - bondo'ing over pits, big no no.. the filler will speed up the rusting process.. i learned this the hard way

3 - the best way to clean a dirty gas tank is with some fresh gas or a good cleaning solvent (parts washer fluid, carb cleaner, etc) or just fresh gas and a scrub brush/fine wire brush. then just rinse with fresh, clean gas.. dump it out to remove anything left in the tank and refill

Thanks!


Why would putting Bondo over light pitting be a bad thing? That's the point of Bondo, correct? To fill in small imperfections?

How does it speed up the rusting process, if the area is sanded, then dried throughly, then Bondo'ed, then primered over?

i thought bondo was more for dents then rust

I have seen/heard of many a individual use it for both, with good results.

Bondo is good for everything

body filler is for small dents and blending imperfections in the body. filler speeds up the rusting process by trapping moisture from the air. your best bet is to sand it back out and get POR-15, brush it on and lightly sand that. it's a rust inhibitor.. don't fall for the imitations you see in auto parts stores, they suck.. even the 3M 'rust converter'.. i've tried them all

**UPDATE**

The starter died on it about a month ago, and after finally getting the starter out, it appears we have problems.

1. The wiring connector that goes to the starter is completely melted, and part of it snapped off with the starter as it came off. Not a big deal, just need to buy a new starter wire/connector.

2. The big deal is this. I took the starter to the shop, and they tested it. Said it was a little weak, but it should still work fine. Well, it doesn't.

What happens, well, lets back up.

About 2 months ago, it was steady getting slower, and slower, and slower cranking the motor over. Eventually, it crossed the "threshold" to the point the engine would no longer crank fast enough for the motor to start (even withy a 100% charged battery) and I saw smoke one time, and let off the key.

Then, the last time it actually turned over was a little over a month ago. It was very slow. Basically, I got a " craaaaaank---craaaaaank---craaaaaank---craaaaank---cra-

and that was it. Then, every time I would hit the key, the starter solenoid/relay would trip. Over the course of a month, the light doors are now open, and it appears it is dead. Friend of mine at the shop said the easiest way if you can't get right to the crank is to get a crowbar and see if you can turn the flywheel. If that fails, try using a big wrench or breaker bar on the crankshaft pulley bolt.

1. Tried the crowbar...wouldn't budge, period.
2. Tried the breaker bar trick...didn't budge, and I actually loosened the bolt holding the pulley on the crankshaft.


So what now?

I'm thinking perhaps that illuminated "OIL" light was right all along.
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