Oh Lordy, I now own a Fordy (a Lincoln actually)..

[njsteve]

Look at the back of their trucks: they each had at least a hundred different prying tools that look like giant torture devices used by your dentist during teeth cleanings. Things that curve this way, and that way to maneuver around obstructions. Simply amazing.

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

GOOD PDR people ARE magicians.

This ^^^^^

[njsteve]

Following the "recommended 99 minimum octane" factory instructions in the owners manual, I threw 6 gallons of 100 Octane leaded avgas in the tank yesterday and took the old battleship for a cruise to a cars and coffee around an hour away on I-95. She really likes that leaded 100 octane! Noticeably smoother running and the idling exhaust smell was wonderful. Brought back some memories of the olden days.

Here's what the Autolite plugs looked like after I got back:

(BTW, all that gunk on the threads is the silver anti-seize that I liberally apply to all tapered seat spark plugs.)

[njsteve]

I have the Lincoln over at the local detail shop and they are bringing the paint back to life. It's quite the amazing transformation from plain old Gulden's Spicy Brown to Gulden's Bold Yellow. Well worth the effort. They should have it a couple days. The young guy doing all the labor was quite happy about all that flat expanse of sheet metal and no compound curves to deal with.

Happily I am not paying them by the square foot.

[njsteve]

Before and after...

[njsteve]

Lincoln all polished up and looking the nicest it's looked in 54 years!

I found a couple nice "Continental" script, rear 1/4 panel emblems on ebay that should arrive in a week. Cost around $45 for the pair. Versus the NOS version that a guy wanted $350 apiece!!! That's nuts.

They used the same emblem for 20+ years and no one is restoring these cars so there's no way that guy is ever going to sell his emblems. I had pulled both emblems off so they could buff without worrying about catching the buffing pad on the emblems. They were both kind of pitted, so I figured a little mission creep never hurt anyone...

P.S. You can see the right headlight door starting to peek open after a few days. I had replaced the vacuum pod with a restored one from the only guy in the world that restores them (up in Canada). It holds vacuum nicely for a couple days but since it's still using the original half-century old vacuum lines, it does leak a little vacuum after a while. Not a big deal compared to the $300+ the Cougar supply houses want for a new vacuum line kit (The Lincolns use the same lines). From my past experience with reproduction 1969 Camaro hideaway headlight vacuum line kits: the rubber is cheap crap and splits in a matter of weeks after installation. No one makes good vacuum hose any more.

[Too Many Projects]

I really does look very nice. So, what are the plans now for MY'71 ?? Just store and save it ?

[njsteve]

Well, I think the tradition in my family is to hand it down every 20 years. So I guess my kids better build a garage big enough by 2031!

I think I’ve driven it more this spring/summer than in the previous 12 years or so combined. Almost at the 800 mile mark! The odometer just rolled over to 87,000 miles.

[RPOLS3]

Looks great - glad you are enjoying it.