back again

AmpTrooper

AmpTrooper

New member
Sup? Well i fell again. Sucks! I fell going to my lightsaber shop tp finshiss up some sabers.
I hit hard and hit many objects on my way own. I broke mytoe afun! spraine my wrist.
It was not fun at all. My hip is purple and black! But i r back on the forum and ready to catchw up with all the goins on I have missed.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
It sounds like you need to find a compromise between your go-go lifestyle, and your "down"-time :D

Welcome back?
 
AmpTrooper

AmpTrooper

New member
Well, I am back again again! Things have been just a mess around here.
So, I had ANOTHER bad fall. This time it was in my garage and I got banged up pretty bad. Ended up with a broken toe, my hip is black and blue and hurting all the way up my back and I sprained my wrist trying to stop my fall. Anywho, I am feeling better but it landed me with some down time for sure. Also, it is a very big sign that I really need to have revision surgery on my residual limb before I end up ruining my hip. It already has a bunch of screws holding it together and now the Dr. says the ligaments in my hip are stretching and causing the hip to weaken. She said at this point we are not far off from needing surgery on the hip as well and will have to watch it very closely.
But, on the good side... getting the revision surgery on my amputated leg MAY give me some pain relief ( I can't imagine life without excruciating pain)and if thing go well I MAY also get a lot more function back and get back to doing a lot of the things I did before my accident! That would be wonderful! I really do miss doing the things I use to do. I was a very active guy and now I spend 80% of my time on the couch. 3D TV is really cool BUT not that cool! LOL! So please keep my in your prayers for that.

Other things:
WHY CAN'T I FIND A GOOD MECHANIC???!!!! Wow am I frustrated! I took my car in to have the radiator replaced the AC recharged, check out my engine (mainly the distributor) for some issues it was having and figure out what the smell was and where it was coming from. I told them flat out that I don't want this to be a quick in and out. I am handicap and don't do a lot of driving (right now) so keep it as long as they need and get it done right and thoroughly and that I want to do what it takes to keep my Lincoln running in top shape for a long time to come. They tried giving the car to me the very next day! They called and said "we have the radiator in and it works fine!" I reminded them of the other stuff and they were clueless! Anywho, 4 days later I get my car back. They said they could not find ANYTHING wrong with the engine or hard starts and the smell was leaks in the exhaust and they fix that.
I asked about the AC and they said that it is an R12 system and that they could not recharge it. They said they could convert it but that they don't want to try it because it could end up that everything in my AC system would need to be fully replaced and they are not willing to do that. As far as hard starting, they claim that it did not do that at all while they had it. Also they said that they could find nothing wrong with the engine and that it tested fine and drove fine. Well, the day I got it back I drove it to the store and then had a hard time starting it. Go figure! Today, I went to my Moms to wait at their house because she was having furniture delivered. On my way back I drove down a hill and then stop at the stop sign. As I tried to go it died. After getting it restarted (while rolling) it ran really rough and felt like it was going to die the rest of the way home. I just can't do the work that needs done on it right now because of my health so I am really at a loss here and don't know what to do. I am surly not going to take it to every mechanic in town till I find the right one. That would cost a lot and could end up causing me more problems then solutions.
Anywho, that is how things have been going lately.
Very much in need of prayer and a good mechanic!
 
SCTBIRD1173

SCTBIRD1173

Mark my Bird!
Nice to hear from you Amp and hope you are feeling a bit better! Maybe you need some training wheels? :D Be more careful would ya!
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
Wow. I'm sorry to hear about all of these pains. both personal and automotive. The crap you have had to put up with.. I can't even imagine. I hope you get your leg stuff figured out soon. Please do keep us posted.

As for the car, it sounds like we'll need to break things down to the various sub-systems that need work and prioritize.

I'd place the highest priority on keeping the car running. Which to me still sounds a bit like an ignition system problem. I regret that I know so little about the particular system used in your car though.

Here's a little more information about the "Duraspark" system that I now believe your car may have. Even though I understand you may be in no position to work on it, you're certainly in a position to /learn/ about it. Here's the first detail I found on it.
http://webpages.charter.net/1bad6t/duraspark.html

Next up, I'd contemplate your "smell" problem. The only reason I'm even bringing this up is that my "gut" is fearing the heater core. before I say any more though, tell us about the smell. what does it smell like, where is it coming from?

Lastly (I think?) is the A/C. He's right that it would be an R12 system, and R12 is tough stuff to come by these days. I'm hoping we have some refrigeration experts here who can elaborate on what I'm about to say. I have one friend who simply threw caution to the wind, picked up one of the R134a kits at an auto parts store, and went to town on his R12 system. Everything I have read on the subject says this is a *terrible* idea, and I really can't suggest you do it. He did, and claims it worked great. He also traded in the vehicle ('92 explorer) only a few years later. So I can make no claims to longevity of his particular solution.

my understanding of the proper solution is to go over the system and replace the seals with hew ones, replace the dryer, and re-charge with R134. I'd imagine you would need an expert for this, and I can see it easily setting you back several hundreds of dollars. That's assuming all of the important bits are still functional.

it's easy to see why I gave up on the A/C system on my '86.
 
G

george2

New member
as far as the A/C goes, the "correct" way to convert to 134 is to take off the compressor, drain the oil and refill with "PAG" oil it's 134 oil designed to work in r-12 systems. then charge with r-134
 
AmpTrooper

AmpTrooper

New member
Thank for the well wishes and the help!

Some of the smell has been taken care of with them fixing the exhaust. After driving for a while I get kind of an oily smell however, there are no leaks. The engine is very clean and leaves no spots on the ground. The distributor is my biggest concern as it is not the one that I see in any pictures or in any parts stores. Could all this be related to that and timing? I don't know.
Going to read that link and learn me something!

As for the R12. You can get it on Ebay and you can get the recharge system too. I thought about doing that. The law says that you can still have your system charged with it and use it. Just that it has to be put in and handled by a certified tech. What the law seems to be about is the making of it and because of there it is all old stock and costs more to get. Maybe I am wrong about that but that is what I got out of it.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
I'd be very curious to see some under-hood photos of this car. We do seem to keep coming back to the distributor, don't we.
 
budpytko

budpytko

Super Senior Associate
I too have smelled what smells like oil burning on a hot manifold but can not find a leak nor do I show any usage of any on the dipstick. I replaced my PCV valve (even tho it passed the shake test) and I haven't smelled it since. Really was a cheap fix!
 
AmpTrooper

AmpTrooper

New member
Love the Stromtrooper car!!! Maybe I would have better luck with it!
Here are some pictures of the engine:



Oh here is the LOD sticker in the window too! All the more reason to have this classic running top notch. Have to represent well!



I had to take some pictures for an amputee forum I am on. Got them in front of my car and sporting my Atlanta Falcons gears for the draft tonight. Had to add in my custom Invicta watch. I call it my Falcons watch!
Anywho, the Lincoln is looking very good today. Must be the wax I did a few days ago. Now if it would just run as good as it looks. I really don't think it is anything bad that is wrong but, I fear it could become very bad if left untreated.



Lincoln got a big ol' butt.....

 
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SCTBIRD1173

SCTBIRD1173

Mark my Bird!
OK, few things I noticed in the pictures... Not sure if you are just troubleshooting but your vacuum advance is disconnected and crimped? (the silver thing on the front of the distributor) also it's been awhile since I've had any Duraspark cars but one of the plugs is disconnected on it... not sure why? Your Duraspark box is KEM which is total GARBAGE, get some OEM components on there and I bet the car will run much better. If it was me I'd do a full tune with all OEM parts and change out any aftermarket ignition parts with Motorcraft stuff. I do remember anything but factory stuff being problematic back in the day.

The red and blue caps on your AC ports are from a 134a retrofit kit so I'm guessing it already has 134a in it. I've done MANY cars with a kit like this when I was younger and they seem to work pretty well. I agree it's not quite the proper way to do the conversion but 134a is cheap enough to experiment if you have to.

Hope this helps!

Also +1 on the Motorcraft oil filter :thumbsup:
 
AmpTrooper

AmpTrooper

New member
Thanks for checking out the pictures. That does help! I talked with my mechanic today and he noticed all that as well. He said that the way it is set up right now is on points and not electronics as it should be. Wong distrib and a bunch of after market parts. So, this is in the plan to get everything switch back. They claim to have it running good with a timing and points adjustment. So, if that is the case I will leave it for now and enjoy it through the summer and then put it in the shop over the winter and have everything done to it to bring it back to factory. I think in the long run it will be more then worth it in many ways. You know most of these old 80's Lincolns are not being preserved but tricked out and then soon after that they end up at the junk yard. There are surly more 80's Lincolns in the junk yard then on the road.
And with mine only having 30,000 miles it is well worth putting the time and money into it. So, if anyone has any OEM parts....I am in the market! ;)
 
Trixie

Trixie

Moderator
So I'm sorry I've never really met you here. Have you considered wearing your armor at all times?

My son and his fiance cosplay (anime though), do you go to conventions, etc.? The kid has made some awesome costumes, and one of our friends has been bugging him to make a storm trooper costume for him (although he hasn't done that type of work in a long time it was molded carbon fiber or something).
 
AmpTrooper

AmpTrooper

New member
Trixie said:
So I'm sorry I've never really met you here. Have you considered wearing your armor at all times?

My son and his fiance cosplay (anime though), do you go to conventions, etc.? The kid has made some awesome costumes, and one of our friends has been bugging him to make a storm trooper costume for him (although he hasn't done that type of work in a long time it was molded carbon fiber or something).
Click to expand...
Wearing my armor all the time? Heck no! It is not very comfortable and because I only have one leg it is actually very hard for me to wear the armor. I haven't been able to wear it lately at all because my prosthetic is not fitting my leg and I have to take it off every 20 to 30 minutes so I can't really Troop (go to 501st events in armor) but, hopefully my new leg (which cost me 1,400$ out of pocket) will be done this week and I can get back to trooping with the 501st.
Most costume armor is made from ABS plastic because it is very strong and molds easy in a vacuum form. To make armor from Carbon Fiber would be amazingly cool but, I looked into doing that when I was working for a prosthetic clinic because we could get carbon fiber in these nice big 3x6 foot sheets but, it cost about $350 a sheet and it would take about 8 sheets to make a full storm trooper not including the helmet. That is way too much. However, if you buy Stormtrooper armor that is already together then your looking to spend about $1,500.00 (not the junk on ebay. Most of that is not good enough to get int the 501st) and if you get it not put together then it will be about $350 to $400. It is actually worth saving the money to put it together yourself.
Anywho, I am rambling! :rolleyes: Get me talking about 501st stuff and I get going! LOL!

I also have a Scorpion (from Mortal Kombat) costume too. I still have a few things to finish on it. But, I do this more for raising money money for children's charities so, I won't use the Scorpion costume much. Maybe only for comic conventions. I have always wanted to be Scorpion since Mortal Kombat first came out and now that I am older I can. So that is more of something that is more for me. It is going to be one of the top Scorpion costumes though so, I am really proud of the work I have in it.

So, does he have any Star Wars armor or costumes? Is he part of the 501st or the Rebel Legion? If he is interested in that stuff he should check out my forum. It is an entire Star Wars props community. We also make and sell costumes, blasters and custom lightsabers with sound and light!
Here is the link if he is interested: http://imperialroyalarms.proboards.com/
There is a lot of really great stuff there and most of all really cool people!
Do they ever come to Indiana for comic shows or anything?

P.S. I got my Lincoln back today and it is working perfect!!!! Amazing what a timing adjustment can do! I should have taken it to the custom shop in the first place. They were not expensive and they knew exactly what they were doing!
 
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