Beginning resurrection of ’63 Continental

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Icebreaker

New member
I surfed on this morning in search of ANY general advice anyone out there with experience on these cars may like to offer.

I am on the verge of acquiring a 1963 Continental. My intention initially is to get the car drivable, as its cosmetic condition is good enough that it can be enjoyed once operational and a full restoration can be taken on later. The car has been off the road since 1987, but the story goes that it was fully operational when decommissioned. Sadly, some clown saw fit to part it out so many of the trim parts are gone, but I am fortunate to have a source for these parts so I am not greatly concerned by this. What does concern me is my inexperience. I am traditionally a “GM guy” (pause for cries of derision) and with the exception of tinkering on a ’67 Mustang in high school I have little experience with Ford products. People have warned me these cars are difficult to work on but I am undeterred. Nonetheless, in beginning this daunting task I do have a specific question:

The deal I’ve struck with the car’s owner is that I am tinkering with it in order to try to get the engine to start with the least possible investment. I have turned the engine by hand and verified the presence of oil in the engine and transmission. If I can get the engine to fire and run, I will buy the car; if not, I have the option to keep trying at my expense, or pass on the deal. I believe that the engine will run. What I am less sure about is the transmission. I know nothing about the “dual range turbo drive”. Can anyone tell me what to expect from a car with 96K on the odometer? I expect leaky seals (though there’s no evidence of it!) but I need to know if these transmissions are known for failure around the 100K mark and, if so, is it possible to get parts for them or are they obsolete and expensive to rebuild?

The master cylinder is completely seized but I have already located a replacement. I do not know about the condition of any of the other mechanical or electrical parts, as it will be difficult to determine much of this prior to getting it running.

I would certainly like to pursue this; getting this car running means saving it from its almost certain fate of the crusher, and though I’ve never owned a Lincoln I have had the pleasure of riding in and driving an original ’63 and became fond of it instantly! I am a moderately skilled shade-tree mechanic and will be doing almost all the work myself. I am aware of many of the problems inherent in approaching a car that has been non-operation for many years. Starting this project is a low dollar, low obligation investment, but if I buy the car I will be determined to put it on the road. Thusly, if anyone would like to offer some advice on what hidden time bombs I may be likely to encounter (or talk me out of this!) that would be much appreciated.
 
Alexander

Alexander

LOD Board of Directors
This car uses a large case Cruise-O-Matic transmission. Parts are difficult to get, but you can find them. The Lincoln and Continental Owners Association (LCOC) http://www.lcoc.org/ is a good place to start.

A car that has been lying around for years will have have a lot of seals dried out. You will have leaks in the motor rear main seal, transmission front seal and rear end pinion seal. This is not to say that the car will not run. I have recently brought to life a 1960 Thunderbird that has not run for over 25 years. Make sure you drop and inspect the oil pan for both the engine and transmission. There may be alot of crud in the pans that an oil change will not reveal. I lost my engine due to accumulated carbon on the oil pick-up which suddenly cut out the oil pressure.

One important thing to check on the 4 door Continentals is the fit of the door. If the doors are binding, the frame is sagging. this is expensive and difficult to fix.

Alexander
President
Lincolns of Distinction
 
J

jeff k smith

New member
I have four 63's and two 61's so I have a lot of trial by fire experience on these models since I bought my first one in 1975.
I bought one several years ago that had sat since 1972. The engine was still free. I changed the oil and filter, etc and got it running with new plugs wires points, etc.
I did end up replacing the rear engine seal as it had dried out (rope type seal). I did this with the engine in the car but swore I would never do it again. While the oil pan was off I replaced the timing chain and gears and front seal. New belts, hoses, water pump, etc. Also brakes were all rusted in place so put on new wheel cylinders new master cylinder, steel lines and flex lines.
I am still driving the car today, so sitting so long did not adversely affect anything else on the car.
These cars ALL have the following problems:
1. Drag link will have excessive play and must be replaced (the original drag link had nylon inserts on the steering box end that dried out and fell out leaving 1/4 inch of play) Bakers auto has replacements that you can install yourself if you have a few tools.
2. Front engine seal dries out and leaks oil. Dripping oil then blows onto bottom of engine and then onto right front wheel area. This leaky seal is the result of the power steering pump being mounted on the front of the crankshaft which makes an ordinary front seal impossible to use. You can also replace it yourself. If you decide to replace this I can give you a step by step procedure.
3. Camshaft gear has nylon teeth and chips to pieces over the years. I have never had one fail, but have heard of others who did have them fail. When you get a replacement gear and chain, the gear will be steel.
4. The fuel pump is mounted on top of the timing chain cover and gets intense heat from the engine when can cause vapor lock on hot summer days. This can sometimes be fixed by replacing the worn push rod that activates the pump. I have gotten to tired of messing with the fuel pumps and pushrods that I just install an electric fuel pump which solves all of the problems.
5. All brake items including flex lines are still available at NAPA or other good auto stores.
6. Window motors are almost never bad. Like everything else on these cars, they were built to last a LONG time. If your windows are slow, pull off the door panels and get in there and clean up the runners/rollers, etc and then lube with lithium grease.
7. Window switches can be taken out and then taken apart and then you can clean the contacts, bend the contacts back out a litte and then reinstall. They will work another 30 years.
8. At some point in time remove the driveshaft and grease the centering spool on the front double cardin (spelling?) u joint on the front of the drive shaft. (The front of the drive shaft has two u joints and a centering spool, all three of which take grease about every 20 000 miles) There is a normal u joint on the rear of the driveshaft to also grease.
9. The cars from 61-63 have 14 inch wheels. The biggest radial tire that you can buy will still be too small. The best answer if you drive the car all of the time is to put 15 inch wheels on it so you can put modern 235-15 radial tires on the car. However, if you go the the 15 inch wheel you will not be able to use the stock wheel covers. I put 71 lincoln wheel covers on one of my cars when I changed to 15 inch wheels. Coker tire sells a reproduction 9.50 - 14 that was on the car when new but they are expensive and are still just bias ply tires. In short they look good but are decades behind in handling and braking.
10. Exhaust manifold gaskets are metal and slowly rust away after 40 years. Of course this results in a sputter type exhaust leak. You can remove the manifolds with the engine raised about 1.5 inches. Have the manifolds planed at a machine shop and then replace the gaskets when you re install.
In short, (well not so short) these are NOT complicated cars to work on. Everything on them is extra heavy duty and can usually be cleaned and repaired instead of replaced. The heat/air conditioners can be a pain to work on because of all of the vacuum motors and vacuum lines. However, they are not impossible to fix.
Please do not get discouraged. They are awesome cars and once you get the first few bugs out will last almost a lifetime.
You can expect 14 mpg on the highway and about 10 if driven in town.
The only problem that I have is that every time I see a nice one for sale I end up buying it and I have too many!
Sorry to be so long winded. Good luck if you decide to go ahead with the purchase. I do not think you will be disappointedl
 
S

Sandy

New member
Very interesting. I admit to knowing almost nothing about them, but it's good to read the writings of an expert! Also interesting to see how well they were built. especially the window switchs !

Regarding this statement of yours:-
""The only problem that I have is that every time I see a nice one for sale I end up buying it and I have too many!""

Who better than I to fully understand this statement. I am the same exact way with my ascMcLarens ! :) = ME :( = WIFE

Click on Sandy's Auto Collection to see my 3 ascMcLarens, and now I am chasing a 4th..... Shhhhhh
 
J

jeff k smith

New member
Very nice Mustangs. I know little about them though. I do have a friend here with a 5.0 coupe (not hatchback) 92 model that he bought last year with 22k miles. It is a rocket. The only thing he does not like about it is that it is black and is a bear to keep clean.
 
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