1998 Mark VIII LSC SuperCharged Collector's Edition

driller

El Presidente
Staff member
For the sake of those who don't know, I will make a thread for my newly acquired addition to the fleet, a supercharged 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII Collector's Edition. It is a Cordovan exterior CE with the light graphite two tone interior, Collector's Edition number 0034. :wink2-green

I purchased the car back in early May from fellow member Tom Saugey who had taken the opportunity to produce a true Hot Rod Lincoln. :)

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It features a stock '04 Cobra motor with an intercooled Eaton blower. Supporting mods include a built transmission, aluminum driveshaft, 3.73 gears with an Auburn locking differential, fuel pump, etc... along with a couple ingenious circuitry add-ons. The only thing I have done to it other than wash, polish and drive it was to have window tint applied all around.

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The first circuit add-on is a timer switch to automatically disable the traction control in lieu of having to key in through the message center to disable the traction control. Once the switch is thrown, keying on the ignition and starting the car results in a slight delay before you hear the beep-beep of the traction control being automatically disabled. The second circuit is tied to the traction control circuit as well. Should the traction control be enabled and kick in, the second circuit basically dumps boost so not to leave the engine at risk with the PCM reducing torque via timing/fuel changes.

The car drives fantastic as I recently concluded my own version of the Hot Rod Power Tour which was a weekend at the Carlisle Ford Nationals followed by joining the Power Tour the following week. :)

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The interior is virtually flawless and the Gen2 seats are admittedly superior to the Gen1 seats.

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A couple things I have learned about the car (besides the obvious):

The paint really needs a good detail. A good clay bar treatment and swirl remover to 'freshen up' the 16 year old exterior would do wonders. I need to seek out a professional.

The cigarette lighter doesn't work which I'm hoping is just a fuse. Believe it or not I have yet to check.

While on the Power Tour trip, the rear end sporadically started making noise. Not a whine but a disturbingly sometimes loud clicking as if the traction lock is trying to engage at low speed when turning (even very slightly). More often than not, it would be silent but then for no apparent reason it will start making noise again. I need to pull the cover and do an inspection.

The car gets 'less than expected' fuel mileage, though honestly I didn't know what to expect. Throughout the aforementioned road trip, I logged the mileage and gallons as I did not believe the 21-22 mpg indicated by the message center. Over 2000 miles later, I had averaged 15.34 mpg with a low of 12.62 and a high of 17.62 per fill up. Amazingly the return trip from Wisconsin netted the highest mileage even though it was the most sustained high speed. The lower fuel mileage numbers were indicative of a lot of bumper to bumper traffic. I surmise with a lighter foot, highway mileage may hit 19 mpg.

It's remarkably 'slow' - when the tires are spinning. :p

The Eagle GT tires on the stock flawless 10 spoke directionals do not stand a chance to a full throttle launch. While at the Summit Motorsports Park on the Power Tour in Norwalk, Ohio, I took the opportunity to take it down the 1320' drag strip just once. I didn't know what to expect or the best way to launch so I just nailed it at the launch. The tires spun violently all through first gear and most of second before taking off down the track barking loudly on the 2-3 shift resulting in a 13.6 ET and a trap speed of 102 mph. I probably should've "peddled it" out from the light but it stayed straight so I just stayed in it, pedal to the floor. ;)

All in all, I am exceptionally pleased with the car even if it is a Gen2. :p

I think it's a keeper. :cool-blue:
 
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