An old fashioned progress thread, my new Collectors edition

billcu

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Staff member
My old winter beater CE got crushed by a tree branch during an ice storm.

The new one was once owned by a friend here, leadfoot, but he sold it to someone that really trashed it. I hope to bring it back close to what it was when leadfoot owned it, using the parts from my crushed CE.

I've already changed a bad left upper control arm and stabilizer link (new parts there) but here are some before and after photos of the crushed CE vs the new CE, the rear seat, and the carpet. The carpet in the crushed CE was from a light black 98 interior I put in years ago, because I like it better than the the graphite color. More to come.crushed vs new.jpgcarpetbefore after.jpgRear seats before after. 2png.jpg
 
I am So Glad the CE is back in good hands, Bill ! It is a shame the neglect and abuse the car went through after I sold it.. But I sure look forward very much to seeing it ater your restoration ! Are there any parts you need ? I know you have your storm damaged donor car..
 
A funny thing about the CE two tone seats, as far as I know, the CE is the only LSC that doesn't have perforated seats.
I think I have most of the parts I need except I had to buy an upper control arm. Luckily I had a new front stabilizer link and oil filter adapter gasket that I'm putting in now. I had just put new brake pads and rotors on the crushed CE so I'll be using those when needed. The new one is due for pads but the rotors look great.
 
It's great to see a good car brought back from the brink. Keep up the good work, Bill!
 
More progress on the CE, I changed the oil filter adaptor gasket, steering column, both broken door handles and the door pads. The door handles have been replaced before as they both had the gen 1 style black key cylinders instead of the stainless steel. I got lucky, one of my old keys fit the good replacement passenger side handle that came with the car. The non CE steering column is temporary until I remove the one from the crushed CE, the one that was in there was loose and the leather needs to be re-dyed. The console and some trim is still out as I need to try to remove the aftermarket alarm that was installed.S wheel B A.jpgdoor handle B A.jpgL doorpad before after.jpgRt doorpad B A.jpg
 
Nice work Bill! How does it look underneath?
The car at one time was a Florida car, then driven in summer only, for years. After that, it was driven in salt some but it still looks real good underneath. I plan on cleaning up the undercarriage this summer. It looks too good to be doing winter duty though.

Not much progress to photograph lately ,I checked the rest of the brakes and they look fine so I greased the caliper pins and put them back together. They still need to be bled though, as the pedal is a little soft.

I did swap the headlights to my old ones that I already restored, here's the difference that made. It needs the Lincolns of Distinction license plate now.
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It's been a while since I posted any progress, but I've been slowly working on the CE. I had to fix the trailer scars on the rear lower bumper piece. I fiber glassed the punch through spot and filled the rest of the scars with filler. I also painted the hitch and bought a new ball. Here's some before and after shots.

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Thanks. I hate body work and painting. It's not perfect but on a white car and down so low it's not very visible. The paint on the body kit is a little whiter than the rest of the car so I was able to use a can of paint for my 97 which is whiter than the 98 white.
 
I put the air ride back in the new CE. Luckily the previous owner left the old airsprings in the trunk, the fronts are Arnotts. When I first pumped it up, I left the switch in the trunk off to test it overnight for leaks. I later found out they wouldn't vent so I swapped the compressor out with the one from my crushed CE. Here's some photos.IMG_0785 (Large).JPGIMG_3413 (Large).JPGIMG_3419 (Large).JPGIMG_3963 (Large).JPGIMG_3964Darkend (Large).jpg
 
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