Got a 90 Town Car. Now what?

[piranah]

So I bought a 1990 Lincoln Town Car Cartier. 98K miles. Good condition, but I have no clue where to start with the engine. I know about the TV cable, and thats about it. I did have an 88 Crown Vic, but I know things changed for the Town Car.

What are the first things I should do? It does have a new alternator, but I do not believe it is a 3g. Plugs, wires, oil change etc are on the list obviously. I put a photo of the outside of the car, because I know you will be asking for them.

[Hearsesrock427]

Basic tune-up is always a good thing to do when you first get a car. If you don't know the last time a normal wear part was replaced, replace it. Seems like you've internalized that hot rodding mantra.

This should also apply to FLUIDS.

-Don't know the last time your coolant, power steering fluid, and brake fluid got flushed? Get all three of them done now. Repeat every 30,000 miles ad infinitum.

-Tranny fluid+filter change is every 40,000 IIRC. Box tech gurus, feel free to correct me.

-Gear oil? Not sure. Rebuild trak-lok every 30,000 or when you start one-wheel-peeling. Box tech gurus, feel free to correct me. Don't think your '90 has a trak-lok, so you can ignore this. Just good to know.

Once all that, plus your tune-up is done, you'll have a solid, reliable Townie. But why not have your cake and eat it too?

Enter the Windsor aftermarket. Going faster is just a couple thosand dollars away.

Recall that the lopo 5.0's biggest advantage (besides its reliability) is its great low-RPM thrust. Therefore, you want to play to this advantage as much as possible throughout your build.

Let's get to it!

-Headers: Your car comes with factory shorty headers, known as Lincoln Logs. 1 year only option, and worth some money to the right people. They're really not what you want for going fast. Replace with ceramic coated long tube headers. Why? Long tubes make excellent low-RPM thrust, which is your lopo's biggest plus. Ceramic coating makes them all but impervious to heat and warping. Win-win Just know that you'll need to work some fitment magic with most long tubes. They hit any/all of the following: Frame rail, steering shaft, column shift linkage, tranny fluid dipstick tube, oil dipstick tube. Not saying yours will hit all of them. Just know that you'll need a pipe bender and some creative routing/fitment strategies.

I bought these: http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/...-Header-Automa

I'll keep you guys posted on what needed to be done to make them fit, with pics if possible (contracting work out to a local speed shop)!

-Exhaust: Anything beats the shitty stock Y-piped single exhaust. I personally prefer a catless H-pipe true dual exhaust system. Part #s and links available if interested. Regardless, you'll need a pipe bender to bend the pipes up. Box panthers don't have an aftermarket- we mostly just buy 5.0 Mustang parts and make em' work. So expect there to be lots of pipe bending. It's worth it though. These cars sound EPIC with loud, free-flowing dual exhausts.

Camshaft: I'd run either a unit from a 5.0 Exploder (forgot what model years exactly, I'm thinking '95-'99). Or just pony up and buy a Comp cams 31-255-5 series cam + lifters for ~$300. Perfect for the lopo. I'll be running the 31-255-5 cam next summer- expect updates and tech notes.

NOTE: You'll need the HO firing order for pretty much all aftermarket cams. This means you need to swap your stock computer out for a unit from either a Lincoln Mark 7 or automatic transmission equipped Fox Mustang. The code for the new computer is "D9S". Also need to switch some plug wires around, obviously.

Benefits of HO firing order?
-Allows access to aftermarket camshafts.
-Prevents the lopo knock. (Assuming your lopo doesn't have it yet. My '89 Grand Marquis with only 72,000 on her already has it. Curse you, 1-5 firing order!)

Valve Springs: Strongly reccomend these if you're running any kind of aftermarket cam. Definitely need new valve springs if you run a cam that makes high RPM power (HO cam, E303 cam, etc.) Start with these: http://www.alexsparts.com/sb-ford-gt...ller-580-lift/

Need more? Buy these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfs-2500100

Roller Rocker Arms: Might as well throw these on when you're swapping the cam. 1.7s by Crane are great from what I hear.

Transmission: Before you do ANYTHING to improve performance, throw on a stacked plate tranny cooler. B&M Racing units sell for like, $80. Well worth it. Remember, heat is a bad thing for AODs. (Don't be an idiot like me and put on the AOD-HP kit from TransGo, and do a bunch of WOT runs. You WILL cook your fluid.)

Once you've got the cooler up, you can start looking at AOD upgrades. I run the AOD-HP Shift Reprogramming Kit from TransGo. Trans shifts harder the harder you push the go-pedal down. Very cool. And for less than 100, it's a great value. Link: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/trg-aod-hp

That's just the beginning.

There are TONS of aftermarket high performance torque converters out there- both with and without lockup. I'll be running a B&M Racing Torq Master 2000 RPM stall torque converter, with lockup. Link: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-40437/overview/

There are also higher performance valve bodies (a la pantera77's 1987 Grand Marquis wagon), and hardened one-piece input shafts. (Need to find links for those. Me want! haha.) If you run a single input shaft, you'll need to delete the lockup on your torque converter.

Brakes: Your car has rear drum brakes. All 1979-1991 LTD CVs and MGMs and all 1979-1990 Townies suffer from this problem. It's fucking awful. Rear discs are always good idea, especially if you plan on making your Townie quicker. Bigger front discs are great too. Stiffer suspension completes the package. Remember, going fast has to be balanced with stopping fast. Hopefully some more seasoned members can give you specifics on the Big Brake Swap.

Wheels: 15 inchers are.... not the best. 16 inch wheels however, are great. You've got lots of choices. You can run up to 265 width tires with 16s, a HUGE improvement over stock. My personal choice is 16 inch CVPI steel wheels with police-style center caps. Cheap and tough!

Tires: Is your car seeing winter? If not, run max performance or ultra max (or whatever they call it) tires. The wider, the better.

///End tech-gasm.

On a somewhat related note, I love that Townie. Silver with black pinstripes is an excellent look for a hot rod Lincoln. Low profile, but stately and beautiful. If I didn't know better, I'd try to offer you $2500 for it. Oh shit, I just did.

[Hearsesrock427]

Sorry for double-post. Disregard link for the AOD-HP. That link leads to full manual control.... unless you want that, just look here for part #s to plug in to various vendors: http://www.transgo.com/products.php?...product_id=126

[dmccaig]

Check the frame over the front passenger wheel. A/C condensate drips there on some boxes and can rot the frame through.

Donald McCaig

[piranah]

Thanks for the awesome info.

Id take you up on that offer, if my wife wouldn't divorce me. Apparently I have been through too many cars recently, and I cant get rid of this car for a year.....

[Hearsesrock427]

Check the frame over the front passenger wheel. A/C condensate drips there on some boxes and can rot the frame through.

This! Might as well delete the AC while you're there if you don't plan on using it.

Thanks for the awesome info.

Id take you up on that offer, if my wife wouldn't divorce me. Apparently I have been through too many cars recently, and I cant get rid of this car for a year.....

Haha! Well, I guess we'll have to wait a couple years then. I'm set to buy an '88 Townie Base next summer anyway. Just wanted to feel you out as a potential seller.

[piranah]

This! Might as well delete the AC while you're there if you don't plan on using it.



Haha! Well, I guess we'll have to wait a couple years then. I'm set to buy an '88 Townie Base next summer anyway. Just wanted to feel you out as a potential seller.

I will probably keep the ac, since it will be a summer car.

[gadget73]

Lincolns don't work without AC. The luxury gods will come down and smite thee for turning such a fine automobile into a poverty model.

[Hearsesrock427]

Lincolns don't work without AC. The luxury gods will come down and smite thee for turning such a fine automobile into a poverty model.

Haha! Quoted for truth. I can't help but picture some cardboard sign wearing prophet holding an AC compressor delivering that line.

To the OP: There are other ways to go faster. If you think the 3.55 rear gears don't give enough thrust, you could swap in 3.73s, and see if they suit you better.

But I don't think you'll want to; you are likely satified with your awesome K-code gears. Most everything I've read from seasoned members point to 3.55s being the best compromise between speediness and fuel economy. If all you care about is the former, you could step up to 4.10s or higher. If all you care about is the latter, you could rock 2.73s, aka granny gears.

[piranah]

I had granny gears in my Marquis, excellent on the highway, but not enough for a car like this. Ill stick with the 3.55s. Most likely what ill be doing is the HO upper swap and call it a day.