My '89 Lincoln Town Car

[79lincolnlover]

Replace the rotors?

[Louis]

Your Lincoln is a beaut!

I love the silver with the full black carriage roof. Very classy.

[L1011tristar17]

Thanks! I try and keep it clean, although it's long overdue for a car wash.

Replace the rotors?

I replaced those back in June/July along with the pads and wheel bearings. The difference was like night and day. I no longer despise long trips!

[L1011tristar17]

Just rolled over 240,000 miles and three years of ownership. Recently seafoamed the vacuum lines and gas tank. Seems to idle a bit better.

Next three months:
-Buy a new floor jack. Mine is too tiny and barely gets the tires off of the ground.
-Swap out all four shocks (I have them already, I just need to install them)
-New shock bushings
-New rear springs
-Change and flush coolant
-Set distributor timing
-Oil change at 241,500 miles

By next summer I'll see what the condition of the engine is. Even if it is still in good shape I'll start putting money aside for an engine swap. I'm looking at an HO swap from a Mark VII. I want to leave the transmission as is, but if I need to repair it I'll just rebuild it with a good shift kit. Rear end will probably be changed from the stock 3.08 to 3.55. As far as the engine (and possibly transmission) is concerned, I'll probably get them from a junkyard or buy a parts car with relatively low miles. I'm interested in learning how to rebuild an engine, but I don't want to mess up and ruin the only engine I have. Buying a used engine will save money on the short term and I will be able to take the time to disassemble the old engine and learn about how it works.

For now I don't think I'll take the upgrades any further than that. Once I have my own place I would like to buy a second car and begin refurbishing the Lincoln. New carriage top, body mount bushings, fix any rust, etc. I actually considered purchasing a second car much sooner but I don't know what the extra insurance will cost.

[79lincolnlover]

I actually considered purchasing a second car much sooner but I don't know what the extra insurance will cost.

Call your provider for a quote.

[packman]

Once I have my own place I would like to buy a second car and begin refurbishing the Lincoln. New carriage top, body mount bushings, fix any rust, etc. I actually considered purchasing a second car much sooner but I don't know what the extra insurance will cost.

Having a garage and a second car is the best thing to do. Not easy by any means in this world today, but the best thing you can do for yourself.


Packman

[L1011tristar17]

LSC Wheels

Saw 4 LSC turbines w/ tires on Craigslist for $200. All the center caps are in good shape and the tires have 20% tread. Does it seem like a good deal?

[sly]

yes. just the wheels alone tend to go for $400.

[L1011tristar17]

Scored a 1990 TC fan shroud, coolant bottle, and washer fluid reservoir today at the local pull-a-part. I also took off the plastic air intake but I wasn't sure if it would fit on my car so I stashed it away. I also grabbed a really nice grille off of a 1989 Crown Vic. It's in great shape and only has one tiny nick in the chrome. I didn't need it for my car, but it was too nice to leave behind. How much are they worth anyways?

[sxcpotatoes]

You can check ebay completed listings for how much they're worth. I dunno if they'll be in the $25 or $40 ballpark.

[L1011tristar17]

The quest for a new lower intake continues. I headed out early this morning to the junkyard only to find out that it was closed. Unfortunately that means my car won't get put together before Sunday afternoon. I'll be borrowing another car to make the drive back to school and use for the last two weeks of the semester. It's either going to be the Stratus (spare car that my sister rarely uses) or my dad's newer CR-V. Luckily there are a lot more junkyards in the Charlotte area where I can pull an intake manifold from.

(Plus side is that the Stratus and CR-V get much better mileage than the Lincoln.)

[L1011tristar17]

It appears that the Lincoln is starting 2014 parked in my driveway again. I'm now looking for a new TV cable. The one on my car broke at the throttle bracket and the rest of the cable is too stretchy and will probably kill the transmission if I drive it that way. So I'm driving replacement car #2 to training tomorrow for my job and it will be at least a week before I can resume working on the Lincoln.

On another note, I've begun searching for another car. I won't be getting rid of the Lincoln, but I'm looking for a reliable daily driver as a second car so I can park the Lincoln and work on it at my own pace. Problem is with only one DD I am pressured to finish repairs quickly and that's where I often mess up. I probably won't purchase anything until this summer, but it will be a relief to not be borrowing cars all the time. I'll be buying something 10-15 years old that will be relatively hassle-free. A bonus would be something that gets better gas mileage.

[gadget73]

Daily drivers cannot be project cars, and project cars make terrible daily drivers. I've had a second car for a lot of years and at this point I wouldn't be without one.

[L1011tristar17]

You're right! The Lincoln was a good daily driver back when I had the shop handling on the repairs and they could get it back on the road in the same day. When I did the repairs myself they took longer and I felt pressured to have my car ready in time. It would be a good DD in the summer but not while I'm still in college and only have so many free weekends.

[L1011tristar17]

Installed the new transmission kickdown cable and the Lincoln is back on the road! It took me about 10 minutes to remove the old one and 20 to install the new. Huge improvement in shifting. I'm very pleased with the results.