1988 Lincoln Town Car

[DerekTheGreat]

Woot woot!

[nfldfordltd]

[QUOTE=gadget73;854698]The lousy low RPM torque of an HO with a 3.08 in a 2 ton boat makes for unimpressive performance. Gearing is a huge benefit for these. Makes the engine run in a useful power band. The stock motor is nothing but low rpm torque, so those tall gears make sense.

So I've addressed that issue recently...I got a low-mile 3.55 Traction-Lok diff unit (read K-code) from a local Mustang guy who had changed it out in favour of a 4.10 31-spline unit for drag racing. That seems to really have woken the car up, especially at lower speeds and it can do a burnout now! Plus the 3.55s are tall enough that highway performance has too improved (stays in OD longer at 70 mph, acceleration for passing is "night-and-day" compared to what it was with the 3.08s) and best of all it's actually better on gas than it was. 12.5 L/100 km (16.8 mpg) vs 14 L/100 km (18.8 mpg). Better than it was with the lopo 5.0. It's damn quick getting from 100 km/h to 180 km/h now (60 mph to 110 mph) and feels like there's still more in it.

Very happy with the setup now and how it runs.

After 15 years, I finally have the Town Car I wanted lol

[gadget73]

The lousy low RPM torque of an HO with a 3.08 in a 2 ton boat makes for unimpressive performance. Gearing is a huge benefit for these. Makes the engine run in a useful power band. The stock motor is nothing but low rpm torque, so those tall gears make sense.

[packman]

As of now, the fuel economy is worse than before, but only because I've been driving it like I stole it because it's so much fun now lol. I need to fill and run sensibly and work out the numbers once the novelty of having something more ballsy wears off.

I convinced a kid a while back that headers are a good thing. So he went and installed a set on his Buick Skylark. Came back to me after doing that claiming that the car was fun; but why his gas mileage sucked after the install? I asked him how many burnouts he did that day? He said 2 at the toll booths that morning coming into work. I told him that was his answer. LOL

[87gtVIC]

So my car now has a complete HO conversion, complete with HO upper, bored out EGR spacer and 89 HO throttle body. I was running an 86 style 58mm TB bore until now since 2017. Seems to have really woken the engine up, I'm happy with it.
Also finally got at the rear axle recently. Tore out the 3.08 peg-leg and now running a K-code locking differential. That really helps to bring out the best of the 5.0 HO. Cruising on the highway is so nice now, not labouring, OD hunting and losing it on the slightest hills. Still plenty fast on the top end and not a total turd at lower speeds.

Awesome. Great to hear.

[nfldfordltd]

That better hill performance makes the HO conversion tempting. What effect did it have on your fuel economy?

As of now, the fuel economy is worse than before, but only because I've been driving it like I stole it because it's so much fun now lol. I need to fill and run sensibly and work out the numbers once the novelty of having something more ballsy wears off.

[Lutrova]

That better hill performance makes the HO conversion tempting. What effect did it have on your fuel economy?

[nfldfordltd]

So my car now has a complete HO conversion, complete with HO upper, bored out EGR spacer and 89 HO throttle body. I was running an 86 style 58mm TB bore until now since 2017. Seems to have really woken the engine up, I'm happy with it.
Also finally got at the rear axle recently. Tore out the 3.08 peg-leg and now running a K-code locking differential. That really helps to bring out the best of the 5.0 HO. Cruising on the highway is so nice now, not labouring, OD hunting and losing it on the slightest hills. Still plenty fast on the top end and not a total turd at lower speeds.

[gadget73]

you could probably also take it apart and change the lens. I believe the CEL goes where my car has the "ALARM" lamp for the optional security system.

[DerekTheGreat]

Now that's an idea. I think I might even try that, as sometimes anal retentive me sees the CEL and knows it doesn't work. If the '87 and down pods work I might try one of those instead when I finally remove my cluster to fix the clock. Need a minty one though.

[gadget73]

Thats basically what I did when I was considering a digital dash swap. I got a good look inside of a digi dash car in the junkyard and noped right out of that idea.

The only possible glitch is if you live in one of those really stupid states that demands a CEL that works. I know a guy on another forum who had an 88 and had that problem. I think he ultimately fixed it by changing the light cluster to one without the CEL and going to a different inspector.

[DerekTheGreat]

Yeah, I think it definitely requires surgery. I later found an '88 TC at a yard and hacked that up as someone already took a hacksaw to the dash. Wire went somewhere on top of the steering column and then off to the left to pass through the firewall. I lost it/gave up right around there as I knew I'd never want to go that far into my own car just for a light which, as you put it, mostly never comes on or flickers.

[gadget73]

if you ever get a copy of the complete wiring diagram for the car, that would probably tell you where the wire ends. Short of that it turns into "exploratory surgery" to try and find it. No thank you.

[DerekTheGreat]

It's probably there like mine. And if it's like mine, it's wired up at the idiot light pod and all, just not wired up somewhere else downstream. I had mine out once upon a time and verified. I just don't know where to trace it to without hacking the dash up.

[nfldfordltd]

Wow, that's a late build '88! Mine is 08/87. Does your check engine light work? Mine is there, just not wired up. Heard that was a sign of an early build '88, that the later cars' CELs actually worked.

Mine doesn't have a CEL at all. Blank space in the panel.
AFAIK, the 88 model year ran from spring 87 to fall 88. Hence higher production numbers for 88 than all other years of Lincolns in the 80s.