kishy's 1984 Town Car

[friskyfrankie]

Yep, if your Hayden was made in the USA it must be an older part. All the new ones are hecho en Mexico! Nice work on the bumper, by the way!

[87GrandMarq]

The one in my 90 was replaced about a year or so ago and it definitely doesn’t move as much air as the one in my 87 does. That one sounds like a plane taking off after a few seconds lol. It keeps the motor cool and when the ac was working, it kept the discharge temps low so I can’t complain at all.

[gadget73]

Nice to know that the fan can be re-calibrated for more airflow if needed.

Getting tired of crappy parts, but I don't know what option there is at this point.

[friskyfrankie]

Nice to know that the fan can be re-calibrated for more airflow if needed.

Getting tired of crappy parts, but I don't know what option there is at this point.

Even OEM and "name" parts are a crap shoot lately. It really is a function of getting a part and hoping for the best.

[DerekTheGreat]

Nice to know that the fan can be re-calibrated for more airflow if needed.

Getting tired of crappy parts, but I don't know what option there is at this point.

Right, guess I'd do that to the one I have on my car. But glad I didn't go about replacing it, I don't have the patience to try more than one other alternative. Although now that Kishy's fan sounds all loud now, does it ever freewheel as it should say when cruising? Guess I'd rather have my fan on the loose side for economy and performance reasons. The ceramic tint I installed on my TC did wonders for the A/C performance.

[kishy]

I mean, I'm about 2 steps away from solid mounting the thing and going full jet engine mode here, so I don't give the slightest hint of a care if it doesn't disengage. At full engagement it should still only be 60% or so of shaft RPM so it's a far cry from locked up, at least.

I bolted the bumper back on last night. Unfortunately the spacers (which have been plastic on all the cars I've touched up to now, but are some sort of cardboard-like paper stuff on this one) were destroyed and not viable for reuse. The bumper is slightly tucked but not so much that it looks weird, however it still has most of the undesired angle to it, so I'm going to have to revisit this again sometime. Shimming with fender washers is not really an option because of the corrosion on the bumper; it would be better to spread the mounting pressure across more surface area like with a steel plate.

[DerekTheGreat]

There's an Engine Masters episode where they did a shoot-out of the various fan types. A fixed fan kills the most power. These are already underpowered as it is, so to dent power & economy just so the fan does a slightly better job with the A/C and temp control at idle seems like a step forward at the price of two steps backward. That's the reason for all this work, no? I know you said the temp gauge fluctuates between two points, but did the car actually overheat? It's a Lincoln, you and your passengers shouldn't have to listen to obnoxious fan noise.

[kishy]

Fluctuated between the R and L Normal, yes. Now it's glued to the R like its life depends on it.

Fan noise is not objectionable to me and I'm the only person in my car whose opinion I care about; if anything the lack of it annoys me. Power and throttle response is unaffected as it is today. I also don't know that I've ever found these cars "underpowered", but certainly "only powerful enough", but I absolutely flog the snot out of them so I can see how a 20%-max-throttle type of driver might feel otherwise

[VicCrownVic]

...but I absolutely flog the snot out of them...

Wait. You mean to tell me there's another way to drive these cars?

[Arquemann]

Wait. You mean to tell me there's another way to drive these cars?

Yes? Even my own parents say I drive like a grandma.

[gadget73]

so you pull out into traffic without looking ?

[DerekTheGreat]

...but I absolutely flog the snot out of them so I can see how a 20%-max-throttle type of driver might feel otherwise

Wait. You mean to tell me there's another way to drive these cars?

Yes? Even my own parents say I drive like a grandma.

so you pull out into traffic without looking ?

Fluctuated between the R and L Normal, yes. Now it's glued to the R like its life depends on it.

Fan noise is not objectionable to me and I'm the only person in my car whose opinion I care about; if anything the lack of it annoys me. Power and throttle response is unaffected as it is today. I also don't know that I've ever found these cars "underpowered", but certainly "only powerful enough..."

I wonder how "hot" that actually is.

Jeez, I'll take that as reminder not to ride with you. Ehh, you're not probably likely to notice anything below 2k RPM. A dyno pull or 1/4 mile time would reveal the answers, as would good stretch of highway fuel economy testing.

They are underpowered to me. Once you drive something with an LS1 in it, everything else becomes underpowered. Actually, boxes seem adequate right up to 55mph or if you floor them. 1st gear is acceptable, but beyond that, there's just noise in my opinion. They are terrible on the expressway when trying to pass at 55 or faster or going over hills. If they got the 351 the trucks got, I wouldn't have a complaint. Our little F-150 scoots.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

They are underpowered to me. Once you drive something with an LS1 in it, everything else becomes underpowered. Actually, boxes seem adequate right up to 55mph or if you floor them. 1st gear is acceptable, but beyond that, there's just noise in my opinion. They are terrible on the expressway when trying to pass at 55 or faster or going over hills. If they got the 351 the trucks got, I wouldn't have a complaint. Our little F-150 scoots.

Just gotta spice the 302 up a touch. HO or Explorer swaps, and even with the laziest gearing and even non-EFI, those will gladly put on speed at highway/freeway speed.

I do remember timing passes on two lane highways in the '87. Was a treat determining if the passing area was clear and long enough to get around an 18 wheeler in many circumstances. The original engine in the '79 was so shot and weak you just got a bunch of lifter noise and smoke without much change in speed.

[DerekTheGreat]

Yep, timing passes. That's how you know you've got power problems.

I was originally planning to swap an HO in my Town Car, even had an engine lined up. However, I just couldn't bring myself to tear apart that perfectly good Mark VII and at the same time take away from the originality of my '88. At that time two box Town Cars were amidst my fleet. The '89 rag top car was sold due to lack of funds for the valve seal job. The dude who bought it stabbed an HO in, cool! I only know that because he contacted me and offered it back to us if we were interested. Box Townie with an HO swapped in? You betcha I want it! Price was right and I/we were all set to buy it back. Then just before I got the money together he messages me back and says he put the LoPo back in as "it's a better fit for these anyway" but the actual reason followed shortly after, "I want to use the HO for another project." Uh huh. Price didn't change and so I withdrew my offer. Wonder what ever became of that car... But yes, like you said, even with the laziest gearing- an HO swap does wonders for the things over the LoPo.

[gadget73]

John got the HO out of my wrecked Mark VII and stuck a set of P heads and an Explorer intake on it to put in his '85. Its got whatever gearing, 3.08 I think. It moves just fine.

If you want to talk about timing passing, you really ought to get behind the wheel of a diesel Lincoln sometime. Stab the pedal and it makes noise and smoke, which is way better than just making noise.