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1971 Lincoln Mark III resto/mod (pic's)

16K views 51 replies 6 participants last post by  amthatiam 
#1 · (Edited)
I had originally bought a 69 Mark III to do some restoration/mods to, and, upon closer inspection decided it was not worth the time, effort, or money due to a number of problems found with it, so it has become a good parts car, many many good parts to be had.

I recently bought a 71 Mark III which was repainted and the engine rebuilt @ 5 years ago, got all the reciepts with the car. They did a good job on the paint, removed all the trim before hand and such. Triple black with the body being done in a nice matte, I believe it's called "hot rod black" This is a much nicer car with good bones to do some playin on.

The car came with these white walls that were actually fake, I mentioned them in a different thread and someone pointed out that they were legit and period correct for a resto/mod, I was on the fence as to whether I liked them or not, they were not in really nice condition so decided to toss em. I really like it better without the white walls. Going to be changing the wheels anyway to some 17's and try out some Dzus fastened moon caps as seen on salt flat cars. I have the wheels and caps just haven't gotten to welding the tabs for the Dzus fasteners to them, another day....

Shop lights are really bright so a couple of the pic's are a bit washed out, they don't do the car justice....
 

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#2 · (Edited)
As I move forward with the car the engine will be coming out and the engine from the 69 will be used to build up, I have been wrestling really hard with myself between 466/72 or 521 stroker....there is time to decide, I have begun the slow process of parts collecting and reached out to Scotty "the mad porter" for some pricing and suggestions on the motor, we'll see where I end up.
Currently the engine is bone stock with the exception of a Holley 600, the valve covers, air cleaner, and some type of mufflers that give it a mild grumble, that all came on the car.

I've been pouring through all the archives and build section and found many suppliers of cool things like heavier sway bars to help tame this things wont to sway, some good shocks and suspension rebuild will go a long way in that department as well. I grew up with these big cars and love the ride, also cracks me up how much attention it gets, I think it's a cool car. Anyway, I'll be posting from time to time as I do things to it. Thanks for looking and future help.

Will be cleaning up various things that previous owners let get messy such as the wiring harnesses under the hood, various interior trim that needs tightening and just some serious looking it over and bringing things up to good standard.

Dan
 
#4 · (Edited)
Been slowly fixing things, went through the wiring harness under the hood and repaired a few things, re-wrapped it, looks nicer (photo later) Added blue thunder valve covers to get rid of the chrome which I was not a fan of. Installed new battery and replaced the head gaskets as one was weeping and beginning to mark it's spot, whoever rebuilt the engine did not do a good job cleaning out the head bolt holes which I suspect caused the failure, been good since.

I had bought an MSD 8350 ready to run and 6AL box off a guy on a facebook lincoln forum (thought I got a deal, not) and after asking if I should use it or get the 8477 I found a good deal on the 8477 The ready to run turns out had a bad pick up and the 6AL box turned out to be bad as well, I know that most people are generally honest, this J.O. wasn't, live and learn....

I decided to go with an Intellitronix ignition box, made here in the US and lifetime warranty, between the MSD 8477 and the new box I have the engine running really well, woke it up considerably, will let me play with the car while I continue to collect parts for the engine/trans build.

I finally got around to welding the Dzus tabs to the new wheels and installed new tires and Moon caps, at first I wasn't sure if I liked them, and, they have since started to grow on me, considering having powder coated a dark grey or gunmetal and having Lincoln ebmlems engraved on them, who knows one thing at a time.

I'm going to be installing a one wire alternator today to get rid of the wiring and voltage regulator, that'll clean up the underhood more, oh and I also replaced the steering wheel with a much nicer wood/aluminum wheel, the boot provided is a bit cheezy so will have to come up with a workaround but it looks much better than the original....I'll post more pic's later....progress

Dan
 

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#5 · (Edited)
A few more....The wiring bundle near the battery is about to get cleaned up....I also used the radiator, shroud and mounting brackets from the 69, got rid of the ill fitting aluminum radiator that was in there.

Dan
 

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#7 · (Edited)
Thanks, yea, when I first put the moons on and stood back I thought hmmm, not so sure I like them, then the more I look at them the more I do, definitely a different look....as for the A/C it came with many of the parts but no hoses or condensor. I may put an aftermarket system in it someday, the factory system is a complete eyesore....

Dan
 
#10 · (Edited)
Started parting out the 69, got the engine and trans out today, The engine is a 521 wanna be and is the block I'm going to use for the build, the transmission I'm going to rebuild myself. I sent a note to Broader and told him the car it was going in, what the engine would be when done and he sent a note back with a link for what I need, looking forward to doing the trans.

I've never rebuilt an automatic before and with the book I have on it, it does not look difficult....more just paying attention to detail

The rest of the car is being parted and the pieces sold off with the monies going to Scotty, should get enough out of the car to buy some AFR's or the rotating assembly....movin along a bit at a time....

Dan
 

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#11 ·
It's amazing the jig saw puzzle the front body work was on the car, these things are built like a tank, took some doing getting the vacuume headlights outta there, many many pieces holding it all together....

Dan
 
#12 ·
Hey,Dan.Some thoughts....Save all the parts from the crank driven ps pump including the timing cover,all the pulleys,brackets,water pump,fluid reservoir,everything.They make good money to the right person.Those transmissions have some good internals but you will probably have to use the tail shaft housing from the 71 as the mounts are different.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Hi thermod,
Agreed, I've been taking the car apart and keeping the "systems" such as the hydraulic pump and all it's lines together as units to sell that way, to a purist some of this stuff is quite valuable, the car is really a good time capsual, unmolested with from what I can tell all it's originals with the exception of hub caps and ignition coil....

Thanks for the heads up on the tailshaft, I took a closer look at the transmission mounts on both cars, they are the same, not the odd angled set up I've seen in pictures of other Lincoln mounts which I suspect are in older pre 69 versions

Dan
 
#14 ·
Spent the day tearing the trans down cleaning and inspecting some of the parts, looks good inside and no surprises. It does have a four pinion planetary in the rear, according to bad shoe thats a good thing, it has a three pinion planetary in the front.

In the world according to the tracking numbers from Broader the rebuild parts will land tuesday, christmas in July....
 

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#17 ·
Received a present from Scotty J this past week, this crankshaft is a serious hunk of iron....or I'm getting old lol....nice kit, I had it balanced as per Scott's recommendation. Parts collecting coming along, custom cam, lifters and timing set are on the way....AFR heads will be ordered next month.

Building a 545 topped with T2 and a Holley 900 CFM sniper system, I like the idea of TBI and not having to be a computer genious to run it. I bought a new fuel tank since the 50 year old tank in the car is sending various bits into the filter and clogging it. Have to figure out fuel supply line size, all the Holley site says is I need to feed the sniper 60Lbs fuel with a return....I'm wondering if 3/8" line is going to be enough? I'll call them and see about that.

If ayone is running one of these please chime in....

Dan
 

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#18 · (Edited)
Heres a few more, the oil pan and pick up i found on craigslist for $100 not bad, needs a little TLC but perfect for what I'm doing. The scat harmonic balancer is the correct part # for the engine, odd that it says it's for an SBC as well. The pistons are nice pieces.

Dan
 

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#22 ·
Posting this here as well, for record of the build. The sniper is a nice piece of kit, I was curious to see if it fit under a drop base air cleaner due to its shape compared to a carb, I had an old one laying around and their are no clearance issues I can see, I aslo like that it has throttle return springs built onto it, makes for a cleaner install though all the wires make for some planning how to run them cleanly/neatly....very much looking forward to running this car when done.

Dan
 

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#23 ·
Heads arrived, spring can't come soon enough

As the subject says the heads arrived this morning, with the exception of pushrods and gaskets I believe I have all the parts for the engine build. The AFR heads are a thing of beauty to me, I've been wanting to build an engine and a car like this for a long time....spring can't come soon enough....:frown: In actuality, I suspect that the car won't be done till fall maybe late summer, time will tell....

Dan
 

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#24 ·
Been awhile,
Finished parting out the 69 and hauled the carcass to the bone yard, Picked up a D9TE AB complete engine for dirt so decided to take a chance on the block being good. It had sat under a tree for a year exposed to the elements. Tore it down and the block is in really good condition inside, stock bore. Came out of a truck, carb engine so has the D3 carb heads which I'm going to sell along with the truck rods with the football head rod bolts. The rest of it I tossed. I was going to use the 69 engine but since I found this it'll be a bit better for the 545.
 

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#25 ·
Now that the 69 is gone I put the 71 in for surgery, ordering headers from FPA and have all parts for the engine build with the exception of pushrods, I'll get those once I figure out length. Be callin Scotty for those. I'm going with Holley EFI, XFlow and also decided to get the Sniper hyperspark complete system so all is plug and play, and, with the hall effect distributor less chance of RFI. Sent Broader torque converter build sheet and having him make one up for me.

Called machine shop and will be sending the block off for him to do his thing. While the engine is out will be rebuilding the front steering, putting in a trans cooler in front of the radiator, and a new four row aluminum rad. Should keep me busy for the next couple months.
 

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#26 ·
Making some progress, getting ready to pull the engine. and completely rebuilding the front steering and suspension. New Eaton lowering springs as well, going to lower the rear an inch and the front 1-1/2 inches. I found a place that sells larger sway bars, going to do them as well. Otherwise leaving the suspension basically stock to keep the ride quality.
 

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