Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[Auld Edwardian]

My wife and I were discussing a driving holiday in Europe the other day and the subject of what car to drive came up.

I reckon a mid 60's land yacht with a dent on every panel would garner maximum respect on continental roads

Wonderfully droll. I can see the Honda Fits and Fiats sailing through the air like ping pong balls already!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

You make me a bit nervous on just how much you know about my world, sometimes

I don't even remember what's all on that one, but I think it was just a bit too fancy for my tastes.

I told you. I am like The Shadow.

The Club is number ten. I thought you might go for the J.J Gargantuan. Ever had that one?

 

[Auld Edwardian]

Well, you sure did a heck of a job cleaning it up. Even if it has its flaws, so what? I bet you didn't pay 30-40 grand for her, either.


Thanks for the compliment. It does not bother me all that much that she is not perfect, she is 47 years old after all. And the price was even better. It got from the brother in law that I told you that had the car fire. It was one of the cars that was in his mothball fleet. He had about 7 cars that were in the barn at his mother's tree farm in north western NJ. He would go up every weekend to see his mom, pull his cars out and drive them around the farm, and put them away before he went home. Years ago his mom got ill and moved down to stay with him as she was too frail to live alone. They stopped going up on a regular basis, and the cars ended up sitting. We happened to be over their home for Thanksgiving several years ago, and knowing his interest in classic cars, I decided to engage him in talking about his cars. I said, "I know you have a 57 Cadillac up there, what else is up in the barn?" He rolled off a list of cars and then my ears perked up when he said he had a 1965 Lincoln Convertible. I exclaimed "you have a 65 Lincoln Convertible in there!" He said "do you want it?" I told him he was nuts as I could not afford to purchase such an expensive automobile. He said he would give it to me as I know it would be going to a good home where it would be cared for and get the TLC the car deserved. I told him he was still nuts as I knew he had a group of friends that that would easily engage each other in a bidding tug of war to get their hands on the car. One of his closest friends had been trying to get him to sell him the car for over five years. That Christmas he passed me a plain legal size envelope and said, "Merry Christmas." I almost fell over. Inside was the title. He even got some of his friends to help tow it down to my home for free. (That is another funny story. Uhaul didn't have a trailer with a big enough rating so they fibbed and said they were moving a Chevy Nova! I'm sure the Lincoln was only slightly heavier.) After I started to do more research on the car I began to realize what an extraordinary present he had give me. Lincoln on made 40,180 cars in 1965, and out of that number only 3,356 were convertibles. And in the six years they were in production from 1961 to 1967, on a total of 21,347 were made. That is not what you call high production numbers. In any case, I truly enjoy driving her, warts and all. I had the carb rebuilt this summer which has helped in both performance and fuel economy. And since she only likes the Johnny Walker Blue high test, that is a win win

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Wow! What a story! Not typically the kind of car someone gifts to another. He was certainly right about it going someplace where it would be appreciated and receive the TLC it deserves.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

Wow! What a story! Not typically the kind of car someone gifts to another. He was certainly right about it going someplace where it would be appreciated and receive the TLC it deserves.

Thanks again. I wish we were close enough that I could drive over for you to see her, and take her out for a spin. She handles like a dream, not that I would suggest hard cornering or going fast down a winding road. But she does very nicely for what she is designed for. I can imagine what it would be like to take her over the road on a long trip. Tons of room, and quite comfort. I hope to get the AC fixed some day. The only trouble with taking a trip with a car like our's is that you have to be concerned about leaving the car at night.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That would be fun! Comfort and luxury, nothing like a living room on wheels. Concern over leaving the car at night would surely be prevalent in any car owner's mind. A shame people can't leave something like that alone.

Thanks again. I wish we were close enough that I could drive over for you to see her, and take her out for a spin. She handles like a dream, not that I would suggest hard cornering or going fast down a winding road. But she does very nicely for what she is designed for. I can imagine what it would be like to take her over the road on a long trip. Tons of room, and quite comfort. I hope to get the AC fixed some day. The only trouble with taking a trip with a car like our's is that you have to be concerned about leaving the car at night.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

That would be fun! Comfort and luxury, nothing like a living room on wheels. Concern over leaving the car at night would surely be prevalent in any car owner's mind. A shame people can't leave something like that alone.

You even have to watch your car carefully at car shows. Some parents let there kids lean all over the cars. My brother in law had one of his cars for sale and turned around to find some guy sitting in the driver's set checking the car out, without even asking! He just told the guy to go away, he wasn't even interested in talking price with the guy. Talk about a cretin.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That's a complete and total lack of manners, right there. I can't believe how bold some people are.

You even have to watch your car carefully at car shows. Some parents let there kids lean all over the cars. My brother in law had one of his cars for sale and turned around to find some guy sitting in the driver's set checking the car out, without even asking! He just told the guy to go away, he wasn't even interested in talking price with the guy. Talk about a cretin.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

That's a complete and total lack of manners, right there. I can't believe how bold some people are.

How true on the manners department, however on the hand you do meet people that are very respectful, and some even ask if it is alright if they take a picture of it. The ones that are nice I have even let some of them sit in the driver's seat and I take a snap of them behind the wheel.

On to another pleasant subject if I may. Where do you go snooping for parts? I am at present looking for a fan shroud for my 65 Lincoln. The present one got damaged when she threw the fan one day in front of the house. (Thankfully I was not far from home.) She was supposed to be in a 4th of July the next day the next day. The fan clutch had bought the farm and there was no time to replace it. What a disappointment. In any case, as I have found with other things concerning my car, it is year specific, so only a 65 Lincoln shroud will do. And since Lincoln only made 40,180 cars total that year, you can see that things car end up being a bit of a prairie dog hunt at times. The same is true with with the Lincoln door panel stars for my car. I had one that had a broken point, even Baker's Auto did not have one in stock. I ended up looking for over 8 months and nailed some ratty door panels on eBay and ended up with 2 good stars. It is very satisfying to find a finishing detail like that for a car. There are a few other things like that I have found, such as a switch for my map light, and a missing seat cushion star emblem. If you have any leads on a fan shroud let me know! I will try to help you with the wiring harness if you tell me the specific area. The more eyes looking the better when it comes to things needed for our vintage toys.

 

[1930artdeco]

How true on the manners department, however on the hand you do meet people that are very respectful, and some even ask if it is alright if they take a picture of it. The ones that are nice I have even let some of them sit in the driver's seat and I take a snap of them behind the wheel.

On to another pleasant subject if I may. Where do you go snooping for parts? I am at present looking for a fan shroud for my 65 Lincoln. The present one got damaged when she threw the fan one day in front of the house. (Thankfully I was not far from home.) She was supposed to be in a 4th of July the next day the next day. The fan clutch had bought the farm and there was no time to replace it. What a disappointment. In any case, as I have found with other things concerning my car, it is year specific, so only a 65 Lincoln shroud will do. And since Lincoln only made 40,180 cars total that year, you can see that things car end up being a bit of a prairie dog hunt at times. The same is true with with the Lincoln door panel stars for my car. I had one that had a broken point, even Baker's Auto did not have one in stock. I ended up looking for over 8 months and nailed some ratty door panels on eBay and ended up with 2 good stars. It is very satisfying to find a finishing detail like that for a car. There are a few other things like that I have found, such as a switch for my map light, and a missing seat cushion star emblem. If you have any leads on a fan shroud let me know! I will try to help you with the wiring harness if you tell me the specific area. The more eyes looking the better when it comes to things needed for our vintage toys.

Have you contacted the local junk yard? They have a computer network they can tap into. Is there a Lincoln specific yard/forum around? You may have more luck out west.

Mike

 

[jamespowers]

How true on the manners department, however on the hand you do meet people that are very respectful, and some even ask if it is alright if they take a picture of it. The ones that are nice I have even let some of them sit in the driver's seat and I take a snap of them behind the wheel.

On to another pleasant subject if I may. Where do you go snooping for parts? I am at present looking for a fan shroud for my 65 Lincoln. The present one got damaged when she threw the fan one day in front of the house. (Thankfully I was not far from home.) She was supposed to be in a 4th of July the next day the next day. The fan clutch had bought the farm and there was no time to replace it. What a disappointment. In any case, as I have found with other things concerning my car, it is year specific, so only a 65 Lincoln shroud will do. And since Lincoln only made 40,180 cars total that year, you can see that things car end up being a bit of a prairie dog hunt at times. The same is true with with the Lincoln door panel stars for my car. I had one that had a broken point, even Baker's Auto did not have one in stock. I ended up looking for over 8 months and nailed some ratty door panels on eBay and ended up with 2 good stars. It is very satisfying to find a finishing detail like that for a car. There are a few other things like that I have found, such as a switch for my map light, and a missing seat cushion star emblem. If you have any leads on a fan shroud let me know! I will try to help you with the wiring harness if you tell me the specific area. The more eyes looking the better when it comes to things needed for our vintage toys.

Try a search for the fan shroud here:
http://www.automotix.net/usedautoparts/1965-lincoln-continental-radiator_fan_shroud-inventory.html

That is a fairly large network that will work with you.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

First place I go is the junk yard, but when scrap was high, a lot of the heavy stuff went.

eBay is usually a safe bet, too.

On to another pleasant subject if I may. Where do you go snooping for parts? I am at present looking for a fan shroud for my 65 Lincoln. The present one got damaged when she threw the fan one day in front of the house. (Thankfully I was not far from home.) She was supposed to be in a 4th of July the next day the next day. The fan clutch had bought the farm and there was no time to replace it. What a disappointment. In any case, as I have found with other things concerning my car, it is year specific, so only a 65 Lincoln shroud will do. And since Lincoln only made 40,180 cars total that year, you can see that things car end up being a bit of a prairie dog hunt at times. The same is true with with the Lincoln door panel stars for my car. I had one that had a broken point, even Baker's Auto did not have one in stock. I ended up looking for over 8 months and nailed some ratty door panels on eBay and ended up with 2 good stars. It is very satisfying to find a finishing detail like that for a car. There are a few other things like that I have found, such as a switch for my map light, and a missing seat cushion star emblem. If you have any leads on a fan shroud let me know! I will try to help you with the wiring harness if you tell me the specific area. The more eyes looking the better when it comes to things needed for our vintage toys.

 

[jamespowers]

http://www.lkqselfserve.com/locations/LKQ_Self_Service_Durham-142

Try this place as it seems they have one in NCwarning! The dumbass filming this has an affinity for the F word )
[video=youtube_share;-px917eV99I]http://youtu.be/-px917eV99I[/video]
It has been there for a while though.....

 

[Auld Edwardian]

Thanks Guys,
I will take a look at these leeds. Also the car in the video is not a 1965, it is a 1964. You can tell this by both the grill and the trim below the trunk lid. And as I said, the shroud is one of problematic parts that are specific to this year. Well part of the fun of having a classic car is the satisfaction of finding those hard to find parts. I will keep looking, also I appreciate anyone that is willing to keep there eyes open on my behalf.

 

[jamespowers]

Thanks Guys,
I will take a look at these leeds. Also the car in the video is not a 1965, it is a 1964. You can tell this by both the grill and the trim below the trunk lid. And as I said, the shroud is one of problematic parts that are specific to this year. Well part of the fun of having a classic car is the satisfaction of finding those hard to find parts. I will keep looking, also I appreciate anyone that is willing to keep there eyes open on my behalf.

Well, I am sure the 64 is cheap and you can have a spare to restore.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

Well, I am sure the 64 is cheap and you can have a spare to restore.

You know the old saying, "A boat is a hole in the water you pour money into." The same goes for a land yacht, and I'm doing some real pouring right now. This is not the best time to get a real hanger queen. And this one looks like a real DNR job!

 

[Talbot]

I have not used them, but i hear good things about Owens Salvage. Ship cost from TX might discourage though.

http://www.owenssalvage.com/looking.html

 

[Auld Edwardian]

I have not used them, but i hear good things about Owens Salvage. Ship cost from TX might discourage though.

http://www.owenssalvage.com/looking.html

Thank you again from "down under,"

Shipping might not be too bad owing to the fact that the shroud is, believe it or not, made of fiberglass. I only found this out when the fan clutch broke, sending the fan flying, which broke the shroud. It was amazing it did not touch my radiator!

 

[Justin B]

How damaged is the shroud? I'f it's fiberglass rather than plastic it may be repairable. I've done quite a bit of fiberglass work and could make it look good as new depending on the amount of damage.

 

[David Conwill]

Commenting primarily to re-up my subscription to this thread (mobile phone comments always unsubscribe me for some reason):

The lady with the ‘51 Dodge called me yesterday. I need to call her back and see what she’s asking.

We’re buying a new house, though, and I’m not sure much is going to come of it.