still looking for an easy cruiser...

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Magnum

Magnum

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2012
Messages
111
Location
southern MN
while I rebuild the original motor in my Nash...

found a 1961 Lincoln Continental sedan the other day... odo shows 47,000 miles ( might be 147,000 ) but the carpet looks too nice, & the interior looks dried out ( red leather ) not worn out, so maybe 47,000 ???

car lot pulled it out of an old garage, have a clear title, but never even tried putting air in the tires, let alone starting it...

the battery ( yep, still in there ) I've never seen one so corroded soft ball size piles of colored corrosion over each post...

so the engine... a 430 ??? how were these ??? worth trying to get going???

tranny is a 3 speed auto... would that be a C-6 ??? the tranny scares me more than the motor, & the chance of getting the power windows working, & the cost to get a working air conditioner

I always loved those big suicide door Lincolns

anyone familiar with these cars, worth restoring, ratting, or leave it alone
 
the 430 belongs to MEL engine family I believe and the 3 speed auto would be either a FMX or a Ford-O-Matic. both fair trans when new or in fresh condition. rebuild parts for the motor and trans are mostly available. the C-6 didn't arrive on the scene until 1965.
 
BOB... I'd want to keep same corp...so a Ranger frame would be better :D

starting price was $1,800.00 which I'd probably wait until just about snow flyin, & try & get them down quite a bit more... personally think it's too much for not even knowing if the motor is permanently stuck...

a car like that is always a quandary for me... love them, but hate when the power windows & stuff don't work...

...& thanks for the other suggestions... if I could find a unique easy cruiser I wouldn't have more than say $2,500 into just to have something to cruise next summer, while the Nash gets rebuilt, I'd be open to look at it...

I started doing some research on the 430, I'm betting I could get it freed up, if it's stuck, & likely running, & seen all the rebuild parts are available... as I mentioned before, the early juice tranny scares me a little, looks like the bell bolt patterns aren't that common... I'd have even considered sticking a 4 speed in ( just for something unusual ) but that looks like darn near an impossibility ??? with a car this heavy, I'd think the chances of the tranny just "working" if the motor started, would be pretty slim...
 
Hi Magnum. I had a 430 once, out of a '58 Turnpike Cruiser. The transmission was toast when we got the car, [antifreeze mixed in the transfluid], so we put a heavy duty 3sp standard pick-up transmission on the back and slipped the whole thing in a '56 Ford truck. I'm pretty sure my bellhousing was off of a FE block and the bolt pattern was the same. You'll have to add a pilot bushing to the back of the crankshaft and then measure everything about the input shaft on the transmission to get the right clutch pieces and spacings. I remember having to make a 5/8" spacer between the transmission and the bellhousing. Good Luck.
 
If you are looking for an "easy" cruiser, I would stay away from anything that hasn't been running in years. It was put away for a reason.

Big ol complicated boat with lots of electrical wires to get eaten by rats is going to be a nightmare. Lots of vacuum lines that run things like the climate control to replace too (nightmare #2).

I personally would look for a simple car without power stuff like an early 50s car with low options. Maybe a straight 6 and 3-speed. Much less to go wrong and those tend to be cheap, esp if a 4-door.
 
I can certainly appreciate the straight six 3 speed driver recommendation... like I said... love those luxury yachts, but all the power stuff to keep working is a night mare

( I hate having to open the door at the McD's drive thru, because the drivers door window doesn't go down )

& honestly, my plan from the get go, was something simple ( so I can save money for the Nash rebuild )... just never can fully discount stuff you find along the way though... had to at least look at it, & talk it through...

if anyone else is interested in the Lincoln... it's in Austin MN ;)

BTW... JB... that is a cool car... probably a straight six 3 on the tree ???
 
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I'm not sure what it has in it for running gear, the very quick research I did says they came with a hurricane head 4 cylinder or a flat head six and a 3 speed manual or an automatic.
 
had a meeting in Mankato yesterday, & my GPS took me right past Unique Auto ( a car dealership that sells almost exclusively, "collector" cars... I swung through on the way home, & told them I was wanting to down my Nash for a year or so, & was looking for something in the $3,000 ish range...

guy kinda laughed, said the 77 Chevy short box was drivable, & he'd sell that for $3,500... said the rusty 58 Olds a couple cars down, "lot drives" & was $6,500... :( they had some rougher stuff on the lot, including the 58 Olds, which had only springs left for seats, no batting, no fabric, but everything was over $6,000 if the motor would start...

I expect they watched the Nebraska Auction ???
 
Dealers like that are always overpriced. Joe Blow, who has no knowledge of old car prices, wants a old car, goes in and buys one from dealers like this instead of looking at classifieds and such, and usually overpays for a rust bucket in the process. Not saying you are in this category, just telling you to beware this kind of seller. Not all of them fit the mold, but many do.

My suggestion, take it for what it's worth, is Craigslist. Search your local area and cities close enough that you don't mind traveling to. I search by what I'm interested in, and word it different ways. You'd be surprised how many misspell car names and descriptions.

My last three purchases off of Craigslist were a 94 Ranger, my 47 Lincoln, and the wife's 00 Expedition. Each search lasted about a month before we found what we wanted. Every time that I had time, and the wife also, we hit the search.
 
unless I find something I can drive for a year, fix up while I'm driving it, & flip it ( & you guys seem to find all the good ones ;) ) I think I'm going to "hot rod" my old CJ-5... this is the one I built years ago, & is worth more in good parts, than as a Jeep... so ( again, unless I can find something easier )... I'm going to strip it down, my fabricator buddy has the rear suspension sub frame complete from a newer Lincoln with an 8.8, 4 link, & air ride, that we could just weld right into the frame of my CJ-5... then I've been thinking a simple Z / extension of the front frame, some short trailer leaves, & an I beam front axle, I already have solid small block Chevy mounts in the frame, I should be able to use the stock location by lengthening the front frame, to move the axle out front more... so find a Chevy donor motor & tranny & get it on the road... ( maybe an S-10 4.3 & 5 speed ??? ) the Jeep currently had a Junk yard 350 that was put in the last year I competed with it ( I was low on money ) & has been sitting for 15 years... the tranny in it currently, was a purpose built T-350 & fits to the 300 transfer case, so as good as that tranny is / was, it's not practical to keep it in the Jeep

of course... unless I can find something easier... but I'm at least still collecting parts :eek:
 

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