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1966
Lincoln Continental convertible sedan
I was wandering around the Yellow field
at Hershey last fall (2001), and stumbled across this car. The more I looked at
it, the more I believe it is an unmolested 62,000 mile original car. The body
appears to be straight, the doors hang square and have the right sound when
they are closed, and the bumper gaps are all good. The rocker panel moldings do
not have any sheetmetal screws holding them in place
The car is very well-equipped
(climate control, AM-FM, dimmer, tilt wheel, cruise, 6-way seat, power locks
and vents). The surprising thing is that most of the really complex widgets
function: the convertible top, the climate control, the automatic headlight
dimmer, and the cruise control all work perfectly. I had to replace a relay in
one of the automatic rear windows. The window regulators all need to be cleaned
and lubricated, and one of the window switches need to be cleaned.
After
putting a thousand miles on this car, I have discovered that the exhaust system
leaks, also.
September,
2002
It has now
been almost a year since this car came home. We have traveled a little over
four thousand miles together. I have been catching up with the maintenance, bit
by bit. The exhaust leak was a bit of a challenge, but was eventually fixed (or
so I thought). I cleaned and lubricated the window regulators and switches. I
had the air conditioning system charged. I replaced a few components in the
automatic rear windows.
My 30th
high school reunion was held during the third weekend of September. I thought
that this would be an apropos car to take to the reunion, as it is
representative of what some of our parents would have been driving during that
period. (Yeah, I know, it's a stretch, but I really wanted to take the
car on a trip).
Last
minute preparations included a new set of front shock absorbers and an oil
change. When I left Maryland, we
were proceeding at an easy 70 mph.
After we entered Pennsylvania, I noticed that the back end of the car
was beginning to exhibit a vibration at 70, so I took the speed down to
65. Got a bit further down the
road, and then the speed was 60.
By this time, I knew that something was not right, and I was going to
have to have the car looked at the next morning. I entered Ohio at 55, and was approaching Cleveland at 50,
when I heard a "BANG" from the rear of the car. Looking in the rear-view mirror, I
could see a cloud of black particles expanding from the back. I pulled off to the side of the
interstate to see what had happened.
I discovered that the right-rear tire had had a major tread separation,
losing 3/4 of its tread. When the
tire fell apart, it punched a 3x6-inch hole in the right-side muffler. Fortunately, I was less than 100 yards
from an off-ramp. I changed the tire on an apron at the toll booth. It took longer to unpack and repack the
trunk than it did to actually change the tire. The next morning, Baby got four new tires. With the hole in the muffler, we loudly
blurbled from Cleveland on to Chicago.
The day after I arrived, I paid a call on a Meineke shop in Elk Grove
Village, where the damaged muffler was replaced, and the leaky connections
between the pipe and the exhaust manifolds were sealed (again).
The
remainder of the trip was without incident. The car drank two quarts of oil, and returned 13 mpg with
the air off, which was better than I was expecting. And as expected, the car effortlessly eats up the
miles. The photo below was taken
with the car parked in front of my alma mater, Glenbrook North High School.
January, 2003
The
Continental is "reposing" for the winter. The last time she was on the road was Thanksgiving Day. I have a number of projects in mind for
the spring and summer this year, beginning with a major tune-up (plugs,
cap/rotor/wires, rebuild the carburetor and fuel pump), and continuing on to
the suspension systems. I also
want to get the foam in the seat replaced. There are a couple of cranky relays that need to be
replaced, also. Details at Eleven.
December,
2003
Well, it’s
been a busy year. The ’66 traveled
another 2000 miles this year. Her
big trip was to Newport, Rhode Island in late July for the Rolls-Royce Owners
Club meet. Early in November, I
learned about a pre-war Packard that is for sale in Phoenix. After a short trip to Arizona to
inspect the car, I left a deposit.
Another car forces me to put something up for sale, both for the garage
space and the money necessary to complete the sale. Since the ’66 is the car that is most easily replaced, off
she goes.
Today, the
’66 was consigned to a shipper to be trucked to Florida. She is being sent down to Chris Dunn’s
in Clearwater to be sold. She was
a good car, and I will be somewhat sorry to see her go.
The
pre-shipment inspection.
As I last
saw her, waiting to be loaded.
July,
2004
The car
finally sold in early this month, going to a new home in Spotsylvania,
Virginia. I hope she will serve her
new owner as well as she served me.