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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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Hopefully someone can help. I have a 1954 lincoln sport coupe. It has a 317 engine all stock except for an alternator instead of a generator. The transmition is original also. I've been running the car for 3 summers. I have had a lot of trouble with the carburator leaking. It has been rebuilt and upgrated now. The next was the distributor. It was hell to find a vacuum advance that worked. The first replacement I bought was faulty so it took a while to troubleshoot it since it worked a bit better than the original that came with the car. I now have a working vacuum advance, but the performance of the engine and trany are dissapointing. I removed the valve covers after hearing the odd tic and knock every now and then. I found 5 bent push rods.
I can't be sure of when they could have been bent. Most of the time I have driven the car was to troubleshoot one thing or another. I'm a better part changer than mechanic. It's all trial and error and read read read for me. Love the car love the hobby. Lost the wife. So now, more hobby. Sorry side track easy. I have had some spectacular back fires come out of the poor car. Vacuum leaks may have been the cause of most of those. I believe most of those are eliminated.
Here's the thing. I had been saving some cash to fix the headliner and some of the chrome. It seems foolish to do that when I need the thing running and dependable. Do I get the engine rebuilt and have some modifications done to upgrade performance and dependability. Maybe another transmition would help highway driving. Do I change the power plant completely? I kind of like the idea of keeping the original look of the engine with the giant cross over and all. though the power steering leaves a lot to be desired right now.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks for even reading Guys 
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By mctim64 - 12 Years Ago
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It's very hard to diagnose a problem over the computer but I have a feeling that most of what you are dealing with is in tuning. Please don't go changing the engine out for something different. Tell us where you are and maybe someone close by can come help you. 317 is a fine engine and will move the car as a Lincoln of the day should move, just get it running as it properly.
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By RB - 12 Years Ago
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I agree with Tim don't do anything drastic till you get to the bottom of your tuning issues. The engine and trans combination you have should be fine for your Lincoln.. Plus changing to a different engine trans combo would be a LOT of work
A couple thoughts on the symptoms
Bent push rods: Most likely cause is valves that got stuck in the guides. If your engine sat for a long time without running this can happen. Take the valve cover off and see if all the valves open and close properly. If they do just install new push rods and go. If not You will probably have to pull the heads and do a valve job
Distributor and carb.. Early Lincolns use the same pathetic distributor as the Ford Y Block They barely worked when new and after 60 yrs. it's almost hopeless.. To start with, the carb and distributor need to be matched to each other. If the carb was changed at some point, your distributor will never work proper;ly.. The best solution but one that requires some work would be to put a 57 Lincoln distributor it it along with a later 4bbl intake that would take a modern carb. Not real expensive fix but one that requires some tools and mechanical skills
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By PF Arcand - 12 Years Ago
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Don't mean to scare you.. but if you have the stock so called "Teapot" carb on your engine, you need to get to the bottom of the back firing problem first! It may or may not have to do with the carb (a distributor or timing problem maybe?) but before you do anything further, buy or get a suitable "fire extingisher" for your car. Teapots have the float chamber up above & have been known to catch fire because of back fires!...
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By miker - 12 Years Ago
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I wish I could offer better suggestions, but the ones above are right on. The first car I clearly remember was a 54 Lincoln my folks bought used in '55. Dad, who's past included a Fraiser with a Cadillac motor, found the performance fine, and my 120lb mother drove all over the hills of Seattle and had no problem with the steering or trans. Get it running, they get a ton of attention and will perform in modern environment.
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By hjh - 12 Years Ago
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ollincolin 131 If you decide to go the 4/v route I have an intake for that engine for sale. Yes they do make a lot of torque and power to move that heavy car. If you want me to I can hook you up with Rick Martin , he eats & sleeps thoes engines. Harry hutten Jr. 513-eight six 8-33one one S/W Ohio.
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By DryLakesRacer - 12 Years Ago
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If your going to change I'd look to a 368" first and if that just won't do, move to a 460 Lincoln, but keep your FOMOCO "old" FOMOCO. I'd do anything possible to keep it all Lincoln...............Good Luck
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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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thanks so much for the reply. I am glad to hear some of the good things you all have to say. I'm in north eastern New-Brunswick Canada and the car was from New Hampshire. I am going to keep at it. The car is solid and I would so like to keep it unmolested. I will look at the timing chain and double check the vacuum lines. I had the coil fail the last time I went to a show. It just plain died. A few fellows said the having the coil laying on top of the engine may have caused it to heat up. I move the new coil to the fire wall, but haven't gone anywhere since. Now I have the winter to tinker. I am looking at getting the radiator refurbished and may try to find a rebuild kit or tackle the power steering pump myself. I appreciate the input. I didn't expect much. It is refreshing.
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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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Thank you. I made a few inquiries about getting a ditributor out of the later 368. It is possible but I need a core. We have machine shops around here that could possibly help me and worse case the community college is always a possibility. The machine shops around here mostly deal with marine applications but I imagine it is well within their ability to help with this. I hope. 
As far as the top end and carburator, I'm hoping to get the bugs out and keep the fire extinguisher handy for now. It is very tempting to change the teapot set up though.
thanks again
Chris
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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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Thanks for the heads up. I have been hearing about the towering inferno teapots for a while now. It is the main reason the carb was sent out to be rebuilt. I did have a problem once since with fuel leaking through the screw behind the needle. I hope to have cured that, but keep an eye on it all the time. It does take some of the fun out of driving when someone says do you smell gas? I have 2 extinguishers. Trunk and cabin.
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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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Thank you Miker. It is a nice car and I am very happy with it. I believe I have a valve sticking in the power steering pump affecting the way the fluid travels. The car turns well going left, but seems to kind of bind up then dive a little to the right. It`s a little unnerving to say the least. Now I know it`s coming and got used to it, but I`m the only one who drives the thing. It`s at the top of my repair list right now.
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By PF Arcand - 12 Years Ago
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Linc: Re reading your first post, I suspect your bent pushrods point to the main problem. You need to ensure that the valves & valvetrain are free. A stuck valve can lead to a back fire..others on here may have good suggestions on relieving that problem.. and 317s were solid engines. Unless the innards of the engine are known to be in poor condition..stick with it.
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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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hello hjh. Thanks for the post. The intake you have; is it an original, or after market Is it for a different carb set up. Lol I messed up something on my keyboard here and can`t place question marks. I would like to contact Rick maybe once i get in the garage this week-end and get familiar with the car again. I lost my house and garage since September and my father and uncle moved everything into my father`s garage. I need to empty the car. they used it to store all the extra lenses and part boxes. It`s upsetting to see it like that. Getting organized won`t take too long though. thanks again
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By ollincoln131 - 12 Years Ago
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I will be pulling the valve covers off again and see if anything there has changed. I replaced the bent rods about 250 miles ago. I haven`t heard any tell tale ticking since. I will be checking with some help from a local drag racer friend of my dads`. He seems confident that he can help there.
Chris
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By ejstith - 12 Years Ago
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You, obviously, have a nice ride there. Those were the days of Lincoln's dominance of the Mexican Road Race placing 1,2,3 & 4 two years in a row. '54 was the last year of the Hydra-matic transmissions built by GM. Seems to me, just from reading here, the best bet is to take hjh up on his deal to hook you up with that Lincoln guru. At any rate, good luck, they are a gorgeous vehicle.....
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By paul2748 - 12 Years Ago
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There is a guy in PA that specializes in rebuilding teapots. His name is Mike Suter and his telephone # is 215-757-3678. Cheaper than most.
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By miker - 12 Years Ago
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You need more of an expert than me, but if the steering is ok one way, and sticking the other, I'd look first at the valve on the steering ram. Someone who knows needs to confirm that Lincoln used the same type of system as Ford.
There used to be a shop in South Portland, Maine, that had a lot of obsolete engine parts, mainly marine. 6 years ago, I got a 312 crank, never turned, and didn't need to be. If they used any Lincoln 's in marine apps, might be worth trying to track them down. I might have them on an old computer, I'll look, if you think it might be worthwhile.
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