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.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

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.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

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.....

Doing Fords for 45 years. '56 Customline Victoria

E.J. in Havana FL

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

It's gona drive me to drinking, if I can't keep driving that #$@*! Lincoln...

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

It's gona drive me to drinking, if I can't keep driving that #$@*! Lincoln...

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.

Paul

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.

It's gona drive me to drinking, if I can't keep driving that #$@*! Lincoln...

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.

It's gona drive me to drinking, if I can't keep driving that #$@*! Lincoln...

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

It's gona drive me to drinking, if I can't keep driving that #$@*! Lincoln...

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.

It's gona drive me to drinking, if I can't keep driving that #$@*! Lincoln...