That one will be an easy one compared to the 50 Buick I brought home today. Its all just metal and time.
Have a 54 Capri. Weak hood hinges! Parts are getting harder to find. Other than those, not a bad car.
Car tester extraordinaire Tom McCahill thought it was the best American car made that year, so he bought one. He did A LOT of driving and prized road holding and handling, the Lincoln was the best. He ordered his with "export" suspension and a solid lifter cam. Similar to the Mexican Road Race Lincolns that won the Carrera Panamericana. His biggest beef with the car was the difficulty of servicing it. The distributor at the back of the engine compartment, almost impossible to get at. The oil filter also very hard to get at, and impossible to remove from the car without getting a quart of hot oil down your sleeve. The generator was a real pain, buried under the engine. It was supposed to get a couple of drops of oil to the bearings at each oil change but was nearly impossible to reach. He burned out a couple of generators for lack of oil, one while setting a speed record on Daytona Beach. He put about 30,000 miles on it then sold it about the time he bought his 55 Tbird. Years later, when the car was about ten years old, he ran across it again. Now with over 100,000 miles it was still going strong, the chrome, paint work and leather upholstery still in good condition. They had one of the first ball joint suspensions and used a unique ball joint that is no longer made. I don't know what you do if one wears out. Engines very heavy, tough and durable. Transmission, GM's Hydramatic as used by Cadillac, Olds and others. Also very durable. The whole car pretty tough and long lived but parts can be a headache.
Bought a '54 Capri Coupe a few months ago. It was within 2 miles of my house. Because I like vintage racing, I might do a for the street La Carrera Panamericana Tribute car. Just bought a complete '57 368 cube engine in a complete 4-door car about 4 miles from the house. I have to pick it up tomorrow. My '54 317 was stuck, but I got it to turn over. I'd rather spend the $dough$ rebuilding a hi-compression more powerful 368 than a 317. Kinda' like, would you wanta' rebuild a 283 SBC or a 327?? No brainer. The '57 engine has the best cylinder heads, the Carter carb, dual exhaust manifolds and 12v starter and generator. Add all that up and the engine parts are worth what I'm paying.
The Jalopy Journal
