My friend has a '63 linc, been sitting for a few yrs because he can't afford a repair parts for the tranny, is there another FOMOCO trans that can be swapped? He claims the Linc had an unique tranny and parts are too rare, or expensive, any help would be apppreciated.
He is correct, so far as the unique transmission goes. The car has a MEL engine, which has a trans bolt pattern unique to itself in the FoMoCo line. Any Lincoln trans made from '62-'65 will fit directly, but nothing else. However... The trans is the Twin-Turbo, or Turbo-Drive, which is the long-case version of the Ford Cruise-O-Matic. They have additional internal components & a different output shaft, but, essentially, the design & operation is the same as the Cruise-O. Depending on what parts he needs, it should not be all that tough to rebuild it. Most transmission shops, with younger guys, freak out when confronted with the Cruise-O-Matic or Ford-O-Matic, & therefore charge very high prices, usually unreasonably so, but they are just not that complicated. If nothing else, find an older guy who actually remembers working on them. Get a Lincoln shop manual & you should be able to do it yourself, no problem. Parts are not THAT expensive, though it's not exactly like rebuilding a TH-350. So far as parts are concerned, I'd try Broader Performance for performance mods/parts, regular parts, & tech help....or http://www.autotran.us/fmkits1.html for regular rebuild stuff. If the broken parts are Lincoln-specific, like the output shaft or something, I can shoot some Lincoln parts sources your way as well.
i just had to find some parts (rebuild kit and front drum) for my '62 Lincoln trans being rebuit. i've had good luck w/ Bakers Auto www.bakersauto.com -scott noteboom
The Jalopy Journal
