Looks like it would be fairly easy to change the spark plugs.

I think there should be a "Grandpa's" car section at MCACN next year.

Success! She started and ran today. Once there was fuel up to the carb, she started right up.

Still up on the jackstands. I installed the Y-pipe without mufflers and she sounds like a monster truck (Didn't BigFoot have a 460 in it originally?).

I had a minor scare when I partially burnt the wiring harness ground by the voltage regulator due to one of the alternator leads being hooked to positive terminal on the back of the alternator instead of ground. Ugh! Should have reviewed my own photos better.

I also had to replace the leaking joint in the trans cooler line where a prior mechanic used a compression fitting to join two sections instead of correctly flaring the ends and using the correct flared adapter fitting. Luckily NAPA had the fitting in stock this time.

Drained the oil and the magnetic drain plug was totally clean. Refilled it with 5 quarts of 10W30 Pennzoil. The transmission shifts nicely and doesn't leak.

Tomorrow I will unwrap and fix the burnt harness wire. I will also pull out the rear seat to replace the center seat belt bolts with a couple of longer bolts that can pass through the rear bulkhead about an inch more, so they can be used for dual exhaust hanger mounting points. (I hate it when muffler shops just crank in a couple of monster-sized sheet metal screws into your floor to mount the mufflers from -Not gonna happen here).

That's gotta be a big relief getting all this stuff taken care of. Leaks are a big pain for cars that have sat a long time. I know this first hand. Every time I move a car there's a puddle.Cant wait to see how it performs vs the old setup. You gotta go burn some rubber :D

I stopped in a local shop recommended by a friend and asked about exhaust. Hopefully by the end of the week we should be able to get it done. I also went to the local Fastenal store and ordered two 2-1/2 grade 8, 7/16x20 bolts for the seat belt/exhaust hanger duty. It was hard to find a bolt with a long threaded section that didn't have way too much unthreaded collar area. Wound up with a 12 point shouldered bolt. Hopefully this should work.

Also have to get that gigantic hood back on the car!

I haven't done anything with the air cleaner as the large circular decal is currently on backorder and has been for a while.

Got the exhaust done today. Took it out for its maiden voyage 10 miles to the exhaust shop. Ran great - no issues at all (other than no hood and open Y-pipe). It took around 6 hours at the local shop. They really did a nice job. They used all existing factory frame holes for mounting points. Never needed to use the seat belt bolt holes as they decided to use the upper frame cross member which had bracket holes already.

They had some really ingenious methods of making mounts, such as the brackets they created that attached to the bottom bolts of the transmission mounts and went out laterally to reach the head pipes. They mated them nicely to the sections of the Y-pipe after it was dissected. The hard part was the over the axle tube creation. That took 3/4 of the time spent. Ended up using Magnaflow 12226 2-1/2"mufflers. Total price was $1,000 including tax - two mechanics working on it for over six hours and 30 feet of pipe, plus the mufflers.

It sounds nice and rumbly now. And much peppier too! Grampa would be happy. :-)

Looks great! That throttle cable mod is hilarious.

It's a time capsule of American ingenuity, I tell ya!

Just Curious, why didn't u have them start at the exhaust manifolds,, The front pipes look very rusty,, Great Thread.

Yes, it was somewhat surface rusty but the steel was still very heavy gauge and solid. The Lincoln had a very unique double-walled flange that has a specific type of donut gasket. No one makes a replacement flange so we used the factory section. I had to buy five different "donuts" before I found the correct sized 2-5/32" inner diameter replacement. It's a Felpro #60218 in case anyone needs the part number.

I cleaned up the original hood hinges today. Soaked them in 5 gallons of "Purple Power" degreaser since last night. That took off the 47 years of accumulated gunk but left the original phosphate finish intact. I have them soaking in engine oil now. Hopefully tomorrow we can get the hood back on finally - with all the family participating. It's like moving a ping-pong table around.