I finally had a few hours today to install that NOS tail light/bumper moldings. That was fun! Especially after having the car wool-waxed underneath last month. My arms were completely covered in the black stuff. I looked like an oil field worker after a well blowout. But hey, this battleship ain't gonna be rusting any time soon after that procedure. I wasn't able to remove the rear bumper and had to reach under and around things to get the couple of molding nuts off the underside of the lower molding. Luckily 35 years ago when we had it painted, someone neglected to install all those original nuts back on (me), so it worked out well!
I was also able to chase down that pesky non-functional tail lamp socket. Turns out it was not the socket but a defective 1057 bulb that had no internal ground connected. When I switched another working bulb into that position, it worked fine. And when I moved the funky bulb to a new spot it didn't work there. So in the trash it went.
So far I have almost 500 miles on this baby since getting it out of storage a couple months ago. It's about to roll over to 87,000 miles! Only another 2,000 miles and I'll be at the oil change due date on the Lincoln dealer reminder sticker stuck on the windshield back when my Dad had his last oil change done back in 2000. That was right before the dealer (Crest Lincoln Mercury in Woodbridge, CT) offered to help him junk it for a tax deduction because they got tired of trying to work on it. (Yes, I still hold a grudge about that)
