1992 Lincoln Mark VII

Woody wrote: That car is so nice! I remember back in the 80's, *Car and Driver* did a test of a modified one. I can't remember who built it. Roush, Saleen, ASC or maybe some company that was modifying Merkurs. I remember it was given the 80's monochromatic look and I think it rode on Ronal R9's.

For the life of me, I cannot remember who build it either. It did have a Robert Yates engine. But I do know who did the pinstriping and graphics...

< This guy.

It was my first full striping job. I had done some race cars and collision work, but never anything major before that.

Morbid wrote:

The_Jed wrote: That would look cool but I don't want to change anything about the car. I'll upgrade a few of the wear items; t.v. cable bushing, tires, brake pads, fluids, etc. but that's it. I'll exercise my need to modify on the blue car.

I think you meant to say you'll exercise your need to sell things on the blue car....

Didn't Roush upfit with these with a 351 and/or T-5 if you were willing to foot the bill?

I've always wanted an all-black LSC SE w/T-5 swap. We had a Maroon 89 LSC when I was a kid. Some of my earliest memories were riding in the back of that car.

In reply to Mazda787b:

^^ Yeah, that. Swoon

I still say they look good some 20+ years later.

Adjusted the t.v. cable a bit on the white car. Then, for the hell of it, I removed the intake tube from the '87 and put it on the '92. Some of you already know the difference but the others will see in the pics.

I only moved it a bit, just over 1/4". I only want to increase the line pressure a tad.

'87 on the left and '92 on the right.

Cavernous '87.

Choked off '92.

After swapping the tubes I pulled the car back into the garage. Suddenly the brakes were working great! I guess that was the problem all along!

I filled the brake fluid reservoir then bled the brakes and so far the brakes feel great! It took an entire jug of brake fluid, a big jug!

Unfortunately since the brakes now feel 100% I took it out on the highway and discovered O.D. slips. Oh well.

I was going down the highway in drive, which is 1:1, with the converter locked turning approximately 2,700 rpm at 60 mph. The tires are 225/60-16's which comes out to 26.63" diameter. I keep coming up with 3.57:1 rear gears?...

Once all of the snow is gone I'll check out the diff tag and see what's in there. The car is so composed and buttery smooth, I love it!

3.55 is a popular Ford rear axle ratio. Although I didn't realize they went that high (numerically) on these types of cars. Manual Mustangs of the same era had 2.73s stock, and the 3.08 rear end was an option. I believe the automatic Mustangs could be had with a 3.27 rear axle, so a 3.55 in a heavier car isn't too much of a stretch.

I am just puzzled since I was expecting 3.27:1. My blue LSC has 3.73 gears that I assume were swapped in at some point by a previous owner or maybe installed by some joker at the factory since the diff tag was still in place and it said they should have been 3.27:1.

I just discovered why it took an entire jug of brake fluid to top off the reservoir, the passenger side rear caliper was leaking. I had been driving it for a few days and everything was fine then, when I heard about another inbound snowstorm I parked it in the garage again. I had noticed that the passenger side rear tire was perpetually wet and the brake fluid was low again. Hmmmm...

I pulled the wheel off the other day and noticed the soggy bits. A new caliper is inbound and I'll snap some pics before swapping it out.

Did you ever figure out what the axle ratio is?

The_Jed wrote: I just discovered why it took an entire jug of brake fluid to top off the reservoir, the passenger side rear caliper was leaking. I had been driving it for a few days and everything was fine then, when I heard about another inbound snowstorm I parked it in the garage again. I had noticed that the passenger side rear tire was perpetually wet and the brake fluid was low again. Hmmmm... I pulled the wheel off the other day and noticed the soggy bits. A new caliper is inbound and I'll snap some pics before swapping it out.

I had the same thing happen with my WRX. It would only leak in the cold. I am assuming that the seal would shrink just enough in the cold to leak. Mine was the RF.

In reply to Woody:

All my math points to 3.55. I'll go scope out the diff tag momentarily!

It may be kind of tough to tell but that's water on the floor...

Soggy brake pads and caliper bracket.

Even though it's not visible, rest assured there is a jack stand just out of view in the first pic.

diff tag:

S442A

27 88 1J17

To teh googlez!

Edit: The sticker in the door jamb has a 5 under the AX field. Everything indicates 3.27:1 just like the blue beater but the tire diameter, trans gear, rpm and speed say 3.55:1.

Assuming some error in the gauges I'm inclined to assume the gears are 3.45:1 or 3.55:1.

The new hardware is installed and I took it out for a drive today. When I get off work tomorrow morning I'll take the kids for a cruise and hit a car wash.

Another data sample for the gearing: 70 mph @ 1:1 (drive) = 3000 rpm.

That puts it closer to 3.45:1 for the ring and pinion.

Finally got around to installing the front sway bar endlinks I picked up about a month ago. Much flatter in the turns now.

Did a tune up today; plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and fuel filter.

I had been smelling gas for a while and was hoping the fuel filter was the source. It was not.

A few weeks ago I cycle the key on and off without starting the car, to pressurize the fuel line, and I noticed a slow drip running down from the topside of the tank. Assuming it was a problem with a line and knowing I would have to drop the tank and that I wouldn't have the time to do it, I dropped it off at a local shop to have it repaired. I should have it back by the end of this week.

The fuel leak has been fixed. The "hanger assembly" was swapped out for a new factory O.E. piece since there was a pinhole in one of the old hard lines.

Just ordered some KYB GR-2 front struts.

I like those KYbs. We have them in our lemony Turbo Coupe and Mustangs...