Lincoln Mark III Repair Tip
Changing the transmission indicator bulb on the Lincoln Mark III
03 | 07 | 14 | 13:00 | Filed in: 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III | Restoration
I thought that changing a simple light bulb would not be a big problem but a pretty self explaining thing. The transmission indicator bulb in my Mark III did no longer work. So I thought I could change it quickly and order a bulb. (the one I got from rockauto.com does not fit btw..) Its bulb #1445 you need - thats the correct one as you can see in the owner manual.
The owners manual lists all the bulbs you need. One should order them by part number.
The shop manual for the Mark III is not very helpful when you try to change the transmission control selector indicator light...
I had no idea where to start so I contacted the excellent Lincolnforum where I got some very helpful tips.
2sasilverbullet sent me the following two pictures below to show what covers have to get removed to be able to access the indicator bulb.
© 2sasilverbullet
©2sasilverbullet
You have to carefully remove these covers and you then get access to the bulb.
with the bulb already removed
The bulb is then inserted into the hole where you can see the finger.
After the bulb is replaced its pretty tricky to put the covers back into place. Be very careful to not break the plastic covers!
Comments
Correcting the paint of the Lincoln Mark III.
13 | 05 | 14 | 22:41 | Filed in: 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III | Restoration
My 1971 Lincoln always looked very nice and shiny when you looked at it from a distance, but I had a really hard time keeping the black paint in good shape. I applied a lot of coats of wax to hide swirl marks, fine scratches and other paint imperfections.
I even had the car at a professional detailer to have some of the paint corrected - but he gave up and said that there is nothing he could do for me as the paint would be too soft...
The paint really is very soft, and you could even make swirl marks with a soft microfiber towel...
The detailer left some wet sanding marks behind on the trunk lid, which were a big sore in my eyes.
So I decided to correct the paint by myself.
I bought the best dual action polisher on the market - the Rupes BigFoot 21. This is a professional machine which can correct all serious paint defects and bring the paint back to perfect condition. It takes some practice to do it correctly, but its not very difficult to do. I can't recommend this polishing machine enough!
See my previous post to check out the correct technique.
I also bought the complete Rupes foam pads, compound and polishes system, and the results are amazing.
The swirled and scratched paint came out like a mirror!
I´m very happy with the outcome.
I also did some touchups on some small stone chips and wet sanded some areas.
You can see the before and after pictures below.
I even had the car at a professional detailer to have some of the paint corrected - but he gave up and said that there is nothing he could do for me as the paint would be too soft...
The paint really is very soft, and you could even make swirl marks with a soft microfiber towel...
The detailer left some wet sanding marks behind on the trunk lid, which were a big sore in my eyes.
So I decided to correct the paint by myself.
I bought the best dual action polisher on the market - the Rupes BigFoot 21. This is a professional machine which can correct all serious paint defects and bring the paint back to perfect condition. It takes some practice to do it correctly, but its not very difficult to do. I can't recommend this polishing machine enough!
See my previous post to check out the correct technique.
I also bought the complete Rupes foam pads, compound and polishes system, and the results are amazing.
The swirled and scratched paint came out like a mirror!
I´m very happy with the outcome.
I also did some touchups on some small stone chips and wet sanded some areas.
You can see the before and after pictures below.
I finally bought a professional polishing machine. The Rupes BigFoot 21. It's a great and very effective tool!
I removed the CONTINENTAL letters to be able to polish the hood better
Look at all the fine swirls and scratches
I will also restore the letters, as some of the black paint has polished off over the years...
Repainting the letters
The paint before and after polishing - as you can see all the imperfections are gone.
You can see all these fine scratches and haze and some wet sanding marks that were left behind from the professional detailer.
All scratches and imperfections are gone after polishing!
The Mark III looks spectacular after the paint correction. I have to reinstall the restored letters now.
The restored letters are back on the car. As you can see I´m very happy with the result.
The polished car
New speakers, new alternator, new trunk lining material and a new windlace for the Mark III.
01 | 05 | 11 | 18:08 | Filed in: Restoration | 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III
Today I got some new pictures from Brian, the previous owner of my Mark III, who is doing the final refinements before the car will be picked up next week.
He got a new set of replacement speakers for the car The right one had a tear in the cone. The left wasn't that bad, but the mounting part was starting to crumble. Brian removed the wiring harness from the old speakers and soldered them onto the new, so they would plug in correctly. He is a professional philharmonic musician and he said that they sound much better, no distortion and better frequency response. Brian got the speakers from the same source where I got the ones for my Cadillacs before - from Greg Thompson from Turnswitch.
Skip, the upholstery guy, installed the new trunk carpet - and as you can see on the pictures below - it turned out beautifully. He also installed a new windlace on the drivers side - which turned out perfectly as well. As you can imagine I´m really looking forward to finally get the car ;-)
When Brian thought that everything was fixed the alternator went out - so he replaced it as well and even installed a new battery! AWESOME! The speed control was also fixed and works perfectly too!
He got a new set of replacement speakers for the car The right one had a tear in the cone. The left wasn't that bad, but the mounting part was starting to crumble. Brian removed the wiring harness from the old speakers and soldered them onto the new, so they would plug in correctly. He is a professional philharmonic musician and he said that they sound much better, no distortion and better frequency response. Brian got the speakers from the same source where I got the ones for my Cadillacs before - from Greg Thompson from Turnswitch.
Skip, the upholstery guy, installed the new trunk carpet - and as you can see on the pictures below - it turned out beautifully. He also installed a new windlace on the drivers side - which turned out perfectly as well. As you can imagine I´m really looking forward to finally get the car ;-)
When Brian thought that everything was fixed the alternator went out - so he replaced it as well and even installed a new battery! AWESOME! The speed control was also fixed and works perfectly too!
The windlace before
and after it was replaced...
The old connectors were soldered to the new replacement speakers
The old speakers
The new speaker installed on the drivers side...
...and the passenger side
The new trunk carpet - perfectly installed by Skip
The new trunk carpet - perfectly installed by Skip
The new trunk carpet - perfectly installed by Skip
The Mark III got new seat padding
27 | 04 | 11 | 20:34 | Filed in: Restoration | 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III
While my 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III is still in the USA and waiting for the shipment to Austria, the seller was so kind to have some things fixed on the car.
The padding underneath the drivers seat became very dry and crumbled. So he took the car to his upholstery guy to have some new foam installed. While the car was there, they also installed a new trunk carpet set, a windlace and repaired the front window mechanisms to work perfectly.
I cant thank Brian enough for having all these little things done before the car is leaving. He will also install a new set of original front speakers, fix a heater valve and repair the acceleration function of the speed control. He also already installed a new inside rear view mirror as the old one was “blind“.
Thank you Brian!
The padding underneath the drivers seat became very dry and crumbled. So he took the car to his upholstery guy to have some new foam installed. While the car was there, they also installed a new trunk carpet set, a windlace and repaired the front window mechanisms to work perfectly.
I cant thank Brian enough for having all these little things done before the car is leaving. He will also install a new set of original front speakers, fix a heater valve and repair the acceleration function of the speed control. He also already installed a new inside rear view mirror as the old one was “blind“.
Thank you Brian!
The foam underneath the drivers side was crumbling
pretty big hole
not much left
the new seat padding under construction
the finished new seat padding