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I have always loved Dynaflo, Flight Pitch, Turboglide transmissions. Not the most fuel efficient, but I sure liked the no shift shock smoothness.

They were the Continuously Variable Tranmissions of their time. Although today's CVT technology is nothing like those good old trannys, the feel of drivng a car with CVT is surprisingly similar. The first time I drove a CVT car, floods of memories of driving my dad's 1960 Electra came back.
 
The '65 Olds 98 was a wonderful car. Charlie's version is a "post-sedan" rather than a "hardtop". The post-sedan had a taller windshield and allowed for much better visibility and lots of headroom.

Dad had a '66 Hardtop version and the windshield was lower---it gave the inpression of looking out of the "view-slit" of a tank, and greatly reduced visibility and reduced interior headroom. Nonetheless, these fabulous cars were very fast, and powerful AND IMO rode just as well or better than the Cadillac (de Ville) of the same vintage. I used to chide Dad about his "couch on wheels".Dad never did care much for the automated "Climate Control" system believing he could get the car MUCH colder with the standard system. I think he was right. That '66 98 could be turned into a FREEZER on the hottest of days. So cold, the exterior of the windows could develop a layer of condensation over them if you weren't driving fast enough to blow it off! Very kool steering wheel also. And those old GM cars had a wonderful scent inside.
I'd love to experience a ride in one of those again.
 
OHH Charlie I'll go

I LOVE 98's!!!
Thats all my 5'2" Mom would ever drive!! She was a dwarf inside them!!!
Our first one was a 1953 98 Holiday Coupe-- loaded , it was a Cream Puff as Dad used to call it! WE NEVER should have sold it.
I got my head stuck in the rear power windows!!
Our next Olds was a 1963 Starfire in RED, that thing could move and handle! Almost as good handling as our 1970 2002 BMW which is surprising for a rear wheel non independant drive train.
My favorite was our 1971 Olds 98 the most beautiful styled Olds ever built IMHO. The seats had 6 inches of foam! You could ride all day with no discomfort, we drove that baby from NY to CA to Texas and back again.

That Lincoln 460 engine has an interesting history. It was under bored to 430 for the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser and the 1958 Edsel. They slapped a 4 barrel Holley on board and that 430 could SCOOT! I could almost pop wheelies with my Edsel!
Many parts were interchangable between the Lincoln Engine and the Edsel.
Very smooth and powerful engine.
I think the 460 first appeared on the 1955-6 Mark II if I am not mistaken.
 
A little more on the 65 Olds 98 Town Sedan:

The Town Sedan was the "base" model 98. It was followed in the line-up by the Holiday series and the top of the line was the Luxury series.

The Holiday and Luxury models came with power windows and a 4 way power seat. These items were standard. The Town Sedan had crank windows and a manual move seat. The Town Sedan was really used to move potential buyers into the upper models for a small difference in price. "See how much more you get for only $200!"

So, the Town Sedan was somewhat limited in production. There were 13,700 made versus the more than triple the number for the other models. I have discovered from an appraiser, that this has helped the value of my car.

My Town Sedan is a North Carolina, (Winston-Salem), car that I purchased from the children of the original owner. It is equipped with heater/defroster, A/C, AM radio, power steering/brakes, trunk opener, door edge guards, EZ eye tined windows and back up lights. Yes, back up lights were still optional in 1965! Seat belts are only in the front too.

I grew up with mostly Cadillac products and I agree with Steve that the 98's were almost sister cars to them. The only significant differences that I have spotted, (I have owned quite a few older Cadillacs), is that the trim is nicer on the Caddy's and that they also use more sound deadening insulation.

The Luxury models remind of the Fleetwood series. Beautiful door pulls, interior fabrics, very quiet, nice headliners, etc.

The power is amazing and this car is much more responsive when the gas pedal is pushed. I had a mint, trophy winning '66 Sedan deVille and even with the 429 it was far more sluggish and the braking was not as good------of course it was a much heavier car.

The only thing that makes it a bit tiring to drive on long distances is that the power steering is not variable speed controlled. GM did not introduce that until the 1966 models.

And one last thing, I agree with Steve's Dad, the non-climate control A/C is far more effective! Cadillac did not get that really right until it became electronic instead of vacuum controlled. The A/C in the 1966 Caddy drove me crazy! When I a teenager, my father had a '66 Fleetwood Brougham, (lots of goodies and toys on that monster!), and the climate control was moody even then! The guide-a-matic head lights could also set my father off as well.
 
A little more on the FOMOCO engines. The 1958 Edsel prompted the debut of a new engine class that eventually replaced the Y-blocks. The new class was called the FE (Many think it means Ford Edsel, but it really means Ford Engine) class. Edsel came out in 1958 with a 410 and a 361. You could get various other sizes in Ford (332, 352, later 360, 390, 406, 427, 428). Mercury and Lincoln had different sizes than the Fords and this class was discontinued in cars in 1971, but was used until about 1976 in trucks. I don't know anything about the 1960's Lincoln 430 (I think it was an FE), but the 460 in mine is derived from the 385 series, or Big Block, introduced in 1968 and made famous by the 429 (think Boss 429 Mustang). Very little is interchangeable from the Big Block to the FE. The 429 and 460 are capable of extraordinary performance if built right and the potential from a Police Interceptor motor is almost unlimited.

The the 400M is a modified Cleveland block that is 1/2 inch taller than the 351C. The 351M is a destroked 400M and is a torque powerhouse if built right, which is why it was used in trucks and the 400M was used in cars. the Cleveland and modified series have several interchangeable parts, but very little interchanges with the Windsor series.

Honestly, for versatility and potiential performance, my Ford motor of choice is a 390 FE, which is in my Galaxie. If I could get my hands on a 427 or 428, though, Look Out!!
 
Ford Engines.

Back in the 1980s, my family had 2 1975 Lincoln Continental Town Cars. I was way too young to drive then, but I would give my teeth to drive one of them now! They were both powered by the 460 which would perform very nicely when asked, but was equally well-suited to cruising down the road quietly with the greatest of ease. That was a refined car, not too flashy, but it was so good it didn't have to prove anything. I just wish there was an overdrive available. The C6 3-speed transmission was a very strong design (it had to be to deal with the power and weight of a Lincoln), but the lack of overdrive really killed the already dreadful furl economy.
I know that before 1975 there was a 462 engine in some Lincolns, but the 460, which replaced it, was more advanced. The 460, from what I have read, was Ford's last "old-school" big block. In later years it was fuel injected and used in trucks as late as 1997.
I would love a 1975, or if necessary a 1976, Lincoln Continental Town Car. I would try to keep it as close to original as possible, except for converting the AC to R-134a. I might consider trying to fit an overdrive transmission for the sake of fuel economy and not running the engine at such a high RPM while on the highway. I would also be curious to see what kind of power and fuel economy could be achieved by switching from the 4-barel carb. to fuel injection, even if it means replacing the engine with a much newer one. I'd bet the car could be an awesome sleeper!
Just out of curoiusity, does anyone else hate it when people put absurdely large chrome wheels on classic cars?

Dreaming of a gentile rumble from a 460,
Dave
 
Jet------

I had a '68 Continental and it had a 460 in it as an "option" the first year offered! The standard engine was the old 462.That 460 powered Lincoln could pull a house down! That was without a doubt one of the most powerful cars (for its weight) I ever had and I've had a lot of 'em. Mom had a M-B 300SEL similar to my 4.5 ---- hers had a 6.3 engine in it and it was like riding the Space-Shuttle if you punched it!

I am glad I grew up in the era I did. Wonderful autos. I also had a lot of fun with all the commercial cars at the funeral home---limos, hearses, lead cars, etc. In the old days we had hearse/ambulance combo's as well. Those were quite powerful but watch out on a curve---they wallowed all over the place! Like most large American cars of the era----they wouldn't handle worth a damn!
 
Thanks Drhardee

I have referenced that site quite a bit while working on the A/C. I was trying to locate a POA valve (and find out what one is) and found some useful info on the site. POA valves are very hard to find or are expensive when you find them. So, I bought a conversion to delete it since I'm not fixing the car up for show. I will probably join the Lincoln Continental owner's club in the next year.

Currently, my dream Lincoln (see below) is on ebay, but I don't have the funds to get it. I'm guessing reserve is $10,000-$15,000 but these cars can bring quite a bit more.


5-22-2007-17-42-58--58limited.jpg
 
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Lincolns

I used to own an excellent condition, first series 1969 Lincoln Mark III, and of course it had the 460 engine.

Got about 5 miles a gallon, but even after 35 years (I sold it in 2004 after a year of owning it) that tank could sure take off like a rocket if need be.

I also much prefer the 460. The dumbed-down engine they forced on the public by 1979 produced little savings at the pump and big losses in power.

A shame made worse because the beautiful Collectors' Series was available only in 1979 before the Town Car was totally redesigned and downsized for 1980. At least the Mark VI survived until 1983.
 
Love that Mark III and Olds 98!

In 1968 my dad's best friend replaced his Continental four-door convertible with a triple black Mark III. At the time it looked so different from other American cars (aside from the '68 Grand Prix) that people would sometimes stop and stare at the Mark. Ever since then I've had a soft spot for a triple black Mark III . . . other colors just aren't the same!

The white Olds 98 brings back memories as well. My mother's best friend had that exact car, a white '65. I think the interior was blue. I remember many trips in the back seat of that car with my sister and the owner's two boys next to me. That 98 could seat four kids in the back with room to spare.

Regarding the Lincoln 430 and 462 V-8s, they aren't FE blocks, nor are they related to the later 429/460 engines. The 430 was brought out in '58 to power the all new unit-body '58 Lincolns. Nobody had ever built a unit body car that large, and Ford had no previous American experience with unit body cars. The result was that the body engineers had to keep adding steel to get adequate strength, and the cars became very, very heavy, even heavier than equivalent Cadillacs and Imperials. To move that weight around the engine was the largest automotive engine in the world in '58 and for several years afterwards. The 430 was also hugely heavy itself, the heaviest in the industry. It had one unusual feature in that the top of the deck isn't perpendicular to the cylinder walls, but rather has a slight angle. In that respect it is similar to the first-generation Chevy big block 348 introduced the same year. Presumably this was intended to reduce milling costs of the cylinder heads as then the heads could be flatter, with much of the wedge combustion chamber being formed in the block, but neither Ford nor Chevy ever did this again.

As noted above, the 430 was available in the '58-'60 Thunderbird as an option (which I believe is very rare), and was standard equipment in the TOL '59 and '60 Mercury Park Lane. One of the prime reasons for Edsel in the first place was to drive a wedge between Ford and Mercury and allow Mercury to be pushed upmarket into the Buick/Olds/Chrysler market, with Edsel eventually taking over the lower-end part of the Mercury range. As part of that plan, the '59 and '60 Mercurys were much larger than before (and much larger than Fords), and offering the largest engine in the industry as standard in the Park Lane was intended to cement Mercury's new position. Unfortunately for Ford, the Edsel flopped, Buick/Olds/Chrysler customers didn't notice how nice the Park Lane had become, and traditional Mercury customers mostly didn't want to spend the money for a Park Lane. So, after 1960 Mercurys were once again based more closely on Fords and the 430 was no longer available. It was dropped from the Thunderbird option list too and became a Lincoln only engine. In the mid '60s it was enlarged to 462 cubic inches, and soldiered on through the start of the 1968 model year at which point it was replaced by the Ford 460. The 460 was more modern, and the 429/460 family was used in Fords, Ford trucks, and Mercurys which undoubtedly made it a lot cheaper to build in contrast to a limited production Lincoln only engine.
 
Hydralique-----

Ooooooo yes, not long ago I saw a triple blue Merc Park Lane (looked to me like a '64) and it brought back some memories. And, yes it was a real "sleeper". The "Breeze-Way" rear window was so classic.They were great cars. A neighbor had one and I remember riding in it and thinking wow this is a really nice car.

Interesting discussion about the big-block V-8's.

I had been familiar with the ( 40's,50's and 60's) Packards, Cadillacs,Buicks,Oldsmobiles, etc. growing up,(my family was still angry at Henry Ford back then and didn't do Ford products) and did not really begin to notice the differences with the engines untill I was older and closer to driving age---then (like most teenagers) I REALLY got into it.

As a spoiled rotten JAP, my first car was a hand-me-down '67 Coupe de Ville, I got in (about) '69. It had a 429 in it and it was plenty fast. It did not, however, have that wonderful sound at idle that the 472 powered Cadillacs had. IMO the 472 powered Cadillacs from 1968-1971 were the best of the best Cadillac offered from that era. (The 1970 Eldo. 500 was a ROCKET and then they killed it the next year---duh!) I have owned many different old Cadillacs and the ones from that era just seemed to have superior performance.

In '68 My father and a "lodge buddy" of his, Frank Lowndes, both went to lunch one day and returned with new Buick Electras ---supposedly dad was talked into it----but nobody ever talked dad into anything---anyway, I think that it had a 430 V-8 in it and it seemed to me to be just as fast as a Cadillac with the 472. Maybe because the Buick was a few hundred pounds lighter.

In '70 dad was back in a 98 and that was one of the best old big GM's I remember. It had a 455 in it that seemed more powerful than a 472.It also had a wonderful purrrr to it. That car also had a better ride IMO than the Cadillac Sixty-Specials of that era, and by then I was driving them both. In fact, I remember many different people of that era that thought the 1970 Olds 98 was the best of the best! I certainly did. The 1970 Olds 98 C/B professional chassis hearse/ambulance would absolutely "pound the earth" with power and would blow the same vintage Cadillac off the road!

Much later, in the '80's I bought a '72 and a '74 Electra in rapid succession and they both had 455's, but were not nearly as powerful as those '70 98's. I think the horsepower had been diminished by pollution emission devices and later, just plain "de-rating".

In 1971 my best friend got a fabulous Lincoln Mark III (with a 460 in it) similar to the one pictured by Decodriveboy. The body was a creamy mint green with dark green vinyl top and dark green leather. Now that thing was a ROCKET! We used to FLY down Mt. Paran with that thing and that was an accomplishment as Mt. Paran is a very winding road! Ohhh--- how did we ever survive?!

Well into retirement dad started to get Lincolns. I ended up with a hand-me-down '79 Town Coupe of his. It had a 400 as mentioned by Hydralique, but was sluggish compared to those earlier cars I just discussed. It was, however, a very nice car and never gave a bit of trouble and was the largest Coupe I remember owning (I think wider and taller than a mid-seventies Eldo I had)and I am glad parking spaces were larger back in those days!

I then entered an era when I bought and "flipped" real cream-puff Cadillacs (and not a few 98's and Deuces)as I found a great source for them, and that was a lot of fun.

The next Lincoln I had was a '86 Cartier Town Car. It was very fast and nimble compared to the '79, a 5.0 litre V-8 . And was much more economical to operate----no doubt, the over-drive tranny had a lot to do with it, and that was another trouble-free car. I had that car when a golfing-buddy of my mother's told mom about her husband's '68 Lincoln. They were moving and he was looing his storage. Seems he had bought it brand new when he was fresh out of law school. He had found it at a dealership in Washington D.C., the only one of a group of identical Continentals that had been ordered by the government and not purchased. They all had black bodies (no vinyl top) and (the then "optional" Town Car) natural colored leather interior. They also all had the "optional" 460 V-8, offered on the Continentals that year. (The 460 was already standard on the "Mark" series.)Well I ended up buying it (sight unseen) and it was quite a surprise when I went to pick it up! Thinking I was going to have a "daily driver" I found I had a "museum quality" nearly brand new car on my hands! That 460 was incredibly powerful and I couldn't help but thinking it was actually more powerful than the old Cadillac 472's! It also got the worst fuel mileage of any car I ever had. (As Decodriveboy mentioned in his post.) I used to say it got about 6MPG down the "steep side of Stone Mountain". Oh, and nothing less than 91 octane please! I always ran Amoco 93.It was incredibly "over-built" mechanically and made me a nervous wreck as I did not trust anyone here in Atlanta at the time (about 1995) to work on it. The damn power-steering pump was driven off of the drive shaft for heavens sake! I ended up selling it to a Lincoln dealer building a new dealership to use as a "centerpiece" of his new car showroom. A relief to me as I was constantly worried it would get dings and chips!

The last of the great old GMs I had (it has been sold) was my '70 Coupe de Ville (see photo in my profile).It had one of those old 472's in it and that wonderful sound at idle------ that just wreaked "Cadillac". It was so much fun to drive and re-connect with that classic "instant" power!

So now I am left with just one classic, my '72 M-B. She is fast and way too thirsty---scary, scary.
I am so glad (and truly blessed) that I was able to experience so many of the cars from America's "golden era".And those old big block V-8's will always remain front and center in my memory.

(OMG! I just wrote a pocket-novel----honey puhleeeez-----don't tell Peter!)
 
V-8s and winding roads . . .

I'm not a V-8 guy at all, but have to admit to a bit of fun and hooliganism this weekend with a new Audi RS4. That is the top of the line A4 based model with a 420 hp V-8 shoehorned into the nose and the Quattro four wheel drive. Audi hopes to tempt a few potential BMW M3 buyers with it. All I know is that on a canyon road it is an absolute rocketship, especially in third gear. Passing someone is like 1-2-3: 1) downshift to 3rd 2) enjoy the torque curve that stays strong to way over 7000 rpm as you mash your foot into the carpet and listen to that nice V-8 moan 3) say OMG! when you shift into 4th and realize that you're kissing 100 and have two gears to go. It wasn't my car (actually it was an Audi owned executive car a friend had on loan . . . shhhhh . . . ) so I wasn't about to do anything stupid but what fun.

Unfortunately, when you're not pushing it, it is just another nice, plush, competant modern car. It doesn't feel special at lower speeds, which makes it boring most of the time. One of the nice things about older cars is that they can feel special even just pottering around, and you can have fun without losing your license.
 
One thing on my mind

Did anybody else feel frustrated by the too-tall dashboards on the Lincolns beginning in the late 1960's? I practically needed a booster seat to drive my Mark III.

If I ever bought another Lincoln, it would probably be a 1962 or 1963 Continental...not only did it have a low dash, but awesome suicide doors, and very cool 3-sided AC vents (dont know what they are called exactly). If it had come with concealed headlights that would have been absolutely perfect.
 
With a six-way power seat, I always have the habit of raising the power-seat vertically to its highest adjustment and then adjusting the forward/rear and tilt. Same with the four way I always prefer to set the seat as high as possible. I find this always helps me to have good visibility especially down those long hoods.
 

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