Smokestone10

I'll never understand why - 1. Car manufacturers pump engine noise into the cabin, or 2. Why they put a in a fake engine noise that plays through the speakers. One of the reasons I bought a damned Lincoln in the first place is because they're quiet. If I wanted a car that sounded like a Shelby... I'd just buy a Shelby. If it were my car I'd have had that little "feature" permanently disabled some time ago. ?

Speaking of that lousy old Pyro-based kit, I just picked up three built examples as rebuilders today. Here they are on the trunk lid of my MKZ.

I"ve had my 2010 AWD for just over year now. The "new" feeling has worn off, but unlike many of my previous cars, the charm of the car is still totally intact. It still irks the living hell out of me when it's dirty, and I haven't started skimping on the regular maintenance schedule like I have so many times in the past. The car now has 130,000 miles, and is free of squeaks and rattles unless it's really cold out. Most of those go away once the interior warms up too. Other than basic wear and tear items I haven't had to put much money into it as far as repairs. My PTU burned out this summer, but my extended warranty covered that. I can say many good things about the dealer and my warranty (Alpha), but the repair took the better part of a week because O'Reilly Auto Parts forgot to send out the PTU the first time. I also had the rear differential seals replaced, as they were starting to weep a bit, and had the right front wheel bearing replaced. I did those out of pocket just to get them done more quickly than going through the warranty company. Just today I replaced the brake light switch myself... that was nice, easy three-minute job! With this car I found out how uncooperative State Farm can be, after I nailed a train track on a washed-out street and wiped out both passenger's side tires (which had less than 3,000 miles on them) and both wheels. After getting that fixed I switched insurance providers. You'd think after being a loyal customer for almost two decades (next April would have marked 20 years of me using State Farm) and putting up with increasing rates a company would be more willing to work with you, but nope! And by the way- I'm now paying about fifty bucks less per month, and my deductible is half of what it was with State Farm. For a nearly-ten year old car with 130k, I'm impressed with how well my little Z has held up. I do wish the CD4 rocker panels were a bit more weather tight, as my car is going to need rockers pretty shortly. What irks me is that my brother's Fusion is four years older and has nearly twice as many miles, and while my rockers are rusting, the rockers on his junker are perfect. Every other panel on his is messed up, but those rockers are cherry. ? And I love how everyone knocks Lincolns for being Ford based, but I don't need to tell any of you here that when the time comes for repair or service, that works in your favor. And if you have the repair or service done at the dealer, the car gets a wash. As of right now I have every intention of sticking with Lincolns for my daily drivers. Not sure what the future holds for the MKZ, but I'm hoping the future for my personal MKZ is bright enough.

Just did a somewhat relevant new post on my website. It just so happens my first disappointing scale model purchase was a Lincoln kit. http://chuckmost.wixsite.com/madhouse-miniatures/single-post/2019/11/09/Sht-Kits--Lindberg-1948-Lincoln-Continental

Speaking of cats... mine is the worst wash mit ever.

Well.... I don't hate it. I'm more put off by the front plate bracket. States that require front plates really need to cede from the union. ?

I got the car back Thursday, and everything is great. Funny thing is- the car always had a very slight buzz every so often at certain speeds. Barely audible but there. That buzzing sound is gone now. Kinda makes me wonder if the PTU was on it's way out the whole time.

I was one of the people convinced it would never happen, given GM's legendary stubbornness and refusal to change. Feels ok to be proved wrong this time.

I'm just shocked at how the ultimate Boomer car has become the anti Boomer car. It's getting so much backlash from Vette purists I lone it. ?

I'll be keeping a closer eye on that from here on out. Hopefully the car will be out of the shop today or Monday.

Thursday I took my 2010 in for it's oil change and tire rotation. The tech informed me of a weepy rear diff seal, which I've known about for a while, and let me know my rear pads are due for replacement, but had some really bad news. My PTU decided to barbecue itself. I knew that was a common flaw on my car, but even that doesn't seem to soften the blow too much. Not really looking for advice or tips- the car will be headed to the shop tomorrow to get the ball rolling. More than anything, I just wanted to vent. Much like my PTU did with it's fluid. ? Other than this incident, however, I still have absolutely zero regrets getting the car. And I'm happy I've managed to keep it looking good for this long too.

Sounds spot-on. Chrysler.... designed by experts, assembled by amateurs.

Uuuuuuuhhhhhhh.... no. Also, am I the only one who thinks the MKZ is the better looking of the two? I like the Connie's tail light treatment, but the nose and overall proportions of the MKZ just look better to me.

If you want the factory part, you can only get part of the rocker- the rear third or so, which comes with the entire rear quarter. And they're about 1200 bucks. So.... yeah. I'm thinking of ordering a set of aftermarket rockers to see how they look, as my '10 has a few nasty bubbles in the rockers. The aftermarket pieces are the entire rocker and cost less than 100 from what I see online.

The junky blue '62 has been reborn as a period-style custom, and I also recently wrapped up a crusty '41 Connie lead-sled

My next car will be a 2018 MKZ. In about eight years when I can get one with 112k on it like I did with my 2010. ? Or maybe I'll find a nice low-mile Continental Black Label. I have a few years to make up my mind.

Two more recently completed '65's- both done as open limos for a historical sightseeing tour. They're part of an ongoing series of models I'm doing and both were made from cast-offs and spare parts.

Recently picked up another original AMT annual '62, a convertible this time. It needs a total resto but I think I can do something with it.

And finally... a beater '65 that was built from spares and finished a few days ago, and yet another original annual kit, this time a '68 in terrible need of a rebuild.

I promised a few more Lincoln model photos, and today I finally dug a few of them out. I apologize for the dust on some of them. This is the oldest one I have, a 1960 Continental annual kit by AMT, which I purchased years ago from a collector. I (re)built this one about ten years ago, and it's about due for another rebuild, due to it's condition and the fact my skills have gotten better in the years since. When I got it much of the interior was missing, and the side trim had been sanded off, so I went with a very mild custom style, and rebuild most of the missing interior components with parts from the common-as-dirt AMT '57 Chrysler kit. The boot came from a reissued '59 Imperial. This '62 also began as a junker- it had been painted and partially assembled, then put away in the box for years. I stripped the paint, did some disassembly here and there, and did it as a modern custom. The original builder had converted it into a hardtop by clipping out the b-posts. I liked the look, so I kept it. If I remember, the copper hue I used was actually VHT header paint. The '69, like the '60 and '62, began as an original AMT annual kit, but this was an untouched original kit when I got it. Kit collectors just love it when you actually build them. ? Again I went the mild custom route, with a matched padded top, lowered suspension, and Kelsey-Hayes mags from the '66 Mercury kit stuffed into the original 1969 tampo-printed Firestone narrow white walls. This one is a tad embarrassing. I built it around 2006 as a hot rod, using the chintzy oversized wheels from one of the AMT/Ertl American Hot Rod kits, and a small block Ford V8, along with the "standard resto rod paint scheme" of cream and brown. Though the hood binds, the functional midship jump seats and foot rest sort of operate.

I've devoured this post, because my 2010 AWD has a vibration I can't feel, but I can see and hear it. Let me explain- at certain speeds (normally low speeds, say below 40 MPH) I can see the rearview mirror vibrate, and the leather on the passenger's side seat bouncing a little. Like I said, I can't feel anything, but something is rattling that mirror and seat. This happens no matter what type of surface I'm on. And the there's a sort of buzzy, whirring sound, like an old heater blower motor, coming from somewhere when I accelerate or decelerate. That is a more intermittent problem and I haven't noticed it at any certain type of speed. It's just loud enough to be annoying sometimes. The sound seems to come from the center of the car, under the floor. I'm thinking I might have the driveshaft issue, but I'm going to wait until I get the tires rotated before I proceed any further, just in case.

Same here. I've wanted that Johan '66 Toronado kit for years... mostly because it's slightly more attainable and practical than a real '66 Toro would be. ? Closest I have is the '70 Eldorado kit, which was a spin-off of the Toro kit. Just like the real cars, the kits share a lot of the mechanical components. Johan cut some corners though- the Eldorado still has the Olds V8- all they did was add Cadillac scripts to the valve covers. Maybe they could see into the future of the late '70's, when come Cadillacs were buitl with Olds powerplants. It was pretty common for kit manufacturers to change things like that... after all, they didn't think there'd still be interest in the subject matter 50 years down the road! Olds kits are pretty abundant- Revell just did an all new '50 coupe and '72 Cutlass Convertible (both in two versions) and an '83 Hurst/Olds not too long ago. One of these days I'd like to take the AMT '66 4-4-2 and modify it into a four-door Cutlass like the one I used to have. Just for fun... here's a '70 Eldo I have. Yes, it's rare kit, and yes, I 'ruined' it by building it. ?I went with a "tattered Mary Kay special" theme. 1970 Cadillac Eldorado by Chuck Most, on Flickr

Judging by your screen name, I'm guessing at least a few of them are Oldsmobiles? ? The old Johan Toros can fetch a surprising amount. Then again, almost any Johan kit will bring decent cash these days.

I'll need to see if I can drag out a few of the other Lincolns I've got and get some pictures posted up. If you want to get into the modeling hobby and want to put a limit on your purchases a good way to do it would be to stick to readily-available Lincoln subjects. ?

Some of them certainly might be. There are quite a few kits that were either only issued once, or haven't been reissued in 30+ years. That and a lot of it depends on subject matter. About ten years ago I snagged a mint, unbuilt '69 Continental "annual" kit by AMT for fifty bucks and I feel like I got it for a steal at that price. And yes, I did build it. There are guys who just collect unbuilt kits and, boy, does it ever rustle their jimmies when you actually build a rare oldie like that. ?