I have recently located a 1946 Lincoln Coupe. It has a bellybutton 350/350 already installed, other than that, I don't know too much about it other than what pics I have seen of the car, which were pretty good. Owner says it needs brake work, possibly bleeding. I figure all the rubber stuff needs replacing, maybe brake shoes too. Is the 46 Lincoln stuff the same as 46 Ford stuff? Are factory style brake parts hard to find? I don't know if the rear was changed or not, but my plans would be to swap in a Ford 8" later on. Will the Speedway disc brake kits work on the front spindles? Or are Lincolns orphans with their own parts that don't interchange with other Ford brand stuff? I haven't decided to buy it yet, your answers will help me to decide. Thanks
Lincoln brakes are entirely different from Ford. Search Lincoln brake parts on here...there have been listings of current sources of parts. Ford aftermarket disc kits should work, I think, but might alter front width...not sure exactly how the different setbacks on Ford and Lincoln would play out! Rear is almost certainly changed to something else since there is an open drive trans... crawl under and see what's there. Rear is about 80% different from '46 Ford. Lincolns are a mix of Ford and Lincoln-only parts, but most of what might have some interchange is gone from yours. There is some swappability in suspension stuff...most of this really requires looking at the parts in '36-48 Lincoln catalog to tell source of the pats.
Hummn, I hadn't thought about a possible difference in track width. I'm thinking safety here, the Lincoln is a big car, so I want it to be able to stop safely. I'm going to look at it tomorrow, will crawl underneath and see what's down there....
On the front...spindle bolt pattern is same as Ford, but stock L backing plate is deeply recessed and set back. I am tired and having trouble thinking through implications of bolting on a Ford conversion...gotta be a way to work it out, though. Lincoln rear...to ID what you have under there...is in 3 sections across the car, like early Ford but with a low pinion. I think it is unlikely that it has been converted to use an open trans, especially one with no overdrive. So, since to torque tube is in there, you also need to see how suspension is located and hung.
I have a 47 Lincoln sedan, found most parts are different. I was also surpised to find it is also unibody construction, body all welded to the frame.
....I did a frame swap on mine to undo a really dangerous MII clip installation by the previous owner. I swapped a '56 Lincoln chassis which had a wheelbase difference of 1" which is not noticeable under fenderskirts. The track was very similar in both. The worst part was cutting out the stock frame from the body (I still have nightmares). Mine is a full kustom, chopped, lowered, '49 Cad grille, etc.....they resemble a mid-forties Ford on steroids -longer, wider, taller.....
I read through several threads on here today, some say the Ford stuff will swap over, some say it won't. I don't really want to do the Mustang II deal just to get disc brakes, prefer to stay with the straight axle. I'd rather it look pretty much stock on the outside, with upgraded brakes and power, and since it already has the power, it needs to stop good. I may be over thinking this, the stock Lincoln drums may be fine. I also read where a lot of guys go to the Lincoln stuff for the larger brakes. I'd like to see pics of that Cad grill. Bet it looks better than the stock piece.
This is purely speculation on my part, but what about adapting Ford F100 or F150 spindles to your axle? Up to 1979 Ford pickups had a twin I beam front axle that used a spindle very similar to yours. If they could be fitted to your axle you would have modern disc brakes and heavy duty hubs and bearings. The same 5 bolt, 4 1/2" circle, wheel bolt pattern as Ford cars, not sure what bolt pattern Lincoln used back then. You would have to compare king pin and bushing sizes and possibly ream out the axle or sleeve it with a bushing. You would also have to check the king pin inclination and possibly bend the axle slightly to correct this. Most likely they would be the same or maybe differ by a degree or 2. Worth looking into? The next idea would be to install a new front suspension cross member, the late model Ford Crown Vic has a nice one with disc brakes and rack and pinion steering that is popular for swaps. Either one would be strong enough for a heavy car.
I think with a 350/350 you have an open driveline, which means the rear suspension is probably changed from the cross spring. Check the work out carefully.
...anything would be an improvement over the stock grille. I used a '49 Cadillac grille due to it's tradition on '40's/early '50's customs. I also think late 40's Chevrolet and Olds could work. Here is a pic as it currently stands (everything is jammed in my garage for the winter) as I do some front end bodywork. I narrowed the middle and top grille bars to fit well between the headlights (a full '49 Cad grille interferes with the headlights). Also, the hood had to be shortened 4" due to the large overhang.... ...sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread on brakes...
I went and looked the car over today. Somebody has spent some money on the car in the past. Looks as though it a been sitting a while now though, so it needs some TLC. Chevy V8 and trans looks like a good install. All front end is factory Lincoln, even the wishbone wasn't split. Rear was changed to a 8" or 9" Ford, couldn't get under far enough to see. It's narrow with the stock steel wheels, as you can see in the pic of how far the tire is from the outside of the fender. Will need some offset wheels or a rear end change to a wider rear to get them back out where they belong. Rear spring has been replaced with a set of parallel leafs. All the welds I saw were mig, with good quality. All in all, I'd say somebody put a lot of money in this car, got it painted and re-upholstered, then left it parked outside a long time. There are multiple rust bubbles at the fender seams and the drip rail, but no rust through yet, metal seems solid. It will have to be taken down to bare metal and brought back up.
The original brakes are a good strong brakes if you have good drums and linings properly adjusted. When my girlfriends Dad brought his 46 Continental thru the state inspection they put it on the brake test machine and had him hit his brakes. It stopped so well the tester yelled at him that he would break the test machine. Pure stock but properly set up and all new linings and hydraulics. Disc brakes are great for fade resistance but are not that much better for pure stopping of a properly set up/maintained vehicle.
I had a 46 ford 350/350 9inch with Lincoln brakes on front and stopped on a dime, there bendix and parts should available ...I would rebuilt them and run them
....maybe something in this thread could help..... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=779785
I sent an email to Speedway and this is the response I got back: "From information available it appears that the Lincoln spindle differed from Ford but if you can verify that your spindles matches all the dimensions as the Ford then the kit will work. Track width on a 48” axle is 56.66” or from kingpin centerline out to wheel mount surface is 4.33” per side for a total of 8.66”. Another notation on this kit is that it is designed for cast on steering arms and will not work with bolt on with the exception to the flat plate steering arms. Speedway offers other kits that work on the Early Ford spindles if your Lincoln spindles will match up and have the 3 3/8” center to center both vertical and horizontal for the backing plates. Thank you, Speedway Motors" OK, it looks like the backing plate holes are the same on Ford's and Lincolns. Question is, are the spindles the same size? Anybody have a set of 46-48 Lincoln spindles they can measure and compare to 46-48 Ford spindles? I don't have anything other than a tape measure to measure mine with right now.
Spindles have very different kingpin angles. Stock '42-8 Lincoln brakes are deep dished set back...don't know how this would play out with disc location on a disc brake kit. (flange bolt pattern is same as Ford)
Sounds like the caliper brackes would place the caliper too far back then. I'll probably just stick with the stock stuff.
The 46 to 48 Lincoln are the medium dish, the king Pin inclination is 1 1/2 degrees different than 46 to 48 Ford and the King Pin diameter is larger than the Ford. Those Lincoln brakes are the self energizing Bendix style and will work great if they are set up correctly.
Thanks, that helps my search for a rear end, I can rule out any with disc brakes then. Don't want disc on back and not the front too.
I found a 67 Fairlane 8" this weekend, going to go pull it next weekend. It measures 59", so it's just right.
Yeah, I was here when I found the other place. Come on down one Saturday, A extra set of eyes is always helpful!
Its work in progress but very drivable. Chopped 5" front 3" rear and rear window lowered 2". I'm looking for a rear bumper to put on the front.
bgbdlinc had asked for more pics a while back, I can't seem to attach them to a private message, so posted here.
I know this is an old but interesting thread. 47 Lincoln I have has got Ranger front end and Explorer rear which allows for 4 wheel disc brakes. rides and drives and stops great
The Lincoln brakes are completely different from the Ford brakes. They are a Bendix design as compared to a Lockheed design. I don’t think any of the parts interchange. They are far superior to the brakes used on the Fords. They are so much better and so many people are using them that almost all of the parts are being reproduced. Many of the parts are available from auto parts stores if you know what to ask for (see the archives). The only part that is probably not reproduced is the backing plates with the deep inset as everyone uses the ones with the shallow inset (which may be what you already have, I can't remember if the shallow inset was early of late). Contact Richard Lacy at earlyv8@aol.com, (626) 338-2282, or MT Car Products at mtcarproduct.com for support. You should find a lot of information on these brakes by using the search here and on fordbarn.com. Rebuild your brakes and if you don't like them you should be able to get your money back selling them to someone upgrading an early Ford. Charlie Stephens
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