Just over a year ago, I entertained the idea of getting involved with a Reliability Run event with the, 39. Trouble was, It was interstate, and I had only owned the car for a year, I was still getting things dialed in. My confidence in not breaking down was questionable, to say the least. The end result was the event didn't go ahead which gave me some breathing space to get the running gear to the stage I could trust it. Phew !!! The sands of time passed and we arrived at a point where I had made some progress on suspension, brakes, steering, and the engine. Thankfully the opportunity came around again to get to the event. This time we were only a four-hour drive away and my confidence in getting there...participating ...and getting home was much better. In the months leading up, I had increased the test drive distances and events we went to two hours. This meant four hours was really possible. The event was the Gold Coast Reliability Run (GCRR), Winter's Edition and we had such a great time. Met great people and saw some terrific cars in action over the weekend. One week before a Rod Show two hours from home. Things were looking up. Final checks the day before..... Final test drive... At the GCRR -38 Lincon-Zephyr OzMerc
Winter's Edition, named for Dave Winter, RIP. (32 sedan w/early hemi) I saw Les (David's brother) yesterday. Good to see him back in the country and out in the car.
Just saw Les Winter at the Gathering at the Roc He definately gets around Glad to see him driving his brothers car
That Merc has such beautiful lines, bringing them out like they did here is the way to do it. This custom doesn't need a bunch of chrome do dads hung all over it..
No worries at all. Loved everything and every minute and of course the chilling out Friday and Saturday nights.
Man you are so right. I hear so many people say that this is the way they should have looked from the factory. It took wild customs of the 50's for people to realise that. We owe so much to that generation of Rodders & Custom enthusiasts.
Cheers Hotrodderman ... thank you for those kind words. She drops jaws every where she goes here downunder.
Hahaha ... oh don't I know it !!! She is the woman of my dreams and we share equal parts in each other's passion for cars and motoring.
@OzMerc39, the gamble paid off...looks like an event not to miss...ever...great eye and camerawork...thanks for sharing...the two images above were not showing...why?...not sure but here they are...
Now that’s one you print and frame! glad you took the car and have that confidence in it now. From here the world awaits!
Thank you Tim. I agree, I might just do that. We are finding that we like the more traditional events and groups. The Gold Coast Run is most certainly low key and a ton of fun.
With a successful weekend at the 2022 Gold Coast Reliability Run, I like to go over the car front to back and see what is wearing, rubbing, working its way loose, or just plain broken. Thankfully the list was fairly short. The 8BA breathes fairly heavily and I definitely need to do something about the fumes getting into the cab. I fitted a new fan belt prior and this rubbed through one of the spark plug leads. An idler pulley should fix that. Fuel economy wasn't too bad but I feel that I can improve through reco of the carbs and ignition timing. I think I will fit a second fuel filter at the tank end, as there is some very fine silt getting to the carb. I fitted a temp fan shroud in the grille area and this definitely helped with running temps in traffic. The rear main seal is on its way out. Some Moreys oil additive helped slow the oil loss overall. Overall though the car rode as well as traditional customs ride (no airbags here), the long wheelbase helps. Some work on the steering box to control the wandering will assist as will a better set of rubber. All these things go on the watch list as I work towards the next event in a couple of months.
No worries here is a deserved explanation. The Firestone 6.00-16 92P tyres are tired. They have been on the car since Steve's build back in 2014. The tread is low and they track wheel ruts heavilly, particularly on the single-lane portions of the highway were trucks create them. The profile is high and the walls are soft at 4ply, tyre roll when cornering (even at low speeds) is more than I like, as I can hear the fronts rubbing on the guards. The tyres are ok cruising around the suburbs at 80kmh and below but I feel that stability above that speed on the highway could be made better with some better tyres. Hope this helps.
Keep the points and hide a Capacitive Discharge box or get a tach sender and put the CD inside it. Those things really clean and engine up. My machinist was showing me the difference between heads from a Capacitive Discharge ignition and a regular HEI, Points or Pertronix. It was amazing how clean the Capacitive Discharge heads were. The clean heads were from an old build. They had a single points distributor and a 60s Tiger CD box. I think the heads were from a Dodge 413 maybe that had something to do with it.
It looks like it was a good weekend! I saw your Merc @ Rattletrap from a distance, we were racing so were caught up with that & didn't get a closer look.
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