I might have a deal on a V 12 lincoln But I dont know anything about them.Are they just a long flat head ford? Or are they completly different?I dont imagine that there is much speed equipment for them.Ive never heard one run but Ive heard a V16 caddy run and that is one sweet sound.I dont know if I can resist.(like I need more stuff around here)Whats your opinion?
V-12 Lincolns were noted for having many mechanical faults designed into them from the factory. In an article printed years ago, it said it was 1938 before FoMoCo released a shop manual for them because so many things were changed during the first 2 years of production to improve them. Huge numbers of the Continentals and Zephyrs had Ford or Merc V-8s installed to keep them running, and many Cad and Olds OHV conversions were seen. If you find early copies of Motor Trend, Hot Rod, and Motor Life, the Continentals in the classified ads are almost all V-8 powered. The speed equipment industry all but ignored them, mainly because it was a waste of time to try to modify a worthless engine. Today, there are people who can make them reasonably reliable, if cost is no object. They were probably most noted as being a very smooth, quiet engine ... if they ran ... the distributors were used by several pioneer speed equipment makers for V-8 conversions. 302
Do a search - here's a couple to get you started: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82453&highlight=lincoln+flathead+v-12 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61268&highlight=lincoln+flathead+v-12 Like many ancient engines long out of production word-of-mouth becomes myth, myth becomes legend, & legend becomes truth... ...it will be an expensive endeavor.
One big problem, as I recall, was warping the heads and blowing head gaskets. If it was me, I'd leave it for the resto guys and build a 239 (or a V8-60!)
I heard one running once it was in a 39 Zephyr damn it sounded good. oter than that I dont know shit out about em. Dawg
In the owner's manual of my 48 Continental there was a recommendation to pull over and cool it off occasionally if in heavy traffic. What a way to sell a car huh? For the record though, when I bought it it had been converted to a Cad V8. I basically hated the car to drive but I sure liked the looks of it. Made a handsome profit off of it too.
They share almost nothing with a standard flat head. They take a special jig to bore the block. They are not a 90 degree engine. I think they are 60 degree. One of my friends did one for a tractor puller a few years ago. The owner bought a block from somebody in the LA area that has a collection of this stuff. He sent an owners manual for us to copy. There was lots of interesting stuff in it. Enter at your own risk.
only thing i know about lincoln v12 is that Charlie Ryan shortened a lincoln chassis 2 feet and put a model a body on in back in the forties.He is in his late 80s and still has it!Bye the way Commander Cody may have made the song HotRod Lincoln famous But Charlie Ryan wrote it and still performs it live and still tours with The HotRod Lincoln
I saw the Hot Rod Lincoln at a west coast car show in 1961. Charlie even sang the song at the show! He started her up and gunned it a little, still remember the throb.Cool car, cool dude.
I never met one in person, but everything that I have read over the last 50 years has indicated that in stock form they were relatively weak motors. They had very small bore cylinders and they did not breath particularly well. They would certainly be a unique engine in a rod, but might prove to be a real bitch in terms of reliability and finding replacement parts.
I read that they're the reason George Hurst went into the conversion motor mount business. There were all these nice Lincolns with lunched V12s lying around, so he proceeded to make mounts to bolt an OHV Olds or Cad in them, and the rest is history.
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