Mark's Monster Garage....3800 sq ft
- Thread starter IGO2XS
- Start date
I wanted to follow up my progress on the Lincoln. As I mentioned a last week the Lincoln died on me and after some trial and error I figured out it was because of a vapor lock condition. I had some insulation on the fuel lines and even on the fuel pump and damn if the car was not starting. I ended up purchasing an inline electric fuel pump I mounted back by the fuel tank. I was able to still use the factory fuel line to the front and I bypassed the factory fuel pump. It has worked like a charm ever since I did this so I couldnt be happier. The car came with a electrical issue as well as this fuel issue and I solved both of them so I know feel comfortable taking my wife and mom places in the car.
This past Wednesday I brought the van back from West Palm. We spent the last 3 weekends preparing for it to come back to my house. There was alot to check out considering we pretty much built this van from the ground up. I took it for a 10 mile cruise yesterday and boy you couldnt smack the smile off my face. It sounds killer and certainly performs like a muscle car. I had so much fun that we I got home I opening a paddle shifter box I had been saving for the Corvette. The 4L80 transmission was screaming for a paddle shifter!!! The steering wheel was an important decision and I wanted to go with Billet Specialties. The paddle shifter mounts under the steering wheel so its easy to reach. I cant wait to try it out.
This past Wednesday I brought the van back from West Palm. We spent the last 3 weekends preparing for it to come back to my house. There was alot to check out considering we pretty much built this van from the ground up. I took it for a 10 mile cruise yesterday and boy you couldnt smack the smile off my face. It sounds killer and certainly performs like a muscle car. I had so much fun that we I got home I opening a paddle shifter box I had been saving for the Corvette. The 4L80 transmission was screaming for a paddle shifter!!! The steering wheel was an important decision and I wanted to go with Billet Specialties. The paddle shifter mounts under the steering wheel so its easy to reach. I cant wait to try it out.
Horror Business
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
- Messages
- 511
Post plenty of pics of the finished van, inside and out. Please and thank you.
casmurbax
Well-known member
Hi Uncle Mark,
I can't wait to see that van. Glad you got the Lincoln issues solved!
Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the van.
I can't wait to see that van. Glad you got the Lincoln issues solved!
Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the van.
I hope everyone is doing well. I thought I had the Lincoln fixed and then it died on me while driving a few days ago. My brother took it on a 2 hour cruise with no problem and you might know when I take my wife on a cruise it dies. Maybe the 300 amp master battery relay I have in the engine compartment is getting hot and interrupting the ground (I am switching the negative side and not the positive side. Anyway luckily I already had my trailer out and we were only 4 miles from home. I had my trailer out earlier in the day to tow a buddy of mines Ford Cobra. He had a coolant hose blow off. I got lots of thumbs up with this rig.
Bighead38
Well-known member
Not really, but your thread and pictures help distract me for a few minutes to feel better for a couple moments.I hope everyone is doing well.
I am not sure what is going on in your life but my wish it is just a temporary struggle. I know I had a period in my life a few years ago that was absolutely dreadful and I wondered when it would end. I fought even though I did not know the way out and somehow someway I passed through to the other side. I hope you pass through sometime soon and I know you will be a better person because of it.
I just heard from Chris Coddington on a new set of wheels I purchased for the van and they shipped out Friday. I went to a 19 x 8 in the front and a massive 24x14 in the rear. I guess I wanted that hot wheels car look and I cant wait. I will put my original set of wheels on eBay to sell as I wont need them. I am going to take a hit on them because although there is 100% tread left they are considered used. I did manage to get the guys started on my interior. If the truth were known I was say I will have 3 to 4 more months until the van is finished. The interior guys started on my seats but I think they want to show some activity to give me patience but I know better. LOL Its a double diamond stitch and did something not so common the the stitching on the bolsters instead of down the middle. We dont have a plan per se just a direction and I will look forward to what we come up with. P.S. the seats are out of a 2014 Camaro. We will be making custom headrests for the seats so they dont look like factory seats.
Horror Business
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- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
- Messages
- 511
Best recovery vehicle ever!
jbmatth
Well-known member
If I ever have my cobra in the area I hope that is the tow truck that shows up. Love it! The seats are turning out great as well.
JB
JB
plain2car
Well-known member
Mark, I am sure you did get alot of looks for the tow rig... BUT! I think that it would have been even cooler if you just "pulled" the cobra onto the back of the tow rig... and then put the lincoln on the trailer & killed 2 birds with one stone.... LOL!! seriously though I doubt if it mattered which vehicle was being assisted that you would get the "thumbs up" no matter what!!... I have a feeling that where ever you go that you always get a thumbs up though!... 
Mark, I am sure you did get alot of looks for the tow rig... BUT! I think that it would have been even cooler if you just "pulled" the cobra onto the back of the tow rig... and then put the lincoln on the trailer & killed 2 birds with one stone.... LOL!! seriously though I doubt if it mattered which vehicle was being assisted that you would get the "thumbs up" no matter what!!... I have a feeling that where ever you go that you always get a thumbs up though!...
For some reason people seem to like the 54 Ford. Stoplights, parking lots, car shows.........you name it but I find it makes a lot of people smile.
My wife is the best because we just got back from a trip to Tennessee for a truck show. Seeing I just got my truck finished up the car guy in me wants to show it off. The show was in Pigeon Forge and we decided to get there a few days early. Boy was I surprised when a rod run was going on. It had never been to this one and all I can say is they lined the sides of the main drag there in PF for miles. For 2 nights we just cruised up and down the strip like the old days. The show was last Saturday so the next morning we got up and went to Gatlinburg for a few hours. We road this ski lift so we could act like tourists and then we enjoyed a nice hamburger for lunch. We had about 4 hours to get to Nashville so we headed there that Sunday afternoon about 3:30. I will say driving the narrow roads and busy streets is a real treat in my truck. We only had a few hours in PF +- but we are going back because I want to ride one of those UTV's and ride the back roads. Any way we got to Nashville Sunday night and decided to go to Morton's Steakhouse. Just about every tme I go to an expensive steak house I say we could have gone to Longhorn 2 or 3 times. No one thought it was funny when I picked my wife up at Mortons front door and proceeded to honk the air horn............people jumped. One guy gave me this...........
. We got up this past Monday in Nashville and it was pouring rain so sight seeing and outdoor activities was out of the question. We visited a guy who worked for us at GodSpeed Rides and I dropped my wife off to shop while I went to another hotrod shop. We ended up taking off so we could start our way back to Florida a day early.
I got back home and I had a call my my trailer hitch had arrived. I decided to go pick it up and wow is it big. LOL Its made by Gen V and they call it their Torsion Hitch. It suppose to make bumper pulling smoother. My truck bed is way to tall for a 5th wheel or gooseneck so I thought this might be the next best thing. It was right around $1200 for the hitch, braces, and two stainless locks. It took 2 guys to put this hitch on alone with the support rods. I think I could pull a damn house down.......its a 15" drop rated at 16,000 lbs. I also got their step so I can get in the truck bed. Jumping up 4 to 5 feet is not going to happy. LOL.
I dont know if I mentioned this or not so forgive me if you can. I decided the 18x7 and the 20x14 HRBB wheels were not big enough so I called Chris up and ordered 19x8 for the front and 24x14 for the back. I dont have them mounted up yet but I had to set them under the van to visualize. I know this might not be most peoples cup of tea but I love the 24x14 with the 345/25-24 tire. I think it will look like a hot wheels car.
One guy gave me this............ We got up this past Monday in Nashville and it was pouring rain so sight seeing and outdoor activities was out of the question. We visited a guy who worked for us at GodSpeed Rides and I dropped my wife off to shop while I went to another hotrod shop. We ended up taking off so we could start our way back to Florida a day early.I got back home and I had a call my my trailer hitch had arrived. I decided to go pick it up and wow is it big. LOL Its made by Gen V and they call it their Torsion Hitch. It suppose to make bumper pulling smoother. My truck bed is way to tall for a 5th wheel or gooseneck so I thought this might be the next best thing. It was right around $1200 for the hitch, braces, and two stainless locks. It took 2 guys to put this hitch on alone with the support rods. I think I could pull a damn house down.......its a 15" drop rated at 16,000 lbs. I also got their step so I can get in the truck bed. Jumping up 4 to 5 feet is not going to happy. LOL.
I dont know if I mentioned this or not so forgive me if you can. I decided the 18x7 and the 20x14 HRBB wheels were not big enough so I called Chris up and ordered 19x8 for the front and 24x14 for the back. I dont have them mounted up yet but I had to set them under the van to visualize. I know this might not be most peoples cup of tea but I love the 24x14 with the 345/25-24 tire. I think it will look like a hot wheels car.
Terrick down Under
Well-known member
Love the Van and your COE. Did the Hitch come with the extra diagonal bars?
I finally got the new wheels and boy do they look nice. I have about 3/4" tolerance to the sides and not much more than 1" from front to back. Wow they are almost too close but I love the look. HRBB wheels shared a photo of the van and it was shared 1000's of time which made me feel good. I the the almost cartoon size wheels on the back really make it stand out. I dropped the driveshaft off to be balanced and I hope in 2 weeks I can get Doug to finish a short mechanical check list, tune the motor and transmission, and get the paddle shift up and running. The plan is December 1 the interior work will be begin. Hoping by February 1 for it to be ready to travel to some shows.
Boosted1
Well-known member
Looks good.
I finally got my 63 vette back last week. By me changing my mind on the motor it created a lot more work. It took extra time to get the motor and parts. They had to fabricate a new firewall and get pretty clever with the install. It's been a little over a year that Rothspeed had the car.....wow time flies! I am up in Indiana this week farming and I will have to take a picture of the tractor I am
driving. I like to come up in the fall to help my friend with the harvest. I don't get paid for it I just love to drive tractors.
driving. I like to come up in the fall to help my friend with the harvest. I don't get paid for it I just love to drive tractors.
jbmatth
Well-known member
I was skeptical on the wheels at first, but they do look pretty slick on the van. There is something very nice about a little tractor theropy...as long as you don't have to do it all day everyday.
JB
JB
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'm not usually one who likes those "cartoon~ish" style of wheels but they work on that van. Proportionately as well as theme wise I think.
Nice looking projects for sure.
Nice looking projects for sure.
BORING HOP YARD
Well-known member
The van is looking really nice, great work Mark.
Keep on Trucking!
Keep on Trucking!
I am using my iPhone to make my posts and I haven't figured out how to post multiple pictures so please bear with me. Here is a picture of the tractor I am driving. It's one of those track machines and the cool thing about it is the GPS steering. Once I make the turn at the end of a row I point it generally in the right direction and push a button so it steers a straight line across the field.
I have some updates on the Corvette and the Lincoln I want to share with u guys this week. Lots of cool stuff happening
I have some updates on the Corvette and the Lincoln I want to share with u guys this week. Lots of cool stuff happening
BORING HOP YARD
Well-known member
We must have been close to the same year in High school (77 grad).
Vans were very popular when I was in school a buddy of mine had a keep on trucking license plate frame on his Dodge shorty van. His frame had keep on trucking plus the guys on it. Interesting, when I think of vans it think of keep on trucking, goes hand to hand for me.
Vans were very popular when I was in school a buddy of mine had a keep on trucking license plate frame on his Dodge shorty van. His frame had keep on trucking plus the guys on it. Interesting, when I think of vans it think of keep on trucking, goes hand to hand for me.
Attachments
Toolfool
Well-known member
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T-handle
Well-known member
The van looks amazing Mister! Make's me miss my old Chevy van 
Fix Until Broke
Well-known member
Looks like 3M views and 4K replies
Swanny1953
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I noticed a while back changes were made to the GJ. What do u like the best if I may ask? I don't see where one can check out the number of views for threads.
Much easier to post pics from phone - app appears to automatically resize photos and no need to link from another hosting service, at least that's been my experience to date.
I like that all watched
threads show in one place, so I can see how far behind on reading I am, and that the app automatically takes you to the first post you haven't seen.
Much easier to post pics from phone - app appears to automatically resize photos and no need to link from another hosting service, at least that's been my experience to date.
I like that all watched
threads show in one place, so I can see how far behind on reading I am, and that the app automatically takes you to the first post you haven't seen.
Toolfool
Well-known member
TimeWarpF100
Well-known member
Reading a few posts above when I saw the size of wheels I thought ok, I can quit reading now . . Boy was I surprised! They do look great on the van!I finally got the new wheels and boy do they look nice. I have about 3/4" tolerance to the sides and not much more than 1" from front to back. Wow they are almost too close but I love the look. HRBB wheels shared a photo of the van and it was shared 1000's of time which made me feel good. I the the almost cartoon size wheels on the back really make it stand out. I dropped the driveshaft off to be balanced and I hope in 2 weeks I can get Doug to finish a short mechanical check list, tune the motor and transmission, and get the paddle shift up and running. The plan is December 1 the interior work will be begin. Hoping by February 1 for it to be ready to travel to some shows.
I had a great time up in Indiana last week on the farm. We did have rain a couple days and we couldnt get in the fields. I was going to fly back early to work in the garage. My wife encouraged me to stay in Indiana and I took the time to call on some friends. I ended up hooking up with the guys in my high school rock band and had a great time. We formed this rock band when I was in 8th grade. We would set up on the school stage and after lunch we would jam and typically would play IN A GADDA DA VIDA with the drum solo. The beauty of growing up in the early 70's and having a principle who allowed us to play. Here I am as a freshman in high school with my drum set.
They finished the seats in the van not too long ago. We did them in black leather with the orange stitching. I like the fact the diamond pleating is on the sides and not down the middle. They will be remaking the headrests once I get the van in the upholstery shop. they told me to bring it in December 1 and hoping they stay on track. I have decided I am not going to do build anything else for the interior. I have the talent to make anything but its knowing what to make and how to efficiently build it. This is something you only learn by experienced and I will be interested to see what they come up with.
I need to bring you guys up to date on the Lincoln. As you can see by this photo the motor is coming out and something new is going in it. I couldnt put up with all the oil leaks they say is inherent in these cars. All I need right now is another project but I guess I am not smart enough to make good common sense decisions. LOL
They finished the seats in the van not too long ago. We did them in black leather with the orange stitching. I like the fact the diamond pleating is on the sides and not down the middle. They will be remaking the headrests once I get the van in the upholstery shop. they told me to bring it in December 1 and hoping they stay on track. I have decided I am not going to do build anything else for the interior. I have the talent to make anything but its knowing what to make and how to efficiently build it. This is something you only learn by experienced and I will be interested to see what they come up with.
I need to bring you guys up to date on the Lincoln. As you can see by this photo the motor is coming out and something new is going in it. I couldnt put up with all the oil leaks they say is inherent in these cars. All I need right now is another project but I guess I am not smart enough to make good common sense decisions. LOL
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mark, I'm sure you already know this but one of the common leaks on those cars is the power steering pump. It mounts directly to the crankshaft on the front of the engine and puts out 1,500psi hydraulic power to the steering gear. Ford's better idea was to also use that hydraulic power to run the windshield wipers. That means there's a little extra plumbing involved. While you're at it, maybe switch to hydroboost for the brakes to eliminate that big vacuum canister.