Angstmobile: The Resurrection

When I met my eventual wife back in 1996, she made sure to point out that she came from a "car household": her father had once made a living restoring 29-thru-31 Model A's and 64-67 Mustangs. It's a long story as to why that was former history at the time (to be posted here in the future), but I digress.

When I finally got down to Bufu KY to meet her family over Labor Day that year (she was from KY, and I from Chicago - we did the internet thing before it was passe'), I stopped dead in my tracks when I passed through the garage and found a dusty, forlorn baby blue Lincoln Mark IV rotting away.

"You never told me about that one?!"

"Yeah, that's just the old '75 Lincoln. It was our daily driver forever, but was worthless as a trade on the '91 Cougar, so it's sat there ever since."

"That's a shame, my grampa used to have a car like that."

"Well, you could maybe ask my dad about it sometime, but cars are a sore subject ever since the barn burned and he lost all the Mustang and Model A parts, and had to sell our '57 T-bird to build a new one."

Sore indeed... did I mention that in dating this woman, this city-boy "yankee" was also learning to tread lightly around a dairy-farmer's sensibilities? Like I said, it's a long story, but for brevity's sake I'll fast forward to "now" - 6 years after our wedding, 12 years after meeting her, and 17 years after her dad parked the beast. Life, kids, other hobbies, distance from her family homestead, and various/sundry other unimportant matters conspired against me through all that time. But no more- I finally took a weeks' vacation in June 2008 to finally get after this car and fire it up.

Honestly - maybe fortunately? - the above pics don't do justice to how pestulent the car was. While I know it was no true junkyard rescue, still... the engine bay had been home to several dozen mice over the years (thankfully, they never gnawed the wiring or hoses) who left a ton of nest detritus in and around every nook and cranny. All four wheels had the rims on the concrete, merely padded by the remnants of the original tires. The engine would have caused emphysema in lesser mammals. And If you look closely at the interior pic, you can see mildew on the driver's door... the rear seats were absolutely COVERED in it, with the smell to match.

Ever spent quality time around an honest-to-goodness farm? Everything there is like a smoker's lung: coated with a film of dust that permeates every surface, nook, cranny, void, and innard. I kid you not: I replaced a taillight and was shocked by the layer of dust that was INSIDE the housing, and coating the bulbs! How does that happen? At any rate, this was no simple spray-wash-and-rinse job - the whole car virtually needed (well, still needs) to be disassembled to really get it clean. I do what I can.

Anyway I ramble again. To shorten the story: I primed and prepped the engine for it's first start in 17 years (2-cyle and diesel in the cylinders, manually turn the engine, inspect fuel system, clean/rebuild carb, etc etc etc). Swear at manually turning a recalcitrant crank on a BB460 with naught but a 3/8" ratchet. Replaced the battery, gave it a crank....

...and after seriously auditioning for a career as a demo derby cropduster, that ridiculous 460 settled down and purred right along as if it had just been parked yesterday!

So after a thorough interior scrubdown and a basic wash, here's what we got:

I couldn't have been happier. It was about time!

Now of course, there were still things left to do. The car was in dire need of multiple thorough cleanings and a good polish / wax job. The ignition collar on the steering column shattered (apparently a common problem with some 70's Fords due to a defect in the casting process), and I had to hotwire the car until I got the new part. Had to get the AC fan to work on its "Lo/HI" settings (not just max) and I already knew about all the fun in store when I decided to fix the stupid faux Cartier "timepiece" in the dash - which, like almost all Ford clocks of the era, luxury or not, had quit working long before the car was parked.

The tires were still the ORIGINAL set that came with the car! Ever take a land yacht to highway speeds on 34-year-old rubber? It's an interesting feeling to know that at any time, the vibrations may yield to explosions to send your newfound pride and joy to the ditch while you sail through the glass. Needless to say, a new set was quickly ordered. Interestingly enough, the spec size is mostly made for SUVs.

There's a slight ticking from the #4 cylinder possibly that subsides after it warms up a bit, and a small vacuum leak from the rear that I can't seem to nail down. But the non-noxious exhaust leak sounds great - a nice little growl to keep your attention - so I might just keep that. The worst part is the A/C is long since shot, and this baby uses 6 pounds of R12 Freon. Think about that for a minute... the current street price for Freon ($300+ per lb.) makes an A/C recharge nearly as much as what the car is worth!

Otherwise, there are some paint chips and and a couple small rust spots in the usual places; I touched up what I could using paint pens, until such time as a full body-shop paint mix makes sense. Since the car is virtually all-original I think they add to its character and story. It has an authentic pedigree in great shape for 80K daily-driver miles.

I got the car looking good enough to show as an original survivor, and took it to several nearby shows as time would allow. We were in the Summersville Parade, made it to the 2008 Somernites Powercruise (where the car not only made the official gallery, but was filmed by V8TV!), a few local Wal-Mart cruise ins, and the first Annual Trains, Planes, and Automobiles Show at the Bluegrass Railroad Museum. Not to mention any weekend or evening when the weather beckoned a night of classic chrome and rubber...

...For all its faults and ostentatious design, this car may arguably be the pinnacle of everything wrong with American cars of the 1970's. Cars costing half as much a mere 7 years later were vastly superior in every way. But honoring it for what it is, and was, it's a blast to drive and fun to run. And it still turns heads and brings smiles wherever it goes.

Before (2006)

After! (2008)