REALLY REALLY bad day today.

[djfordmanjack]

would it be very troublesome to realign your front end if you pulled it now? I think it is only 8 bolts fenders to cowl and the single sprung center bolt of the radiator core support and the whole frontend could be pulled as one piece. maybe this would make sense since you will have to swap engines and possibly some hardware, exhaust aso.

[RICH MUISE]

I thought about it, will try without removing. I'm working alone for the most part, so it would have to be a piece by piece removal, and besides that, all my AC stuff and alot of wiring is attached to the inner fenderwell. I may remove the passenger outer fender only  to redo my  heater hoses, but only if I have to. I think once the engine is out, I can maneuver my arms enough while standing in the engine bay to get to those hoses . Those pretty ss flex coolant hoses have been nothing but trouble.
It took me a month to get all the front end sheetmetal aligned to a acceptable, but not real good, alignment. That's why I've got no hair.

[Ecode70D]

OK Rich
     If things don't work out, let me know and I'll do whatever I can.   
     I have been working by myself for years and years.  It does not get any easier.  In the long run with all you have to do, I think that taking the nose off would make life a lot easier and there will be less chance of damaging your nice paint.
      But only you know what your whole situation is.
Jay

[Tom S]

... I think it is only 8 bolts fenders to cowl and the single sprung center bolt of the radiator core support and the whole frontend could be pulled as one piece. ...

Is it really that easy to pull the front clip?  Never saw the process described or pictured here.
When I got my ratty '58 Ranchero I also had to take a whole & very rusted out '58 Ford front clip.  After it sat behind my garage for quite awhile I started taking it apart so I could store the separate  parts in another spot.
I was surprised to find it to be such a PIA. Many hard to reach nuts & bolts near the grille area that would not come apart due to rust. Since dealing with 'em like forever I probably know all the methods & tricks for dealing frozen stuck, broken, & rusted fasteners.  But with nut & bolt heads rounding off, not being able to get at them with a tool needed to cut them or just make them break in two & so on it took a lot of time & work. 

[djfordmanjack]

Tom, I get your point as I have been working on 3 different 57Fords that needed some part if not all removed from the frontend, either fender, grill, radiator support and whatnot. Thankfully Rich will most probably have all fresh bolts that will come apart easily now.

But- yes - the whole frontend was attached in the factory as a unit. that's what makes it so hard to reach a lot of the grill hardware.
I was maybe a bit understating with the number of bolts. In my mind I picture the lower rear fender bolt, then the middle A pillar, upper a pillar at fresh air intake and the self tapping screw on the windshield doglegs.
then there is another bolt that holds the inner fender to the fire wall. so that makes 5 per side ( maybe I am forgetting some?).

Assuming that Rich already has pulled his hood / which would be much too heavy to take off as a unit anyways, there really only is that front center bolt for the radiator support, which rides on a little leaf spring.
What I forgot is that the front outer bumper ends are attached to the front lower fenders/splash apron/grill housings so those brackets would have to be unbolted at least at the bumper brackets or all 6 of those bolts and 2 brackets removed to avoid scratches. I do believe that the bumper can stay attached to frame, so this could spare you some realignment later on ( which is not easy with those huge backsweapt bumper ends).

I hear what Rich states about all the little and big accessory stuff attached to his inner fenders and that could really kill all of what we said before. If I was to pull the whole frontend, I would tape all the fender/door/cowl edges with good quality paint masking tape ( the blue or green one) in triple layers and have at least 2 men help. so that 1 person could lift each fender at the wheel openings and the third person keep a look at the firewall area, prying loose sticky seals or shims and finally keep the nose portion level upon removal.

Removing just one fender will include lots more bolts and hardware and might be more difficult to access those and realign the fender afterwards, but I can see Rich's point where he wants to keep his accessories, hoses and lines attached in order and not having to remove everything from engine compartment.

[KYBlueOval]

Rich, have you used the Nationwide Craig's List, in searching for a replacement engine / car? You might want to try it.
John

[RICH MUISE]

John, I have not not all that familiar with craigslist, but I'll do some research. I think you sent some photos to my iphone, but I haven't been able to open them.
I'm really trying to not undo the A/C with all the aeroquip  braided stainless fittings. If the A/C has got to be undone, I might look into removing the grille, nose piece, and core support..........clearing a path sorta so I can come straight out with the engine and tranny. Thinking also about just pulling the engine and tranny forward a few inches so I can reach the bellhousing bolts and leaving to tranny in there. Otherwise, I'll need to drop the tranny crossmember and the Rack and pinion to avoid damage.
Had my nephew help me remove the hood yesterday. That was almost a disaster....at the last moment I noticed he had his hand on the fender and not supporting the hood he was about to remove the last bolt from.  . Pretty much the reason I'm working mostly alone.

[rmk57]

  I use search tempest once in awhile, works pretty good .    https://www.searchtempest.com/ 

[KYBlueOval]

Yes, that is where I was going to send Rich.
Rich, give this site a try. Plug in what you are looking for and how far out you want to look.You could look for the specific whole car or just the engine or "Parts for a _ _ _ _ Lincoln". You just never know how a seller might describe his listing. It's worth a try.
Another place to look is   COPART  these are salvage cars.It's an auction site. Might have to pay a fee to be able to bid. I did a quick look, but couldn't recall the year you need, but there are two '95's that I saw. Lowest mileage was 91K. Again, worth a look.
John

[gasman826]

I just got home from a eight hour ride with my son.  He bought an engine from a specialty auto wrecking yard that sells used running engines on a skid.  He is converting to a different engine so he got everything needed.  The engine was attached to a skid with radiator, harness, accessories, ECM, accelerator pedal (drive by wire), fuel pump, air box, manifolds, and fuel pump.  As we inspected the engine and confirmed the documentation and VIN, a yard worker turned the key and started the engine.  The ECM had been flashed to tune the engine, look for the specific transmission and eliminate the security (chip key).  All lines and wires were labeled and connected.  The engine have coolant in the radiator and gas to run with scan tool plugged in to confirm a no-code state.  Connectors were supplied and free after purchase ECM flash updates.  This is perfect for my son's Jeep conversion to LS.

I asked about 4.6 but nothing.  They did fire up a ready for delivery Coyote.

[CobraJoe]

They did fire up a ready for delivery Coyote.

[RICH MUISE]

That sounds like a great setup............bummer they didn't have any 4.6s, but thanks for checking. What did your son get, and how expensive?
I keep an eye on Copart as well as IAA. Got several cars I'm watching for a release on.

[RICH MUISE]

During some tear down today, I pulled the left valve cover. Broken secondary timing chain. Lots of galling on the cam.
I checked out the search tempest. neat search engine. Need to do some more with it, but so far nothing like I'm looking for. Can't remember if I posted that I'm watching one on the auction sites that would work. It's in OKC, so not too bad for transporting charges. it's got 85k on it, but should be pretty cheap since the car is not salvageable. It hasn't been released for auction yet, so I'm still looking.

[dgasman]

https://bakersfield.craigslist.org/cto/d/bakersfield-96-lincoln-mark-8/6817191115.html
Rich , Road trip

[hiball3985]

Does have to be a Lincoln? What engine is in the CV? I'm doing a road trip today to Santa Maria and will keep my eye out.