Originally published in the May-June 2009  (# 288) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

ABOVE: 1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible with Twenties Visible Style Pump

ABOVE: Cars are still the mainstay of the collection.  Above is a 1951 Mercury Monterey Coupe.

ABOVE: A 1931 Model A Ford Victoria

The pumps in the Astor collection are primarily from the 1930-1960 era. The year 1930 saw the introduction of metered pumps. At last the motorist had something new to watch besides the rise and fall of the level of gasoline in the glass cylinder. Now he could watch the hands of a clock, the hour hand ticking off the gallons and the minute hand the fractions of gallons. Still the attendant had to sell the customer gas in gallons, then compute the price from a card plainly displayed on the pump. Finally, in 1933, the Wayne Company introduced its “Head for Figures”, an intricate clockwork of gears which computed not only gallons but the cost of each 1/10th of a gallon. At last gas could be sold by the dollar’s worth rather than by the gallon. Pumps got smaller and less ornate, but the globes remained for years. The Art Astor collection has pumps of every description from this era.

Hand and hand with pumps go the old time gas pump globes. They were always milk glass. Gilbert and Barker introduced the first globes in 1912 on top of the newest five-gallon hand pumps. The electric globe was the only thing electric on the pump. The purpose of the globes was to serve as a beacon for the traveler after dark and to aid the attendant in dispensing gasoline at night. The beacon also meant that the station was open at night.

The first globes were round and quite small. They looked like the old time globes at each end of the police department’s sergeant’s desk down at city hall. Later, they were circular and convex on each side. The earliest ones merely carried the words “Gasolene” or ’ ’Filtered Gasolene”. The “e” changed to “i” after World War I. In the twenties the globes carried the brand name and symbol.

In the twenties globe makers got the idea of encasing two convex glass plates in a steel frame. By the fifties the glass plates were replaced with plastic. Eventually, the expensive globes were replaced simply with lights atop the more modem pumps.

One of the most sought after globes today is Standard of Indiana’s Red, Blue, and White Crown formed in the shape of a regal crown. But it was far from the rarest. Over the years there were some 900 different brands of gasoline and every one had its own globe.

ABOVE: 1954 Philco Predicta Television Set

ABOVE:  Thirties Console Radio

ABOVE:  Collection of old time radio microphones.

ABOVE: Early telephones in the Art Astor Collection.

ABOVE: Early small screen table model television sets.

ABOVE: 1939 RCA Nine-Inch Console Television Set with radio.

ABOVE: Lesley’s 1959 Lincoln Premiere Landau bought from the estate of the original owner.  It runs and drives.

Originally published in the July-August 2002 (# 247) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

The largest known collection of 1958-60 Lincolns and Lincoln Continentals belongs to LCOC members Hugh and Joyce Lesley, Oxford, Pennsylvania.

While the Lesleys own only two 1958 Lincolns and no 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark Ills, they own 13 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark I Vs and one 1959 Lincoln, 15 1960 Lincoln Continentals and 10 1960 Lincoln Premieres and Lincolns, for a total of 41 Lincoln Continentals and Lincoln Premieres, Capris and Lincolns from the 1958-60 era. In addition, they own 232 other Lincolns from the 50s, 60s and 70s, mostly the 60s and 70s. They own 126 Mercurys from 1939 to 1979, 156 1958-60 Edsels, 38 Fords from 1940 to 1986, and four Thunderbirds from the 1968-70 era. One of the Mercurys is a 1979 Hearse in Robin’s Egg Blue. The 1940 Ford is Hugh Lesley’s first car which he bought when he was only 16 years old. He has been across the U.S. twice in this car. Hugh Lesley writes “ I didn’t realize I had this many cars until I took inventory for Continental Comments.” A few years ago he sold a 1958 Lincoln which someone had customized into a four-door convertible many years ago.

The Lesleys do not hold a record for the number of Lincolns owned by one per son or family. That record still belongs to the late J.C. Daniels with his 450 Lincolns in Pampas, Texas, and as far as we know that collection still has not been sold. But the Lesleys well may hold the record for the largest number of Ford built cars owned by anyone in LCOC. Bert Huffman holds the record for the largest number of HV-12s owned by any LCOC member. We will all get a chance to see Bert’s collection at the 2003 Eastern National Meet in Hickory, North Carolina.

1958-60 Lincolns are definitely on the increase at our national meets. No less than five convertibles from this era were entered at the 2002 Eastern National Meet in Nashville, Tennessee.

BELOW: The Lesley’s former 1958 Lincoln customized to be a four-door convertible.

Originally published in the September-October 2019 (# 350) issue of Lincoln & Continental Comments magazine.

By George Masters

For those of you that are veterans and remember the old smoke break term, “If you got ’em, light ’em up”, I now refer to our classic  cars, and the emphasis here is “cars,” plural.

We recently took in a car that has been in this guy’s garage since 1998. He hasn’t started it nor has he driven this car since the bodywork, wiring, and paint were completed back then. It just sat in his garage needing the finishing touches done. I’d ask him every year or so, “How’s the car coming along?” He’d always shake his head and smile. Well, last April, I asked him that question, and surprisingly, he told me that he was ready to move onto the next step, which was getting the interior done. To secure the deal, I told him I would need $1,000 down, and then I could get it into the upholsterer’s schedule. Sure enough, the deal was struck and  scheduled for late summer 2019. I insisted that it be ready and running. “No problem,” he said. “I’ll have some of my buddies get it running.” Well, long story short, when we went to pick up the car, it would not start, so I got the truck and trailer and hauled it to my shop. Since it was not running, we took the bowl off the carburetor and guess what? There was sludge and gunk in the bowl. This was just the beginning. We wound up pulling the fuel tank, replacing the sending unit, cleaning out the fuel line, replacing the fuel pump, changing the fuel filter, and even buying a new carburetor. Then it was running!

My point is, why do we have these cars? Why do we have one, or two or more cars? Is it the prestige of being able to tell our friends which cars we own? Is it for the investment? Are we saving them for our children or grandchildren?

I have another story. My buddy had a beautiful car which he babied, washed often, waxed regularly, and generally treated it like a king would. He decided to buy a newer one and took his “Pride and Joy” to the dealer where he traded it. After we unloaded it, the car sat outside on the lot for three weeks exposed to the elements. Did he enjoy his ownership? Well, I’m sure he did, but for whom did he save it? I know another fellow who also has a beautiful car, and it just sits. He doesn’t take it out but maybe once a year. If there are clouds in the sky, it stays in.

So, in summary, I’m asking you to think about why you own one or more collectible cars. They were made to be driven, so think about your beauties and, “if you got ’em, drive ’em’!”

George Masters is a member from Minot, N.D.

ABOVE: Dated August 9, 2940, this 1941 Lincoln V-12 engine is illustrative of the powerplant in the author’s Continental Coupe.  (Photo courtesy of Continental Comments # 95, Winter 1969.)

by Dr. Charles Burton
Submitted by Richard Koop

Originally published in the May-June 2020 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 354.)

Recently I had a near-catastrophic occurrence with my 1948 Mercury Convertible’s fuel system, which is very similar to my 1941 Lincoln Continental fuel system. One afternoon, I drove my car hard up the mile-long road to our home and parked it in the garage attached to the house. The next morning, my son come over for coffee, and after raising the garage door and coming into the kitchen, he said: “there is gasoline on the floor in the garage.” My reply was that “all old cars smelled after being driven.” He said, “no,” I went and looked, and there was a large puddle of gasoline that had flowed from the engine area out from under the car. There was a large freezer less than four feet from the pool. I opened the other garage door and turned on a fan to blow the fumes out of the garage. I then used paper towels to absorb the gas that was not under the car. Looking under the car, I did not see any gas dripping. I called my expert old car mechanic, and we agreed a carburetor leak would not have produced such a large amount of gas overnight. Looking in the engine compartment, there did not seem to be any evidence of a leak.

Because of the pooled gas under the car, the Mercury had to be moved outside. Using a heavy rope attached to my truck, I pulled it out into the driveway. Since the driveway is up a hill out of the garage and with the front of the car pointed downhill, gas started dripping from around the engine oil pan onto the pavement. I put a container under the engine and cleaned up the garage puddle. Inspection under the car revealed gas coming from the oil pan, where the oil tube attached. The gas was floating on top of the oil in the pan. The Mercury’s fuel pump is attached to the oil filler tube. It was clear that the rubber diaphragm inside the pump developed a tear. The auxiliary electric fuel pump had helped force gas into the oil filler tube and then into the engine. I have used non-ethanol gasoline since I’ve owned the car, but the previous owner had used ethanol gas, which is destructive to older rubber products. Our Lincoln’s stock V-12s don’t have an oil stick, and gasoline in the crankcase cannot leak out. However, some owners have converted their cars to Ford V-8s, so this is a genuine possibility for them.

My expert mechanic had an engine explode and burn. A similar scenario that caused that disaster had also happened in my Mercury. A new mechanical fuel pump should be rebuilt with ethanol-resistant components. You may reduce your chances of a catastrophe by using only the electric fuel pump and bypassing the original one. If you continue to use the mechanical pump, replace it if you have used ethanol gasoline. Turn off the auxiliary electric fuel pump when not needed, and pray this will not happen to you and your car. I am blessed I did not lose two vehicles and my home.

ABOVE: A 1947 Mercury Convertible Coupe, similar to the author’s 1948 model.  (From The Old Car Manual Project.)

Dr. Burton is a retired 83-year-old surgeon from Macon, Ga. who practiced for 40 years. The 1941 Lincoln Continental was his dream and he purchased it in the 1970s from the original owner’s family.

by Charles Clark

Originally published in the May-June 2020 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 354.)

Among old car aficionados who do restorations, there is a tug-of-war that goes on. Pulling in one direction are the purists who strive to make the car exactly as it came out of the factory. They obsess not only over “matching numbers”, but also over inspection paint marks on the frame. Those details have nothing to do with how the car runs. Instead, it has to do with the compulsive nature of the restorer. They insist on a level of perfection, which, in a lot of cases, never existed. Corvette restorers perhaps epitomize that approach. On the opposite end of the spectrum are those who seek to “upgrade” the car by modernizing various systems, such as engine carburetion and brakes. At the far end of this spectrum, we have the “restomod” where only the body is saved, and almost everything else is replaced with modern systems.

Our local LCOC region has members of each type, but the emphasis seems to be more on preserving and driving the car while having some personal enjoyment with it. I have engaged in both aspects of the hobby. With my 1940 Lincoln-Zephyr Continental Cabriolet (whew), I strived to do an exact restoration. Why else would I pay $500 for an air cleaner or $300 for an original taillight, and let’s not even talk about the NOS steering wheel? My goal was to make the car just like it came off the showroom floor. But this is 2020, not 1940 and things have changed. Thanks to our beloved “corn gas” and its ten percent alcohol content, if you want to drive the car
here in the Centennial State on a hot day at this altitude, it is essential that you have either an auxiliary electric fuel pump or good hiking shoes when the car vapor locks. Unless the car is to be a permanent resident at the Forney Transportation Museum in Denver, Colo, it must have the electric pump. Otherwise, the Lincoln is as close as I can make it to factory original.

The Continental is, therefore, in line with the stated purpose of the LCOC, which is to preserve the various Lincoln and Continental models. The emphasis is on exact restoration with judging and awards that foster this end. I am proud to say I have received some of those awards, even though I had to take some liberties by making modifications for the sake of practicality.

My 1940 Ford Coupe is at the other end of the spectrum. It looks original, but it has a modern overhead-valve, fuel-injected engine, power disk brakes, independent front suspension and a nine-inch rear-end, plus air conditioning. It is not quite a “restomod,” but it certainly is a “hot rod.” It required special skills beyond my ability to build each car. Machining the engines, painting and upholstery are tasks that require craftsmen regardless of your objective for the final restoration.

I have become heavily involved with carburetion in both “restored” and “upgraded” cars. I use the word “carburetion” in its most basic definition, which is the mixture of air and fuel to provide an optimally combustible vapor. Once the mechanics of the engine have been established, such as bore and stroke, camshaft profile and valve train, there is only ignition timing and carburetion left to determine the ultimate performance of the engine. The design approach to carburetion will have a significant effect on the performance of a car. It took me many years to study and to practice how to carburete an engine optimally. I am still learning.

The “old school” way to carburete a car is to use what we commonly call a “carburetor,” or just carb for short. The “new school” way is to use electronically controlled fuel injection (FI). What may not be obvious is while they both do the same thing, they do it by different methods. A “throttle body” style of FI presents an appearance very similar to a carb.

Why the change? To make the carb engine run at high altitudes here in Colorado, you need to change jets and metering rods. This requires mechanical assembly and some trial and error with replacement parts to get the car to run optimally. You also have to set a fussy thermostatic spring choke to get it to start and run when cold. There is also a power pump and fuel bowl needle valves, which need attention. Fuel starvation due to vapor lock is a common problem.

With FI, you have to make changes to the fuel pump and plug in some new sensors to measure engine performance. Once that is done, a computer takes over and provides the exact amount of fuel the engine requires based on what the sensors measure. There is nothing to change or to adjust with temperature or altitude.

For a judged show car, you want to keep the carbs. For a more regular driver, there is a good argument to convert to fuel injection. The issue then is not so much old school versus new school, but rather what your expectations are for the driving experience with the car and how dedicated you are to the exactness of restoration. That said, be prepared for controversy as “old school” aficionados do not give in to “new school” easily. In fact, they never give in!

by Michael White

Originally published in the January-February 2019 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 346.)

How does someone become a vintage car enthusiast? For me it was simple: the cars I grew up with became “vintage” while the cars of the present and future didn’t interest me so much anymore.

It all began in 1984 when I became fascinated with the Ford LTD that my family rented for a road trip. I passed the miles trying to spot others like it on the highway. I learned to identify a lot of cars on that trip and just kept doing so when I got home. That led to collecting car ads, brochures, and magazines. Before I knew it, I was a certified car nut. On another trip that winter, we rented a Lincoln Continental Mark VII. Immediately, I knew that this car was something special, and my love affair with Lincoln began.

Fast forward about 20 years. I realized that my favorite cars of the ‘80s were within my grasp financially. I hesitated to buy one because I thought it would be too difficult to maintain. In 2016, I started searching online seriously for my own vintage car, viewing hundreds of potential choices in a few months. Nothing clicked until I was at a show and overheard some one discussing a 1982 Lincoln Continental. The 1982 Continental represented something of a new start for Lincoln. It was much smaller and lighter than anything Lincoln had produced in recent years. With the standard V-8 and gas-pressure shock absorbers, the car combined traditional Lincoln comfort with just a touch of sporty handling. The styling referenced the Mark series with its spare tire hump while the creased roofline paid homage to vintage Rolls-Royces. Looking closely, you see a hint of the budding aerodynamic trend at Ford which would reach full bloom in the Mark VII two years later. I immediately walked over to ask about it. It turned out the man’s friend had one for sale on an online auction site. Within hours I had called the seller, and the next day I was at his garage looking over the car.

The Lincoln was neither a Designer edition nor the Signature series. The only major options were leather upholstery and wire wheels. Although a 3.8 liter V-6 was available, this car had the venerable 5.0 liter V-8. Like all 1982 Continentals, it had a four-speed automatic transmission, first offered by Ford just two years earlier. The gleaming exterior was finished in a subtle off-white shade called “Pastel French Vanilla.” The digital dash had only three gauges (speed, fuel, and temperature) and a 12-button trip computer, all of which still functioned. Everything checked out, so I placed a bid for the car the next morning. Amazingly, nobody else bid on the car after that. I won the car later that day. I now had about a week to arrange storage, insurance, and registration for it. I found a private garage for rent online. The state motor vehicle offices were closed on the Saturday that I planned to pick up the car. It took visits to three “tag and title” shops to complete the necessary paperwork, leaving little time to spare before picking the car up at the seller’s house.

I had visions of a triumphant first drive in the car, but the Lincoln struggled to go much faster than 20 mph. I thought that there might be something catastrophically wrong with the vehicle. I soon realized that I needed to move the seat forward so my feet could fully reach the pedals. Having never owned a carbureted car before, the whole routine of pumping the gas and cranking the engine was new to me. I knew there would be issues since the seller had mentioned a problem with getting gas into the bowls of the Lincoln’s unconventional “variable venturi” carburetor. I eventually got the knack of  starting it and within a month was driving the Continental on a local driving tour. Two-and-a-half months later I drove it all the way from the Washington, DC area to the Delaware shore for a show.

As the leaves turned and the weather cooled, the car got harder to start. Just before Thanksgiving 2016, I noticed the car wasn’t cranking as eagerly as usual so I spent Black Friday acquiring and installing a new battery. As winter progressed, driving opportunities became more infrequent. Starting the Lincoln now took several minutes and usually required the help of a more experienced car hobbyist. Sometime in January, the new battery failed. I knew something had to be done. Without a dedicated garage and little technical knowledge, wrenching it myself wasn’t an option. I located a shop that had a good reputation for carburetor work and waited several weeks until the salt was off the road before delivering it. Weeks went by with little to no update. Towards the end of April, I called with an early May 2017 deadline in mind.

When I came to retrieve the car the first weekend of May, I learned that the primary issue was gas leaking out around the edges of the carburetor. They had rebuilt the carburetor, resolving the starting problem. It still ran rough, so they installed an NOS variable venturi carburetor intended for a full-size Ford While the shop completed the mechanical work, I reassessed storage for the Lincoln. A few weeks after purchase, I moved it to a friend’s garage on the outskirts of town. It then spent the winter in an underground parking garage. Neither situation was ideal. In the spring, I discovered a public storage facility 10 miles from home that would take the Continental. Although it would be much more expensive, I now had a dedicated garage with easy access to my car. The car drove well on the way to its new home. Since then, the Continental has become the fun entry into the vintage Lincoln hobby that I had sought in 2016. It’s still not as easy to start as a modem fuel injected car, but I ’ve learned its rhythms and can usually get it started on my own in two or three minutes. I drive it every week when I can, and I’ve mastered the art of maneuvering it into its narrow parking space. The Continental has been to a few more shows and back to the Delaware beach. Living with this car has involved some work, but it’s been a labor of love. The most important lesson that I learned from all of this is that you can’t wait for just the perfect moment to get started collecting classic Lincolns or anything else worthwhile for that matter. Take the first step, and the rest will come. My only regret is not doing so sooner.