1965 Is Running Rough

Hi Bill,
I just picked up a ’65 Continental and it’s been running great! I changed all the fluids when I bought the car.
The other morning I went to start the car and it started, but immediately ran very rough. It sounds /feels like its running on 7 cylinders. I’ve verified that spark is there, but I’m new to his car and the 430 so I’m not sure what to look at next. Any suggestions?
I can tell you anything else you want to know about what’s going on but need some direction.
I’m quickly becoming a HUGE fan of the site!
Thanks,
Chris
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Hi Chris –
If you have only recently bought the car and it has developed a miss on one cylinder ONLY, you should isolate that cylinder and do a compression test on that cylinder. These engines are known to bend pushrods if they have been sitting unused for a period of time and if they are running with old fuel. If that is the case the bent push rods can be replaced but if the issue continues to repeat, a valve job may be needed later. If the rough running is NOT confined to only one cylinder and after doing a thorough under hood inspection for disconnected ignition components and vacuum hoses etc. you may need to do a complete engine tune up. If you have no knowledge of any previous engine tune up or maintenance a general tune up is a good idea in any case. You should begin though by starting the engine cold and verifying that the carburetor choke is dechoking as the engine warms up. If the choke is not retracting as it should, the engine will receive too rich a fuel mixture as it warms up and will run very rough and the spark plugs can become carbon fouled. A shop manual is strongly recommended if you are going to be servicing and maintaining your Lincoln yourself. I hope that the above helps get you on the path to a speedy diagnosis.
As you can see from the above, your rough engine can be caused by any one of several problems therefore it makes good sense to check the easier to repair items first such as the choke and tune up suggestions. If you need any further advice or any repair parts please contact us at any time.
Sincerely,
Bill