Lincoln "L" Technical Questions

Looking for someone to rebuild my O-3. I cleaned it out, installed a new Viton needle and seat but still have a leak. Good dry float. Did very fine float adjustments, but will not stop leaking when engine not running. We just always close firewall shutoff tight. Has original fuel system. I found a note from restorer in 1955 said it had same issue!!! Any comments or suggestions appreciated. I had bought a rebuild kit, rather expensive for a needle, seat, two gaskets and new screws and fasteners. I was hoping gentleman in Helena could rebuild it but he is booked for a year. Thank you all, as always. Chris

A big problem with these Strombers carbs is the pot metal internal venturi. With age, the metal warps and cracks, and may be the source of your leakage. The performance of the car also suffers because fuel/air mixture is not consistent. Tony Henkels, in California, rebuilt my carb some years ago, he passed away a few years back, nobody seems to know what became of his tooling for those venturis. The guy in Montana is likely the only source, unfortunately. Some owners have changed the carb for another make, but it is problematic to get the throttle and choke linkages modified. John DeShay, in Olympia, WA has a 1927 that was modified to a Zenith carburetor. A big Carter BB-1 would work, but would require some ingenuity.

I do not know of any other substitute installations - the original units work very well, when properly adjusted.

>Any car with vacuum tank fuel feed needs fuel shot off when parked for a long time, as carb float valves may not seat tightly, and there is a gallon of gas in the vacuum tank at constant gravity pressure.

Agree on the venturi issue and importance of this seating right and conformation. This will be critical for airflow/fuel mix. I have had 2 of these carbs rebuilt and restored by Randy Fuscoe- contact below. Do not be in a hurry and was $$, but unbelievable quality work. Randy has really slowed down, so not even sure if he is taking on new work, but worth the ask. He mentioned concern about the venturi issue and may be worth exploring how to get these remachined. It should not be too difficult with CNC. Anybody interested in this project?

As far as fuel leaking when not running, Alan is totally correct there. You need to have the fuel shutoff on the firewall working properly and use it. Mine had the original packing and leaked. I carried it to a local machine shop and they fitted it with new seals and works great. If your car still has it, you will notice a stainless catch and drain pipe below the carb bowl in the belly of the 'V'. Obviously, dripping was expected and of course quite dangerous if the fuel falls on a hot block. If yours is missing, maybe an LOC member has one on the shelf.

I also found that it is critical to adjust the airscrew and needle screws, using the initial settings suggested in the manual. I then turned these in one direction and then the next to get decent idle and performance. The manual suggests doing these with the engine hot...yeah right. So just some experimenting and driving will help with this adjustment.

Bottom line- good fuel shutoff, adjust air/needle screws per manual, and as Alan said, check the venturi. This carb is made for this car and will provide optimal performance.

Randy Fusco Sales

145 Linda Drive

New Castle, PA 16101

E-mail: fuel-n-fire@comcast.net

724-971-0375

One quick note re: fuel shutoff valve - I found that Teflon valve stem packing, about 1/8" diameter, works perfectly to seal fuel valve stem. It is a hardware store item in plumbing dep't. Teflon is very resistant to gasoline and oil, as well as hot water.Also works in radiator drain valve. Just remove the old packing, clean the space of shreds and dirt, coil the new Teflon around the valve stem, push it in with a blunt ended poker like a popsicle stick or a skinny chopstick, until you can just get the packing nut started, then tighten the nut, not too tight, you should still be able to turn the valve handle by hand. The packing will wear slightly over time, may need re-tightening.

Turn off the fuel whenever you park the car.

I have a spare drip cup for under the carb if you need one. The drain tubes are 5/16" copper, one goes forward, to the right, the other goes rearward, to the left. There are illustrations in the service bulletins.

Good Luck with your Lincoln!

Thanks so much, great tips. Adjusted the float, a quarter turn at a time, quite tedious, richened both mixtures a couple notches. No more leak when parked and pulling much stronger. Will use the teflon trick on the shutoff. Awesome. I really appreciate the help.