Thinking of a hot-rod Lincoln...

Phantom&RedGoat2004

Phantom&RedGoat2004

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Hello everyone. I've owned and loved a few Caddy's before, but my most recent ride was a 2004 GTO. My only complaint about my GTO (contrary to other GTO owners) was the ride quality. I like the Eldorado ETC, but Cadillac just doesn't have the aftermarket stuff a bolt-on junkie needs to be happy. I've become spoiled with the luxuries of leather and power gizmos, but I've acquired quite an appetite for power and a 6-speed. If I were to buy a Lincoln Mark VIII, the power plant and trans are the obvious hindrance here, and in order to resolve those issues, my intentions are as follows:

Manual transmission swap (although a T-56 swap looks like a real PITA)
3.73 gears
Stroked 4.6 to 5.0+ (w/ induction/exhaust, heads/cam-type bolt-ons)
S/C (Eaton type)
3" dual Flows
and this body kit:
MarkVIIIbodykit.jpg

this photo does not belong to me, and is used for illustration purposes only

Now my questions:
-First, where did that body kit come from?
-My GTO ran 13.5@103 (stock). What would I have to do to a stock Mark VIII to achieve those numbers naturally aspirated? Mathematically, the cars weigh about the same, so I'd need to make up 70hp/80lbs.-ft. in bolt-ons to get back to where I started, right?
-What year range Mark VIII should I look into buying with the listed mods in mind?
-What reasonable ET/dyno #'s goal could I set for the future mods and still expect to be reliable and keep an idle for a DD?
-And one last thing, can you run a slightly "staggered" wheel set up on a Mark VIII? I haven't seen any, but if they are available, what size wheel/tire combination am I looking at? (DR's are on the to-do list as well :D)

I've done a lot of research on the forum, and before the fogies chime in with "Go buy a Mustang," I'll nip that in the bud. I want to build a gentleman's hot-rod. Think of it as a Mustang in a tuxedo - if you will. The market has fallen short again when it comes to young adults getting what they want, so I guess it's left up to me to build it. I'm looking forward to some interesting feedback, and getting to know some board members here.
Thanks in advance, PRG04
 
You have come to the right place, this and a couple of other Mk 8 forums.
Fastest, easiest and likely cheapest way is a Cobra intake and a Procharger. Keep the boost under 10psi, and no need to bore or stroke. Limit the rpm to 6500 and you have a 12 second hotrod docile, enough for your mother to drive.
 
Same old question is how much money do you want to spend? I have over $18,000.00 in parts only in my ride (1996 Gen 1). There are many ways that one's appetite for performance can be satisfied. I chose the path of a complete drive train upgrade and modification. With that said if all you are looking for is mid 13 second times you can look up some of the posted times on LOD and Driller has probably the most noted experience racing with non boosted Mark Vlll cars on the site. Here is my ride. You are in good company to help you work thru your selections by visiting both sites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI17C_PL2To
 
To anwer one of your questions i think that is a lms body kit and they stopped making them :( but if you find somone who makes body kits for the mk8 tell me cuz i want one to:) and now about the mans trans i know there is a guy who stuffed a t45 into his mark me and my old man are also planning to start a t56 swap into my mark this november but u are right it looks like a pain in the ass. the link below is the website of the guy who did a t45 swap.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/577667/6
 
Thanks for the input. Roadboss! That car is HAWT! I'm not looking for just mid-13's, but that's where I would want the 4.6 to be shortly after acquisition, and long before I go for an Eaton/stroker build. 535hp should be adequate :D. How's that bad girl act in traffic? When I dream, I don't dream in $ - I dream in speed. My goal for my GTO was 600hp using the same stroker & blower idea on a 427LSX (I never got started, but like I said, I was dreaming). Supporting mods are understood for a car like that. I saw that guy's T-45 swap so many times in my research, and I love it. I saw a post on another forum where he was having trouble with the clutch engagement, and that scares me, but I've found where certain companies have made the extensions for a T-56 shifter mated to a T-45 (for Super Coupes - I think), and that looks like good news in the line of a tranny swap eventhough I have no idea what the HP/TQ rating is for the T-45's (need to do more research). That sux that the body kit isn't available anymore - that thing shore is purdy.
 
You'll break a T45 pretty quickly with 13 second power in a heavy car like this. In fact the reason I moved from Mark VIII to a Super Coupe was for a manual trans. Of course the ride quality isn't really there with the SC...

My first suggestion is to pick up a CTS-V..
 
I thought that car looked familiar....

:D :p



It's a gen 1 body kit from LMS. The rockers were blended into the stock panels by a body shop for a more seamless install.

Here it is from behind:
sta71176a.jpg









You can run staggered wheel sizes if you want, BUT the overall diameter of the tires must be very close front to rear or it will throw an ABS code.


I'd throw an 03-04 Cobra motor in and call it a day :D
If there is good attention to detail, the manual swap could be really slick and look OEM.
 
I still say that is the ONLY Mark VIII ground effects kit I have seen that looks good due to it's propper installation! Your car looks very nice, You would never hear me say that about any other Mark with a kit that I have seen!

VERY VERY NICE!
 
If you beef the auto trans and do an appropriate shift schedule you will never think about a manual gear box. Consider the fact that a superchared setup will build so much torque the last thing you need is abunch of 1st gear wheel spin. I won't even comment about drivability issues nor costs to go to a manual tranny, but hey everyone has a right to their own ideas, it's just that I banged gear is the past, and love the charactaristics of a automatic that has been modified for performancef.
 
$18,000 are you nuts? you'll be lucky if you get much more than blue book, i can see few $1000 but not $18,000
 
dRock95MarkVIII said:
I thought that car looked familiar....
Click to expand...

I'm glad to see you reply to my thread, and I compliment you on your superb photography skills. ...and a very beautiful car.

turborich said:
I still say that is the ONLY Mark VIII ground effects kit I have seen that looks good due to it's propper installation! Your car looks very nice, You would never hear me say that about any other Mark with a kit that I have seen!

VERY VERY NICE!
Click to expand...

mswerd.gif


Roadboss said:
If you beef the auto trans and do an appropriate shift schedule you will never think about a manual gear box. Consider the fact that a superchared setup will build so much torque the last thing you need is abunch of 1st gear wheel spin. I won't even comment about drivability issues nor costs to go to a manual tranny, but hey everyone has a right to their own ideas, it's just that I banged gear is the past, and love the charactaristics of a automatic that has been modified for performancef.
Click to expand...

I know the benefits of having an auto, but I'm interested in a more sporty type of a hot-rod. When people think "sporty," they automatically think standard transmission. There's not only an image that goes along with a manual gearbox, but a certain feeling of control that an automatic just won't satisfy completely (even with a manual valvebody). It's just different. The more research I do, the more it looks hopeless that I'd ever have the time, tools or money to be able to do a swap to a 6-speed. I hope I'm wrong there, because there is no substitute for jamming gears in a unique hot-rod that you built yourself. Even if I can't get rid of the auto, I'd still have one helluva nice ride though. Any recommendations on what year range(s) I should look into when buying a Mark VIII?
 
i like the gen 1's 95-96 lsc the best if you want to customize the outside i would go with any gen 1 cuz there are more after market body parts for it like the lms hood and wing. but if you dont want to so much modding then a gen 2 with cobra rims lowered will do the trick :)
 
I'm glad to see you reply to my thread, and I compliment you on your superb photography skills. ...and a very beautiful car.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Though, I have you fooled with my photography skills lol. I get maybe 1 or 2 nice shots out of every 20+ I take :p
 
My conclusion:

I like the Gen I because of the styling and parts availability. If I do decide to go for a hot-rod Lincoln it would have to be a '96 for the OBDII. Getting 350hp from a 4.6 using minor bolt-ons is just not feasible, so getting back to my baseline 350hp would actually be part of the major build itself. I've considered things like an '03-'04 Cobra engine/trans swap, but that would only put me 40hp/25lb-ft. ahead, and that could easily cost $10k+. Not to mention I would just have to upgrade all the Cobra specific parts for even more power later, which makes me think that I may just be better of doing a S/C, heads/cams on the 4.6 that came in the car, and skip the Cobra swap. I'd say that the Mark VIII definitely has potential, but in order to make real power, someone would have to develop a plan and stick to it, otherwise you could easily end up spending good $ after bad in the pursuit of power.
 
That's a good idea to get a 96 with the OBD2, you have a lot more tuning options as well as data logging options with OBD2. However, 96 Mark VIII's are hard to find, they made the smallest amount of Mark VIII's that year.
 
yea i like the 96, are you planing on getting a mark that is crap for like 1 grand and building from the ground up or getting a nicer one for like 6 grand?
 
96mark8 said:
yea i like the 96, are you planing on getting a mark that is crap for like 1 grand and building from the ground up or getting a nicer one for like 6 grand?
Click to expand...

Not exactly crap I had in mind, but I was thinking that I may be able to pick up one with a bad trans for pretty cheap. I've been looking around for more info on how to convert the air ride over to coils as the problematic air ride seems to be a contributing factor to the price tag. I figure a trans would be getting replaced anyway, and likely would the air ride eventually as well. About the only thing I would insist on (besides a presentable color combo) is it'd have to be a '96 with a factory moonroof. I know that there are some Mark VIII's here in Tx that can be had for about 2-grand (in real fine condition - they just have about a billion miles on the clock), so I figure they should get cheaper from there depending on the severity of the issue(s). I'd still expect all the gadgets to work, and near perfect paint/interior, but I wouldn't want to hot-rod a pristine low-mileage original. "They're only original once." Sorry so long, but the short answer: Somewhere in between perfect for $7k, and crap for a grand. Maybe I could pick up a real nice black/black with a burnt trans and leaky bags for a grand (or less) - I dunno. I guess you can say I'll be on the lookout for a perfect piece of crap. :facesjump
 
Welcome

Hey dude, I had a 66 goat that I bought in 1973 for $600- 389, 4 speed, manual brakes, heater delete- in Hawaii, wish I still had the car!
MK VIII's are, to use a term you used and true "gentlemen's hot rod". I spank Mustangs and others regularly with my "old man's car".
Boy does it piss off a GT when I keep up with them or pass on by.
Anyway, a blower and/or NOS is the real way to make power with these cars.
Its funny, but the old days of adding headers, hot spark, cams, octane boosters, gears and other items have gone the way of Dinos. I've still got a big-block, holleyed, comp-cammed, malloryed, edelbrocked, shift-kitted C6, F250 pick-up that weighs 5700 lbs. that sounds like hell-on-wheels and will pull the gates of hell off their hinges, if I needed to. But those old days just don't work now.
So buy one now, blow it or giggle gas it and start spankin' some GM ass, and remember--------you can do it at the opera, at the yacht club or the country club, or the strip. But Mark VIII's Motorvate!
 
I managed to pick up a 96' for $1000 cause the check engine light was on and it had 136k on the clock. I'm pushing 186k now so that's not bad for a 1G car :p

Only thing I would watch out for tho is that it is OBDII. So anything you modify has to be right so you don't trip the check engine light. The IMRC's are a PITA and are 96' only :mad:
 
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