Sixties Continentals weak point #1: clunk

The 1964-1965 Lincoln Continental has three weak points. Their potential for damage can be summarized as 'clunk, crash and burn'. Today we address #1: clunk.
  

Attention all MEL 430 & MEL 462 owners (1958-1968). Your engine was originally equipped with a camshaft timing gear that has nylon teeth and an aluminium centre. These were used for quiet engine operation. The concern was not longevity once out of warranty. It should have been replaced decades ago. If yours hasn't... do it now. All-metal replacements timing sets are readily available. Cloyes is the preferred brand.

Age alone will have caused the nylon teeth to become brittle and subject to breaking off, ending up in the oil pan and clogging the oil pick-up screen, thereby choking off the oil pump (a fatal blow to any engine). With the timing slipping, you're looking at bent valves, bent push rods, damaged pistons. Here's what mine looked like. There are way more cracks than the photo shows. The mechanic that rebuilt my engine stated that if I had left my car idle for twenty or thirty or thirty minutes, things would have gone bad.

Another Dutch '64 owner was less lucky. He was test driving his recently acquired Continental after the car sat for almost 5 years. The oil pressure began to fall and then went away all together. Here's what he found in his oil pan:

I'm not certain the timing chain teeth fragments caused the snapped oil pump drive shaft by blocking the oil pick-up screen and putting more strain on the pump than drive shaft could handle. But looking at that photo we could (and should) assume they're related. At any rate; the cam timing gear had one tooth left:

About that oil pump drive shaft, here's another tip that could prevent you a lot of trouble. The original is literally as thin as a pencil and isn't up to the job. It is prone to twisting itself into a curly fry when overstrained and ultimately snaps. I've seen a shaft that had twisted itself in three places - but not either end. 

That's where this billet drive shaft from Precision Oil Pumps in California, (559)325-3553, comes in. The chance of curly-frying is much smaller with this round, thicker shaft. Whenever you get the chance, replace your original oil pump drive shaft with this billet drive shaft. 
 
This replacement works for the MEL engines. It is an FE drive shaft that is +.0375" longer for Main Girdle Applications. This shaft is about .075 too long, but the MEL guys get them and grind that amount off the bottom (pump end) to make them fit. Just use a bench grinder. The shafts are +/- $20.00 plus shipping.