My Visit To Mark's Garage

My Mark II was badly in need of getting both doors alighned properly and the passenger window was off its track... no one in my town wanted or had the experience to do the job so I imposed on Mark Maromonte (Lincoln Mark) and he agreed. So last week it was off to U-Haul to rent the auto transport trailer and hitch it up to son Dave's F-250. See pic 1.

Towing 400 miles was an experience.. maybe I'll write a post on that.. along with how to load a trailer. But sticking to the subject, I was overwhelmed with Mark's hospitality and enthusiam to work on my car. His facilities are awesome. His inventory of parts for a Mark II is a sight.

Previously Mark posted nicer pictures of his Mark IIs but I'm posting random shots of the stuff I saw. He now has a black one which I failed to photograph. You can see the various cars he has ready for work. The covered motor and Frame is a Mark II. Additionally there's a '56 Premiere 4 door and a '55 Capri.

Mark had my job done in about 4 hours. Very few people know this car as well as he... and he is one hell of a good guy. The forum is lucky to have his contributions of experience and knowledge.

Wow! 400 miles just for minor maintenance! I never worked on a Mark II scale 1:1 but, at what I saw, not quite different than another US car from this time. I have difficulties why people in your town would not do that job. Or, maybe, they are afraid from you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger Zimmermann

Wow! 400 miles just for minor maintenance! ... I have difficulties why people in your town would not do that job. Or, maybe, they are afraid from you!

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I don't think anyone's afraid of me -- I hope not..... but doing the window and door alignment work is outside of minor maintenance when you consider no one in Chicago that I could locate has the knowledge or prior experience to do it and most importantly --- the parts.

Shelly,
I'll bet U Haul has no idea that 5000 pound girl was on that trailer huh?

Dave

Yes they did.

Here's the specs on their trailer:
Max load: 5,290 lbs. --the Mark II is 4825
Gross vehicle weight: 7,500 lbs. max. - their trailer is 2200 approx... so with the Mark II my tow is 7025 plus a bit more because my car has AC.

Yes, our car comes close to the maximums on the U-Haul Auto Transport trailer. If I had a very long trip I would look for a bigger trailer with greater capacity than the U-Haul auto transport. For a short trip it is adequate, very easy to load and to secure the car, and only costs $55 per day rental.

When towing the Mark II with the U-Haul Auto Transport the concern is that you not exceed 55 mph. It became apparent that over that speed the tow was in danger of fishtailing either by road bumps, abrupt steering wheel movements, side winds, or whatever. I think this is due to the length of the Mark II and its overhang on the rear of the trailer, So I had to keep a good eye on the speed.. especially going down hills where it was very easy to pick up speed. Under 55 no problems. Make sure trailer tires are inflated to at least 60 psi.

Importantly your tow vehicle's hitch must be Class 4 with towing weight capacity in excess of 7500 lbs. The curb weight of your tow vehicle must be at least 80% of the combined weight of your vehicle-in-tow and your auto transport trailer (7500 approx). I would not tow a Mark II on this trailer with your standard SUV. A 1/2 ton truck is minimal.

I also can testify to Mark's on line hospitality and generosity with his parts and knowledge. We are a lucky Forum community to have him and all the other experts who make our ownership of MarkII's more enjoyable...not to mention less traumatic when we need help.....thanks Mark!