Searching for 41 Zephyr

[cw4dove]

Greetings Lincoln enthusiasts,

I am searching for the 1941 Lincoln Zephyr that my father owned from around 1950 until he sold it in the late 80's or early 90's. He owned this car when he and my mom met and married and kept it all those years. He had restored the car just prior to having to sell due to bankruptcy. The car was painted the original light green color with a tan cloth interior. It had the original V-12 engine that had been rebuilt by a flathead specialist in Texas. His name was Billy C. Dove and he lived in Livingston Texas. That is where the car would have been purchased. Anyone with information please contact me at billycdovejr@sbcglobal.net. Thanks for your help.

PS It may have been the early to mid 80's when he had to sell the car. I remember that is the period of his bankruptcy.

Billy C. Dove, Jr

[Jim_Edwards]

Have you contacted anyone with the Houston Chapter of the Lincoln and Continental Owners Club (LCOC). A car like that will be remembered by someone.

Also if you have knowledge of the last license plate number for the vehicle from paperwork or an old photo it can likely be traced and the buyer identified. Of course it might have a subsequent owner by now.

Jim

[cw4dove]

Thanks for the reply Jim, I have not made contact with the local LZOC. I don;t have the license number, VIN or anything. All of those records were lost long ago, after my Dad passed in 1996. I will try to locate someone in the local club. Thanks.
Billy

[John Murphy]

My 1970 LZOC directory shows your Dad joining the LZOC in 1970 and dropping his membership after 1972. No record in the directory from that date on. The directory does not show any information about a car-only his name, PO box and Livingston, Texas. Sorry our records no help. John

[cw4dove]

Thanks John, please keep searching as I know someone will remember. That is definetly him in 1970-72. I just know someone knows who bought that car, possibly a member of the lzoc in houston. Does the name Warner Baines ring a bell?

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

W Baines was a favored member in lzoc, he used to write silly liitle commentarys
of flys in paint, childhood neighbors etc... I met him in Gettysburg back in the late 70's? He was flirtin with my buddys mom, but thats another story.. I think the problem is that
very few older members are on this forum..or have gone the way of Mssrs Baines, Nichols, Olmstead, Olweiller etc. The editor D. Cole has no internet?? , but his son does..his email is rilico ....something or other ..
You should reach Mr Phil Knapp in the great state of TX, He will know about Mr. Baines...and he reads this ..(havent heard from him in a while, hope he is ok)

[Phil Knapp]

I never met Warner Baines. I understand that he creatively added A/C to his 41(?) Continental sometime in the 70's. At that time we lived in the land of fruits and nuts (and flakes). Now that we live in Texas, I understand why he did that!

Given the V12 propensity for overheating, our Continental stays in the barn most of the summer. It has no heater so it stays there for much of the winter too! It has no overdrive, so it doesn't compete with the crazy Texas freeway traffic at ANY time. It's a TIRED, OLD original car with 84,000 miles on it so it doesn't get out very much! BUT - I'm working on a Columbia axle for it.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/557478162IZJiRf

BTW, does anybody know of a source for the outside rear view mirror heads? My left side mirror got so loose that it was no longer adjustable so I replaced it with the head off the right side mirror. (The right side mirror is practically useless on a Continental, but I would like to have one there). They're 4 1/2 inches in diameter. I have one of the late Dick Schell's left side mirrors on my 1947 Continental but that head is only 4 inches in diameter.

[John Murphy]

Billy. Email me at johnandmarjorae@embarqmail.com. John

[Sweepspear]

Greetings Lincoln enthusiasts,

I am searching for the 1941 Lincoln Zephyr that my father owned from around 1950 until he sold it in the late 80's or early 90's. He owned this car when he and my mom met and married and kept it all those years. He had restored the car just prior to having to sell due to bankruptcy. The car was painted the original light green color with a tan cloth interior. It had the original V-12 engine that had been rebuilt by a flathead specialist in Texas. His name was Billy C. Dove and he lived in Livingston Texas. That is where the car would have been purchased. Anyone with information please contact me at billycdovejr@sbcglobal.net. Thanks for your help.

Billy C. Dove, Jr

Good luck on your search Billy!
I looked for info on my late Father's '40 Continental on the board here, but the trail went dry.
Looking for info on my late Father's 1940 Continental.
Maybe some of the people I was directed to in my thread can help you too.

[cw4dove]

Hello Everyone,

Just an update on my search for my Dad's 41 Zephyr. I have found out that he was a member of the LZOC in the early 70's. His member number was 353. Also the model number of the car I am seeking is 16H-73-3045 and the VIN is H112450. If there is a central registry for these cars, can anyone run these numbers and come up with a current owner? I am going to run the VIN through the DMV here in Texas and see what comes up.

On another note, I located Mr. Warner Baines, he is still alive and well at 86 years old. Spoke with him briefly on the phone. He is not in the hobby any longer and sold his Lincoln a few years ago. Still a spry and interesting character though.

I appreciate everyone's help and responses. I will post my progress here as I continue my search for my Dad's 41 Zephyr. Thanks again everyone, happy holidays!

Billy Dove

[cw4dove]

UPDATE: The Texas DMV has purged all records prior to 1994, so no luck there. Looks like the only way to find this car is through the LZOC. Is there a central data base of these cars? Can anyone put the current owner of 16H-73-3045 in touch with me? Thanks!!

Billy Dove

[cw4dove]

UPDATE: The DMV just emailed me back that they did find a record for the car! I have sent them the required reqest and am waiting for their response!

[cw4dove]

UPDATE: I have found out that my dad sold H112450 to Tim Urban of Baytown Texas in 1988 and that the Texas title was surrendered to Michigan in 1993! Tim, if you are out there please contact me!!

[JimNap]

Michigan also does not keep records for very long, but you can try this:

State of Michigan: Automotive Title Histories

I tried this once years ago attempting to locate records of a previous family-owned 1963 Mercury Comet to no avail.

On the plus side, in the latest LZOC newsletter it was announced that there are efforts to detail current ownership records of the active membership. It's a shame this wasnt done in years past to better trace ownership history over the decades. Fortunately in my case before I surrendered the previous title to get my own current title, I made multiple copies of the previous owner's title and he was also able to furnish me with a copy of the title from the owner before him dating back to the early 70's.

With the advent of the internet in the early 90's and the subsequent classic car boom driven by various auction houses (RM, etc) , chances are pretty good your car was sold again after arriving in Michigan.

Keep checking back with LZOC after the owner data has been collected and a new membership directory published. This happens only once per year so you may have to be really patient or stay in touch with someone culling and passing along the data to the directory publisher for the most up-to-minute information.

Lastly, if you find the car is still in Michigan and are looking for someone to go look at it, photo it, etc. Send me a msg. I dont keep in touch with any other LZOC members locally (sadly), but I'll try to help reconnect you with your fathers car if I can.

[cw4dove]

Jim, thanks for all the info! I have sent to the state of Michigan a request for a title history on the car. Hopefully they will turn up something, haven't heard any thing back though. If it is still there and the owner is interested in selling, I would like someone to look at her, thanks for the offer. If he won't sell then I would still like to see her myself, and at least let him know when he is ready to sell I would like first chance. I am determined to find this car as it has great sentimental value to me.

[cw4dove]

UPDATE: Heard from Tim Urban. He remembered the car well and my Dad. Sadly, he doesn't remember the name of the man he sold her to. The only information he could offer was that he worked in the styling department for General Motors and is probably retired now, as he was older than Tim when he purchased the car. The gentleman had some trouble with shippers arranging to get the car to Michigan, the first shipper just never came and got the car and he finally got a second shipper to pick her up and get her to Michigan. Working GM in the styling department, I would assume he would have lived in the Detroit or Flint area?

[cw4dove]

UPDATE: Well, it appears the state of Michigan does not have a record of H112540. Back to square one. If anyone out there recognizes any of this story, please contact me. I really would like to find my dad's old Lincoln. It appears so far that he sold the car to Tim Urban of Baytown Texas in 1988 and Tim sold the car to a gentleman from Michigan who worked for GM in the styling/design department in 1993. The state of Texas surrendered the Texas title to the state of Michigan in 1993. So far that is where the story ends. You Michigan enthusiasts, does any of this ring a bell? Please contact me if you have any info. Thanks.

[cw4dove]

Still searching. Lost trail in Michigan, generated new post to see if any new leads.
Billy

[cw4dove]

Still searching for my dad's old 41 Zephyr!! H112450 seems to have disapeared while in Michigan. Any help appreciated!!!!

[cw4dove]

Still haven't found H112450, any leads out there? Billy.

[cw4dove]

Still searching, more info in post "photos of H112450" Thanks for everyone's replies andhelp.

Billy

[cw4dove]

still haven't found H112-450, still looking.

[cw4dove]

Still searching for H112450.

[Glenns]

I recently inherited 3 Lincolns from my Father in-law. He was quite an enthusist. He had a 41 Zephyr, 46 Continental, and a 48 Coupe in his barn when he passed away. I do have your Dad's old Zephyr. It has been sitting in the barn in Michigan since he bought it, sometime in the early 90s. It did not have the V12 when he bought the car, this must have been removed by the previous owner. Otherwise it is in very good shape. Interesting that I was google seachering H112450 to learn more about the vehicle, when I came across this post. Please feel free to contact me at glennschober@gmail.com

[Lil Red Coupe]

How cool is this, amazing the powers of the internet. Hope this trail continues. Absolutely fascinating.