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Assembly thread, 1942 Lincoln Zephyr Club Coupe


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I believe Hagerty has found me one in California.

While the front end appears to be rebuilt I sure am glad I checked the rear brakes.

I finished the installation of the rear body isolators and reinstalled the rear axle. With the car back on jackstands it was time to check the rear end. The front had been stripped of the brake parts and the components looked pretty good, but the rears had been done without a modern seal and the grease went everywhere. I am going to treat the car, and myself, to a complete brake job including new drums, shoes, hardware, seals, bearings and races. I already have stainless-lined wheel cylinders and a new master cylinder. New hoses and stainless steel brake lines will make the brakes operate as well as can be expected. As long as I drive it within its capabilities and limitations things should work out well. I drive our classic cars a lot different than our daily drivers.

When I did the mechanical restoration on Gi's '41 Ford pick-up I used an on-line parts store called Joe's Antique Auto Parts. I became very familiar with the catalogue as I replaced every wear part on the chassis. It drives like a new truck, for better or worse.

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The more I started assembling this car the more I found similarities in the parts, as they have the same part numbers. I compared the LZ parts book with the on-line catalogue and found that parts were dirt cheap as they are being reproduced for the collector market for Ford fans at half the price of Zephyr parts.

I have to laugh when I hear people complain that Lincolns are just gussied-up Fords, like that's something new. People didn't have a problem with it then, why now? While the Lincoln and Ford of 1942 didn't share a platform all the components that bolted to them were shared. Then as now, the underpinnings were the same, but the perceived luxury increased.

The brake drum has a wear indicator in the form of a tiny groove on the drum with an X next to it. It was an easy wear gauge. If the drum was still good a feeler gauge would bottom out. If the feeler gauge went through the hole the drum was worn.

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While ruined with grease, for lack of a seal, the brake shoes were hardly worn telling me that someone put new brakes on very worn drums. Shamefully dangerous.

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Each side of the vent seal got a coat of black 3M adhesive, let it set for 15 minutes.

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There is no margin for error as it's contact cement. You need to get it right the first time.

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I was in error on my last post thinking the slot in the drum indicated advanced wear. The slot is to gauge the gap between the shoe and drum at any point in it;s rotation. The drums measured out at 12.010, .020, .025 and .040, well under the .090 a drum can be turned over its original size.

The shoes I removed were nearly new, but were grease soaked. The original axle seals were not great. I've sent off the old shoes for relining and arcing to fit a specific drum size. When that's done you have maximum braking capacity from day one instead of waiting for your brakes to "wear in".

Everything was pretty greasy. A degreaser bath and about a half hour in my blast booth and the back plates were ready for primer.

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Self-etching primer. Note to self, do not spray parts on a foam board.

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Some more etching will be required. The gas tank was sealed at all its openings, but condensation formed, causing rust to form.

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Most of what I could see was still clean, but there was excessive rust where the pick-up tube rests about a quarter-inch above the bottom of the tank. There's no screen on the pick-up-tube.

I'll rectify this by doing a liquid gas tank liner. This will be the 4th one I've done. It's a lot of work, physically, and the chemicals are just nasty. The first step cleans away the residue of dried up gas or the sludge that may remain. That's done with Acetone. Once the tank is clean its treated to a metal prep, which is an acid that eats away any rust in the pits of the steel and prepares the surface for the dial step once blown dry. A liquid liner material is dumped in and the tank sealed at all the openings. the tank is flipped end over end and in every direction to ensure a thorough and liberal coating on the whole surface. This is done for a prescribed time. Once that time is reached any excess liquid is drained off and what remains will cure after all of the openings allow the tank to vent. Gasoline residue doesn't stick to it and it an impervious barrier is formed. Because the meat surface is covered the tank is less likely to condense moisture on the cold metal.

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After I took the backplates off I could plainly see that nothing had been "restored" only paint over dirt. A wire wheel some cleaning and it was ready for some cosmetic work. The bearing surface looked like new.

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Our '41 Ford Pick-up has a similar rear axle. It has a spot for a lube fitting, but this spot should never be lubed unless you have everything apart so you can see how much grease you put in. If you put in too much grease it will end up in your brakes.

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The odd-shaped box around the center of the axle is the grease "slinger" designed to catch what people overfill. There's not a lot of room in there so too much grease could be disastrous. That's what ruined the shoes on this car. With it apart I was able to flush out all the old lubricant and replace it with a modern lube. I then put the seal in, in place of the grease fitting.

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The metal brake parts were treated to a degreaser that's also a mild acid that somehow protects the metal once air dried.

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I had the sway bar repaired as I found it didn't really carry much tension the way it's used. It was TIGged and ground before being brought up a high temp and allowed to cool slowly in a bucket of sand. That pretty much wraps up the front end. I'll tighten the bushing clamps when the car is at ride height.

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Is the rear bumper the same as the 46-48?

No the rear bumper is shorter on a 42 Many used the 46 with the extra chrome guards and made it look like the new Lincoln but is is different. Can be used by welding the end guard holes shut and then chrome plating. The bumper is longer but most people wouldn't notice it.

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In preparation of installing the gas tank I checked the bag marked "Sending unit". I could see through the bag and did't see the nicely restored temperature and oil pressure sending units wrapped neatly in bubble plastic.

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The factory undercoating must have been still soft when the gas tank was installed as the anti-squeak strips on the tank embedded themselves in the tarry substance. I used the identical material and used adhesive to large a new piece exactly where it was when new. I could never have been that accurate attaching it to the tank.

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I bought a replacement cable, but it was wimpy compared to the original so I opted to clean it up and restore its operation. One of the lever return springs was broken in 5 pieces. I simply unwound the old springs and wound on the new.

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The brake cable is off-center. The equalizer allows the cable to slide putting equal pressure on both rear brakes.

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With a single circuit master cylinder you need a functioning and reliable emergency brake.

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Fresh rubber for the fronts and the rear axle brake hoses.

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This is a wiper tower. It differs from the Zephyr tower slightly in decoration, but is a perfect fit.

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The towers were the same operation, but the linkage that move them varied from car to car. I cut the old linkage off each tower and ground away the peened head until it fit the old linkage. I peened the stem over locking the new tower to the old linkage.

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Unnecessarily complicated.

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Everything lined up perfectly. The vacuum motor on the left moves an arm about 90°. That motion makes the linkage move laterally which moves a chain in the tower that makes the wipers sweep back and forth.

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Unfortunately, the motor only ran in one direction. The flipper linkage in the vacuum valve seems defunct. I was ready to ship it to a specialist when I was told he doesn't work on these. Back to the drawing board.

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Beautiful and flowing design.

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Once I knew the linkage worked I decided to install the dashboard. I have a good days work wiring it up. I had thought about wiring it before installing the dash, but I think this will be the better way. It'll remind me of when I installed car stereos for a living.

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I wish the wiper guru had agreed to work on this as It took a lot more time than the $129 he charges for a rebuild.

It turns out there was nothing wrong with the motor at all, other than lubricant that turned to stone and someone's previous addition of a spacer where one was not necessary. I only had it apart 3 times before I figured that out. It functions perfectly, at least as far as perfectly goes with vacuum wipers. However, there will be a hidden fix up under the dash where the radio would go. I'm going to install a modern vacuum canister with a check valve on the feed from the engine and a "T" to the vacuum reserve. When the vacuum from the engine drops on acceleration the check valve closes leaving the wipers to draw on a reserve. It's not a new idea, the vacuum assist brakes on our Mark II has a similar reserve/check valve arrangement.

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While I'm waiting for brake parts I'll work on wiring up the dashboard and troubleshooting any electrical problems before installing the engine.

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Since this is stripped down luxury car it might just be more realistic with blackwalls.

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It's really starting to come alive. I am still astonished at the condition of what he started with. The only rust I've seen ay sign of is under the motor mounts where water was trapped. The rest of the car has an extremely well thought out drainage system that seems to have worked very well.

1930's cooling system. Early cabin filter. :)

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Most of the cars wiring is on circuit breakers except the clock and the turn signals. The brown handle to the right controls The operation of the cowl vent. The silver rods on either side of it are mechanical linkages for the choke and throttle. The hood release is the knob on the left and a courtesy light to its right. The knobbed control in the center of the picture is the overdrive lockout. The square hole at the bottom of the picture is where the steering column passes through the firewall.

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Once the wiring was complete I hooked up a 6-volt battery charger. I heard the clock winding mechanism operate and saw the dash lights come on. The speedometer is pretty dark, but the rest of the gauges are nicely lit.

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Tail and brake lights are fully functional. It's not too bad looking from the rear. The front end looks like a bus.

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The rough sizing of the brake drums was off. 3 were barely worn and the fourth was only .025 of the .090 of wear allowable. The shoes went to Grand Rapids from my local old-time auto parts store, which is now owned by a conglomerate. They don't have much in the way of parts for old cars anymore, but they do have a shop full of 60 year old equipment that would make most machinists drool.

The shoes were made .030 thicker than normal so that they could be shaved down for a perfect arc to match the drum. This procedure gives you maximum shoe/drum contact instead of waiting for the shoes to "wear in". Big cars need good brakes.

Still haven't made up my mind about tires. I'm leaning towards black walls just because of the nature of the skimpiness of the overall "Stripper" nature of the car. I wonder if I can get personalized plates?

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Hi Barry, As usual, you're doing a spectacular job. You seem to find unusual, interesting cars and present your work in pictures and words in an informative, thorough and personal way. If you goof or don't know something (rarely), you say so and we all benefit as a result. Thanks!

And I know you didn't ask, but as one old guy said, "It ain't interferin' to have an opinion." This car would be right with blackwalls, both historically and visually. A look at that ad conjures the vision of the car whispering down a country road, autumn leaves boiling in its wake. The lower rocker stainless molding is the lowest, finishing line on the shape. You can almost imagine the car with no wheels or tires at all, gliding along inches from the surface, powered by some late '40s invention from the labs of Tom Swift. Well...you didn't expect that and I didn't either, but anyway, blackwalls would look great.

Bill

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Black sidewalls: I vote yes.

Please give us more information on your windshield wiper "fix," as you go through the installation. I drive my Packard all over, and would love to "fix" mine the same way. I have zero room behind my dash, so I'm hoping I could mount the reserve tank under the car somewhere???

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The fix is simply a check valve that would slam shut on the feed line from the engine once vacuum dropped on acceleration. Once the valve closes the vacuum reserve would provide a few windshield swipes before the reserve diminished. Yes, under the car would be fine. The vacuum reserve on the Mark II is is one of the tubular cross members. Here's how it works on the Mark II brakes.

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Edited by Barry Wolk (see edit history)
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The entire braking system is finished, short of bleeding it and adjusting the shoes.

The general consensus is that this car, due to its no-option configuration, would not have worn flashy whitewalls. I fought for whitewalls for the Ruxton and lost. I'm glad I did as they would have detracted from the perfect paint and bodywork, like this car has.

Next up, installation of the steering box and shaft. That will pretty much complete the engine compartment. Is there a driveline in this car's near future?

This is coming together pretty quickly.

New springs are an essential part of a good brake job. If the shoes aren't retracted forcefully they will drag on the drum dramatically shortening brake material life. I learned a harsh lesson about brake springs when I was young,

I raged on the car I shared with my mother, a 1967 Delmont 88. It was the ugliest paint scheme, ever, but that's another story.

I let the rear brakes go noisy for far too long. Due to the heat of metal to metal the springs lost their temper. The brand new shoes burned up in 2 months. I should have replaced the hardware, but I didn't. I found various springs on e-bay. They are all OEM parts. This will stop just slightly better than a new 1942 Lincoln Zephyr.

Anybody remember adhering to a break-in period? Arcing the shoes to the drum eliminates that need.

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For comparison purposes.

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Here's another step that many skip. It's essential that all the rub points be lubricated. The brakes are self-centering, but move in and out during braking and move more with wear.

The brand-new cylinders came with the car, as did the stainless-steel brake lines and master cylinder. The only parts I had to order were the flexible brake lines. Since this project seemed to have ceased 10 years ago I'm better off with new hoses.

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The shop that did the turning of the drums ordered exact replacements for the seals. I had asked for modern equivalents, but they ordered freshly made leather seals, instead, stating that there was not a modern equivalent. They should work fine.

I believe these are the very same parts used on our '41 Ford pickup.

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After a lot of consideration I'm going with my first thought and use blackwalls to add to the no-frills aspect of this near-luxury vehicle.

The transmission mount is being vulcanized this weekend. Mike is doing a tutorial to show how much work it is to make the molds and rebuild motor and transmission mounts.

This is Coker's American Classic tire. It's a radial tire made to very closely match its bias-ply counterpart. Intuitively I thought the Lincoln Zephyr would take a larger tire, but it only had a 7.00 x 15 as standard. The cross section is a very narrow 7.7 inches, identical to the original bias ply. The diameter is about 1/2" smaller, but that's pretty insignificant. The key is that the spare tire compartment has a lid that rests on the spare tire. Any taller tire and the trunk floor wouldn't sit flat.

I couldn't tell it was a radial. With the side ribbing it looks very much like a period-correct bias-ply tire.

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After grinding the paint off the gas tank It had an oily film so I felt the need to sand-blast the tank, inside and out. Before I started I was able to rotate the tank in enough directions that the loose rust worked it way around the internal baffles and out the neck. This was supposedly a restored gas tank.

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The baggie contains what came out of the tank before sand-blasting. A cloud of rust came out when blasting the inside. On Sunday I'll do the gas tank liner. The process pretty much goes like plating. The degrease is caustic and breaks up grease and oil residue. Once the tank is cleaned it gets an internal acid bath. Acetone is swished around to get rid of any moisture and then the tank blown dry. Then the liquid liner is poured in and distributed evenly through the inside of the sheet metal. Once exposed to air the material starts to set up. You pour off the excess and are left with a liner that seals all leaks and will never rust.

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This is a torque tube, a throwback to earlier days, like the transverse spring suspension. It take the place of a modern drive shaft with only a u-joint at the back of the overdrive.It will be painted black.

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Edited by Barry Wolk (see edit history)
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Great looking job! A couple of heads ups. The sender unit showned looks to be in a gray primer. Be sure to sand or scuff the lower side to get a good ground to the tank. The other thing is the pic of the bearings, which are indeed as you noted, you are missing the fiber washer (in the pic anyway) which goes between the drum and outside washer and axle nut. You sure seem to know what you are doing so I'm probely just trying to build my post count.

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The sending unit can be painted as it sits on an insulating cork gasket. The ground is attained through the screws and star washers being used as the ground path The tank itself is grounded to the body, but I might add an auxiliary ground to the sending unit. The car is wired for an electric fuel pump. That's under consideration.

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Well, they have a full frame that all the body panels are welded to. I guess that's unibody.

I could have repaired the emergency brake cable. Winding new springs onto the cable didn't work. They lost their tension and stayed compressed the first time I pulled the emergency brake. I could have cut the compression ferrule off one end and slid on new springs and rubber boots, but I just wasn't confident that I know how much or how little pressure to use to crimp on a new end. I just wasn't going to take the risk for $189.

Today we call it the Parking Brake, but back then it was truly an Emergency Brake. Dual-circuit master cylinders didn't become the norm until I was a teenager. With only a single circuit any failure of any of the three hoses or 4 wheel cylinders would bleed away any chance of stopping the car with the brake pedal. The standard thing to do would be to pull the emergency brake. That causes a cable to move within the rear brakes that actuates a lever that pushes the shoes up against the inside of the drum, just like the cable brakes on our '33 Continental. It gives the driver the ability to stop the car with just the rear brakes.

The beautifully made cable has a bit of a design flaw. It's made of a slightly larger material and won't fit properly in the clamp.

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I could clearly see that there was a size difference in the basic wire wrapped cable. Both cables are wrapped on the end to keep the cable from fraying at the end under pressure. The new cable is .035 larger, keeping the clamp from seating properly enough to compress a standard gasket. I believe I can accomplish the same thing by making a thicker cork gasket to seal out moisture.

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Every single bit of the brake system is new. Nothing left to chance. I still marvel that there is no sign of there ever having been rust, anywhere.

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Rear drums installed with new seals. Tires are mounted and balanced. New axle seal. Keeps grease in and corrosion off the tapered axle.

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Transmission mount ready to install.

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These are the shift levers. These bushings isolate the shifter rods from the lever inside the car. I need to peen the end so that the brass washer is captured, but I have no idea what tool to use.

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Electrical done. Well, almost done. The right turn signal doesn't work. Next up. retrieve the speedometer gear off of the parts car after removing transmission. Ford used a torque tube rather than a conventional drive shaft so that needs to go back together before the trans can go onto the newly rebuilt mount.

I find it interesting that the dome light is only controlled by a switch on the passenger side "B" pillar. This is a throwback to the days when most people would enter and exit through the passenger or "curb side". The driver would lock their door from the inside and slide across and exit onto the dry curb rather than the muddy street. The locks on many cars were on the passenger side, only.

I started rummaging for a ball bearing when I happened across an acorn nut with the right profile. A couple of twists of the vise handle and the washer was captured.

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Peening those brass bushings allowed me to finish assembling the gear shift linkage. There are 9 parts that all have to line up and stay in the correct orientation with the column shift lever.

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Same shot to show how the shift levers work. Lucky I have this car to use as a guide.

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The inside of this car is cavernous. The previous owner opted to use a bubble sound deadener. I don't see how it harms anything, so I'm going to leave it. The dashboard is done, all the lights work. The clock keeps good time. The time is set by pressing a button under the dash. The hands advance at about 100 times normal speed.

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The turn signal works. It was a bad solder joint. Discovered there's a light in the trunk that's controlled by the dome light switch. Restored that and installed a new lamp. Figured out that the starter solenoid was installed incorrectly, explaining why the starter button wasn't working. It does now.

Radiator shop found a couple of leaks but declared the radiator serviceable. The tires are likely done. I may want to move it before I drop the engine in it.

Next up, reinstall rear axle and start cleaning transmission for a paint job in "Lincoln Green"

"Preserved"?

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Restored as-new.

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After removing the transmission I had access to the speedometer gear.

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I only had to remove one snap ring, that was a pretty frustrating 15 minutes.

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The prize!

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I realized that the rear axle, which had already been installed when I got it, should have had the torque tube installed before the rear axle was installed. Theres an opening in the center of the frame that the torque tube needs to pass through directly above where it's shown now. The entire rear axle will have to be removed and reinstalled as a unit. It's relatively simple, but cumbersome. I just have to remove the rubber hose and emergency brake lines and disconnect the shocks. Once the spring is released from the cross-member the whole unit can be dropped down, pulled back, tipped up and reinstalled. It sounds easy.

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I tried. There is a bit of tension on the rear end. If you support the car by the axle the differential angle changes too much and when supported by the springs this is what you get. It'd be a bit of labor, but removing it and reinstalling it is quite simple. One brake hose, disconnect the shocks and spring clamps and it's out of there. Henry got that part right.

Edited by Barry Wolk (see edit history)
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I thought this through so many times that relocating the rear axle to its proper position was a snap.

Getting the torque tube in position was quite simple. I only used a floor jack and two sets of jack stands. I almost called in some help, but decided to go it alone.

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The torque tube and speedometer drive gear are in place. I test fit the transmission mount. I'll test fit it to the transmission next.

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I'll have the tires and the radiator back tomorrow. Transmission electrical controls and cosmetics next.

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Well, they have a full frame that all the body panels are welded to. I guess that's unibody.

I think they actually consider it Monobuilt. It is a bit different than unibody and Hudson was the same way. had an external frame welded to the body panels - or vice versa :-)

Eric

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Baby got some new shoes. I think that this particular car would not have come with higher-cost whitewall tires. The tire I bought is an American Classic by Coker Tire. It's a radial construction tire that's built in a bias-ply-like mold. The critical measurements are the same but offers considerable handling advantages.

The car was designed around a tire. The car came with a 700 x 15 bias ply that had a 7.7" crossection, or tire height when fully inflated and lying down. Previous Lincoln Zephyrs were shod with 14" tires. 1942 was the first year for 15" wheels and the beefier suspension. The trunk floor literally lies on top of the tire so it was important to match the original. Not only did they match the measurements they sure nailed the appearance. If it didn't have all the DOT warnings on it it's hard to tell if it's a radial or not.

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The huge fender skirts probably cover 80% of the rear tire.

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The fronts will be in full view from the side. I put the tires on it so I can jockey it around so that I have some room in front of the car to use the engine hoist.

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The radiator was plugged but came clean after some time "boiling". Ferndale Radiator does a great job. I didn't know places like that were allowed to exist. They're little toxic waste dumps.

The fins were all smashed on this side. I can hardly tell. It's been pressure checked and flow tested and should serve us well.

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Previous Lincoln Zephyrs were shod with 14" tires.

You meant 16-inch.

These are obviously the best looking radial tires for prewar cars yet. As for "considerable handling advantages" of radial tires, that would certainly be true for emergency braking distances, and when traversing deep ruts in the road. Otherwise, prewar car chassis designs don't seem to gain the "considerable" advantage. The main disadvantage of radial tires is longevity. For those who only drive their cars 2,000 miles per year, that means that after only about 10,000 miles, you need to replace all your tires.

Edited by West Peterson (see edit history)
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This appears to be an OEM steering wheel that somehow survived. Most I've seen have severe cracking.

The steering wheel has a small flaw, but not big enough to not use a nearly perfect original wheel. It does not appear to be recast or repaired. The color matches all of the other knobs. The horn rim is very nicely chromed. It's starting to look like a car.

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I'm more than pleased with the looks of the new tires. The new tie rod end gets installed tomorrow completing the steering.

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This is a very clever device that governs the speed at which the overdrive can be engaged. It uses the same principle as the "balls-out" governors seen on steam engines. In this case the balls are cubes of brass that fling themselves outward when the gear they're attached to rotates. When they move outboard they make the center pin rise pushing upward against the switch mechanism in the lid shown below. The upward motion acts against a spring-loaded switch that allows engagement at a preset speed. The wiring for this entire car was frayed. Insulation flaked off everywhere, but the steel of the body remained like new. The wire itself was fine. It just needed two layers of heat shrink tubing to look right.

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I've painted the transmission. I'll use the engine lift to put it in place.

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Had to leave at 2:00 to get Thanksgiving dinner started. I accomplished what I set out to do.

I created a sling from a lifting strap and got the trans up on some sawhorses. Once at that height I had to calculate how long the sling needed to be to clear the top of the door opening and still lift the trans high enough to get it in place.

I had some Ford engine green left over from the '41 Ford pick-up freshening. I bought a can of Lincoln green to do the engine.

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I guessed right. There was no problem getting it in. Were I to do this again I'd lift behind the bell housing for the extra maneuverability.

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The area on the '47 trans where they mate to the torque tube was really built up with dirt/grease. I wanted to make sure that that didn't happen with this car. The sealant has a workability time so I got all of the constituent parts and fasteners gathered before starting the mating of the torque tube. All of the moving parts were pre-lubed so that once the spline shaft was aligned it slid together perfectly.

This is an incredibly well thought out and well-built car.

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I didn't want any of the sensors or switches damaged so I removed anything breakable. Once the overdrive was coupled with the torque tube the bolts for the trans mount dropped right into place. They were snugged, but will allow the trans to move for mating to the engine and aligning the engine/trans/torque tube once everything is in place.

Next up is the speedometer drive and cable installation and hooking up the clutch and shifter mechanisms.

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This is moving along nicely. The transmission shift linkage and wiring are done. The dashboard wiring is complete. It just needs to be neatened.

Steering is hooked up. There is no slop.

Installed the new speedometer cable and drive unit. It's ready for the engine.

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The treasure trove of parts provided new brass and rubber bushings for the shifter linkage.

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You can see the shifter linkage coming down from the steering column. I don't know how they expected the paint to stay on the steering column during installation.

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Finished the wiring of the various electrical and mechanical safeties built into the overdrive system. Installed the brake pedals after installing seals where the pedals pass through the floor.

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The engine came to me fully primed with obviously new gaskets. I had considered pulling the heads, but decided to leave well-enough alone.

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The intake manifold and bolts showed signs of rust so I let it in place while I painted the rest of the engine after a vacuum and quick rinse in brake cleaner.

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I'm glad I didn't take anything else on the engine apart. This engine has received the best of attention. The entire oil galley is painted in a material that prevents porous cast iron from wicking oil. The interior of this engine is about as clean as I've ever seen.

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Further time capsule evidence. The heads have a '42-specific part number cast into them. The engine block number is stamped into the block matching the numbers found on the body and transmission. After the paint dried the numbers became pretty legible.

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The center portion of the trunk cover seems to be made of some kind of composite plywood that is original, but appears new compared to the rotting plywood beside it. I have to make a new piece for the lid to attach to, also. It's a huge trunk, but that back part is pretty inaccessible, unless you're a Moonshiner. it looks like it would be very simple to install a false barrier for that sheet metal area behind the rear seat.

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There is one tool set that's absolutely essential for a successful restoration. Mine was the best birthday gift, ever. While we could barely afford it 30+ years ago my darling wife bought me a large Craftsman tap and die set. It is, by far, the most used in my tool collection.

I was going to drop the engine in and add everything to it. The idea was to have the smallest package for maneuvering it into the engine bay, but discovered that adding the starter, generator, water pumps, distributor and carb doesn't make the package any wider so I've decided to complete the engine while hanging from the hoist.

I've decided to go with the stainless system as the additional cost is nothing in the scheme of things. I'm not going to polish it, just wipe it down with alcohol before it's used for the first time. Oils left by your hands will quickly turn your handprint brown.

It'll take 3-4 weeks to get the system as they are made to order. I should have it ready to run by then.

I'm getting real close and I don't seem to be missing much. That's pretty incredible considering that parts were scattered over a 75,000 square foot warehouse with auto parts strewn everywhere. The most serious thing I'm missing is the back bumper.

Over the years people make repairs and don't always put the right length bolt back in. If that bolt happens to go into a water jacket corrosion can build up in the threads that will make a bolt stick, or worse, break off. Also, if there's corrosion in the threads of the nut or bolt you won't get a true torque reading.

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This is all I've ever needed to work on an American car. Coarse and fine threads are essential as most vehicles have both. These are typically referred to as rethreading dies as they will cut new threads, but are designed to clean up old threads. Cutting dies are typically round with a set screw depression to keep it from turning in a holder.

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I spent the entire day doing nothing but chasing threads, sandblasting and plating nuts and bolts. The starter and generator are supposedly rebuilt by the same guy that did the engine and trans. The water pumps were done by a specialist.

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