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Assembly thread, 1942 Lincoln Zephyr Club Coupe


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It was Austria's "People's Car". I know nothing about it, but I'm about to learn. A pile of documentation (in German) is headed my way. I've already lined up translators. Although, I'm more of an exploded-view guy.

I have learned that there are more than two out there, but not a lot of them.

They weren't all "people's cars." I photographed this 1938 model 220 a couple of years ago. It has won best of show at a couple of concours in the east.

Body by Glaser... which, I think, is the same body builder as Barry's Porsche, no???

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I'm continuing to enjoy seeing the nice work you're doning on the Zephyr. What is the colour called? On my computer screen it is very close in shade to the Royal Maroon on my '41 Mclaughlin Buick Coupe.

Keith

I checked the build sheet and it says Victoria C. Maroon, but I don't know what the "C" stands for.

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Interesting, thanks for double checking. I can post a picture of my car, but I don't want to hijack your fine thread, though if you do a search on the forum, McLaughlin Buick Roadmaster Coupe, you should find the info I've posted, including the pictures.

Keith

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This is a picture I too right before it went into the storage barn in Nov. The colour in this picture is a bit darker than "real life", and it is missing the rocker panel moulding. The originals were seriously beat up by hitting curbs, or something like that, and also had a number of holes drilled in them after the steel retainer rusted out behind them. I now have good ones, and they will go on this Spring!

Keith

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How to make sun visors in one easy lesson.

This is the 1/2 skin in red leather that will be used on the door bottoms, arm rests and trim on the carpeting and the rest of the interior. Cows are bigger than I thought as this is nearly the size of a piece of plywood.

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Dan started by making a template from the old visor, folding it over to see if it's uniform.

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The board has a double crease in the center to house the metal visor support.

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The second is made using the first as a template.

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The visor's inner structure had been encapsulated for 70 years and looked new. The metal assembly is what grips the steel bar that supports the visor.

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Dan shipped the visor supports back to me for restoration. It looks like the trim matches the paint perfectly.

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They're beautiful. I have the new stainless-steel tips for the visors. They just need to be pushed into place.

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While he was at it Dan created a new package shelf. The panel is split and fabric used as a hinge.

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An all-steel body posed problematic for upholsterers. When car bodies were steel sheeting over a wood frame fabric installation was easy. With the advent of all-steel bodies tack strips needed to be built into the steel structure. Some cars use wood and some use other materials. This car used a compressed paper that probably worked pretty well when new, but has since deteriorated and offers insufficient grip for new work. Steel tabs hold the nailer in place. The material is only about a quarter inch thick. Since tacks and staples are thin they curl up when they strike the steel behind the backer, enhancing the grip. The old paper nailer was pried out and disposed of.

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For future reference. If I ever do another car with this type of nailer it will be removed before the car is painted. There appears to be some original primer behind the old strip.

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A new hard plastic strip was trapped in place by bending over the metal tabs. This material offers better consistencey than compressed paper. This is the edge at the rear of the RH door.

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The hard plastic strip runs up one side, across the top and down the other side of the door opening. The first thing that gets attached to the rubber tack strip is the windlace. It acts as a secondary seal to quiet the cabin when the door closes against it.

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The windlace is like fender welt in that it is fabric that is wrapped around a flexible core. The fabric flaps are sewn closed creating a flange that holds the beading in place. Installing the windlace in the door opening causes a problem in that it now covers the location of the metal nailer retainer tabs. The tab you still see exposed is to secure the kick panel using no fasteners. That tab clips into a retainer holding the panel in place.

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The only way to know where the retainer tabs are is to mark their location on the part of the door opening that won't be covered.

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The windlace makes the door opening a finished edge and is a secondary wind barrier for whatever may get past the weatherstripping. You can see the headliner hanging down. It will be trimmed to fit into a hidden fastener strip that will create a finished edge where it meets the wind lace.

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I'd say with over 11 thousand views lots of us are following your thread, Barry. I know I am and learn something new every time. Sometimes I hesitate to respond because simply saying "thanks" over and over again seems a bit lame. I find this and your other assembly threads both fascinating and informative, even if my project is a lowly 32 Dodge, I get lots of useful information.

RT

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Barry, I am following along too.

I learned a long time ago that I am doing a restoration thread for myself rather than others. That way I am not disappointed when others do not chime in.

Just think, maybe in a 100 years or so, someone will still be reading this.

Hate to see you move it, but you are the author and in control.

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Thank you. I used to follow the rules and post my projects in the projects section, but no one ever responded. Once I started posting them in General Discussion they developed a following and people gave me advice and feedback, the real reason I post. I'm fairly new to this. I sure as hell don't know everything so I thought this site a perfect place to post what I'm doing. I do want people to know that I have taken their constructive criticism to heart and have made changes along the way. Well, I think that's obvious when that happens.

I also find that working by myself gives me few opportunities to interact with knowledgeable people. I find it helpful to write out what I've done and look at my own pictures to help to plan my next moves and it offers people with special knowledge a reason to post. I always hung around the old guys for their knowledge. Now that I am one I'm still looking for advice from the same group.

West tells me the projects section is a happening place. I don't see that, but maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe the move here will illicit a response that will make the section more popular.

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I don't know about everyone else but I come here (Our Cars & Restoration Projects) before I go to the general discussion section. In fact, these days the main reason for going over to the general discussion is to see your threads. I have been watching with amazement your work and have never made a single comment since you are way above my capabilities. I keep learning from you and will follow wherever you post.

Phil

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Barry, the 'Our Cars & Restoration Projects' section is the only area I regularly frequent, and it's great to see your threads here. I've gone back to the start of this thread and read the entire thing with much admiration for your beautiful work, as well as your great pics and descriptions. Looking forward to Steyr assembly also. Please don't stop posting here!

Edited by r1lark
spelling...... (see edit history)
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The picture doesn't show up. If it was the blue 3-window, someone sent a picture.

This car was produce as war rationing was increasing. If you look at this picture you'll see a stainless steel strip at the bottom of the door and the bottom of the rear seat side panel. The area above is fabric and below is carpet or leather.

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On this car the leather and trim had been eliminated and it looked real funny without it so I salvaged a stainless strip from the '47 and had Dan add a section of leather to match the front door. Note the small gap between the window trim, stainless strip and windlace. That gap will be finished off with a product that matches the windlace. It's called "wire-on". It has a flange that secures to the now-hidden nailer strip (hence the need for the markings) and folds over concealing the fasteners. You can see the double row in the drawing above.

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A lot of the late thirties-early forties dealer brochures featured interior drawings like the one above. It is fun for me to see one of these interiors being produced in actuality. I hope to have late thirties Nash in my collection before too long. Hopefully I will remember this thread. Great work. Joe

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40phil41 expressed my personal thoughts and feelings exactly. I'm always looking forward to your postings and feel a bit let down when there's a pause in the process. Thank you for your contribution to the hobby with your informative, well presented thread.

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Thank you all for your kind words.

The pictures I took in the house made the materials appear washed out. This is very close to their actual colors. The striped material will be used for the seating surfaces, only.

The upper material is the new headliner that came with the car. We could not exactly match it, but the headliner came with the remains of a bolt big enough to trim the visors and the rear package shelf.

The lower material is as close as we're going to get. There is no place where they are in contact with each other. It covers the front seat backs, door panels and sides of the foot rests.

The center piece is the "windlace", used on the door openings to seal out the wind. In this picture it's attached to the "wire-on" trim that has the same outer jacket as the windlace. It gets nailed to the hidden fastener strip, next to the windlace. The decoative part of the fabric folds over the fasteners creating a finished edge.

The maroon leather will be used on the door bottoms, arm rests and trim throughout the car.

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These are the original interior colors. The square-weave carpet is an acceptable replacement for the woven plastic covering. The whole trunk is bound in red leather.

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Guest BillP

Hi Barry,

I've been away for a couple weeks. Just keep posting somewhere, and be sure to tell us if you leave to go somewhere else so we can find you. I don't comment much anymore about anything, but I'm here almost every day and your work is inspirational.

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Dan uses a pretty heavy-gauge plastic sheeting on the doors. Every drop of water that hits the side door glass ends up inside the door as the only thing to stop it are the anti-rattle "whiskers". Once dirt plugs the drain holes the doors rust out from the inside.

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The back seat area is different. The arm rest intrudes into the space so the barrier went behind it to protect the cloth panel. This window swings open and has a rubber gasket all the way around it so there should be no rain water in here.

The two wires are for the cigarette lighters. One is an auxiliary ground. I always provide a firm pathway on high draw accessories.

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The rear cabin is now complete. The switch for the dome light is behind the strap. It also turns on the trunk light. The door switches illuminate lights under the dash. Note that the "wire-on" has been installed next to the windlace to complete the finished edge.

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He even clocks the screws. :)

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Dan searched high and low for material that had the diamond-shaped weave I saw in the original fabric. He sent a sample off to SMS where they offered to make some, but it would be big bucks for the set-up and run. I couldn't see spending the money on something so fine a detail as to actually be lost, in the scheme of things.

Dan sent me a sample of a new material for the door panels that was so close to the headliner material that I agreed, abandoning that minute item. I was surprised, as was Dan, that the new fabric looked just like the headliner until it was stretched over the panels. I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but the material he bought looks identical to the original.

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Nice find! Must be rather rare.

Keith

I posted on the LZOC FB page that I was looking for tools and a jack and a gentleman in Washington had "resto-modded" his '41 LZ Club Coupe and no longer needed the jack. It wasn't cheap, but it was probably less that bringing all those parts together. Luckily it's the flat iron type, specific to 3 year's production.

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