detroitsoul

I think it looks sharp!

Larry, Thank you as well for sharing that article. I appreciate the information. This why I love this forum so much! Sean

The sleeve is true. I sent the part back but my supplier only has a Ford part available that is slightly shorter. He says with a slight modification of the flare that it should work. Anyone else try this? We had to do a complete teardown because of lack of compression. Its looking like the intake manifold failed maybe from sitting so long (20 or more years at least). Everything else is slowly coming together. I'd hate for this to be the sticking point after so long. Regards, Sean

Will do. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer.

I had to buy a new fuel pump push rod a couple of weeks ago because the old one broke when we removed it from the engine originally. The whole engine had to be broken down because of a bad intake manifold. We are in the process of reassembling the engine. When we put the new push rod in, it did not seem to fit quite right. Upon further examination, the longer part of the shaft has a very slight bend below (or above?) the flare. My question: is this intentional? I would appreciate any help on this. This has been over a two year process and we are getting closer to firing up this V12. Thank you.

Getting the heads back on

And here I thought Michigan weather was bad...

Sharp ride. I like that White Castle sign.

Good information here, gentlemen. I am in the process of reassembling my engine. Thank you.

That's a good looking engine! I'll be there soon, hopefully.

Nice pics. Its neat to see all the work you did. I could not even imagine trying to tackle this task.

Thanks for sharing your pictures Ken. That looks like a lot of painstakingly careful work.

Thank you for posting this article. I am currently working on restoring my grandfather's 1938 Lincoln Zephyr. After initially failing to get the compression we needed, we decided we needed to do a complete teardown. We started two years ago and a year in is when we discovered all the problems. The crank is machined and all new bearings will be installed. The valves are all in and we are starting on the pistons. We are right in the middle of it now and your post will be most helpful. Thank you again, Sean P. Hobbs

Beautiful!

Thank you. I will refine my search!

I've looked on eBay a couple of times for some old tin signs to no avail. I was hoping there might be an old Lincoln insignia or emblem for my garage. I have some advert signs but I would like to locate something a little more authentic if there is such a thing. Thanks!

I appreciate the words of encouragement. The lows are few and far between. It has been fun and it will continue to be fun. I knew when I started that it would be a long process. I don't have as much as I would like to dedicate to the project but who does? I have not been to Hickory Corners yet but I would like to go there. Its only three hours from me. If people from all over the country make it there, I should be able to carve out some time. I would really like to go there in August.

Just got the most recent issue of The Way of the Zephyr and the page 7 story and photo of Clark Gable is pretty cool! As a child of the seventies, I remember going to the Old Redford Theater to see Gone With the Wind. His commanding onscreen presence stuck in my young mind then and my older mind now is tickled to think that maybe, just maybe, Mr. Gable might have been a Zephyrist.

An editorial is essentially one man's opinion. Nothing more nothing less. We can agree or disagree. It is hardly a consensus. I am poking fun at him and not you, fellow enthusiast. I came to the appreciation of my pre-War classic on my own. My parents were never really interested in cars but I learned later in life that my grandparents were. The timeless beauty of the vehicle struck a chord in me and I decided to start restoring it. I think the writer of said editorial has never heard the old adage, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." My seven year old has expressed an appreciation of the styling of my car an others like it. In my opinion, the timeless beauty of these vehicles will always captivate. I have never driven anything older than an early nineties Chevy but I still look forward to driving my manual Zephyr with no power steering or antilock brakes. I have had to the opportunity to be driven in many of the Model Ts at Greenfield Village. I enjoyed it and I think it is safe to say my son did too. Let the naysayers say nay. We the true enthusiasts say, and will always say, "YES!"

After a long hiatus of seven months, I am pleased to say my project is back online. I am sure many of you have been where I am (some more than once!) and I know you can appreciate how I feel at this moment. I am going into my second year on the restoration of my '38, and I even though I hate to admit it, this probably won't be the last break in the action. Its not the first stumbling block, to be sure, but it has been the first significant pause in the action. The engine is starting to slowly go back together. The valves are almost all in (I think there's one more!) and its on to the pistons. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, I will get to hear the sweet sound of this beautiful V12 come roaring back to life. I feel fortunate that my mechanic, John, has been there right along with me. Its hard to start a project like this but its reassuring when you know you have the right man for the job. John has a lot of knowledge and experience but he also has skill and a passion for the job that only an enthusiast can appreciate. When you you let someone take you car apart, you want them to be there to put it back together again. Like I said, these pauses are inevitable but there's nothing like that uneasiness you get when things have to stop. You can't help but wonder if its all going to keep going and if its all going to go back together again. I am a relatively young guy (46 this year) and I have a seven year old son. He's been in to see the Zephyr a couple of times. We live in the Detroit area so I told him that one day we might be able to drive it to Greenfield Village. We go to the Motor Muster there every year. Its quite an event if you're in the area in June. Anyways, he calls it the airplane car because of its distinctive hood ornament. He says, "When are we gonna take the airplane car to Greenfield Village, Daddy?" Someday son. Someday.

This is a good thread and I hope will come in handy soon.

Nice pix. The color contrast is pretty cool.

About a year and a half ago, I contacted the Henry Ford about getting the build history and purchase history of my vehicle. They were able to supply me with the build information but unfortunately the ownership records were destroyed in a fire some time ago. As a child of a different generation, it is hard for me to fathom the propensity of the Depression-era generation to save any and all sundry items. My grandparents' accumulation of six decades however has yielded some interesting things amidst a sea of seemingly useless stockpiled items: one of which seems to be the ownership records of one 1938 Lincoln Zephyr. It was originally purchased at Cashman-Condon Motors in Newbury, Massuchusetts and it came here to Detroit in 1968 to it's second owner. My grandfather bought it in 1972 (the year I was born) and it came to my hands in the fall of 2015. It was through my aunt's diligence that this information came to me. She knows my affinity for such things and she put it aside for me. I know you all can appreciate the fact that that one question has been answered.