Keith L.

Phil, All your photos are gone! I'm so sorry to hear that. I really enjoyed your photo contributions and viewed many of your albums.

I’ve been waiting till after the holidays to post. As many of you who have been following my progress know, in my earlier post I said I had a few minor issues to overcome before production. I was optimistic. Some of the minor issues became real head scratchers. My earlier post outlined my progress and reasoning. See: http://forums.aaca.org/f128/steering-wheel-reproduction-328185.html. What I want to stress in this post is that I learned along the way that many Zephyr owners were reluctant to get a new wheel for several reasons. The biggest is finding a good ’41 core, and second, waiting for months for your wheel to be recast, sometimes while your beauty sits empty steering-wheelish (my word). That’s over. I’ve tried to make it simple. Buy a new ’41 wheel without sending me a core, keeping your old wheel, or send back to me ANY ’40 thru ’48 good usable wheel for a $75 discount. Using the honor system, deduct now, send a core later using my original Styrofoam packing box your wheel comes in. The photo “Wheel Harvest” is deceptive: It looks impressive but it’s not. Of the ten wheels shown, six have small “teachable Blemishes” and all six need to be scraped clean and recast. But with each successive pour I was eliminating a potential problem and advancing to my goal, a perfect wheel. Attached are some photos, promotional flyer and an order form. Thanks for all your patience. Keith Lee knobsoup@gmail.com Knobsoup_Full Page Ad.pdf 1941 Steering Wheel flyer.pdf Order form '41 steering Wheel.pdf

Happy New Year to you Phil. Somebody must be listening. You have over seventy views. We must all do a little more to keep this grand marque alive.

Dave, stay tuned. Keith

Several months before his passing, I was purchasing several steering wheel cores from him. I gave him a deposit of $50 to hold them for me. Guess he's still holding them.

From time-to-time I update yooz guys with what I'm up to. Here's what's new. Over the years, several members have requested I make the parking light lenses for the ‘41 Zephyr and Continental. Sitting high on the front fenders, original glass lenses were perfect targets for rocks and BB guns, and once the gasket holding the lens in it’s chrome frame deteriorated, all bets were off for their survival. For this reason and others, original glass lenses are hard to find and expensive. These quality reproduction parking light lenses are virtually indistinguishable from glass originals. Molded from a pristine original, they are exact duplicates in detail and translucency. Cast in water-clear, UV stable urethane resin, each lens is inspected and then heat-cured to ensure hardness. Cost is $45.00 each. Priority shipping with confirmation receipt is $7.00 Send me a private message or email me for the latest color price list and order form. Thanks. Keith, knobsoup@gmail.com

And every one of these hatchet jobs on ebay has to say "one of these same cars sold for $200,000 at auction, blah, blah blah. Yeah, well that was in 2007 before the economy took a header. I think this "Scrape" fasination t has just about played out.

Hello, Keith here. Attached are three photos of the back seat of a ’39 Coupe that’s currently on Ebay for sale. I’m not bidding but I’m interested in what the photos show. This is for my own edification on ’39 Zephyr coupes. In the photos it looks like a jump seat or some kind of tray. What is it, Just Junk? Can anyone with a ’39 coupe identify it? What is behind the front seat on a ’39? I always thought they had just a packing tray and luggage space.

Hello, I make early plastic for Lincoln Zephyrs and a customer asked if I could reproduce a 1940 Hudson window crank knob. He does not have one to reproduce so I'm on a quest to locate one. Any help would be greatly appreciated. A photo of one would also help. Keith Lee

That is beautiful! You did an outstanding job! Any chance of seeing the interior? dash?

This was posted in 2004 by V12Bill. Hope this helps. There are three locations for VINs on 36 - 48 Lincolns. #l Left side front cross member next to waterpump #2 Left rear frame rail at level with shock absorber arm #3 Transmission housing just above clutch inspection plate. Not reliable since transmissions have been known to be replaced. Since this Q comes up every couple of months, maybe this should be posted on the Web Site under FAQ.

Wow!

I now carry 1939 Zephyr knobs. Thanks to member Flatcat for the loan of his knobs to complete the 1939 series. I am still looking for '37 knobs to copy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. knobsoup@gmail.com

As many of you know, I make interior reproduction plastic for the Lincoln and Lincoln Zephyr cars. I am continually adding new items to the Knobsoup line. I have just finished the molds for the ‘41 horn button collar, (Part no 3630 in the steering wheel schematic diagram). The horn button collar goes between the steering wheel and horn button. After over seventy years most ‘41 collars are cracked or deteriorated. This new horn collar I make is an exact duplicate to the original but without the metal insert. I beefed up the inside of the ring with more mass to compensate for the metal ring. Originally this metal ring was added for strength for the outside horn ring. The metal ring is not used to conduct any electrical current to the horn. With the newer stronger resins I use this should not present any problems. It also eliminates the need to locate and send the metal insert for reproducing the collar. Nowadays, the outside horn ring gets little use, mostly honking for the judges on the parade ground. I can, if the customer wants, add the metal ring to the mold. There will be an added cost and they will have to supply the metal insert. The color is a very, very dark brown, the same as the original. Send me a private message if you would like the latest color price list and order form. Thanks.

Peecher, I am always amazed at your knowledge! You are truly incredible.

Steering wheel reproduction Here is an update of my progress on casting 1941 Lincoln Zephyr and Continental steering wheels. If you have read some of my earlier posts you’ll know it’s been a long process. Trail and error and error. After years of molding and casting smaller objects, with countless hours of trial and error, learning the properties of mold material and resin, and finding solutions to numerous small problems and superior ways of making molds, I was able to make interior knobs with less waste, perfect color, and with a bonus of less time with after-casting cleanup. With every pour I was learning. The next step on my evolution was to try my hand at molding and casting steering wheels. When I first started this undertaking, I researched the reproduction and restoration of steering wheels from most of the shops listed in Hemmings, Internet websites and the known world. They fell into two separate camps. Those that restored wheels using methods of grinding out the damage, patching and filling the imperfections with compounds, then layers of paint. They’re good for a few years, but not long term. The second camp is the recasting group. You send them a core, they make the mold, or use one they have in stock for your year, and they recast the wheel by pouring resin into the mold over your core. Then bake. Then, a lot of time sanding and polishing to get it just right. Both methods are fairly expensive and the wait considerable. None of the recasting group tells you, or lets you see how the process is done, to go behind the curtain, it’s proprietary information. But if you study enough with a lot of trial and error you too will have your own proprietary information. When I make my molds I tried to use the same principal as my other molds, make the mold so perfect that when the wheel comes out, there is very little time spent in the clean up. I don’t like spending hours and hours with a facemask on, filing, sanding and polishing. Some people may enjoy that, I don’t. I would rather spend the time designing and engineering my molds so the after casting clean up is minimal. Solutions When I started this venture I knew I would have to have old cores to use. Problem is, they are hard to come by, expensive and most people don’t know the difference between the years, especially the “40 and ’41 wheels. Many pre-war cars have post-war replacements, resulting in owners wanting a new placement need to locate a correct wheel to send me. My solution is to make new center hubs and outside rims. There are several reasons I’m making new manufactured cores. •Many of the ’40 and ’41 wheels have been replaced with post-war wheels and to recast the steering wheel for a ’41 they must locate a good ’40 or’41 core. Finding one on EBay or a vendor can be a hassle, costly and the desire to replace the steering wheel can soon fade. •The ’40 and ’41 cores look alike but are not interchangeable. If the customer sends me the wrong core, I won’t have to hassle getting the correct core, sending back cores, etc. •The customer won’t have to be without a steering wheel on their car while waiting for a new recast wheel. •Often the original wheel is slightly cracked but not enough to recast it, or the heart to destroy it for the core. Well, they can keep it, mount it somewhere nice and use the new core that I’ll supply. •Time is money and starting with a clean, exact duplicate center core is far easier than cleaning up and straightening an old wheel. Again, I don’t like spending hours with a face mask on. If you have ever taken the plastic off an old wheel you know what I mean. For the time being, I will be using original cores that customers have sent me and in the near future the new manufactured cores will be available for those that need them. For those of you who have purchased from me, you know the quality of my work. I bring that same level of quality to my steering wheels. Also as an added benefit, the horn button mount I currently make will match in color and work perfectly with the new wheels. The attached photo is my first cast wheel using my manufactured center hub, straight out of the mold without clean up. The detail is superb, and after I correct a few minor issues, I will be advertising and producing them. I haven’t priced them yet, but with the smaller amount of clean up time I can offer them to you at an affordable price. Thank you, Keith Lee Knobsoup, Inc.

Very nice, Dave.

How do I contact the administrator of this forum? When I click on Keith L. and view profile, I am sent to keith_l (all lowercase), Junior Member with only four posts, all referring to Buick Reattas. I think my profile needs to be relinked to Keith L. Thank You.

Here is an update on my Steering Wheel project. It’s making progress, just not as fast as I wanted. I met a gentleman in Seattle that had a pristine ’41 wheel and he graciously lent to me for the master to make a mold. Thought I was set, then upon inspection I found out the wheel (although it looked fantastic) turned out to be out-of-round. Must have hung on a peg for seventy years and the outside rim warped. I was back to square one. I was on the hunt for a nice wheel, found one with a few slight cracks and began to restore it to perfection. As you know, the better the master, the better the mold. The restoration of the second wheel took far more time then I anticipated. I kept having painting and filler problems. Can’t paint indoors, the garage isn’t heated evenly, can’t paint outdoors in 40 degree weather and also I had paint compatibility problems, paint checking. Etc. I now have the wheel restored, I painted it black to show any imperfections. You can see the black wheel in the first picture. It still needs to be fine sanded and polished. The wheel is sitting in the mother mold. It holds the wheel in place when pouring the silicone. The next photo is my “Pizza Oven” for pressure casting. My five-gallon pressure paint pot that I use for knobs just won’t do for steering wheels. I had it made to hold the whole shebang. I still need to make the manifold and pressure gauge and the rubber seal for it. When I started this venture I knew I would have to have old cores to use. Problem is, they are hard to come by, expensive and most people don’t know the difference between the years. Many pre-war cars have post-war replacements, resulting in owners wanting a new placement will need to locate a correct wheel to send me. My solution is to make new center hubs and outside rims. I had a machine shop make new ’41 steering wheel metal cores, outside rings and center cross braces. I will be tack welding them together in the future. They are exact duplicates in size and material of the original cores. As an added benefit, the center hub can be cut down and drilled to match the shorter ’40 wheel core. For the time being, I will be using original cores members have sent me and in the near future the new manufactured cores will be available for those that need them. There are several reasons I’m making new manufactured cores. The price was right. The cost in quantity is less than a good usable original core. With new cores, I can cast when I want, have several in stock so the customers won’t have to wait six weeks or longer for a new recast wheel. Many of the ’40 and ’41 wheels have been replaced with post-war wheels and to recast the steering wheel for a ’41 they must locate a good ’40 or’41 core. Finding one on EBay or a vendor can be a hassle and the desire to replace the steering wheel can soon fade. The ’40 and ’41 cores look alike but are not interchangeable. If the customer sends me the wrong core, I won’t have to hassle getting the correct core, sending back cores, etc. The customer won’t have to be without a steering wheel on their car while waiting for a new recast wheel. Often the original wheel is slightly cracked but not enough to recast it, or the heart to destroy it for the core. Well, they can keep it, mount it somewhere nice and use the new core that I’ll supply. Time is money and starting with a clean, exact duplicate center core is far easier than cleaning up an old wheel. If you have ever taken the plastic off an old wheel you know what I mean. It’s been a long time a’coming but I think I see daylight. I should be molding the master soon and then the beta phase of casting resin. Thanks, Keith

Tom, Looks good.

Phil, "old and original" is perfect! But then, aren't we all old and original.

Just finished this '42 wiper knob reproduction. I realize there is not much demand for these, however I had a customer request one so now it's in my arsenal of knobs. Need one? email me. Interesting, the one I found to copy was a '46 knob in translucent red. I thought all post-war wiper knobs were chrome.

Opps. photo didn't attach. Here it is wiper valve I bought. Keith

Last week I purchased off of Ebay a wiper switch. I bought it for the wiper knob. I cleaned it up and I am in the middle of molding, casting it. As soon as I finish it I'll post a picture of it. Molded in '42 correct cream. The knob I bought is a early '46 (I believe) because it has the same plastic knob as a '42 except the '46 is translucent red. As you know, the later lincoln knobs are different and are chrome. If you are interested in a new wiper knob for your '42 send me an email: knobsoup@gmail.com and I send you a price list of all the Lincoln Zephyr plastic reproduction knobs I make. I just finished making the '42 radio knobs. Attached is a photo of the wiper I bought, Does your match?

I too saw it on Ebay. Here's an enlarged view.