CBoz

Folks - I've been visiting the following Ford flathead-based site for awhile. http://www.fordbarn.com/earlyv8/forum03/ Decent source of info on issues we share with the 8s. Enjoy.

Folks, when you click the link above, be sure to take off the period after "htm", otherwise the link won't work.

Congrat, Phil! Regarding value, this sold a couple of months back on ebay, you can take it from there: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4582928355&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT I suspect whatever you paid will look *cheap* in a couple years. These cars are beautiful enough to continue going up in value for a long time. Regarding style, it really boils down to what you like. I started off looking for a '39, but over time really fell for the '37's distinctive style -- the hood emblem and chrome wings on the front fenders, the "rocket pod" taillights, and the way the profile of the front fender keeps its curved shape all the way to the running board, making it nearly match the rear fender.

That set will almost certainly work in either a 36-7, but note that the '36 used part no. 50-4209, which was the 4.33 rear-end. The '37 came equipped with H-4209 (a LZ part no.), for a 4.444 rear-end. I don't have any idea why the Lincoln engineers felt it was necessary to make the change. Talk about a stump puller!

Rolf -- I looked more closely at the torn-up link and it didn't have a Zephyr part number or anything on it. It's probably a repro. I would think it would be the same as a Ford link of the same length. Anyone know for sure?

Sorry, Rolf -- whoever removed these shocks basically tore off the link, destroying the end. Wish I could help.

Rolf - See your messages. I sent you one.

Sounds good, Rolf. I will pull them out tonight and get pics so we can verify that what I have is what you need.

Wish I could help, Rolf. All I have are '37-8, probably not the same at all.

Hey Peecher - The car's still listed. Unfortunately, the hotlink isn't working automatically because of the comma, so anyone who wants to see it needs to "cut and paste" the above address into their address box.

If you're looking for an early Zephyr, this could be a nice candidate: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4586403134&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT Has the original heater system intact, as well as the correct air cleaner and oil canister, as well as the factory radio setup and a nice wheel. As he says, needs some TLC but the starting price looks right, assuming there's no major hidden probs. What do you all think?

Ahhh, looks like someone bought out the JC Whitney inventory: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Flying-La...583720397QQrdZ1 "This beautiful hood ornament harkens back to the days of the REAL classics. The Duesenbergs, Stutz Bearcats and other beauties." Somehow, I don't think you're going to see a car at Pebble Beach sporting one of these.

Great answer, Bill. The rest of us should learn from your approach.

One possible low-tech remedy is to put in a road draft tube like the '36-38s had. Not quite as good as a PCV system, but better than the so-called "breather cap" system that was on the cars aferwards.

First off, has there been any changes to the rear-end ratio or (less-likely) tire size? Either one could throw the speedo off, and would require you to do some detective work. In particular, it's possible that someone changed the rear-end to a more "highway-friendly" ratio, resulting in fewer engine rpms at a given highway speed. Without changing the speedo gear, the result would be lower-than-actual speedo readings.

After reading my post, I thought I'd share how I let off steam after a particularly infuriating encounter with the car... Behind my garage is a large boulder that was uncovered when my house was built. In my garage I keep a large sledge hammer. When I get particularly worked up, I put on my safety goggles, grab the sledgehammer, and go out back... I figure that during the restoration of the Mustang, I knocked a good inch off of the circumference of that rock!

Last spring, a friend of mine finished a truly top-notch, factory-correct restoration of a ?65 Mustang GT convertible. You know the kind of car ? every nut and bolt is correctly finished, factory paint daubs are recreated, rare NOS and dated parts are used even when they can?t be seen, etc. I?ve won MCA Gold for concours class and this car would put mine to shame. Anyway, my friend sold the car to a man in California. The problem is, this person has three characteristics, any two of which would be ok, but together spell disaster for old car ownership. Namely: 1. He is a strong Type A ?everything-must-be-perfect? type of guy (not bad by itself). 2. He has no patience or willingness to learn how to work on the car. 3. He isn?t rich enough to pay someone else to keep the car perfect for him. Being around old cars, you and I know even the best restorations will have things that have to be fixed after an initial ?shake out? period, and if you are going to *drive* the car, you can expect other things to pop up as well. It?s just the nature of old cars. Well, my friend got an email. Evidently, the car is ?leaking oil all over the place? and the guy was just furious. ?I paid $XX for this car, and it leaks oil. #*#@@!? In the end, it turns out that the problem was a leaky fitting on one of the power steering hoses. Back off the fitting, make sure you haven?t cross-threaded it, and tighten it back up, right? Not quite?..the guy is now so soured that my friend finally said he?d buy the car back from him. My friend isn?t stupid; he can get much more for the car *and* sell it to someone who will appreciate it. I guess the moral of the story is it takes a certain mindset to enjoy old cars. They will never be ?perfect,? if indeed such a state exists for a mechanical thing. And if someone doesn't enjoy fixing problems, sharing war stories, and shaking their head at the car?s quirks, maybe this isn?t the right hobby for them. Now if I can only get my carb to idle correctly. It's driving me CRAZY...

This sounds similar to what one person I know did to "swell" a leaky seal on a fan clutch. However, it didn't work for long, even with direct application of the fluid to the seal. Frankly, I can't imagine how much brake fluid you'd have to put in to reach all the old gaskets and seals, and that assumes that the problem isn't with the rings or somewhere else. But maybe someone has some direct experience on this one?

Not clear what the problem is here, 41Linc. Looks to me like someone has responded to each of your questions. I guess we could all follow up and say "I agree" or "yup, that's right," or maybe offer an opinion even if we aren't sure. Not sure that would help though. Unfortunately, these aren't like flathead Fords, where you can get a thousand opinions on every topic (and at least half of them wrong). It's just the nature of the beast.

Hey Ace - Long time, no hear! Glad to learn that the Auburn hasn't completely steered you away from your Zephyr. Someday I'll be joining you on the roads...

That wouldn't be the first time incorrect figures were put in a car book. In fact, there is long-standing confusion about the number of '41 club coupes made. I regularly read people saying that says there were only 300 or so (I forget the exact figure) made. In fact, there were over a 1000 made, if I remember correctly. But once a "fact" like thtat gets out, it gets perpetuated. In any case, I was intrigued about your car's custom colors and wondered why someone would have gone back to a standard color -- UNTIL I read what those custom colors were! Good grief!

In the strictest sense, the Southwind heater would not be considered a stock item, but I'm not sure how LZOC would judge it. The detailed pictures I have are of a late '37 / '38 system with front-exit exhaust manifold. The '36 / early '37 heat exchange unit would certainly be different. The only pics of the '36 / early '37 system I have are in the link below, and only from the top (not much help): http://www.mindspring.com/~bozarth/id4.html I have no idea where you'd pick up a '36 exchange unit, or where you could find detailed pictures of it, though Roy Thorson might have some. Email me and I'll give you his email address. Also, you might check with Merv Adkins or George Tricket (both under "Sources")

Hello Glen - All I can say is, keep your eyes open -- there might still be some 37s - 39s out there, but they rarely change hands. For whatever reason, the rarer '40 and '41 models seem to come up for sale more often. But hey, I snagged one, so with a few phone contacts, you might get lucky too.

Here's pics of a '37-style heater. I don't know off-hand how similar later years looked: http://www.mindspring.com/~bozarth/id6.html I don't think the Southwind was ever a "factory" option, but it sure was popular!

This is what happens when you wet sand with a 5 lb. sledgehammer rather than 1500 grit sandpaper http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lincoln-C...573675557QQrdZ1 Any takers???? C'mon, I know someone out there could handle this!