imported_Phil Knapp

I wouldn't expect a response from Dan's e-mail address. Unless he's changed his habits, he doesn't usually do e-mail. I'm sure he would respond to a "snail-mail" letter! Dan tells me that the speedometer takeoff on the rear axle was used on factory installed Columbias. The gearbox was used if the Columbia was dealer installed. I'm not sure when the rear axle takeoff was discontinued - if it ever was. It was only used on Lincolns. As far as I know, Columbia axles were never factory installed on Fords of Mercurys. If you are referring to the photo of my '39 Zephyr, it was at the local "cruise-in" at the Court house square in Georgetown, Texas several years ago. That's Dan Krehbiel in his 1940 Mercury in the attachment. It was taken at the LZOC Western Meet at Carlsbad, California in May, 2005. A Webshots photo album of that meet can be viewed at: http://community.webshots.com/album/355325423eWUQwq

OK, where's the OTHER Lincoln? The LZOC held their Central National meet at Petit Jean in 2002. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but I found these photos of that meet on the museum web site. Lincoln Zephyr Owners Club Central National Meet, Petit Jean, Arkansas. October 2002 http://community.webshots.com/album/66891256nCLtlA

There are several individuals who rebuild and sell Columbia axles here in the states. I have two suggestions for you. 1. Join the Lincoln Zephyr Owners Club. There is an on-line application form at www.lzoc.org. I would not recommend that you join the Lincoln Continental Owners Club - their primary interest is later model Lincolns and they have very little to do with the early V-12 cars these days. 2. Contact my friend of 40+ years, Dan Krehbiel at 38805 East Benton Road, Temecula, California, 92592-8217, USA. Dan is a long time LZOZ member and is the Columbia advisor for the Early Ford V9 Club. Dan built a Columbia axle for my 1939 Zephyr some ten years ago and it works flawlessly. As I stated, there are many other folks building and selling Columbia axles these days. Dan is the only one I have personal experience with. I have a Webshots Screen Saver photo album of the Columbia installation in my Zephyr at: http://community.webshots.com/album/535592120cTKtFX The Webshots software is free at www.webshots.com Good Luck!

I've done some research on Lincoln wheels. During mid-1938, Lincolns reverted from the 1936-39 Ford W-I-D-E bolt pattern to the earlier 5 1/2 inch bolt pattern which they continued to use through at least 1957 - posibly later (I lost interest in 1958-1960 Lincolns). 1938-1940 Lincoln wheels were 16x4 inches. 1941 Lincolns **ONLY** were 16x5 inches. 1942-48 Lincolns used a 15x5 inch wheel. This makes 1941 Lincoln wheels the most sought after wheel for converting to radial tires. Here's an interesting tidbit that I learned from Heinz Schu and Jerry Emery regarding the difference between 1939 and 1940 wheels. 1939 and eariler wheels had the valve stem hole located opposite a hubcap clip. 1940 and later wheels located the valve stem opposite a lug hole. We suspect that this was to place the valve stem on Continentals at the top center of the outside mounted spare. (see attachment). So if the valve stem on your 1940 Continental isn't straight up at the top of the wheel, you have a 1939 spare wheel!

5 1/2

If you have been following early Mustangs lately, you'll notice that these inspection marks are factory marks and, as such, have become VERY important in competitive Mustang showings. Our Lincolns probably have (or have had) similar inspection marks. I hope we (LZOC) never get so competitive that all the factory inspecton marks must be in place and visible in the correct color for judging!!!

I haven't been a member of the Western region since we moved to Texas in 1992 so I don't have any information about local California events. If you have any questions regarding Western region activities you ahould contact Tom Brunner, 25609 N. Forest Road #10, Rio Verde, AZ 85263. Phone 480-471-7274, e-mail at Tom85263@yahoo.com The Western region annual fall swap meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, November 7 and 8, 2008 in Santa Maria, California. Lots of Lincoln V-12 parts will be there as well as some very nice folks. I have had the good fortune to be able to attend this event for the past several years. Check out my Webshots photo album of the 2007 LZOC fall Swap Meet at Santa Maria, CA - November 10, 2007 at: http://rides.webshots.com/album/561417599avUUAH

Here are the packages for 2 fan belts I bought for my 1941 V-12. Tha AC Delco belt is a notched truck belt and is probably a heavy duty belt. I got it from a local Grainger store. The Dayton belt was purchased at my local auto parts store. It's not notched and is probably a more correct replacement for the original belt. Besides, it was cheaper. Both belts appear to be 54 inches long.

Check out ebay Item number: 270267119478. Advertised as 'original' with a Chevy engine and transmission (how mundane can you get??) air lift suspension, etc. Only NINE known to exist??? This would be humorous if they hadn't butchered a nice original car. If you want a Zephyr 3-w street rod, buy a 'Scrape' replica and leave the REAL ones alone!!!

If your wheel cylinders aren't rusted or pitted beyond some cleaning up with a brake cylinder hone, they're REALLY easy to rebuild. Most auto parts stores carry rebuild kits containing the rubber cups and end caps. All you need to know is the diameter of the bore, which is usually cast into the cylinder. If not, an inside micrometer can tell you what the diameter of the bore is. Rebuild kits are much cheaper than buying the whole cylinder. In fact, if the end caps are OK, some auto parts stores sell just the rubber cups - a LOT cheaper! Just be sure to get the correct size.

Jeff is correct. The factory original convertible tops on Lincoln Zephyrs and Continentals have *NO* seam across the rear bow. Most top shops these days get tops from vendors that are cut to the correct shape, but it's much easier to put that seam across the rear bow because all late model convertibles are made that way. That's OK to keep the rain out but it's not "concours correct" for our old Lincolns. It's more expensive to do a Lincoln top the "correct" way and tough to find a shop that can (or will) do it that way. If you not collecting trophies in competitive shows, leave it alone!

This looks like the same car that RM Auctions currently has on ebay as item #150271883442. How many other 1937 Zephyrs as nice as this one can there be out there with a dual intake manifold?

Upon closer inspection, I think you are correct. The Columbia control is visible in the underhod photo, tucked in between the steering gearbox and the engine. I knew that some factory installed Columbias had the speedometer drive gear on the right axle housing rather than the driveshaft, making for a REALLY long speedometer cable. Dan Krehbiel tells me that the axle driven speedometer gear makes it difficult to remove the right side axle housing. In '40 and '41 the Columbia speedometer location was changed to the vertical position you describe. Probably because the speedometer was relocated to the position in front of the driver instead of in the middle of the dashboard. The attachment shows the Columbia vacuum tap on my '39 Zephyr. It's behind the carburetor and I think it's upside down. Lincolns took vacuum right off the intake manifold whereas Fords used an adaptor plate under the carburetor. Also, the correct Lincoln top configuration is shown in the other attachment. This is on Robert Anderson's 1939 Continental prototype.

Ooops! Too bad the new top has that seam across the rear bow. That's an incorrect configuration for these Lincolns. As Cecil stated, the Columbia is a TWO-SPEED rear axle which provides an overdrive. I suspect that this car does NOT have a Columbia axle because I don't see any vacuum takeoff on the intake manifold, nor do I see any evidence of the speedometer gear ratio compensator on the firewall. If this car has a Columbia axle, the rear end will look like the attachment and there will be a Speedometer gearbox similar to the attachment (which is on my 1939 Zephyr).

I don't know how they get around the warning on the can that states: "For industrial use only". Eastwood sells Kroil (for a substantially marked up price) to anybody with a credit card! I haven't seen Kroil for sale anywhere here in Texas and of course it's illegal to be sold in California (what isn't?) I like "Sili Kroil" because of the added silicone lubricant. I used it to free up a very rusted pair of pliers a tenant left behind in our rental house. It worked great!

Very nice car, indeed! I would recommend placing an ad in the "Pre-War cars for sale" classified section at www.lzoc.org (Yeah, I know, Jeff, those ads seem to stay there forever, but they're free and you never know when somebody will like the car and make a deal). If the car has a Columbia 2-speed rear axle, it's value will increase substantially and should be mentioned in any ad you place. You might consider placing an ad on ebay with a ridiculously high reserve (or starting bid). Lincolns seem to have a problem meeting their ebay reserve, but you might get an idea about how high the bids will get. You never know, perhaps somebody will take the bait! A pretty nice 1941 Zephyr convertible went for $69,500 on ebay earlier this month and the buyer never even looked at the car! My wife and I bought a mostly original, relatively un-molested 1941 Continental convertible a couple of years ago. It was on ebay for a fairly reasonable starting bid, but got NO bids. We called the seller and were able to buy the car for substantially less than his starting bid. (That's it in my avatar). Good Luck!

WD-40 is pretty good stuff. I use it to clean the grease off my hands. "KROIL" that Peecher mentioned is a lot better than WD-40 for loosening rusted things. KROIL is not available to the general public but can be purchased through The Eastwood Company. However, it's cheaper if you buy it directly from the manufacturer, Kano Laboratories. You'll need to use a company name to buy it from them. Kano also has some stuff called "Sili Kroil" which contains silicone lubricant. Do a Google on KROIL or go to www.kanolabs.com

This one looks like quite a project car. I wonder if it will meet the reserve. We'll see.

Well, it's pretty rare, but if you're at the right place at the right time, you can get a glimpse of Jake Fleming driving his 1941 Lincoln Zephyr coupe from Dallas, Texas to Salado, Texas on Interstate 35 every April to the annual LCOC Texas regional spring meet. It's about a 300+ mile round trip and Jake has done it every year for quite some time. In fact, Jake drove his Zephyr to Austin for a photo shoot introducing the Lincoln Mark LT truck in 2005. I have also driven the '39 Zephyr and the '41 Continental to Salado (it's only an 80 mile round trip). But, you're absolutely correct, I doubt if ANYBODY drives these cars as daily transportation any more. They're fun for (cautious) recreational driving, but too valuable for regular exposure to today's traffic. I've been known to drive either the '39 Zephyr or the '41 Continental to the local "cruise-in" on Saturday evening, but that's only a 12 mile round trip. I drove the Continental to the local Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer several months ago and almost NOBODY knew what it was! Even fewer folks could identify the "A" sticker on the windshield as a World War II gas rationing sticker.

Well, the hourly labor rate has increased substantially in the past 60+ years! It's about $90 per hour these days. A 9 hour job will cost around $800 for labor alone. Better plan on doing as much as possible yourself unless you have VERY DEEP pockets!

I didn't mean to imply that we NEVER drive our collector cars! We just pick our times when the traffic is light and drive VERY carefully! It would seem that the folks who participate in this forum are "hands-on" people who appreciate their cars for their aesthetic appeal rather than their dollar value. I have never viewed our collector cars as an investment to be bought at the lowest price in hopes of making a fortune. I own them because I LIKE the cars! I guess most of the "High-Roller" investors have little or no interest in the actual vehicles, they just want to hang on to them until they can be sold at a profit. That's what auctions are for, I guess.

I've upgraded all my Mustangs (all 1967s) from the original 4 piston caliper front disc brakes to the single piston floating calipers used on 1968-71 Mustangs, Torinos, and Cougars. They work really well. BUT, in the event of a crash like the one that totalled our Town Car, the ability to stop quickly is not the issue. Survival of that kind of an accident without restraining seat belts and air bags is an iffy situation! We were in the right lane of a 4-lane highway with a car in the left lane waiting to make a left turn when this Buick Roadmaster instantly appeared in our path. The driver was making a left turn and claimed to have been unable to see us because we were masked by the stopped car in the lane to our left. Granted, in hindsight I should have been more observant, but we were on a street we use nearly every day - a very familiar surrounding. Reminds me of the story about the "little idiot" who moved because he heard the most accidents occured within 5 miles of home. Cecil is absolutely correct, those Mustang seats don't provide a lot of support. I wonder now how I drove those cars so many moles!

I drove "Old Blue" (my 1967 Mustang coupe) over 165,000 miles in California, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, etc. between 1982 and 1994 (including a relocating trip to Texas). It *CAN* be done, but it's not safe any more (if it ever was). After totalling our 1997 Town Car in a head-on collision with a Buick Roadmaster making an illegal left turn in 2006, I'm VERY leery about driving **ANY** old car in today's crazy traffic - even in Texas, not to mention California! The seat belts and air bags in the Town Car probably saved our lives. My wife and I and the lady in the Buick all walked away with only bruises. We only take our collector cars out after peak traffic hours and then not for any long trips. Too bad too, because the '39 Zephyr with the Columbia axle can keep up with almost any traffic and it's fun to drive it.

I have a battery disconnect on my '39 Zephyr. I can alway tell when the battery is re-connected by the "click" of the 69 year old clock winder. It's amazing. That's one of the few things I DIDN'T have to fix on that car! That car was a pretty face when I got it, but a mechanical disaster!

I got these photos from the seller. Pretty nice car, but with a few irregularities.