imported_Phil Knapp

As most of you know, I have recently acquired a large collection of early LCOC bulletins written by Dr. Elliston Bell, founder of LCOC. I have scanned the first 20 bulletins, enhanced them using Adobe Photoshop, and produced Microsoft Publisher documents and Adobe PDFs of them, including the special issue for the first LCOC meet in Dearborn in 1954. If anyone is interested in these fascinating historical documents, I will copy them to a CD and mail them to you. There is space enough on a CD to include ALL of the Microsoft Publisher files and Adobe PDFs. If you have a problem with the Adobe PDF or Microsoft Publisher formats, the CD also has all 71 .jpg images on it. JPG files are a bit harder to view, you can view only one page at a time and they’re a little tricky to print. Thanks to the several folks signed up for the set after seeing bulletins 1, 2, and 3 on this forum. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Harry Connors</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For those of you who have not received or did not order these early newsletters let me tell you that they are worth it. I received my CD from Phil earlier this week and I have read all of the newsletters several times. There are lots of good tips and it is interesting to see that many of the problems they had back then we still have today. Harry </div></div>

The gas tank sending unit is accessable through a removeable panel on the trunk floor. It has a tab that sticks into the floor and is held in place by a single screw.

Here are 5 photos from Seth.

The wheel bolt pattern on your Lincoln is 5 1/2 inches. That's the standard Ford bolt pattern that Ford used on all cars and trucks since the Model "A" (except for the WIDE "Volkswagen style" of 1936 through 1939 Ford cars. Lincoln switched back to the 5 1/2 bolt circle in mid 1938). Ford cars switched to a smaller bolt circle in 1949 but Mercury, Lincoln, and Ford trucks kept the 5 1/2 inch bolt pattern for several more years. Thanks for the photos of your new ride. The 1957 Lincoln is a great car and enjoys great popularity in the LCOC. Since the LCOC decided to embrace ALL Lincolns several years ago, the percentage (and interest) in the early V-12 Lincolns in the LCOC has dropped to nearly zero. In fact, many V-12 owners have switched their membership to the LZOC for that reason.

None of the Lincolns I parted out had factory air suspension. I used whatever rear springs I needed and probably scrapped the rest. That was over forty years ago. When my "get up and go" got up and went, it must have taken my memory with it! I had to stop mowing when I came accross this in the front yard this morning. It seemed like a pretty good excuse to quit mowing.

These make great parts cars! I parted out two 1957 Lincolns, a 1956 Lincoln and a 1954 Lincoln while building my 1947 Continental in 1967. I used the engine, 15x6 inch wheels, electric windows and seat, front drum brakes, power steering, and the rear axle out of the '57s and the 4-speed Hydramatic transmission out of the '54 in my '47. One of the '57s had an automatic starter switch which engaged the starter when the ignition was turned on and the transmission was in park. After the engine started and developed vacuum, the switch released the starter. I used that switch in my '47 to start the engine and turned the original starter button into a horn button because having 12 volts on the horn ring was a shocking experience if my arm was on the window sill when I blew the horn. The automatic starter surprised many passengers and provided sort of a passive anti-theft device. The turn signal switch in the '56/57 LIncolns has the exact same shape and configuration as the turn signal switch in the '41-48 Lincolns, but has the extra connections necessary to produce THREE brake lights instead of just one single brake light on '41-48 Lincolns. I installed the trunk-mounted a/c unit in the '47 with vents in the package tray, but never got around to mounting the compressor or the plumbing. So I too have a much of a 1957 Lincoln, but it's wrapped in 1947 sheet metal. If you have the Webshots screen saver, there is a photo album of my '47 from the early days in 1964 through the 1971 wreck and later in Texas at: http://community.webshots.com/album/33590926dAmhsj Does your car have some tricky air suspension or are all the springs broken?

The tires on my '41 Continental are Sears "Nostalgic" P215:75R15 radials on 1948 Lincoln wheels. Ugly tread pattern and a lot smaller in circumference than the 7.00:16 tires that are supposed to be on that car. They'll probably rot before I get to wear them out and I have FIVE of them!

Dave Cole tells me that he would have joined the LCOC earlier, but at that time membership was restriced to owners of Lincoln Continentals ONLY! The tires on my car were installed by the previous owner. They are Sears 15 inch radials. The whitewalls are not wide enough and the tires are too small for the car without overdrive. BUT they have good tread and I can't justify replacing them at this time. Someday I may look into Coker or Diamondback radials of the proper size. Please post a photo of your Coker radials. I'd like to see what they look like.

Hi Guys, I still have some of these CDs left. If anybody else is interested, let me know. They're still a bargain at $20! "Ask the man who owns one" (to coin a phrase). Ooops, that's for Packards, not Lincolns. Oh Well....

We must remember that for MANY years, Zephyrs were considered as merely parts sources for Continentals. So much so that the few remaining salvageable Zephyrs have become more valuable than the many remaining salvageable Continentals. I have parted out two Zephyrs myself, but no Continentals - yet. It might be interesting to know how many Continentals have been parted out for Zephyr parts. We know of at least one SUPER rusty '48 Continental that Merv got from Arizona. That body went immediately to the shredder and I'll bet that some of its mechanical parts have found their way into a Zephyr or two.

Yeah, judging by his previous posts, George is a dealer looking to "steal" expensive parts for his customer(s). "Reasonable" would be in the mind of the buyer. How bad you want it depends on how bad you NEED it! And there's always somebody out there waiting and willing to take your money. Have we found you out, George??

As far as I know, there was only one axle ratio used in 1941 Lincolns. It is 4.44:1. That ratio can hardly be considered to be "high speed gears". I have heard that there was another ratio available in later years, but I'm sure that it was not very different and could not be considered "high speed" either. Jeff is correct, the only viable option for "high speed rear end gears" for 1941 Lincolns would be the Columbia 2-speed axle. However, this will be an **EXPENSIVE** unit because 1941 was the last year that the Columbia axle was available in Lincolns AND the 1941 Lincoln tread width is 2 1/2 inches WIDER than previous years, making the 1941 Lincoln Columbia axle a **VERY** rare item indeed. (IF YOU FIND A 1941 LINCOLN COLUMBIA AXLE, **I** WANT IT FOR MY 1941 ZEPHYR!) Also, Columbia axles were NOT built for "high performance" use. They are prone to failure when subjected to high horespower applicatons. I learned that from painful experience - I broke three Columbia axles in my Chevy powered 1939 Ford! After the third one, I installed an open drive line, 9-inch Ford rear axle and a Chevy overdrive transmission (I was a slow study in those years)!. The only good part is that when a Columbia axle breaks, you lose the overdrive but the car will still get you home (or to the bank) in underdrive.

I can't view any u-tube videos on my dial-up line, but I remember putting the top down on my 1947 Ford Convertible as soon as the temperature reached 32 degrees in Rochester, New York! The windows were up and the heater was on but the top was DOWN!!! This was in 1954, when I was young and foolish. I'm not young any more.

What you need to remember here is that this "Coupe-Sedan" is probably the rarest body style of the early Lincoln Zephyrs and, as such, commands a high price. It was produced only in 1936 through 1939, and became the "5-window" or "Club Coupe" in 1940. Why Lincoln didn't market the car as a "Tudor Sedan" like Fords is anybody's guess, but they didn't sell very well. Allen Decker, LZOC member, customized a 1938 Zephyr 4-door sedan into a 2-door. He shortened the body, chopped the top, lengthened the doors and made them into "suicide" doors. Allen drives the car, powered by a 302 Ford, regularly.

This must be interesting to drive with only one brake on one wheel operating. Should be a pretty easy fix. On my intial test drive of my '39 Zephyr, the right front wheel grabbed causing an immediate hard right turn! The owner had told me that the car "pulled a bit to the right" so I (fortunately) didn't hit the brakes hard! My first car, a 1938 Ford convertible with mechanical brakes only had a working brake on the right front wheel. I got used to it though and drove accordingly. At age 18, you're invincible!

Check this one out! "1941 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe Barn Fresh Custom Hot Rod 3 w". Ebay Item number: 160228777886 Somebody has already removed the Columbia axle and the seat and the bid is still going up. Supposedly a "rust free" SoCal car. It will be interesting to see what this one goes for. Some assembly required!

If the car has had a recent brake re-line, I'll bet that the new linings are like the ones I got for my '41 Continental. The new non-asbestos brake lining material doesn't produce enough friction to stop the car safely. There are two fixes available: 1. Seek out some NOS Asbestos brake linings. 2. Install a Hydro-vac power brake booster from a 1956/7 T-bird. There are photos of the Hydro-vac brake booster installation in my '41 Continental at: http://rides.webshots.com/album/563104833JpGfFc

Hi Wes, I recently replaced all three (2 front, 1 rear) brake hoses on my 1941 Zephyr with Raybestos BH4497 hoses. I got these from my local auto parts store. They are a wee bit longer than the original hoses (who knows if they were REALLY original?) but seem to work OK. Braided steel brake hoses are available from www.inlinetube.com. I got a set of these hoses for my power brake boosted '41 Continental but haven't installed them yet. If you are planning on doing a brake job on your '48, try to get some asbestos brake linings. The new brake lining material doesn't produce enough friction to safely stop these cars. That's why I installed the Midland power brake booster on my '41 Continental.

Hi Phil, Thanks for your thoughts about our Lincoln Zephyrs. When you post your photos please use these guidelines, if possible: 1. Always enter the photo description BEFORE clicking on "BROWSE". That's the only time the description will be displayed. 2. PLEASE try to use .jpg files of around 640x480 resolution. They fit nicely on the screen and are only about 150kb in size. Try to avoid posting bitmap photos. They are usually around 15mb and seemingly take FOREVER to download over a dial-up line! Photos can be resized using the Microsoft Photo Editor, Adobe Photoshop, or other photo management software. Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Well, you did pretty good Zoot. However, the **HUGE** (14mb each) bitmaps you attached took about 10 minutes each to download over my dial-up line. If it is at all possible, PLEASE try to convert future photos to a .jpg format with 640x480 (about 150kb each) resolution.

Sorry, I can't view the photos without a "Snapfish" account, which I do NOT wish to establish. Is there any way you can post the photos on this forum? If you follow these instructions, the forum will work pretty well. Be sure to enter the description of your photo BEFORE you browse.

That's a great shot of '37 and '39 Zephyr coupes but I can't take credit for it. That photo was shot by Michael Lynch at the Gilmore LZOC meet in Michigan in 2006. I just posted Michaels and Jeff Booths photos in Webshots because of the skimpy coverage in TWOTZ. Thanks again Mike and Jeff! Actually, I like the rear view of the '38 coupe best. It's the cleanest, symetrical placement of the license plate - almost like the trunk has been 'decked'. Sheldon Gomberg's photo of his '38 Zephyr at the 'Airflows to Zephyrs' exhibit at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles in 2004.

This looks like the same car that was on ebay last year in Yardley, PA. It got some press on this forum at that time. The major tip-off is the bogus windshield wiper switch, but there aren't that many Lincolns of that green color out there either. I hope it finally goes to a good home and won't be butchered into a street rod...

You didn't miss your guess, Cecil. That's definitly a 1938. Still a gorgeous car! It would be nice to see some more photos of it.

Could be. If you can find a picture of the Ford switch, please post it. I know that later Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln turn signal switches are very different but I'm not sure what switches were used in Ford trucks of those years. We know that Ford used the same parts in many different vehicles but nobody seems to know which ones. Perhaps a "Hollander Interchange Manual" would help, if anybody has one. The switch I used in my '47 Continental came from a '57 Lincoln that I parted out for the driveline in 1969. I also harvested a vacuum operated automatic starter switch from that car. When the ignition is turned on (in neutral) the switch applies power to the starter solenoid until the engine starts and produces vacuum, then turns off the starter. It really fakes out passengers when the car starts itself. I then used the starter button as a horn button. A subtle theft prevention protection. The switch in the photo came from ebay some time ago. The part number on the box is obsolete - no longer available. I got another switch from Herb Scheffer of the "Lincoln/Mercury Old Parts Store" in Clearwater, FL (recommended by John Murphy) before I discovered that they are available NEW at Larry's T-Bird parts store. I'm really nervous about driving my '41 Continental in todays traffic with only the one little center brake light!