All Points Bulletin for the Zephyr Kid alias O.C.

DizzyDale · September 23, 2003

Keith L. · September 25, 2003

I too miss the Old Gramuddgen (spelling?)! His input was invalueable. Do come back.

Rolf · September 28, 2003

Well, with hardly any trouble at all, I seem to be re-established, thanks for all the kind support, look forward to sharing Zephyr trivia with you all, Rolf

imported_Phil Knapp · September 28, 2003

Good to have you back, Rolf. Welcome! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

DizzyDale · October 2, 2003

Dear O.C.,Why not tell us all how you got involved with the Zephyr?diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Rolf · October 2, 2003

Ok Diz, You asked for it!! Thes is a "canned" response to someone a while ago, that I saved. My first car was a '35 Plymouth coupe, which held 3 people, and would go 80 MPH. Every where I went that car had 4+ people in it, and went at 80 MPH. Anyone who knows mopar 6's knows this outcome, loose connecting rods in record time, and finally was forced to conclude that these sedate "old lady" cars were not conducive to my driving style, and in 1954 traded my last rod-knocking '46 Plymouth for my first Zephyr, the afore mentioned, see pic '40 club coupe. Shortly after obtaining the LZ, I answered an ad in the LA area of a guy named Gil Younger. His ad says that he "hopped up" Lincoln 12's", and he had a wet sleeved "ford and a half" in a '41 Zephyr 3 window, and I accompanied him out to Pomona drag strip and watched this thing turn 106 MPH in the 1/4 mile, pretty impressive for 1954. Gil sold me a homemade progressive linkage 3 carb set up made out of the Lincoln 12 intake manifold with a Chev 1 barrel rochester mounted on each end of the stock carburetor. The rochesters opened up full at 3/4 throttle, and with just a momentary lag, there was a phenomenal burst of power which would easily outdo the contemporary Olds 88's of the day in the stop light grand-prix. My attrition rate on expensive LZ transmissions was also phenomenal, and I became very adept at R+R'ing them. Often wondered what became of Gil Younger, never heard of him again. Anyway, that is how my transition into Ford products began, and I adopted the motto, "if you can't beat them join them", and it was the best move I ever made car wise. Of course I was blessed by having this truly remarkable Meyer and Welch rebuilt V12 that was really the only good V12 I ever had, out of 40+ that I ended up with, so this prompts the question, what did Meyer and Welch do to make that engine so superior? and now I am afraid that after so much time, I may never know.

May I suggest as you get into your engine adventure that you examine the process'es of align boring on the crank and cam, hard chroming crank journals, extensive balancing of whole assembly, and the intricate science of pistons and rings for small bore long stroke engines. The oil pump you mentioned before doubtlessly has merit, along with high detergent oil, that was not available long ago.

My original '41 club coupe had what I took to be the original tires on it when I got it in '55 and they were just white on one side, am I in error that they were "gennie"? or what? Don't recall ever seeing a 7:00 x 16 with double whites, just the bigger sizes?

I love the reference to being a fireman in the rain forest, makes one want to rush right out and get a corvair to make the trip with.

In addition to Zephyrs and Continentals, I am very fond of old Fords, namely 1927 T roadsters, '35 convertibles, (I previously owned the one featured in the "Waltons" TV series) 1940 Merc convertibles and 1935 and '41 pickup trucks. I really liked '65 + 66 Mustangs, and '55 and '56 Lincoln converts. and hardtops. Currently I think my favorite now is the Mark 8, it is just a big 'bird, but I think it looks nice. Was surfing the web a while back, and discovered that Lincoln is bringing back the Zephyr name to one of its upcoming models. They had a picture of it but I found it very unimpressive. I also am very fond of small block ford engines, 289-302-351, have had great success with them, and presently drive one with over 100k on an 83 Bird 5 liter (302) that is still a really great engine.

I only had 1 '39 Zephyr, it was a very clean convertible sedan I bought with a blown 12 in '58. I put a 12 out of a '48 in it and it wouldn't run right, angrily I put my foot down on the accelerator in the driveway, it suddenly backfired, a huge cloud of black smoke rose, and it smoothed out and ran very smoothly. I had a new top put on it and sold it for $350, and actually turned a profit on it, a rare event in my Lincoln history. Have never figured out what the malady was or what it was that fixed that engine. Have many more stories, but that is enough for now, Rolf

AceCollins · October 2, 2003

Rolf,

The car from the Waltons? I remember it well. As an owner of a 65 Mustang Fastback, can link up with you there as well. If you had included a 57 Ranchero, you would have sewn up my current world of cars. My wife seems to believe that the 37LZ, coupled to those other two, is as large as my world needs to be at this time.

I loved reading about your cars. My second old car was a 40 Mercury. I was just out of college and had it and a 41 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe. Sold the Ford and traded the Mercury for a 66 Mustang. Wish I still had the old Mercury.

My passion for LZs comes from hearing my grandfather tell stories about a 37 4 Door that a doctor owned in Salem, Arkanas in the late 30s and early 40s. Grandpa was the mechanic who kept it running and up until the day he died swore that it was the smoothest car he ever worked on. Doc Carpenter once made a timed run from Salem to Viola, Arkansas in ten minutes. The distance covered was ten miles of gravel and dirt roads that included curves where you met yourself coming (as we used to say back in the hills). Today that road is a US highway and it would be pushing it for my 99 Cobra to make it in 10 minutes. I can't imagaine how the Zephyr stayed on the road back then. Why was he driving that fast? To win a bet from a Cadillac owner who claimed that Doc couldn't make the run in under 10 minutes. They kept time on a stop watch and used a telephone to alert them when the car arrived. I would have loved to have watched it, but don't think I would have wanted to be in the car.

Ace

Rolf · October 3, 2003

Yes Ace, the Waltons was a great show for old cars, besides my '35, which I had previously sold to Picture Car Company, there was a '37 Zephyr in some of the later episodes as I recall, as for the handling of LZ's, remember that they were regarded as one of the best "Moonshine" hauling cars because of their superior handling, torque, and ability to carry heavy loads while being persued over rough and curvy roads, a real departure from the gentile image TWOZ portrays. My first memory of a Zephyr was a '39 sedan, when I was a preteen, my memory was of how elegant and smooth it was, I believe it was about 1946. The car was owned by a friend of the family, Harry Morelli, personifying the love of many Italians of 12 cylinder cars, here is a picture of my favorite and best 1941 LZ club coupe, I put the engine referred to before in it, with a stock intake manifold and carb, and had a great LZ for some years, it was an original low mileage car, with perfect body and paint and interior, got it in 1955, Rolf Sorry no picture, it is just a small black and white, but the LZOC system won't accept it, oh well, see ya R

DizzyDale · October 3, 2003

Sign In

All Points Bulletin for the Zephyr Kid alias O.C.

Recommended Posts

DizzyDale

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Keith L.

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Rolf

Link to comment

Share on other sites

imported_Phil Knapp

Link to comment

Share on other sites

DizzyDale

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Rolf

Link to comment

Share on other sites

AceCollins

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Rolf

Link to comment

Share on other sites

DizzyDale

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Activity