new 41 lz four door owner needs help

[okdave]

i have recently acquired a 1941 lincoln zephyr four door sedan. it has been in storage for several years. the outside door handles are push buttons not the handles shown in sales brochures. any ideas why. have doors been changed with 42 model? also i need the center part of front bumper and chrome spears for hood. thanks

[Guest imported_V12Bill]

Dave, The push button is a drop in replacement for the door handle that does not turn, but pulls out and thus pushes the latch mechanism the same as a button would. I thought that buttons were standard on the 41 Zephyr, I know that they were offered on the Continental for the first time and were standard thru 1948 on the LC. Buttons were standard on 42 and 46 Zephyrs and were replaced by the same handles that the 41 had. To see if your car had buttons to start with, check to see if the spring is present in the hinge pillar that pushes the door open. the spring is inside the pillar and pushes against an arm that is attached to the door and it goes into the pillar to contact the spring.

A few years ago TWOTZ did an article on the popular conversion of door handles to buttons. The buttons at that time were about $1.50 each at the parts counter at your friendly Lincoln dealer.

Bill

[Rolf]

Dave, as an avid 1941 person, let me share what I have learned about these ouside openers, there were 2 types introduced in 1941, and used after in all models up to 1948, both were available, the cars with the push-buttons had a spring in the lower front of the door, that "popped" the door open, and only the push-button cars had this, the pull-out handle was the other option, and cars that came with this type did not have the "popper" springs, as Bill said either type will operate the doors just fine, hope that helps, Rolf

[okdave]

rolf

thanks for info. car does have pop out springs

david

[okdave]

bill

thanks for great information. a couple more questions if you dont mind.

what color was the dash and door trim and were the door pulls covered with fabric to match interior or were they leather or vinyl. david

[Rolf]

Hey Dave, I sure hope Bill can clarify this one, not only for you but for me too, I have been going around and around trying to determine the original colors for these very items for some time now, and also the correct color for the steering wheel, steering column and e-brake, over the years some of the colors have been changed, some are faded and changed through aging, and no one seems to really know for sure. My car seemed to have come with a dull medium brown on the reveals and trim, the dome light rim, and switch plate are still that color, the dash and window reveals in mine were painted a very dark brown, similar to the shade shown in pictures of the (custom) interior, but in those pics the steering column and e-brake were the dark brown too, mine is still a faded lighter shade, some pictures show the steering wheel light like the knobs, others show it to be a medium brown, there was wood-graining on some of the dashes and window frames, at least 2 motif's, possibly more. Confusing enough for you?? I agree wholeheartedly, some simple comprehensive answers would be most welcome, Rolf

[imported_v12lincoln]

The dash and window frames were silver except on the convertable coupe which were painted the same color as the car. the heaters, parking brake handle and cowl vent handle were painted tan sand mattalic, that is from the LZOC autenticity manual.

[okdave]

thanks a lot for interior colors. what about engine color?

[imported_v12lincoln]

my book says leaf green, it looks to be the same color used on the V8 ford motors.

[JWalker]

Hi OKDave. I have a 1941 Lincoln Zephyr club coupe that I am restoring. These are my opinions about interior colors and dash colors, based on what was on my car when I took it apart, and on cars I have seen at shows, etc.

On standard trim Zephyrs, the following were painted a tan color called "midas beige" (Color-ite has the formula, tell them it's for 1941)

*heater, not including the flexible ductwork

*back of mirror (chromed on Continentals, and on some Zephyrs I believe)

*mirror bracket and sun visor brackets

*steering column and steering column large rubber grommet at the floor

*gear shift lever, turn signal lever

*dome light body and the dome light switch plate

*emergency brake handle

*vent handle

*center of the horn button

*dash mounting brackets

*seat base at the pivots and latch areas. I am talking about where the seat base is visible when the seat is folded forward. It's where you operate the latch to fold the seat forward, and the center of the seat base where each seat pivots forward from. My seat base was painted black, but had the tan on these areas that showed. I don't know if the 4 door cars had the same set-up.

*the back side of the dash and the back side of the glove box door. The back side of the dash doesn't show but the back of the glove box door does.

*On the club coupe rear quarter windows, the pivot rod that sticks down into the window frame that the quarter windows rotate on (I can't believe they ever showed, but they were painted tan)

That's all I can think of, I may have left something out.

On the dash and window trim on standard trim Zephyrs, not the custom interior option, the dash was woodgrained a light color that the LZOC authenticity manual calls Brown Beech wood grain. It is very light to be called brown beech, if my car was any indication. I think several pictures are available in 1941 brochures. On my car, there are eight pieces that get woodgrain: the dash, the glove box door, the front windshield interior trim, the rear window interior trim, the two door window trims, and the rear quarter window frames. 4 door cars would have two extra window frames. I have a NOS radio coverplate that has excellent original woodgraining, I will try to attach a photo of it in the next couple of days if anyone is interested.

The engine and water pumps were painted Lincoln Green, several vendors have the color available in spray cans or by the quart. The generator, starter, air cleaner and oil pan were black. Heads and intake manifold were originally aluminum so not painted, does yours still have the aluminum heads?

If you still need the hood side spears, send me a private message, I have extras.

Good luck on your new purchase.

JW

[okdave]

thanks j.w. i found the hood spears locally. i do need the nose trim and fender skirt trim. also need escutcheons for window cranks and push button door openers, rear view mirror(inside), sun visors (inside) and rebuilt water pumps. my email is ddavis5101@sbcglobal.net

[Guest imported_V12Bill]

Jack, I know that the authenticity manual states that the window sills and dash were painted body color, but my 48 convertible was painted silver.My car was in bad shape from poor storage , but it was not molested or changed from new. The first convertible that I saw in person was the Yellow convertible of Alan McWade. His car had the dash and sills painted body color. As I had just gotten my car and had read the authenticity manuel and my car and the manual were in conflict, I asked Alan which was correct. His reply was that his car had silver dash and sills but he liked the body color better.There are a few items in the authenticity manual that are questionable and should be reviewed by the original authors for serious restorers.

Bill