Of all the cars to find in a dusty old steel building, this Lincoln Zephyr is a real beauty even after its 20 year slumber. Restored in the early 1990’s this Lincoln was used as a parade car but perhaps for little else. Even after the long period of storage, the paint is lovely, and the car overall is nice but it needs some work. With no bids, and a few days remaining, this Deco Era V12 beauty is up for bid for $15,000 with the reserve not met. Check it out here on eBay out of Irvington, Alabama.
Although the exterior is quite clean, the engine compartment is a bit dusty, and has some minor signs of surface rust. The engine has some corrosion near the carburetor where I would guess some fuel was spilled a long time ago. Even though this car was restored, there are some details that don’t look so great like the fuel feed line from the electric fuel pump. Also the wiring harness is looking a bit dry and brittle, possibly needing some attention. The seller was not able to turn the engine over by hand, so there is real possibility that this V12 may need to be rebuilt.
From the cockpit view, the interior looks in fair shape, but the carpet is a bit dingy, and the steering wheel is moldy. The cream colored interior is in nice shape, with no evident discoloration or damage. The back seat area is covered with what looks to be silica pellets used to absorb moisture. The carpet could likely be cleaned, and the steering wheel most certainly could be cleaned. The only sore thumb of the interior is the missing radio from the dash. One thing I will point out is the water marks on the windshield. It would seem this Lincoln wasn’t as dry as it should have been.
Despite the possibly engine woes, the exterior of this Zephyr is gorgeous. The paint is almost like a mirror due to its reflective quality paint, and the body work looks smooth under all of those reflections. There is no visible rust to be found on the car other than other than on the firewall area beneath the hood. The bright work looks in fair shape and the glass is all there but a few pieces are starting to de-laminate. Mentioned by the seller, the only immediate evidence of damage to the exterior is a scratch on one of the fenders. With a stunning appearance and an American built V12, would you return this beauty to Parade Duty?
Seems like the previous restoration was exterior only.
Return it to Parade Duty – absolutely. That and the occasional trip down to the drive-in occasionally for ice cream.
Being this is a war era car, it’s amazing it’s survived as it has.
Got my hands dirty for the first time on one of these. A friend of my Dad’s
had one that he drove to work as a daily driver for many years–until, that is,
the engine needed rebuilding. I was 12 at the time and couldn’t believe just
how complicated these engines really were. As we tore the engine down,
I began to see the watch like precision that went into the original assembly
of these units from the factory. By hanging out with Dad and his friends, I
learned first hand about all the problems these engines had from the factory.
Severe oil consumption, overheating, warping heads, and egg shaped crank
shafts were just some of the problems ascotiated with these engines.
Thankfully, all we had to do was to rebore the cylinders, slip in some
specially designed pistons that used a more modern set of rings than the
originals had from the factory. They had 3 upper rings with 2 oil control
rings on the bottom. We added full pressure oiling to the bottom end by
drilling the crankshaft journals to allow oil to pass through. We also added a high volume oil pump to insure full and even oil pressure, and that was about
all I can recall at this point. At least seeing this car brought some of the
memories I had of the events that happened over 50 years ago back to me
once again.
Someone sure as hell has a different definition of restored than I do. I was once looking at a car the seller represented as being totally rebuilt. I didn’t see any new gaskets, so I asked and was presented with a receipt for points plugs condenser and an oil change
Howard, LOL Had that presented to me as a restore a few times also. Funny how someone’s interpretation of a restore is different to others .