Get a load of that face! It has an almost knowing grin about itself. And it should! Besides the fact that it is a very collectible Lincoln Zephyr, it is harboring a surprise under its hood. This is definitely a car to investigate further. It is located in Convoy, Ohio and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $4,500 with three bids tendered so far. Thanks to Larry D for this discovery!
We have covered Lincoln’s Zephyr here on Barn Finds many times before and they are, I think, an iconic find, some of that due to the allure of its V12 engine. Admittedly, the V12 may not have been all that it was supposed to be but it was certainly an impressive-looking engine and concept. And perhaps a one-time owner of this Zephyr saw the 110 HP, flathead as a detraction to this car and actually did something about it.
Modern engine swaps into older cars have been occurring for decades. Regardless of marque, the ubiquitous Chevrolet small-block seems to worm its way into everything. I get why, but brand purity would be preferred as using a Ford Windsor in a deuce coupe, etc. And that logic should flow through to something like this ’37 Zephyr (the seller says that he thinks it’s a ’37 but he’s not sure – no title; I think it is too but let me know if you think otherwise). Anyway, why start small, when you can go straight to the top, right? And that’s exactly what some creative soul has done; why shove in a puny 302 or a 347 stroker when you can trip the light fantastic with a 429 CI “385” series V8 behemoth? My initial thought was, “How do you get it to fit?” A 385 series motor is physically huge. I used to work with a quarry engineer who was an inveterate mechanical tinkerer and he “modified” a farming tractor with a 460 V8, the same architecture as the 429, and the contraption looked surreal with this Brobdingnagian power plant appended to it. How’s this hot rod Lincoln run? Well, no late-night runs out of San Pedro for this sedan, but it ought to go like a scalded dog. Unfortunately, this Zephyr hasn’t taken flight in a while. The drive train looks like an automatic transmission (C6?) connected to a Ford 9″ differential but there is no elaboration on that front.
There is definitely some homegrown construction going on underneath. It appears as if thick sheet steel has been employed to suffice for floors as a result of modifications undertaken to accommodate the transmission and modified cross member. You gotta’ love homegrown machinations and that get-it-done mentality but the mods, in this case, look a bit shaky. And there is evidence of frame corrosion too.
The body of this Lincoln is fair, it has some dents here and there and some trim, the headlights, and all of the glass have been removed; some detached parts are in the trunk, however. The basic integrity of it all looks OK, there is no sign of crash-caused misalignment or rust-through. The back bumper, besides having lost its chrome finish, appears to have played some bumper-car bingo but that’s minor in the scheme of things.
Inside, the new driver of this Zephyr will have an automatic transmission riding shotgun. The interior is pretty gouged out but there are an original steering wheel and instrument panel to keep the driver company. There are detritus spread all over the place, along with the obligatory five-gallon drywall compound buckets, so it’s hard to get a good look at all of it. The safe call is that it will require a complete redo, including the proper floor fabrication.
The vision, creativity, and effort that has been undertaken with this Lincoln are great, the execution, well… not as much so. Hopefully, someone will take up where the last Imagineer left off and bring this Lincoln to a fitting conclusion. Finding that individual will be, I believe, a quest, wouldn’t you agree?
Rough doesn’t begin to describe this lol!!
I think that is one cool looking car !!!
Might be rough, but I love the look. You don’t see too many of these.
If you have the time and money this could be a fun build. Wouldn’t put more than the current bid into it though. Really cool design for the period.
Sure it’s rough, but just think of the car
you’d have when it’s finished. Best thing is, you don’t have to build it by the numbers or specs of the Ford V8 club.
Go your own way with it! You have everything you need to put the interior
back to stock spec while the rest of this
car would have modern engineering to
make it a great daily driver. For all you
young folks out there, this was how we
built things 50+ years ago. We used
trial and error and Tex Smith’s Bench
Session in Rod & Custom Magazine to
help us along. Those were great times
when car guys and gals could create
their own custom rides for under 5K.
We’d start with a $50 car and turn it
into something wonderful. Used to see
a lot of bizarre stuff in the Rods &
Customs At Random section of the
magazine. Like the dude that dropped
a 392 hemi into a ’51 Packard hearse or
the guy that was building a ’32 3 window
coupe with an Allison V12 aircraft engine for power. Now that’s the one I’d
REALLY like to see!
All very well putting a big V8 in it,but it has mechanical brakes!
That’s what I was thinking….go like hell….stopping not so much
Its body is architecturally and artistically interesting but overall this behemoth has been “hacked” by an amateur for a lack of better word. Taking it back to zero and refurbishing it will be a labor of love, and when complete, whomever endeavors to do so will be seriously underwater economically. Worth it. Maybe, but lots of homework needed here before pulling the trigger to acquire.
I would yank the 428 and get a new Ford flathead back under the hood and take it from there. Obviously new brakes, suspension, steering. I need my creature comforts which would mean a/c, a good sound system (not a blaster, just good), paint it dark green, not too much bling, close to stock wheels, Coker tires.
I believe that this vehicle has the unique and unusual Columbia Dual speed rear end. Likely having the change lever sticking out of a pocket in the right side of the pumpkin, a lever or servo switched the rear end ratio between “Town and Country ratios.” Not likely synchromesh, yet, still the ultimate “Quick Change” rarest rear end out there. Probably, that rear end is worth the $4,500 bid so far! Anyway, the vehicle’s shape is quite stunning, and the vehicle deserves to be restored–but perhaps with returning to flathead- for higher end value. Nobody should be playing axel-breaking HP with such a unique steam-punk original, in my opinion.
“Steampunk”? Wrong category… Though a bit rough, this barge is tipping the “Cool Scale” off the chart. The 429 is an excellent choice for power, especially with a C-6 trans (or preferably a (4L-80-e)… though a Ford 9″ rear end would hold up better. The new owner could recuperate some cash selling the existing rear end to a purist project. A car like this needs no modification when it comes to body or interior. Nice shiny dark color paint along with some wide white walls and fresh chrome would do the trick outside. A nice original-ish interior in mohair or leather would maintain this beauty’s inherent class. The only thing that scares me away is the “no-title” status. The last time I bought a no title car, it took 15 months and a dis-proportionate amount of cash to get the title… never again!
For not too much over for what the $$$$ is now it’d be a good start to resto-mod, give that BB Ford motor Fuel Injection, an overdrive automatic and all the normal creature comforts, cruise control, A/C, etc & with a Gabes interior & a Charlie Hutton paint job be the envy of everyone at your weekly cars & coffee
Put it on a modern street rod chassis.
Only limited by your imagination and wallet.
This would have been a very cool find if it were not for the skid plates welded to the bottom. Were they going to use it as a rock climber? I would start by trying to find a good rolling chassis to put underneath it. Then go from there with straightening, repairing and painting the body followed by juice disc brakes and nes wiring. So many options available it would be difficult to decide where to go from there. What a beautiful car it will be when done. How about that steel speer pointing directly at the drivers chest. That reminds me of my dads 39 Dodge seven passenger sedan he drove from 1940 to 1953.
God bless America
I would love to see a correctly restored one in person. I have never seen one before. The lines are amazing.
One of my favorite of it’s time but it would need the original V12.
Looks to me it could have been a moonshiners ride
We now know where the inspiration for the Volkswagen rear end came from.
What a beauty! Although defintely a diamond in the rough. Dont see how they got that 429 in there, and as someone said here this is how car guys 50 yrs ago did things. Have only seen one before that did have the original . great find!
9″ brakes in rear so just upgrade the fronts and zoom off to the drive in. Or the local Cars n’ coffee. Might wanna do the windscreen? Jimmy Shine just did a spruce up on a 40 year garage queen 40 merc convert custom I think it was. Very kool. Just made it a safe driver and left the dust in the corners.
The first thing is you can’t mess this car up at this point. This car needs a frame off restoration. When you get the frame out, park it behind the shed/garage and sell the existing original parts to someone who prefers originality. Then get yourself a late Crown Vic and use as much of the frame and attached components to make it a real driver. The Crown Vic chassis will let you stop and turn. While you’re at it source a Coyote if you still want more power.
I think this project started off as “Can you get this V12 to make more power?” The next question was “Can you put in a motor from another Lincoln?”
I like the solution to the steering link knocking the rust off the oil pan. Bend the steering link down so it misses, then put a jack under the tie rod to straighten the wheel and set the toe. I bet it was one hell of a first road test.
I’m not sure if those are skid plates or frame strengtheners. Interesting lowering blocks in the rear and plenty of room for some big hoops. The front didn’t need lowering after setting the 429 in there.
I’m seeing a hydraulic master cylinder underneath so the comments about mechanical brakes are questionable. I didn’t see mention of the original rear being included.
The current owner had it for one year (must have sobered up by now) and none of the work looks like it was recently done. So I highly doubt there are any original parts to sell.
Might have a master cylinder now,but Fords/Lincolns did not have hydraulic brakes until 1939.
Forget the fuel injection stay carbureted and this car needs the v12 back in it. A real muscle car or hotrod or what ever needs a 4 speed manual transmission in this eta of vehicle not no kind of automatic transmission.
The missing headlight lenses really change the look of this car. I almost didn’t recognize it .
I doubt this car has ever been on the road with the 429 under the hood. Didn’t see any shifterer but there is a clutch pedal(?)
The V-12 was basically a Ford 8-BA flathead V-8 with four extra cylinders added. Since the Ford engine had its own set of issues (mainly overheating) the V-12 came with those problems built in.
Yeah I’ve seen pics of the original V12. Beautiful ! The problems can be dealt with. No other block would better suit, finding one must be possible.
Je suis après en faire un pour moi ,Lincoln Zephyr 1936 4 portes sedan et je le met 2 portes customisé et je mets un moteur lt1 de corvette car par chez-nous il n’y en a pas de v-12 , mais ces vraiment une belle voiture que je rêvais d’avoir un jour