Picked up an interesting steering wheel at a junkyard yesterday. The owner thought it was a 39 Lincoln Zephyr. I've done some searching and the only 39 Zephyr dash pics I could find show a wheel that has two plastic covered arms and in fact looks very much like an upside down 49 or 50 Ford steering wheel. I'm wondering if it's an earlier Zephyr since it has the three spoke banjo bit. The keyway and taper mount look very similar to 48 Ford & earlier. It's 17 1/2" in diameter measured at the outer edge and the wheel proper looks like it was an ivory/white plastic with finger grooves. No horn ****on, but I can make one. Thoughts? Guesses?
Looks like a Zephyr wheel to me. So you should probably be getting PM's from NealinCA, alchemy, SUHRsc, zibo, Bruce Lancaster, and uhhh... me any second now.
I've got a stray unidentified LZ horn ****on...shoot a picture of the center and put in measurements of diameters of locking ring and probable outer edge of ****on...maybe I can finish the thing for you. Also scrutinize center for any numbers or letters... It does look Zephyr. Follow some of the photo sections on the Lincoln Zephyr Owner's club site and you might find a match.
heres a 38 http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_ima/37Cpe.jpg and heres a 39 looks like it? first to agree on identification gets it...right??!!
I was given one that looks like your's, but I was told mine was a '38. So, either I was told wrong, Zach's pics are wrong, or maybe some parts overlapped years?
"first to agree on identification gets it...right??!!" Yep, them's the rules. Swap a '32 axle for that??
might be? i just found it online...didnt even take not too much since it wasnt the same i did a google image search for "lincoln interior" jeff, im pretty sure its '39...unles '38 was the same? heres a 39 convert http://rides.webshots.com/album/73152974bRlXIf edit...looks like 38 is the same? http://members.tripod.com/j_jlincolns/coupe.html
Can a picture enhancement show more of the shift lever?? I think a '37 would have a lever like a Ford. A '38 or 9 would have the crazy ***** lever coming up from RF of trans, disappearing under dash, and coming out near column. I'm guessing from what I can see '37...but my Zephyr info is pretty damn inadequate. It's hard even using the LZOC to find decent detail... By the way, do you know about the winter meet in Harridburg for the Zephyr people?? Don't tellem you own a Ford...I barely escaped with my life when my wife mentioned where the parts I was buying were headed.
mmmmm i think i heard about something....do you have more info? you know....i am restoring a few lincolns for people so i need parts
Wasn't the first banjo wheel for Fords in 1937? And ended in 1939? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUHRsc's pic looks exactly like the one I have . . . although the rim plastic is a whole lot better. Interesting that the center hub plastic on mine is in good shape. A guy would think that the hub plastic would have suffered the same UV damage as the rim plastic, but they're different grades of plastic. There's a pic of a 39 dash on the Carnut site: http://carnut.com/cgi-bin/image.pl?/show/01/spf/nat565.jpg I'm wondering if that wheel is the standard Lincoln wheel and used because the banjo wheels are either: An accessory item. Hard to find. Or simply fall apart easier than the standard wheel. The wheel in the Carnut site pic looks very much like the wheel I remember in my friends 48 Lincoln 4-door. I understand there are people out there that restore wheels with damaged rims. I haven't unwrapped my wheel all the way yet, maybe today if I get a Honey-Do job finished. Just call me Sisyphus.... Anyway, some pics as Bruce requested and some measurements. (I looked the wheel over with a magnifying gl***, no numbers or other ID.) Taper bore backside = .731 Keyway width = .189 Inner hub bore on the sheet metal horn ****on retainer = 2" (This measurement does not include the notch depths, it just indicates you could insert a piece of 2" OD tubing.) Hub ID - on the plastic = 2 9/16" Spokes - Middle = .252 Outer = .155 The wheel is interesting and fits in my 31 roadster ok. Due to the way I made the column mount I can move the column 3" right or 2" left 1" at a time by R&R two bolts, so that's a handy little feature. I'm guessing that most of the rim plastic is damaged, but I'll know more about that later. Nice part is, the finger grooves seem to be all there. I'm thinking that choosing the right electrical tapes to wrap it with and then covering with a leather lace-on wonder would make for a reasonably nice steering wheel for the 31. I was aiming for a 40 or 50 Ford wheel when I stumbled onto this one. Do ya think the Zephyr owners would shoot me if they saw what I'd done?
Hmmm...their calendar still shows Feb 2007...and it moved to Lancaster. Small but really interesting indoor motel fleamarket when I went. Lincoln Continental convertible rearview mirror bracket just like a deuce drop type... Geezers have noticed that lots of people want '41 Lincoln brakes, too...
Correct a mundo. I shoulda looked closer. The paint looks just like plastic, but s****ing a small bit of it away - in a hidden area - shows diecast metal.
I will agree with what has been said...the wheel you have is 38-39 LZ. I have a 36-37 wheel...it just has three stainless spokes, rather than nine. They did use the same horn ****on form 36-39, but the 36-37 wheels used a plastic covered hub and unfortunately mine was gone...thus the aluminum replacement. I have yet to make the small transition pieces for the spokes. Neal BTW...Grimlok, that was funny!
My unemployed horn ****on is 1/2" too large at the sheetmetal retainer bit. It is maroon plastic with the Licoln Zephyr script above a raised are with white ribs...I'm thinking it goes with a later all plastic wheel. What was last year of Zephyr name...1940??
The inner measurement of 2" I quoted above did not include the recesses cut for the retaining tabs. If those were included it looks like you would pick up close to 1/4" each side. Looks like 1948 is the last year. I'm not counting the new models of today. Go here for some Zephyr photos: http://www.lzoc.org/photos/photos.htm Thanks for the offer Bruce. If I go with the wheel I can probably find a plastic insert that says "Lincoln Zephyr" off a late model that's small enough to insert in a turned aluminum piece. Now I'm wondering what the main shaft diameter is of a Ford steering shaft with the taper & keyway for the older wheels. Looking at NealinCa's Zephyr install I'm guessing that he's using a stock Ford steering shaft in his RPU. Non-Tilt GM steering shafts are commonly found at 37" long. Makes for a nice length for a cross-steer install. GM shafts have an OD of 3/4". If the Ford shaft OD is 3/4" and long enough (37" or more) I can cut splines to match the GM lower pattern of 3/4" x 36 or mill Double D flats. Double D flats sounds strange to the ear. I know shaft spline changes can be safely done by welding, but I prefer machining. Cutting a taper, keyway and threads in the top end of a GM shaft is an option, but I'd lose some of the GM's 37" length. Perhaps one of our resident metallurgists can recommend a good alloy for a steering shaft and I could make the whole thing from scratch.... Since I'm rattlling on about steering shafts, here's a small point of interest. The upper steering shaft in late Rangers - maybe all of them - has a Double D flat area long enough to bridge the distance from bottom of steering column shaft u-joint to steering box u-joint for most of the common side-steer installations. Mine cost $2. a couple weeks back....
Well Im beating the horse and its way dead but that wheel is a 38 to 39 zephyr the 37 had only three spokes total. Also that pic above is a 38 i can tell by the guage cluster the photo itself was mis labeled as a 37. LTr Dave
OK...this explains why in hell I have a Zephyr horn ****on sitting by my stapler! Can I fit one of those portable memory things into my ear? Somebody needs to publish a book full of detail shots of '36-48 Zephyrs and other H Lincolns...every one of those cars was detailed from end to end by a jeweler. They are endless sources of neat bits and styling ideas for other cars.
How about these apples... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...&item=250163176169&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:11 Guess mine is worth saving... Neal
No kidding. And I thought the early Vettes were about the most expensive car to restore. Went to a car show Saturday, spur of the moment deal and didn't take the camera, but saw an intesting Lincoln steering wheel on a resto about 1940 or later Lincoln convertible. It was a transparent deep red color. When the light hit it, there were some interesting changes. Part of looked solid and part transparent. It was the same throughout the wheel. Pretty sure it was a stock wheel and from the looks of the hub size, I bet that's what Bruce's horn ****on goes to. I'll try to pop some pics next time I see it. Far as my wheel goes, if I get time today I'll try to pull all the old tape off and see what I have. 'Course, I could always cut it down and fit a smaller diameter rim....
Like this... I know it looks black in the picture, but it is transparent maroon. 42-47 Lincoln...the horn ****on says Lincoln Twelve. I do like Lincoln stuff... Neal
My ****on says "Lincoln Zephyr" on it...meant to look up last year the name was used, but forgot to...I think LZ ended around '40-42, prewar for certain, after the big Lincoln K series luxury line was dropped...the basic LZ design with the H type V-12 became the entire line, with what used to be the Zephyr called just Lincoln, and the Continental and another fancy sedan line becoming the high priced cars.
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