Projects Winter Project: Lincoln Zephyr Woodie Wagon

Up for consideration for the Baileigh contest is my 37 Lincoln Zephyr Woodie Wagon project. The first two pictures show the car prior to the start of winter 08/09. The car started out as an extremely rusty unibody 4 door sedan. I did a ton of chassis and metal work to get the car ready for construction of the wood body. The objective is to create a woodie that might have been envisioned by Lincoln stylists without the constraints of 1930's manufacturing processes. I sought to preserve the smooth flowing Art-Deco Zephyr lines. The roof is two front roof halves welded back-to back. And yes, that's a PT Cruiser hatch. Very un-hamblike, I know, but it has precisely the right shape and the alternative would have been 100 hours to fabricate something from scratch. I will be skinned in Maple Veneer.


Starting from the rear, I laminated several layers of 2x6 hard Maple and shaped the lower "pan"


Moving forward, I again laminated mulitple layers of 2x6 to form the C-pillars, at the same time fitting them to the body:

I then shaped them into the correct 3D sculpted shape:

The top roof edge pieces also had to be laminated on the car to get the correct compound curvature:

At the same Time I glued up some other parts:

My fearless assitant strikes a pose in the wood shop while a Minnesota blizzard rages outside.

Withe the B pillars shaped and the beltline spars nearly complete, the car is starting to take shape:



What's a woodie without a few finger joints?

Here's the finger-jointed wheel arch assemblies ready to shape:

And that's where I am today. I hope to finish the body this winter, the doors in the summer, spray the black base/clear on the steel and then thrash to meet my Jan 2010 date with the upholstery guy. Only one set of hands working here - wish me luck!

Check out the whole build at:
http://rides.webshots.com/album/274538179oNPsVf

Thanks for looking!

 

um. wow. That's gonna be some project! Looks like you've got a good handle on things!

 

Very cool. The size of your pictures makes it very hard to view. Maybe next time, if you can, resize them but other than that keep the progress coming!!!

 

Incredible work so far, the photo album was a lot of fun to look at. I can't wait to see the finished project.

 

I second that. Looks like a very cool project, but it's hard to see the pictures when you have to scroll across the screen. Be sure to post updates as you progress.

 

Nice work! Good to see all that woodworking... A guy just cant have too many clamps.
Where did the fingerjoining cutter come from? Thats gonna be a class act when you're done. Congrats!

 

All I can say is WOW! As someone who has suffered countless defeat in the battle against all things wooden I can say that is truly a work of art.

 

Damn impressive wood work!

 

That is a grand idea and is looking good. To stay within your constraints of 1930s technology it would be very unlikey that the entire tailpan would have been wooden, rather just the rear hatch sills and ends of the quarteres where they meet. It looks like you're not doing bumpers but woodies of the era would have had straight sills and the bumper just below. And, I would venture to say all woodies had a magnificent structured wood top covered with muslin, padding and rubberized top canvas of various styles, the under side looking like the inside of a wooden boat turned upside down and varnished to a beautiful finish.

The metal topped woodies appeared in the Chrysler Town and Countrys of the pre-war and post-war 40s and other makes in the late 40s and early 50s.

 

What a cool project.

 

As a carpenter of 40+ years, I really can appreciate all
the work involved.
But damn you, I now have no reason to not attempt
something similar myself.

Cheers.

.

 

Me too. Allways have the woodie idea in the back of my head. I,ll bet more woodworkers / gearheads have the same idea. Note to HenryJ, you must be the first Gclamp hoarder i,ve come across , Nice work. Sheetmetal looks very nice too.

 

Great craftsmanship!
As a guy that plays with both cars and wooden boats, I can really appreciate what you're doing. The lower rear pan looks fantastic! It's a great rodder's touch and modern interpretation.

Hmm...maybe more inspiration for my '36...

 

I LOVE IT!! beautiful work. coolest woody ever!!

Ian

 

That is amazing! Awesome work!!
dp

 

yea great work but its hard to get the big picture if you will,,but i think a repost of pics smaller would be way cool thanks gonna be real nice

 

VERY cool!

 

Great job.
Was this your inspiration?
Jims Zepher was awsum
Your's is well on it's way.

 

Wow....!! Nice work

 

Guys -

Thanks for the positive comments!

Sorry for the big pictures! Photobucket kept locking up on me and I had to use the old uploader that doesn't allow resizing on the fly.

I agree that the steel roof does not reflect the style of the day, but it is my personal preference. - I always though that the soft tops mess with the lines of the car.

Regarding the finger joints, the cutters I'm using are available anywhere (Amazon.com). Unfortunatley they only make a 1/2 deep joint. Cutters that exactly copy the traditional Ford woodie 1 1/8" finger joint are available from Wisconsin Knife works. It would have cost $2000 for cutters and arbor to run on my Brideport. Ouch! I'm trying to built this car as cheap as possible and I just couldn't justify that much dough.

 

That thing is going to be one heck of a Lincoln. Really nice.

 

That seriously rules!

What build style will it be when completed? Traditional or modern?

 

Awsume workmanship and creativity, as always displayed in any of your projects.

Keep up the good work.

Canuck

 

WOW........no need for me to enter the contest now. You are the winner!
PS, I love the tail pan. The Pictures are not too big for me. I need them that big to see well. You have some real talent......KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK..........

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL Car

 

I that PT Cruiser hatch works, use it man. I feel ya on the time to fabricate one. Nice work, and good color choice to contrast the wood.

 

I vote for the metal roof !!! I think the point of a car like this is to build your vision of it . I like everything you've done . I have a '33 Bianchi woodie project I hope to start soon . It will be traditional but definitely different . This is my starting point . It's almost certainly the only '33 Bianchi in the U.S. so no one can say I did it wrong . Bwaahahaha !

 

HAMB style or not - that is amazing workmanship! I too have been into wood boats and have rebuilt several. Soooo, I also have been thinking about "beating the system" by building a woodie from a nice cheap 4 door classic.

Anybody that has owned a real one knows they twist and shout even on a built-up chassis. The structure for a scratch built body is not for amateurs.

Nice metal work too.

PLEASE continue posting build pics!

 

Hey HenryJ429, it's about time you weighed in on this contest! You should have thrown in some pics of the earlier stages, though. Now I gotta go hunting through your album (and I'm lazy!!) Folks, Larry really knows how to set himself a challenge, and then meet it.

Note to Pasadena hotrod: He said " a woodie that might have been envisioned by Lincoln stylists WITHOUT the constraints of 1930's manufacturing processes." Not a slap at you, just a correction. This thing has Pontiac G6 rear suspension, and a Ford V10 engine. Not HAMB traditional, but amazing nonetheless. And it's not being built at one of the big pro shops. Just some doofus in his garage in backwoods Minnesota. (Hi Larry!)

Note to HenryJ429 you said "I will be skinned in Maple Veneer."
Yes, by the time you finish all that woodwork, you probably will! HaHa!!

I should drive down and see you guys before spring. Amazing work so far.
Ralph

 

I dig. You go man!

 

I hope one day I willl be skillful like that!