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1938 Lincoln Series 86H Zephyr news, pictures, and information

Convertible Sedan
 
In 1922, Henry and Wilford Leland's Lincoln Motor Company was purchased by the Ford Motor Company. The LeLands had gone into business in 1917 building Liberty airplane engines. When the war ended they eventually switched to luxury automobile production but financial calamity forced the sale to Ford.

Edsel Ford took the helm with an eye towards upgrading Lincoln styling. To that end he enlisted the finest American coachbuilders to produce stylish new bodies for the company. Edsel had always been influenced by European automobile styling. He began working with the designer E.T. Gregorie, Jr. to bring his ideas into fruition.

Lincoln introduced the Zephyr line as a 1936 model, featuring an extremely modern, aerodynamic design with a low, raked windshield and integrated fenders. It was positioned to bridge the gap between the Ford and the exclusive Lincoln K series. It successfully reignited Lincoln sales accounting for 80% of vehicles sold in its first year.

The greatest restoration challenge for this particular car was to implement hand controls without changing the car from rear to front wheel drive or from manual to automatic transmission. Body changes were extensive, but the exterior still appears as original.
Convertible Sedan
 
Sold for $85,100 at 2013 Bonhams.
The Lincoln Zephyr was introduced in 1936 and it was an immediate sensation. It was priced to accommodate the moderately affluent buyer. Successful purchasers received a streamlined, all-steel vehicle with a futuristic interior and powered by a V-12 engine. The L-head engine sat at a 75-degree angle and offered 110 horsepower.

The Lincoln Zephyr was offered only in closed models for 1936 and 1937. For 1938, two new open styles were added to the line - a Convertible Coupe and the Convertible Sedan. The Convertible Sedan was the most expensive 1938 Zephyr and just 461 examples were built. Wind deflectors were added to the front doors and the center upper door pillars were designed to fold away for top-down driving. e convertible top was lined inside, in the style of a European cabriolet.

The inside featured a full tan leather interior and center-stack gauge and control cluster.

In 2013, the car was offered for sale at Bonhams Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $85,100 including buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2013
In 1936 Lincoln introduced the Zephyr, named and styled after the streamlined Burlington Zephyr express train. The train was an aerodynamic diesel powered streamliner that brought an end to the steam-engined trains and set many new speed-records. The Zephyr stayed in production until 1942 when it was discontinued to make way for the new Mercury line which was in a similar market segment. Since the Mercury's were derived from a Ford running gear and chassis they were cheaper to produce, Lincoln decided to cancel the Zephyr after only six years of production.
The styling was courteous of the Dutch-Born designer John Tjaarda of the Briggs Body Corporation, however, prior to production Ford's stylist Bob Gregorie restyled the front end. Under the hood was a Ford-derived V-12 that produced 110 horsepower, not enough to do justice to the Zephyr name and what it represented, but a modest amount to carry the vehicle where it was tasked to travel.

In 1936 around 15000 Zephyrs were constructed, nearly 80% of all Lincolns sold. Nearly 1500 were given coupe/sedan body-styles which were a two-door sedan configuration built on a chassis that could have accommodated four-doors.

In the year 2005, Lincoln reintroduced the Zephyr. To help create excitement at auto shows, Lincoln purchased a 1936 Zerphyr serial number H-5739, to tour with the modern Lincoln Zephyr.

Due to the onset of World War II, Lincoln switched to war-related production. Production resumed in 1946 and continued until 1948.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2006
Lincoln at Los Angeles Auto Show Press Days: Celebration of Its Past and Future As Brand Rolls Out Its Reinvention
> The brand pays tribute to its heritage today, displaying seven of the most influential Lincoln designs > Thursday sees a display full of the all-new MKZ premium midsize sedan and MKZ Hybrid, the future of Lincoln, on the Lincoln stand > Lincoln launches on Tumblr http://lincolnnow.tumblr.com beginning with the visually stunning classic Lincolns shown on the stand and select images from archives. Continues with an all-new collection of photographs by photographers Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg ...[Read more...]
STENHOUSE FINISHES THIRD IN PHOENIX
 Ford Finishing Order: 3rd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 7th – Michael Annett 21st – Paulie Harraka 30th – Dexter Stacey 32nd – Noel Dowler 34th – Kevin Lepage 41st – Carl Long RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – No. 6 Valvoline NextGen Ford Mustang – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU DROVE BY AND SAW THE 2 CAR AGAINST THE WALL? 'I didn't really think anything. I just kept doing what we were doing all day. We worked really hard. Mike made some good calls – changing four there, stay...[Read more...]
Classic Motorcar Auctions' Grande Salon Event Tops $1.7 Million
Classic Motorcar Auctions LLC announces total sales for their 3rd annual Grande Salon Auction reached $1.7 million, including buyer's premium. The two-day auction, which was held Sept. 15-16, 2012 during the Glenmoor Gathering event at the historic Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio, had a 51% sell-through rate. The auction's high sale was a beautifully restored 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton at $150,000, followed by the 1912 Ford Model T prototype six cylinder Speedster once belong...[Read more...]
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion : Cobras Take It To The Limit
 Today was the day everyone was waiting for, or at least the 30 or so thousand people flocking to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion were waiting for it: the chance to see 45 competition Shelby Cobras charging around California's famously challenging 2.238-mile road course known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Cobras are part of the Reunion's celebration of the Shelby Cobra's 50thAnniversary, and besides those signed up for racing, there were hundreds more in the paddock, surrounding corr...[Read more...]
Classic Motorcar Holds Grande Salon Auction During Glenmoor Gathering
1912 Edsel Ford Model T Six Cylinder Speedster to Cross the Block CANTON, Ohio - Classic Motorcar Auctions LLC will hold their 3rd annual Grande Salon Auction Sept. 15-16, 2012 during the Glenmoor Gathering event at the historic Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio. The Grande Salon Auction will feature more than 150 antique, classic and sports cars as well as various automotive memorabilia up for bid. Vehicles will be available for preview on Friday, Sept. 14 from 1-8 p.m. The a...[Read more...]

Arrow Right 1938 Lincoln models
Lincoln Model K

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MercuryPontiac
Saturn
Similarly Sized Vehicles from 1938
Lincoln Model K

Similarly Priced Vehicles from 1938
Buick Series 80 Roadmaster ($1,645-$1,983)
Cadillac Series 60 ($1,695-$2,285)
LaSalle Series 50 ($1,295-$1,825)
Buick Series 40 Special ($945-$1,406)
Buick Series 60 Century ($1,226-$1,713)
Packard 1601 Eight ($1,225-$1,650)

Average Auction Sale: $159,982

 
Lincoln: 1931-1940
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2005 Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance

Lincoln
Monthly Sales FiguresVolume
April 20137,615 
March 20136,825 
February 20134,883 
January 20134,191 
December 20127,384 
November 20125,732 
October 20125,154 
September 20126,802 
August 20128,141 
July 20126,975 
June 20127,544 
May 20127,274 
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Blackwood
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K-Series
LS
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MKS
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Model L
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