1942 Lincoln Continental

The Lincoln-Zephyr was introduced in 1936 and named after the streamlined Burlington Zephyr high-speed express train, itself named after Zephyrus, the mythical Greek God of the west wind. Its styling was courtesy of a Dutch-born designer named John Tjaarda, who was an employee at Briggs Body Corporation, Ford's longtime partner. Styling refinements were applied by Eugene T. 'Bob' Gregorie, who worked closely with Lincoln president Edsel Ford, himself a noted designer.

The modern design of the Zephyr was complemented by its equally impressive mechanical sophistication, shedding the old-fashioned coachbuilt methods and replacing them with advanced unitized construction principles. It brought the Lincoln marque into a new era of automobile design and construction and was instantly rewarded with strong sales, ensuring its continued survival as the top-echelon division of the Ford Motor Company. Beneath the elegantly crafted bonnet was Lincoln's proprietary 292 cubic-inch V-12 engine, a multi-cylinder derivative of Ford's proven 'Flathead' V-8 engine. Body styles initially included a two and four-door sedan, a two-door coupe, and a four-door Town Limousine. A Convertible was soon added, as well as updates to the mechanical specifications, and styling improvements to keep the design fresh and modern. Hydraulic brakes were added in 1939, along with improvements to the electrical charging system. Updates to the body included lower body skirting completely enclosing the running boards plus a mild facelift to the front grille and sheet metal.

The Lincoln Continental
When Mr. Edsel Ford wanted a personal one-off vehicle, he tasked Mr. Gregorie with creating a custom design. Reportedly, a sketch was drawn in less than an hour by Mr. Gregorie using the Lincoln-Zephyr as a starting point. The design was completed in November 1938 and features a short trunk with what became the Continental series' trademark, the externally-mounted covered spare tire. Four inches had been removed from the doos and body, and its appearance was lower but maintained standard ground clearances to ensure drivability. When the car was completed the following March, it was shipped to the Ford compound in Florida where it was declared an immediate and sensational success. The immense popularity prompted the car to be placed into production.

In October 1939, the car was introduced as a Lincoln Continental Zephyr, and a coupe body style followed in May 1940. The Zephyr name was dropped in September.

The Lincoln Continental was a well-appointed, modern, exclusive, hand-crafted automobile for Lincoln's prominent customers. The big Model K Lincoln had recently been discontinued, and both the Zephyr and the Continental carried the Lincoln marque into a new era of design and construction. All 1942 Lincolns received a larger front end with the Continental gaining a delicate horizontal bar grille. The grille would grow even larger when production resumed following World War II.

The 1942 Lincoln Zephyr rested on a 125-inch wheelbase and had an overall length of 218.7 inches. The Lincoln Custom line was a very exclusive line of seven passenger automobiles that received a 138-inch wheelbase platform. 47 examples of the seven-passenger Custom sedan were built having a base price of $3,115 while the limousine body style was listed for $3,250. A total of 66 examples of the Limousine were built. Body styles on the Zephyr line included a 3-passenger coupe ($1,750), 5-passenger coupe, club coupe ($1,800), convertible coupe ($2,275), and a sedan ($1800). A combined total of 1,236 examples of the coupe were built (both 3- and 5-passenger versions), 4,418 of the sedan, 191 of the convertible coupe, and 253 of the club coupe.

Just like the Zephyr, the Continental had a 125-inch wheelbase but its overall length was 1.7-inches shorter at 217-inches. The Zephyr stood 68.5-inches tall while the Continental was shorter, at around 63 inches. All 1942 Lincolns were powered by the L-head, 292 cubic-inch twelve-cylinder engine which used a Holley downdraft two-barrel carburetor to produce 130 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. Mechanical updates included aluminum heads replacing the previous cast-iron units, and a lower 7.0:1 compression ratio (down from 7.2:1). The engine was aligned with a three-speed sliding gear transmission with a single dry plate clutch and column shift controls. Bendix hydraulic, internal expanding brakes were placed at the front and rear. Optional equipment included a Brog-Warner overdrive, Liquimatic, and a Columbia two-speed rear axle.

Lincoln Continental body styles included a cabriolet or coupe and both were priced at $3,175. Production remained very exclusive with just 136 examples of the Cabriolet and 200 of the Coupe. The combined 336 Continentals represented just 5-percent of Lincoln's 6,547 vehicles produced in 1942. Production was brief due to the United States' involvement in World War II, so 1942 figures were much lower than the previous year's 21,994 Lincolns built.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2022