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Old 02-21-2012, 10:48 AM   #81
Vic Piano
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Default Re: What I Did on My Lunch Hour

This morning I went out to the garage with the intention of flipping the Columbia over so I could finish painting it. I flipped it and had it resting on some bubble wrap. Started to paint and quickly ran out… And you guessed it… that was the last of the paint that I had. A quick trip up to the local auto parts store and the problem was solved. Now the Columbia is adorned in nice new paint.

Now I’ve got to get the backing plates, torque tub, etc. prepped and painted…
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Old 02-22-2012, 09:12 AM   #82
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Default Re: What I Did on My Lunch Hour

It’s been a bit slow going the last few days as I haven’t had much time available to devote to the Zephyr I did however get one of the backing plates cleaned and painted…


I also was able to clean and paint a few related brake parts.
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Old 02-22-2012, 03:46 PM   #83
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Ok, here's a question for those in the know. I just received two NOS dog bones for the rear shocks on the Lincoln Zephyr. The NOS DB's measure 4" center to center which is what is listed in the LZ parts book however; the DB's I removed are 5" center to center.

There are no ID numbers on any of the DB's, so here's my question; what, if any difference will the shorter DB's make, and could it be that convertibles had the longer DB's to compensate for the weight difference? Thanks in advance for any help. Vic
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Old 02-22-2012, 04:14 PM   #84
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Default Re: What I Did on My Lunch Hour

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This morning I went out to the garage with the intention of flipping the Columbia over so I could finish painting it. I flipped it and had it resting on some bubble wrap. Started to paint and quickly ran out… And you guessed it… that was the last of the paint that I had. A quick trip up to the local auto parts store and the problem was solved. Now the Columbia is adorned in nice new paint.

Now I’ve got to get the backing plates, torque tub, etc. prepped and painted…
I've had a '39 Lincoln in the past and don't recall the axle housings being that terribly rough. Did Lincoln perhaps use a different casting process than Ford? DD
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Old 02-22-2012, 04:30 PM   #85
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I've had a '39 Lincoln in the past and don't recall the axle housings being that terribly rough. Did Lincoln perhaps use a different casting process than Ford? DD
Coopman, My '39 Zephyr coupe has smooth castings, just like all my '39 and '40 Ford axle housings. I can only go by that one but maybe the Lincoln convertibles were different???
Here's a picture of a Ford...
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN6985.jpg (56.0 KB, 119 views)

Last edited by Kube; 02-22-2012 at 05:13 PM. Reason: added photograph
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Old 02-22-2012, 04:37 PM   #86
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Vic
Think of it this way with the 4" link on the shock arm will have to come down.
now you have more travel up or in reality the body has more travel down.
Correct me if I am wrong you have a better chance of BOTTOMING OUT then going over a hill and having day lite under the rear wheel.( or maybe not after riding with you last time LOL LOL )
If the shock has no more movement to go up and the body still wants to come down !!!
Well you connect the dots ::::::: SOMIN GONA BRAKE

Long Story short My book also says 4" links.
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Old 02-22-2012, 05:04 PM   #87
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Default Re: What I Did on My Lunch Hour

Bill, I found out that the 4" is correct for the '39 LZ. The 5" that I took out was a replacement part. Vic
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Old 02-22-2012, 05:15 PM   #88
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Default Re: What I Did on My Lunch Hour

Kube & Coopman, I was wondering about the castings myself because the rear that came out of the '39 Zephyr and the rear in my '39 Ford CS are both smooth, as is the banjo on the Columbia. This Columbia came out of a '39 Zephyr Coupe...
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Old 02-22-2012, 05:47 PM   #89
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Default Re: What I Did on My Lunch Hour

I did some research and found out that Columbia cast the axle housing for the conversion. Obviously Columbia was not as critical as Ford with the castings.
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Old 02-22-2012, 06:43 PM   #90
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I did some research and found out that Columbia cast the axle housing for the conversion. Obviously Columbia was not as critical as Ford with the castings.
Hmmm... now maybe I am confused. The Columbia housing you have looks decent. The Ford (Lincoln) housing is the one I was wondering about.

I went and looked again (memory isn't what it once was) and both housings on all my cars are smooth, even the Lincoln.
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Old 02-22-2012, 07:02 PM   #91
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Kube & Coopman, I was wondering about the castings myself because the rear that came out of the '39 Zephyr and the rear in my '39 Ford CS are both smooth, as is the banjo on the Columbia. This Columbia came out of a '39 Zephyr Coupe...
Hey Vic, If you wouldn't mind, I'd really appreciate you sharing with me the documentation you found that shows Columbia cast their own housings. I really enjoy that kind of stuff. It never occurred to me they (Columbia) would go to the expense. Rather, I figured the housings were supplied by Ford and simply modified by Columbia. I figured that as the Columbia housings all have the regular axle housing Ford part numbers cast on them.
I went out and looked at all the housings in my cars (Lincoln and Fords) and found all of them, including the unrestored cars to be smooth.
Might just be the photo but it looks like your Columbia housing is pretty decent. I was wondering about the Ford (Lincoln) axle housing.
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Old 02-22-2012, 07:51 PM   #92
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I would agree with you, I thought that Columbia only cast the housing that contained the overdrive. I Googled Columbia Axle Co. and found a bunch of info, but could not find anything from the actual Columbia Axle Co. that confirmed that they did the casting. I talked with John Connelly of Columbia two speed Parts, Inc. and he said that Columbia cast the axle housings for the conversion. It's obvious that the Columbia castings are not as nice (smooth) at the FoMoCo axles castings. There is a brass tag on the Columbia that I have with the following info stamped into it. 40-100A-52 No: 8070 Columbia Axle Co.
Apparently the 40 is the year of production and (according to John Connelly) they most likely were installed in late '39 Zephyrs (like cars, they were produced early). If someone ordered a new Zephyr, with a Columbia in '39, the factory installed the unit. Only Lincoln did this, if someone wanted a Columbia in a Ford or Mercury, the dealer did the installation. I'm going to continue my search and see if I can locate some original documentation from Columbia.
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Old 02-22-2012, 07:53 PM   #93
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I was talking about the axle housings - not the center section.
I agree with John in regard to the approval of Columbia's in Fords vs. Lincoln. In the Ford (1940) it was not authorized as many think.
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Old 02-23-2012, 07:05 AM   #94
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The center section (on the Columbia) is a Ford produced part, the axle housings, according to John, were produced by Columbia which would account for the difference in the finish (not as smooth as Ford built axle housings). However, the Columbia in your photo looks smooth as glass. Without actual documentation from Columbia (I’m still trying to find it), it will remain a mystery.
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Old 02-27-2012, 09:12 AM   #95
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Well, we didn't get anything done on the Zephyr this weekend, instead of working in the garage, we drive one of our non-Flatheads (the '63 Studebaker Avanti) down to Long boat Key for the weekend... We saw a beautiful ’55 Pontiac Convertible with a Continental Kit, a ’55 Chevy Two Door hard top and a ’40 Ford Coupe out on the road. I didn’t take a camera with me so, no photos. Vic
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Old 02-27-2012, 04:22 PM   #96
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The center section (on the Columbia) is a Ford produced part, the axle housings, according to John, were produced by Columbia which would account for the difference in the finish (not as smooth as Ford built axle housings). However, the Columbia in your photo looks smooth as glass. Without actual documentation from Columbia (I’m still trying to find it), it will remain a mystery.
After doing more checking it appears that Columbia did in fact modify the right FORD axle housing castings. That certainly explains the Ford casting numbers. The left housing required NO modification. That being the case, the left housing was simply re-used from the stock assembly.
The center section was a Columbia housing, produced by Columbia.
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Old 02-27-2012, 05:00 PM   #97
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When you say the center section, are you referring to the "banjo" or the housing for the Columbia gears? Also, the Zephyr (when ordered with a Columbia) had the unit installed at the factory so, could it be that (for the Zephyr) Columbia cast both sides and delivered it to Lincoln already assembled as a unit? That's just about the only thing that would explain the roughness of the castings...
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Old 02-27-2012, 05:23 PM   #98
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When you say the center section, are you referring to the "banjo" or the housing for the Columbia gears? The housing for the Columbia gears. Also, the Zephyr (when ordered with a Columbia) had the unit installed at the factory so, could it be that (for the Zephyr) Columbia cast both sides and delivered it to Lincoln already assembled as a unit? It appears Ford supplied Columbia with the requisite pieces (castings) and Columbia assembled them as a "unit". That's just about the only thing that would explain the roughness of the castings...
Are both axle housings the same "texture"?
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Old 02-27-2012, 05:37 PM   #99
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Yes they are, the center section "banjo" is smooth as is the complete stock rear axle that came out of the car. The axles on the Columbia are both "textured", not at all smooth.
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Old 02-27-2012, 08:18 PM   #100
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Pretty much LOOKS like the rust pits that I covered-up with spray bombs on my stuff forty-five years ago and called it "restored", before I knew the difference. DD
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