Amid the Great Depression, the management of the Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Company took an incredible risk.  With sales of the hand-built Model K lagging, Edsel Ford and his team designed and built one of the most beautiful cars ever and managed to mass-produce them profitably.  This 1937 Lincoln Zephyr four-door sedan for sale on Craigslist in Mountlake, Terrace, Washington is advertised as “parade ready” and even comes with a parts car according to the ad.  While it needs to be cleaned up and a couple of rough spots tended to, this aerodynamic Lincoln could be a diamond in the rough for someone looking for a milestone car.  Is the $41,500 price reasonable for one finished Lincoln and a disassembled spare?  Thanks to Tony P. for this awesome aerodynamic find!

The Lincoln Zephyr has always been a car that is hard to understand in the context of the Ford Motor Company at the time of its birth.  The primary mystery was why Lincoln took the chance on an aerodynamic design in the first place.  While this car was on T.T. “Bob” Gregorie’s drawing board, the wind tunnel influenced Chrysler and DeSoto Airflows had debuted and were immediate sales flops.  The public just didn’t seem ready for aerodynamic cars, and Lincoln wasn’t exactly a division with the financial freedom to take risks with Henry’s money.  However, the division was struggling like every other luxury maker during the Depression.  Their only other car was the Model K, and the slow sales of that line of cars were never going to generate enough revenue to make Lincoln profitable.

It was obvious that something had to be done, and the solution had to be mass-produced.  Edsel Ford teamed up with his chief designer and the division’s management to set about building a modern Lincoln at a reasonable price.  The design was radical, the engine was a new design using existing parts from a lower line, and nobody was sure of success.  Yet somehow the gamble paid off.  The Zephyr was a sales hit, and 15,000 of them were sold in the first year alone.  While those weren’t big numbers for the Ford Motor Company as a whole, it pushed Lincoln into a respectable spot in industry sales totals for the year.  It probably also saved Lincoln as a brand.  Lincoln was always seen as a way to get Edsel out of the way and give him something to do.  However, Henry Ford wouldn’t have tolerated losing money forever.

All these years later, the Zephyr is lauded as one of the most beautiful cars ever built, with special recognition going to the sensuous three-window coupe body style.  Even the basic sedans like this 1937 model are simply stunning when seen in person.  This car, being sold as part of an estate by another family member, is a little rough around the edges.  This is most likely due to it inexplicably being left outside under a carport and covered by a tarp.  Cleaned up and with some work, this could be quite a presentable car.  It has all the hallmarks of an older restoration, including an odometer that reads 10,937 miles.

The picture above is of the vehicle that the seller describes as a disassembled parts car.  By the looks of it, this may be a second Zephyr that was early in the process of restoration when the work stopped for some reason.  In the ad, the seller says “Along with sale comes a parts car that is disassembled, trim, windows, fenders, fully rebuilt V-12 engine. Enough to build another full vehicle with.”   Are they talking about the parts car, or the complete car when they mention the fully rebuilt V-12 engine?

We are also told that the car comes with receipts for replaced parts, work completed and other outlays.  While the $41,500 price may seem high, a lot more than that may have been invested in the car.  Rebuilding a Zephyr V-12 isn’t cheap.  The shoddy storage may have made this car look less desirable in pictures than it is in person.  This is the kind of car that interested parties should see in person before making any decision.  The seller, who is handling the car for the estate, hates scammers but seems to be quite flexible with interested parties.  Hopefully there is someone out there who wants a solid Lincoln Zephyr and a disassembled spare to go with it.