NO SIGN OF ABATING
Once a common sight on New Zealand roads, many Ford Zephyrs have long since been relegated to the scrap heap. Those that have been restored are a welcome sight, as the various models, from the MKI through to the MKVI, have had a big impact on 1950–’70s local motoring scene, as well as the racetrack.
Tauranga resident Colin Moore has recently taken on a very big project that promises to be quite a car when finished: a Ford Zephyr MKII.
“It was registered and warranted when I bought it, and I drove it the 200km home. I found that the Zephyr was absolutely full of lead, as it had been in an accident early in its life. The lead was a real pain in the butt but it’s now gone,” Colin said.
Once stripped, a big problem was the poor state of the centre pillars, which had been creased — possibly during that accident — and had lost a lot of their strength. Engineer son Chris recently came to the rescue and completed a comprehensive rebuild of them, using pillars from a donor car. Colin had purchased a Zodiac, which was absolutely rusted out, but everything was there, including the engine, gearbox, and all the chrome work, so it was all stripped out. Luckily, he had cut the pillars out of the Zodiac but he didn’t realize that he would need them until well into the project car.
“Chris welded them in properly and now they are nice and strong with what Chris has done,” said Colin.
Chris used his skills to replace the two pillars, finding it was not as easy a job as you might think. “You don’t want to get it wrong,” he told us. “The replacement pillars were rusty at the tips and bottoms. I spliced them, drilled, and welded them in on both sides, so that they have ended up stronger than the original.” And playing around with the pillars also meant that all the doors had to be again set up and aligned.
The project car had very little rust, just a little in the tail and some around the wheel arches.
“It’s the last of the MKIIS, a 1962 MKII. It’s got red upholstery, and, so far, I’m not sure what colour to do it,” Colin said.
Colin also enlisted the help of a panel beater friend to finish off the panel work ready for the painter, and the roof required a lot of work. His brother-in-law, a retired panel beater, had a talented apprentice working in the panel shop with him, so his help was enlisted to get the roof straight. With a good amount of patience, according to Colin, “he made an excellent job of it.”
Now in his 70s, Colin has also restored two Ford Mustangs, one a six-cylinder manualgearbox car that he bought in New Zealand and converted into a V8 with auto transmission, and the other one he bought in the US in 1987, which proved to be a special find.
Colin’s enthusiasm shows no sign of abating, especially when it comes to American classics, and the self-taught restorer is off again shortly to the US for a month in search of rare classic metal.
“I’m hoping to bring back a few more,” he laughed.