WEST COAST CLASSICS ARE PROUD TO PRESENT THIS 1939 LINCOLN ZEPHYR CUSTOM WOODY 2 DOOR WAGON
NO EXPENSE SPARED CUSTOM BUILD!AS FEATURED IN HOT ROD MAGAZINE IN JANUARY 2003
DEBUTED AT SEMA SHOW 2002
BARRIS KUSTOM D'ELEGANCE AWARD 2003
ORIGINAL 1939 STEEL LINCOLN ZEPHYR 4 DOOR BODY & FRAME TITLED AS A 1939 LINCOLN
CHASSIS & BODY: KEN GINNINGS
ENGINE & TRANS: 1996 LINCOLN MARK VIII
WHEELS: COLORADO CUSTOM
PAINT: HOUSE OF KOLOR
PAINTER: ANDRES
TIRES: COKER
AIR RIDE: AIR RIDE TECH
UPHOLSTERER: CUSTOM AUTO INT
GAUGES: NORDSKOG
EXHAUST: JARDINE
CHROME: SHERMS PLATING
TV & STERO: AUDIO VOX
PEDALS & HANDLES: LOKAR
WOODWORK: PINKEES ROD SHOP
HINGES: KILGOR METALWORKS
WOOD STAIN: WOODYS AUTO
AIR CONDITIONING: HOT ROD AIR
SEATS: WISE GUYS
Fast Facts: The "Zef-Fire" '39 Lincoln Zephyr
Builder: Jim "Bones" Noteboom (Bones Concept Cars & Trucks, Hemet, CA)
Design Concept: Steve Stanford rendering morphing a 4-door sedan into a European-styled "Phantom Woodie"
Build Time: Exactly 1 calendar year
Debut: SEMA Show (October 2002)
Exterior & Body Modifications
Base Vehicle: A rare 4-door 1939 Lincoln Zephyr sourced from Pomona, CA
Body Reconstruction:
Converted to a 2-door by removing rear doors and lengthening front doors by 14 inches
Front end widened by 6 inches with a handmade horizontal-bar grille
Hood sectioned on a slope from 0 to 2 inches (front to back)
Fenders & Trim:
Front fenders lengthened and shaped to mimic a 1950s Delahaye
Modified 1951 Chevy bumperettes installed out back
Custom handmade taillights
Glass & Roof:
Roof completely removed and replaced with a wood structure covered in vinyl
Windshield sourced from a 1992 Toyota pickup, chopped and custom-fitted
Paint & Woodwork:
Wood sides carved and shaped by Pinkee's Rod Shop
Custom Golden Orange Pearl paint (House of Kolor) applied by painter Andres
Engine, Chassis & Performance:
Powertrain: 32-valve, 4.6L V-8 engine sourced from a 1996 Lincoln Mark VIII
Chassis & Suspension:
Modified T.C.I. (Total Cost Involved) chassis
Mustang front suspension, spindles, and shocks
Front and rear airbag suspension by Air Ride Technologies
Brakes:
Front disc brakes paired with rear drum brakes
Interior & Audio System:
Upholstery: Art-deco-style sculpted buckskin leather bucket seats by Ron Mangus and Wise Guys
Cabin Features:
Built-in roll cage for safety
Custom dashboard fitted with Nordskog instrumentation
Colorado Custom steering wheel
When Jim "Bones" Noteboom rolled the Zef-Fire onto the convention floor at the SEMA Show in October 2002, it didn't just turn headsit completely stole the spotlight and left the hot rod community in a state of collective awe.
Here is exactly how the industry, the builders, and the media reacted to the debut of this tangerine masterpiece:
The SEMA Standard: In the elite world of custom hot rodding, a build of this caliberwith a completely restructured phantom body, hand-sculpted metal, and a bespoke wood bodytypically took 3 to 5 years.
The Reality Check:
When Bones revealed that the team took the rare, 4-door pre-war sedan from an absolute basket-case to a flawless SEMA center-stage feature in exactly 365 days, builders were stunned. It became a masterclass in hyper-efficient project planning and heroic coordination between Ginnings, Pinkee's, and Mangus.
The Purity Purists vs. The "Phantom" Genius :
Sacrilege to the Purists: Early Ford and Lincoln collectors initially gasped at the sight. Slicing up an incredibly rare, elegant 1939 Lincoln Zephyr four-door sedan to completely throw away the roof and rear doors was seen as ultimate automotive sacrilege by restoration purists.
Victory for the Custom Crowd: The custom hot rod vanguard instantly recognized it as an absolute triumph. By successfully morphing a heavy American sedan into a sleek, European-inspired "Phantom Woodie" wagon, Bones achieved what many thought impossible: he made a woodie look incredibly aggressive, low-slung, and undeniably sexy.
Respect for the "Lincoln-on-Lincoln" Purism :
Breaking the "Chevy Small-Block" Monotony: At the time, the early 2000s SEMA floors were flooded with pre-war Fords and Lincolns predictably stuffed with Chevrolet small-block V8 engines.
The Ultimate Flex: The community gave massive props to Bones for his uncompromising vision of stuffing a 32-valve, 4.6L InTech V8 from a '96 Mark VIII under the hood. Keeping a Lincoln heart inside a radically altered Lincoln body was praised as a high-effort, incredibly tasteful engineering flex that separate true visionaries from cookie-cutter builders.
Instant Media Darling:
The "Mouths Wide Open" Effect: The pairing of the blinding House of Kolor Golden Orange Pearl paint with the impeccably carved wood side panels made the car an instant magnet for automotive photojournalists.
The Cover Car Legacy: The Zef-Fire drew massive crowds throughout the entire week of the show, immediately securing its place on upcoming national magazine covers and sealing Bones' legacy as one of the few elite builders who could perfectly translate wild, "impossible" paper sketches into road-going reality.
The Zef-Fire didn't just debut; it set a new benchmark for what a phantom custom build could be.
Jim Bones Noteboom, of Bones Concept Cars & Trucks in Hemet, California, has been making award winning custom hot rods that have graced magazine covers since he was a teenager in the 1950s. He has a special fondness for longroofs.
Bones Noteboom's '39 Lincoln Zephyr - known as the Zef-Fire". The man they call Bones has been throwing ideas around in this hobby for quite some time. Forty years ago, he was just a lanky, young punk helping out at Dean Jeffries shop in L.A., back when the custom scene was in full swing.
Jim BONES Notebooms prized possession was his 1939 Lincoln Zephyr Phantom Woodie, built with meticulous attention to detail. This beauty boasted a custom golden orange pearl paint job from House of Kolor, done by painter Andres from McKinleyville, CA. The top of the vehicle was made of wood covered in vinyl, and the hood had been sectioned 1. The front grill and bumperette were handmade, giving the vehicle an extra touch of uniqueness.
The interior of the vehicle was just as impressive, with bucket seats made of buckskin leather by Wise Guys and a roll cage for safety. The custom dash held Nordskog instrumentation, and a Colorado Custom steering wheel added a sleek touch. The sound system was no slouch either, with TV DVD and Audio Vox amps and woofers.
Under the hood, the engine was a 1996 Lincoln Mark IIIV with stock components, aside from some custom work done by Ken Ginnings. The transmission, drivetrain, and shifter were all stock, and the car had front disc brakes and rear drum brakes.
The chassis had been modified by T.C.I. with Mustang front suspension, front spindles, and front/rear shocks. The car also had airbags in the front and rear from Air Ride Technologies.
BONES had always loved the flow of the Zephyr but wanted to give it a little European flair, so he turned to Steve Stanford to draw up a rendering of a 1939 Zephyr with all the modifications he had in mind.
After finding a 4-door Lincoln Zephyr at Merv Alberts Place in Pomona, BONES enlisted the help of body shop guru Ken Ginnings to bring his vision to life. The project took a year to complete, and the car debuted at the SEMA Show in October 2002 to rave reviews.
The man they call Bones has been throwing ideas around in this hobby for quite some time. Back in the day, men like Jeffries, Roth, Barris, and Watson were building show cars so wild and far-out, they captivated the minds of a generation, and thousands of youngsters brought home tiny plastic kits to satiate their own metal-flaked, bubble-topped fantasies. Fast forward four decades, and there aren't many visionaries left with the ability to conceptualize a car that never was and then help guide it from sketches on paper to a road-going vision of chrome and steel. One of these rare modern visionaries is Bones Noteboom.
Bones has built a lot of pretty wild rides over the years, many of which have graced the pages of this very magazine. Roadsters, woodies, or sleds, the body style never mattered. The only consistent things about a Bones project are that his cars are usually phantom body styles never offered by the factory, and they are always wild, visceral experiences that can captivate a crowd as easily as a painting or sculpture by a famed artist. Nothing is stock, and the only thing held sacred is the concept of kool.
As for the wild tangerine dream you see pictured here, the Zef-Fire started life as a Steve Stanford sketch that Bones commissioned after wondering what a '39 Lincoln Zephyr four-door would look like if it were morphed into a woodie. Once the bodylines and shapes were finalized on paper, veteran metalman Ken Ginnings was brought in to perform the actual surgery on the rare, old sedan.
The roof was cut off to make way for wood, while the frontend was widened 6 inches and a new grille was fabricated with horizontal bars filling the gaps. For a sleeker look the hood was sectioned on a slope from 0 to 2 inches, front to back. A windshield from a '92 Toyota pickup was cut down to fit and installed by Hot Rod Glass. Front fenders were lengthened and shaped to flow towards the back of the car like those on a '50s-style Delahaye, while the rear fenders were reshaped to accept handmade taillights. The '51 Chevy bumperettes were picked up at a swap meet and modified to fit out back. Finally, the rear doors were removed, and the front doors were lengthened 14 inches.
Once the major metal sculpting was complete, the car was hauled over to Pinkee's Rod Shop, where the wood was carved and shaped to fill the sides of the newly born surf wagon. A 32-valve, 4.6L V-8 from a Lincoln Mark VIII was stuffed under the hood, and after the paint work was finished, the cockpit was decked out in stunning, art-deco-style sculpted leather by legendary upholstery man Ron Mangus.
