By: Brad Nevin | Ford Communications Network

Lincoln recently purchased this pristine 1936 Zephyr Coupe Sedan to help promote the launch of the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr.

DEARBORN, June 15, 2005 -- A verse in "Zephyr Song" by the popular rock group The Red Hot Chili Peppers goes like this:

In the water where I center my emotion
All the world can pass me by
Fly away on my Zephyr
We're going to live forever.

Just like the Chili Peppers say, living forever is just what a particular 1936 Lincoln Zephyr is going to do, thanks in part to Ford Motor Co.

To help with the launch of the upcoming 2006 Zephyr, Lincoln has purchased a restored 1936 Zephyr that has lived, as some have called it, a charmed existence. As it toured the U.S. auto show scene this year alongside the 2006 model, the 1936 Zephyr has been a star. Its earlier days, however, weren't always so good.

The original 1936 Lincoln Zephyr was based on a concept by Dutch-born designer John Tjaarda of the Briggs Body Corporation. He drew inspiration from the aerodynamic streamliner trains that were catching the nation's imagination, including the record-setting diesel-powered Burlington Zephyr that helped bring an end to the age of steam.

"The radically streamlined Zephyr represented quite a risk in light of the marketing fiasco that the Chrysler Airflow proved to be," wrote Richard Wright in the Detroit News. "But the public perceived the Zephyr to be beautiful, the Airflow to be ugly. The Airflow vanished quickly, but the Zephyr was influencing Ford styling and the new Mercury introduced in 1939. It had influence outside Ford Motor Co., on the Studebaker, for example. And some said Ferdinand Porsche was influenced by early Tjaarda designs when he designed the Volkswagen Beetle."

Lincoln built Zephyrs from 1936 to 1948. In 1936, about 15,000 Zephyrs were built, but only 1,498 of them had the body style that Lincoln at the time called "coupe sedan," which was essentially a four-door sedan-sized car with two doors. Of the 1936 Zephyr coupe sedans, less than 12 are known to exist today; of those, only two or three have been restored. The 1936 Zephyr coupe sedan that Lincoln owns today -- body number 155, serial number H-5739 -- is widely considered the best in the world.

Marjorie Eaton, an actress who appeared in films including "Anna and the King of Siam" (1946), "The Time of Their Lives" (1946), "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957) and "Mary Poppins" (1964), was the first owner of the Lincoln-owned '36 Zephyr. She bought the car in Palo Alto, Calif. and owned it for about 28 years. Eaton put so many miles on the car she chose to replace the original, aging V-12 engine with a V-8.

In 1964, Thomas Maddox bought the car. An employee for the geographical service, he drove the Zephyr to and from Salt Lake City, Utah, many times while letting pieces of the car deteriorate. On a trip to Salt Lake City, he lost the key and hack sawed the lock off the steering column to get home. At one point he couldn't get the Zephyr running so he left the car in an alley outside. With the windows open. In the rain. For two years.

C. Barry Randell of Los Altos Hills, Calif., bought the Zephyr from Maddox around 1968. Randell was a fan of Chinese art and also had a thing for vintage automobiles -- he bought the Zephyr primarily as an ornament. In 1970, he decided to thin out his collection and sold the Zephyr to David Cole, who would own the car for the next 19 years. Cole is an award-winning automotive historian and editor of The Way of the Zephyr, the newsletter for the Lincoln Zephyr Owner's Club (lzoc.org). During his time with it, Cole found a correct 110-hp V-12 engine and numerous other missing parts for the restoration process, but the project wasn't complete.

"One day my friend Roy Thorson called me up looking for a rare body style," said Cole. "He was looking for a '37 convertible four-door sedan; there were three built, but none is known to survive. So Roy and I were talking about rare body styles and it occurred to me to offer my car to him."

In 1989, Cole sold the Zephyr to Thorson, a retired die casting executive living in Green Valley, Arizona. Thorson spent the next 10 years finding parts and restoring the 1936 Zephyr to near perfect condition.

"He did it all, and infinitely more," wrote Cole in the January-February issue of The Way of the Zephyr. "The workmanship was flawless. Components that most restorers gloss over received a thorough rebuilding. For example, the seat frames and the springs in the cushions, the window regulators, the windshield wiper motor. Incredibly rare and authentic accessories were found, bought, restored and installed."

Thorson said his goal was to restore the car to its original condition -- a process that he loved.

Roy Thorson stands with the 1936 Zephyr he restored to pristine condition. Lincoln bought the car from Thorson and is now using it to help promote the launch of the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr.

"I've always loved the accessories available to people available back then," said Thorson. "I added stainless steel hubcaps, a wind wing vent for the windows, a spotlight, fog lights, an original radio and an upgraded three-spoke banjo steering wheel with wires for each spoke. I also installed a Columbia three-speed overdrive which was extremely rare in a '36 because it was a dealer option."

Ford Motor Company learned about the vehicle through Jack Eby, who retired from Ford in 1995 as executive director of Corporate Strategy. A member of three Lincoln clubs and one foundation -- the Lincoln Owners Club, the Lincoln Zephyr Owner's Club, the Lincoln and Continental Owner's Club, and the Lincoln Motor Car Foundation -- Eby was aware of the vehicle and some of its previous owners.

"When I saw the vehicle four to five years ago in Arizona at a Lincoln meet, I was blown away," said Eby. "I had never seen a '36 restored to that level. The car itself is a hallmark vehicle in the history of Lincoln and the automobile industry. Its impact on automotive design can be seen even today. The car was the right body style (sedan coupe) done in pearlescent gray and restored to a magnificent level. Roy Thorson showed it at all sorts of shows and took every prize imaginable. I'm so pleased the company owns the car now. No one will ever put that level of effort into restoring a '36 ever again."

Lincoln's plans to use the 1936 Zephyr to promote the launch of the 2006 Zephyr are in full swing. The two cars have been on the auto show circuit in cities including Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and others, and also will be displayed for U.S. Ford dealers during the Orlando auto show in August.

"We wanted to show that the name Zephyr had a history," said Lincoln Mercury marketing events manager Rob Fulton. "It was the first vehicle without running boards, it had an overdrive gear and it was stylish for the era. It was an entry point for Lincoln luxury, just like the 2006 model. We wanted to tap into that rich history. We wanted a name with legs."

Fulton said when the 1936 Zephyr was in display at the Chicago Auto Show in February, Thorson flew into town from his home in Arizona just to see the car.

"When he flew to Chicago to see it at the auto show, he called me on a cell phone and was almost in tears," said Fulton. "He spent 10 years of his life restoring it. The car is better today than it was off the assembly line."

Like the Chili Peppers said: "Fly away on my Zephyr. We're going to live forever."