Enough of the others - back to mk3 Zephyrs

1962 Mk3 Zephyr. Obvious, yes, but search engines can't recognise the picture without an innane label.

So back to the black Zephyr - a very early mk3. I've dug out the picture showing the 6 cylinder grille this time. If you look back through this blog you will see the Zephyr 4 grille was on it for that photo and perhaps notice it doesn't fit between the lights. The Z4 grille is also 1962, so the headlights must have been in different locations. Later 4's used a modified grille that sat lower with the zephyr letters below the bonnet like the 6.

This pic is the one I took to sell the car, and has the space saver wheel on the front. This wheel came off a Mazda RX7. Rare and hard to come by, but not really worth much. I have a few of them, as I want the tyres for the Austin Seven's 16" wheels.

Being black it's hard to spot all the rust in the car. This bootlid is currently on Ralph and was one of the better panels on the car. The boot lip was quite rusty, as were parts of the sills, particularly near the dogleg and around the drivers door frame had some holes. The boot floor had the usual "venting" in a number of places, but I became more concerned when daylight could be seen through the drivers footwell. The roof had proved to be a continuous blob of body filler, same with the guard in the picture. Possibly the result of a roll-over.

The interior was just an absolute mess, so no photos! Lots of wrecked seats that didn't match, no dash pad at all and a poor steering wheel.

I bought this car because there were no others about, but soon realised that it was simply too big a job to be practical for me.

Bought for A$1200, sold for A$1300, I guess I can't complain.

I would have liked to keep it as a parts car, but it had to be out of the drive way so that I could get the Austin 7 out for sale. The nose would make a great BBQ "cover" and the rear cut a perfect sofa!

After fitting another carb, the motor ran, but as the water pump spewed water everywhere it promptly blew a head gasket. The blue smoke was a fair indication that it had to come apart anyway!

Notice in the right hand foreground the vacuum tank, and on the left an in-line brake booster. This one is an after market replacement, but in the same position as the original. BTW the brakes were seized solid, as was the clutch.