Refreshed from its days at the Petersen, ’39 Lincoln Zephyr “Scrape” heads to auction in California

Photos by Robin Adams, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.

Terry Cook’s Scrape, a long-and-low reinterpretation of a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr, hit the show car circuit in 1998, and quickly attained legendary status. Some equated it with the Hirohata Merc in importance to street rodding, and when Scrape crossed the auction block in August of 2000, it was Robert E. Petersen who spent $250,000 (hammer price) to acquire the custom for the museum that bears his name. The car, then in rather tired condition, sold again in 2013, this time for $66,000, and in June 2017 a newly refreshed Scrape heads to auction once again, part of RM Sotheby’s Santa Monica sale.

Cook, a former Hot Rod Magazine editor, long admired John Tjaarda and Eugene T. “Bob” Gregorie’s design for the Lincoln Zephyr coupe, but believed the sleek two-door could be made even more stylish with a bit of reworking. Such thinking is sacrilege among the Zephyr faithful, and acquiring an example for modification proved more difficult that even Cook imagined. After posing as a classic car collector, he eventually came across a long-neglected Zephyr coupe in a Maine barn. As The Rodder’s Journal relates, the terms of sale dictated that Cook not sell the car to a hot-rodder, and strictly speaking, he didn’t.

The Lincoln’s original V-12 engine and transmission were sold off to help fund the project, and Cook was advised by custom car builder Egon Necelis that the frame and running gear from a Chevrolet station wagon would serve as a good foundation for the project. A donor 1978 Chevy was sourced, and after its body was discarded, the frame was lengthened to correspond with the Zephyr’s wheelbase. Since the Zephyr was unibody constriction, its underside was channeled to fit between the frame rails and sit as low to the ground as possible.

After the media-blasted body was welded to the frame, the project was turned over to Ramsey Mosher of Ram’s Rod Shop in Dover, Delaware. Cook continued his role as designer, while Mosher worked out the details, occasionally incorporating design flourishes of his own. The project would stretch over four years, from 1994 to 1998, ultimately requiring over 4,000 man-hours to complete. Complicating things, Cook wanted the car to remain a secret until its reveal, a goal he somehow managed to achieve.

Though the original donor car was a ’39, Cook preferred the front end of the 1940-’41 models, so Mosher found a way to work this in after locating a suitable donor. To fit on the wider track of the Chevy wagon, the fenders were pushed out by 2.5 inches per side, while the rear fenders were stretched by six inches and the hood was lengthened by another inch. Overall, Scrape measures 17 feet from nose to tail.

The most obvious modifications came in the form of the steeply raked windshield and the eight-inch chop in the Zephyr’s original top. To accommodate this, the doors lost their window frames, and custom glass was cut for all windows, including the rear, which mimics the Zephyr’s original shape but at a greatly reduced height. The windshield is a modified Honda Accord piece, mounted upside down, and Mosher even fashioned hidden door hinges for Scrape’s suicide doors.

A custom hydraulic system originally controlled the car’s ride height, and Cook claimed that Scrape is the first street rod to drop its rockers all the way to the pavement. Initially, Coker wide whites were fitted to steel wheels with reproduction Moon “Ripple Disc” covers, but on the show circuit Cook took to displaying the car with a single 17-inch Niche Bahn wheel mounted on the driver’s side front.

Cook wanted to paint the car black, but friends convinced him that a hot rod should be painted accordingly, so House of Kolor Passionate Pearl Purple was chosen (partially for ease of touch-ups and resprays, and during its time on the show circuit Scrape received a total of three full repaints). Marine speakers were hidden in the grille and rear fenders, while neon lights (all the rage in the 1990s) were placed in the grille, headlamp surrounds and interior. The stock 1939 Zephyr instrument panel was retained, though the speedometer is a custom piece and a hidden camera sends an enhanced rear view to a monitor below the center of the dash.

Given how much work went into the rest of the car, propulsion almost seems like an afterthought. Power comes from a 350-cu.in. Chevy V-8, fed by a single two-barrel carburetor and mated to a Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The exhaust exits through the rear bumperettes, and it appears as if current owner Barry Weiss added a “flame thrower” exhaust for a bit more show.

Weiss, who purchased the car in 2013, has also repainted it in Cook’s original color choice, black. The windows appear to carry a darker tint, too, and the ripple disc wheel covers have been replaced by Lincoln Zephyr hubcaps, which look a bit more tasteful on the otherwise outlandish custom. Other improvements made under Weiss’s care include installation of a new wiring harness and a modern airbag suspension system, replacing Scrape’s original hydraulics. The interior, however, remains as created under Cook’s guidance.

Scrape, as sold by the Petersen Museum in 2013. Photo courtesy Auctions America.

Thanks to its newly restored status and historical significance, RM Sotheby’s is predicting a selling price between $300,000 and $400,000 when Scrape crosses the block in California. For additional details on the upcoming Santa Monica sale, visit RMSothebys.com.