Ford Motor Company‘s Lincoln division produced two other L-head V12 engines from 1932, but required a more compact unit for their new streamlined Lincoln-Zephyr line. As Ford had just introduced their Flathead V8, this was the logical starting point for a new Lincoln V12 line. The Lincoln-Zephyr V12 would quickly replace the previous-generation V12, just as the Lincoln-Zephyr car replaced the rest of the Lincoln line, and would be the company’s primary engine through 1948.

Similar in design to the 90° Ford Flathead V8 introduced for 1932, the Lincoln-Zephyr H Series V-12 had a narrower 75° between cylinder banks. The engine used aluminum-alloy heads and cast-steel pistons, as well as two water pumps. It also had a unique distributor with a coil assembly that actually consisted of two coils, one for each cylinder bank.

Initial power output was quoted as 110 horsepower — a little higher than the target figure — at 3,900 rpm, a rather high power peak for those days. The torque curve was quite flat, however, with at least 180 pounds/feet available from 3,500 rpm all the way down to 400 rpm, which made for incredible top-gear performance. Though the Zephyr V-12 no more resembled previous Lincoln engines than the ubiquitous V-8 (despite sharing the latter’s stroke), it was more like a “12-cylinder Ford” than a classic multi-cylinder power plant in character. And it was not without problems. The main ones were inadequate crankcase ventilation that caused rapid sludge buildup in sustained low-rpm running, aggravated by poor oil flow, plus too-small water passages that led to overheating, bore warp-age, and ring wear. To a degree, some of these maladies were dealt with during the Zephyr’s first year, and Ford improved the engine by adopting hydraulic valve lifters for 1938 and cast-iron heads and oiling improvements for 1942. Yet this V-12 never shed its reputation for service troubles, though the postwar versions were actually quite reliable.

The V12 was eventually replaced by the InVincible 8, simply a version of the flathead V8 found on Ford’s truck line.

The Zephyr V12 was also used by Allard, Atalanta, and Brough Superior in England. Allard made three V12 cars,^[1] using the Ford V8 for all other cars at that time, Brough also made only one V12 as his others were Hudson 6 or 8 powered, and Jensen made one called the HL.

So what can be done with these great motors now? Check out this total beast from H&H Flatheads.

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