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In the early '50s the Zippo Car was returned to the home office for an overhaul, and it was sent to a Pittsburgh Ford dealer—Toohey Motors—for the chassis to be replaced with a truck frame among other things. But Zippo got some bad news. First of all, renovating the car and swapping frames would cost 40 grand. Not only that, the changes that Zippo requested would raise the car 6 inches over the legal height for a vehicle in its class. Bringing the car back down to comply with the height rules would cost extra—a lot extra. Not surprisingly, enthusiasm for the Zippo Car's restora¬tion waned and the car just sat in the shop for months.
The months turned into years, and when Zippo looked for
the car in the early ‘70s, Toohey Motors was out of business and
all traces of the car had vanished. The fate of the original Zippomobile
remains a mystery to this day. Maybe a shot on “America’s
Most Wanted” might help.
 Runner-up Chrysler ME Four-Twelve couldn’t hold a candle to the Zippomobile in our hot wheels survey. |
In celebration of the Zippo Car's 50th anniversary in 1997, Zippo purchased and fully restored a 1947 4-dr. Chrysler New Yorker. The 180,000-mile car was sent to Joe Griffin's Custom Upholstery in Memphis, TN. Griffin also had to convert the car to a 2-dr. business coupe and, working from old photos, duplicate the original Zippo Car. Like the original, the huge flames can be removed and the lighter lids closed for easier transportation and reduced wind resistance when racing on the strip or street.
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| The limited edition collectible Zippomobile Zippo lighter and key ring. Latter could also be added to a charm bracelet or worn as an earring. Too bad this stuff came out in '98 and is no longer available except on eBay where prices are probably in the gazillions. | |
Zippo released a limited-edition Zippo Car collectible lighter in 1998 that sold for $32.95. 'Course, it's proba¬bly too late to get one now, but that’s what eBay is for.
If you missed out on our Chrysler’s Hottest Wheels survey, don’t
despair. You can still vote in DRO’s current survey—Yugo’s
Hottest Wheels. You also can phone in your vote directly to Jeff Burk
at his home. He’s usually standing by to take your call around 2
a.m., seven days a week.
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