CHAPTER FIVE

 

THE CLASSIC SERIES

    "K" Is For King

         Of The Road

 

    Why the new Lincoln model moved up the alphabet instead of down, leads

to interesting conjecture.  Obviously, the L in Model L stood for Leland,

but for the new luxury Ford, the alphabet was ascended to the letter K. 

The real reason was simple, Edsel Ford decided to call it the Model K. 

There were, however, several logical reasons for this choice.  First, the

Model L designation had not been determined by discent as had many other

automobile models.  The Ford automobile and Leland's Cadillac began with

Model A, but there were no A, B, C Lincolns.  The most popular speculation

about this centers around the fact that the new Lincoln was named for the

early Model K Ford which Henry had produced in 1905.  Only a handful were

ever built and sold.  This large Touring was in the line that preceded the

1908 Model T.  Those early models bore almost no resemblance to the famed

Model T Ford, the Tin Lizzie of later years.  In these early years, Henry

Ford had shown little interest in pursuing the large car market and had

focused on developing a car for the masses.

    The new Model K was promoted as a Ford Lincoln and no longer a Leland

Lincoln.  In the early days of large chassis automobiles, the frames

required more bracing than the smaller cars and thus a K-member was added

to provide extra support.  This factor might or might not have had some

bearing on the choice of the model's name.  The English language K is truer

to the verbal sound made for the words car, carriage, and coach than is the

C sound.  Indeed, it is a guttural Germanic sound which connotates power

and force, as in the words king and kaiser.  So if nothing else, it sounded

good.  (The reasoning behind Chrysler's return to the term "K Cars" in the

seventies had nothing to do with series either.  The body bridges used for

mock-up, buck, and layouts are sized by letter.  Thus, when a modern car is

referred to as a "J Car" or "K Car," this indicates the approximate body

size.)

                             NINETEEN-THIRTYONE

    The 1931 Model K Lincoln was a classic example of this era's transition

in automotive design.  It retained the massive antique appearance of the

Model L while incorporating smoother, more modern body lines.  It was the

last Lincoln to use the trade-style, open-center-oval, two-piece bumper. 

It was also the last flat front radiator shell and grille.  The large,

flat, tubular veins in the grille were carried over from the Model L, and

were thermostatically controlled to open and close as before.  The cowl

vents were stamped metal louvers.  This style of louver would be used one

more time on the 1933 Model K cowls, and then phased out for good.

    The 1931 Lincoln was a hybrid.  One might equate it to a Ford that was

midway between the design of a Model A and Model B.  One of the reasons for

the chassis redesign was that coachbuilders had for some years complained

about the Model L chassis being on a 136 inch wheelbase.  It was too short

for some of the more extensive limousine coach bodies.  The new Model K

Lincoln, introduced in late 1930, had a 145 inch wheelbase.  This new

chassis was obviously designed with flexibility in wheelbase and engine

compartment size in mind.  The competition now offered V-12 and V-16

engines and Lincoln was planning to follow suit.  The V-8 engine for the

new Model K underwent some major redesigns.  In fact, many of its parts

were not interchangeable with the V-8 engines used in the Model L.  The

design, however, was still generally based on the old, smooth-running

Leland engine.  It remained a sixty degree V with a 3.5 inch bore and a 5.0

inch stroke.  When Frank Johnson returned to Lincoln from Cadillac in 1927,

many improvements were made to the Lincoln LV-8.  The new KV-8 engine,

redesigned by Johnson, was about the maximum extent to which this engine

could evolve.  The fact that the basic LV-8 design had survived eleven

years of automotive development speaks highly of the engine's advanced

concepts.  Lincoln LV-8 and KV-8 engines have electrical and other systems

that are more akin to GM engines of this era than to the Ford and Zephyr

power plants.

    Lincoln had enjoyed a reputation for high performance from its

inception.  Even the words of a popular country western song lamented,

"Son, your gonna' drive me to drinkin' if you don't quit racin' that hot

rod Lincoln."  The new Model K engine was rated as 120 horsepower at 2800

RPM (some specs say 2900 RPM) or 39.2 rated horsepower.  This was an

increase of 30 horsepower over the Model L.  Engine displacement remained

unchanged at 384.8 cubic inches with a compression ratio of 4.95 to 1.  The

standards of quality and care to which the LV-8 and the new KV-8 engines

were built remained the highest in the industry.  For example, the cam

shaft was subjected to no less than two hundred tests during

manufacturing.  Starting with a 37-pound bar of special alloy steel, the

cam weighed only ten pounds when completed.  Fifty-four mechanical

operations were followed by fifty inspections.  A hole was drilled the full

length of the shaft and then the adjoining oil ports were drilled. 

Processes included hardening, grinding, and polishing.  Every cam and every

bearing was tested for hardness.  Parts were sometimes tested with several

different tools to the same specifications, and the tools themselves were

tested for accuracy.

    The new KV-8 cylinder block was cast-iron.  The intake manifold was

greatly improved over the LV-8.  The redesigned intake manifold went into

the engine block and not through the head as on the LV-8.  A dual throat,

downdraft Stromberg carburetor was installed.  Although common today, it

was considered very innovative at the time.  The DD3 Stromberg had two 1.5

inch venturi with two fixed jets and a seasonally adjustable jet built into

the accelerator pump.  The throttle incorporated a hydraulic return check

action to prevent stalling when the engine returned idle.  This was

important due to the new freewheeling drivetrain mechanism.  A wet-oil-bath

air cleaner replaced the old style turbine type.  An intake silencer was

installed, as was a new smoother-flow exhaust manifold system.  These

innovations made the Model K engine very quiet, as a luxury car should be. 

Fuel pressure was maintained by a new mechanical AC fuel pump which

replaced the vacuum gravity feed system.  Many small engine parts were

chrome plated.  The engine itself was painted a silver gray.  Internally

and externally, all cast aluminum parts were polished.  The Electro-Fog

generator had been discontinued earlier.  This was the last year for the

Kellogg tire pump accessory.  The starter and new independently belt-driven

generator were now Auto-Lite instead of Delco.

    The Model K engine to transmission coupling uses a double disc dry

clutch.  The transmission was synchromesh in second and third with the

lower gear ratios changed only slightly.  The freewheeling mechanism,

mounted behind the transmission, was operated via a pushbutton on the

gearshift lever.  When engaged, the freewheeling allowed the engine to idle

and the car to coast when the accelerator was released, and permited

shifting from second to third without depressing the clutch.  Motor

Magazine rated the new KV-8 powered Lincoln as superior to its

predecessor.  They reported that the acceleration to 25 miles per hour was

12 percent better, and to 60 miles per hour even better yet.  Their road

test also reported that the large Lincoln would coast (free wheel) almost a

mile on level terrain from 50 miles per hour.

    Lincoln and many of the luxury car manufacturers seemed to lag behind

public demand.  The interest in large motorcars had peaked in the late

1920s, but Lincoln was still increasing horsepower and extending its

wheelbase.  The public's requirements in personal transportation were

moving in the opposite direction.  True, those who could afford the comfort

of a Lincoln were certainly not going to give up this luxury.  However,

many traditional large car buyers were purchasing Buicks and the like for

about half the cost.  The new Fords and Plymouths were now reasonably

dependable transportation.  Lincoln would downsize slightly in a few years,

but for Lincoln it was "damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead."  The

Lincoln Model K attacked the Depression head on.

    The new Lincoln chassis used a massive channel section structure that

was 9.5 inches deep.  It had a double drop with six heavy cross members

called "cruciform bracing."  The central K-structure was a principle that

would be used on Lincoln chassis for the next three decades.  The wheelbase

was extended nine inches.  The hood and the overall profile of the car was

lowered.  Its large classic, chrome radiator shell came slightly to a

point.  The bowl-shaped headlamps mounted on the fender crossbar with a

fluted oval Cloisonne emblem in red in the center.  Cowl lamps were

standard equipment.  Bumpers were stronger.  The dual trumpet horns were

externally mounted below the headlamps on the cross bar.  It could be

sounded high or low depending upon the direction in which the horn button

was depressed, and was known as a "Town and Country" horn.  The walnut

steering wheel was replaced with a new 19 inch hollow steel wheel with four

spokes.  Better steering was provided by a new Gemmer worm and roller

bearing gear box.  Houdaille double-acting hydraulic shocks became standard

equipment.  The old rod and pivot brake system was replaced by a new Bendix

Duo-Servo brakes.  Front brakes were operated by cables and the rear by

rods.  The high carbon steel drums were ribbed for better cooling.  The

separate rear wheel parking brake mechanism was eliminated.  The wider,

lower balloon tires used 19 inch wheels.  The last Model L had used 20 inch

wheels.  The tire size was 32x6.75 (by the old method of outside diameter

dimensioning) or optional 32x7.00.  The move to 19 inch wheels and later to

18 inch wheels greatly improved the looks and ride of the Model K.  These

cars were being driven less and less on rutted dirt roads, so a high center

was less important.  The new Lincoln was very stable and comfortable.  The

Model K was road tested by Autocar in May of 1931 which rated it as

impressive and advanced.  In fact, the article declared, "the Model K is so

outstanding in performance as to be well within the category of a sports

car."

    In reconstructing production figures for the early Model K, the totals

are as unclear as they were for the Model L.  However, somewhere between

3,311 and 3,592 Model K Lincolns were manufactured in calendar year 1931. 

In all, 3,466 were shipped to Lincoln dealers in the United States.  A new

Model K Lincoln sold for between $4,500 and $5,500 with some special coach

body styles selling for $2,000 higher.  For 1931, the Series 201 body

styles were Types 202 thru 221.  Special orders included sixty-one bare

chassis, twenty-one RHD chassis and twenty-six Special chassis.  In

addition, Rollston ordered three each of the 150 inch and 155 inch

wheelbase chassis.  Contract coachbuilders this year included Brunn,

Dietrich, Derham, Judkins, LeBaron, and Willoughby.  Body styles included

Dual-Cowl and Sport Phaetons, Tourings, Town Sedans (two-window and

three-window), Coupes (two-passenger and five-passenger), Limousines, and

Cabriolets.  A chassis without coach body weighed thirty-five hundred

pounds, and the average completed Lincoln weighed about five thousand

pounds.  A custom Derham Phaeton weighed six thousand pounds.

    One of the most beautiful Lincolns ever produced was this year's

two-passenger Convertible.  It was designed along the lines of a Dietrich

and Judkins Roadsters, but was a one-off custom built by Murphy.  Its

rising cowl and low profile windshield set it apart from other body

styles.  Famed cartoonist Rube Goldberg purchased a new Model K Lincoln,

stating that he was most impressed with the car's long, powerful-looking

hood and cowl.  When Walter Chrysler heard this, he promptly extended the

hood of the Chrysler Custom Imperial, due out the following year.

    Many of the coachbuilders continued to list in their catalogues the

body styles previously sold on the Model L, but only a few were ever

built.  One of these was the Locke Model K Type 191, a stylish Sport

Roadster.  Factory built body styles were Types 202 thru 207.  An

extensively photographed body style was the Dual-Cowl Phaeton Type 202A

with rear-front doors and large curved wind wings.  This car is most often

held up as a typical example of the Lincoln's Model K styling.  Even though

Roadsters and Phaetons received most of the publicity, sedans and coupes

always outsold the sport body styles by more than five to one.  The

coachbuilders had a field day with the new long chassis, turning out no

less than 265 individual custom designs.

    The new longer Model K chassis had a lower center of gravity and gave

passengers a feeling of riding in an even larger machine.  Although

Cadillac had almost doubled its horsepower and gone to a 148 inch

wheelbase, the new Lincoln held its own in the luxury car market.  Cadillac

was outselling Lincoln two to one but, for the model year 1931, Lincoln

sales were off only slightly over the preceding year.  Lincoln design

engineers were hard at work meeting the challenge of the Cadillac and

Packard initiated multi-cylinder race.

    N.W. Ayer & Son, Inc., publicity managers for Lincoln at the time,

touted the new Model K as "Low slung and rakish, expected to be a popular

sight around country clubs and fashionable beach and mountain resorts this

coming summer."  The Lincoln marketing slogan was, "As nearly perfect a

motorcar as it is possible to produce."  Advertising illustrations were pen

and ink line drawings of various Lincoln coach styles in rustic or scenic

settings.  Some had pastel overprints.  A typical lead in one of these ads

read, "When Wheels are Wings."  The 1931 factory brochure was entitled The

New Lincoln.  It displayed twenty standard and custom body styles, had

forty pages and measured 14x10 inches.  The art work was printed in color

with a black background.  An eight-page version was printed with only four

styles represented.  The Salon Catalogue had twenty pages and featured

twelve different body styles.  The first edition had a Murphy Sport Phaeton

illustration and the second edition was identical except that the Phaeton

was replaced by the Locke Sport Roadster.

    In 1930, Ford Motor Company profits had exceeded $40 million.  When

1931 ended, the Company had lost over $50 million.  Lincoln division losses

were $4,615,464 for the year.  It may not be fair to blame all of these

losses on poor sales figures.  Development costs were up.  The new KV-12

engine was just being completed, and the Lincoln chassis had been

especially redesigned the preceding year to hold the larger engine.  The

Ford line was introducing a new V-8 engine and the new Model B body style.

                             NINETEEN-THIRTYTWO

    The year 1932, was to be the year of the Classic Lincoln, with a

capital K.  There was a dramatic change in the Lincoln model lineup this

year.  Models were divided into KA and KB.  The Model KA continued to use

the V-8 engine on a 136 inch wheelbase chassis.  The Model KB used the new

V-12 engine on a 145 inch wheelbase chassis.  Both models shared major

upgrades in styling.  Louvers on the engine cowl were replaced with vent

door panels, five on each side with a matching cabin vent door on most body

styles.  The new cowl doors were controlled by their own thermostat,

independent of the original thermostatically controlled radiator vanes. 

Eighteen inch welded steel wire wheels with matching chrome hubcaps and a

chrome radiator shell were standard.  The hubcaps bore the fluted Lincoln

oval emblem.  The two-piece bumper with the traditional open oval gave way

to a straight, ribbed one-piece bumper.  The cowl lights were relocated to

the top of the front fenders.

    Often the Model KA is thought of incorrectly as the continuation of the

1931 Model K because it offered the same V-8 engine.  Its downsized

chassis, lower price, and limited choice of interior options, however,

introduced it into a new market strata.  The improved Leland V-8 engine was

now rated as 125 brake horsepower at 2900 RPM or 43.2 rated horsepower,

primarily due to an increased compression ratio of 5.23 to 1.  The second

gear in the transmission was upgraded to a helical gear.  This, it was

claimed, made the Lincoln run as quietly in second gear as in third.  The

freewheeling unit, mounted behind the transmission, was retained.  The

Model KA used size 7.00x18 tires.

    There were nine factory standard (Murray-built) bodies offered, plus

the standard bare chassis and the RHD chassis.  The factory offerings were

the two-passenger and four-passenger Coupes, Town and Victoria Sedans, a

Phaeton, two Roadsters and two variations on the Sedan Limousine.  The

Model KA Lincoln Series 501 body Types were numbered 502 through 510.  The

Model KA radiator shell was a carry-over from last year's Model K.  Thus, a

dual marketing approach was begun, similar to the practice followed on

Fords throughout the 1930s.  The grille work was comprised of long,

vertical tubes.  The Model KA Lincoln emblem differed only in color from

the Model KB emblem.  These oval emblems were mounted on the headlight bar

and on the hubcaps.  The Model KA interior appointments were rather plain. 

Prices started at a low $2,900, an obvious response to slow economic

conditions and stiff competition.

    These Model KA Lincolns would be the last Leland based V-8 engines ever

built.  This engine design was completing a twelve-year production run. 

Cadillac and Packard had now developed smoother running eight-cylinder

engines.  Engineer Peter Heldt, in 1915, had theorized that a sixty degree

V-8 engine with an uneven firing order would run more smoothly than those

in production at the time.  Leland had proved this theory and Ford had

perfected the design with quality and excellence, but the LV-8 engine

always had a mild secondary imbalance.  The unique fork-and-blade

connecting rods did, however, offset this problem to a great extent.  The

roller-type valve lifter concept had been used on aircraft engines before

being adapted to the LV-8.  All of these engine refinements were

implemented to overcome early, crude manufacturing techniques.  (To produce

a two-plane crank, the shaft has to be forged in a flat plane, and while

the metal is hot, the two throws must be bent exactly into place.  All of

this is a tricky process even with today's modern equipment.)

    By May 9, 1931, Ford engineers Jack Wharam and Fred Wilborn, under the

supervision of Frank Johnson, had tested the first Lincoln KV-12 engine. 

They had been working on the new engine for over a year.  Six days after

the static run, it was installed in a test car.  The new Lincoln KV-12

engine was introduced to the luxury car buying public in November of 1931. 

It was called the "Lincoln Twelve Model KB" for the 1932 market promotion. 

In his biography Frank Johnson related how decisions were often made at

Ford, "Edsel and Henry Ford would walk through the shops with men hard at

work.  They occasionally stopped to sit down, prop their feet up and talk

over something.  Edsel generally had a good idea of what he planned for the

Lincoln and, of course, Henry was more preoccupied with the Ford product

line."  At any rate, the decision was made to go with two series of

Lincolns for the model year 1932.

    The new Model KB was on the longer 145 inch wheelbase, and powered by

the newly designed massive V-12 engine.  Weighing in at over a half ton

(1,070 pounds), the engine had a displacement of 447.9 cubic inches.  It

developed 150 brake horsepower at 3400 RPM, which translated into a 50.7

license horsepower rating or 292 foot pounds of torque.  The cylinders were

cast at a sixty-five degree V angle.  The material chosen for the engine

block was a close grained gray iron alloy.  This iron alloy contained 15

percent steel, 1 percent nickel and a .5 percent of chromium.  The 3.25

inch bore was held to a machine tolerance of .0005 of an inch.  The stroke

was 4.5 inches.  The polished and balanced crankshaft weighed ninety-one

pounds when completed.  There were seven bronze babbitt main bearings and

eight cam bearings.  The four-ring aluminum pistons were matched to within

.25 ounces per set.  The combustion chamber had 1.875 inch diameter offset

valves.

    In many ways, the new KBV-12 was an enlarged and updated LV-8.  It

still used the fork-and-blade rod design.  The compression ratio matched

the current KAV-8 engine at 5.25 to 1.  Stated in Ford terms, this is 103

PSI.  The "Lincoln Twelve" was superior to those engines being used on

current model Duesenbergs and other luxury cars.  The KBV-12 engine was

supported at three points by large rubberized motor mounts, and equipped

with torsional vibration dampers at the front of the engine.  The exhaust

manifolds went forward, then under the engine for quietness and with less

heat transmittal into the driver compartment.  The Model KB was equipped

with a 28-gallon fuel tank.  The crankcase held 12-quarts of oil as

compared to the V-8 engine's 10-quarts.  The cooling system on both engines

had a 34-quart capacity.  Both of the Lincoln Model K engines used dual

ignition systems.  The 135-amp 6-volt battery was relocated to the engine

compartment.  There were, however, a few drawbacks to the new KBV-12

engine's design.  For example, due to the placement of the valve lifters,

the manifold had to be removed in order to adjust the valves. 

Additionally, manufacturing and cost problems were caused by the shear

physical size of the engine.  The multitude of steps in its manufacture and

testing made these engines costly to produce.  (Large displacement engines

require greater gas-air velocities through the venturis, ports, and valves

to assure good throttle response under a high-torque, low-speed condition. 

Big valves and large carburetors only help at high speeds.)

    The brake system was vacuum assisted as well as being adjustable from

the steering column for summer and winter driving.  The Bragg-Keisrath

vacuum brake unit had been especially designed and produced for the

Lincoln.  Standard tire size on the Model KB was 7.50x18.  The 145 inch

wheelbase had a turning radius of approximately 26 feet.  The

semi-elliptical suspension springs were 42 inches long in the front, and 62

inches in the rear.  The average body's overall length was 214 inches. 

Rear axle ratios were 4.23 to 1 standard with optional 4.58 or 4.90.  An

average Lincoln, when completed, weighed between 5,600 and 5,900 pounds.

    The radiator shell on the Model KB was more massive than the one on the

Model KA.  Its crown was rounded and the grille came more to a forward

point.  In overall styling, however, the Models KB and KA were very

similar.  Two large trumpet horns faced forward under the headlights.  The

Model KB used the same thermostatically controlled cowl doors and radiator

louver vane arrangement as the Model KA.  The two piece V-type windshield

was used for the first time on some of this year's body styles.  The grille

bar mounted oval Lincoln emblems background was blue on the Model KB and

red on the Model KA.

    The body styles offered for the new Model KB were Types 231 through

250.  The Model KB body serial numbers started approximately where the

previous year's Model K had left off.  There were no Lincoln body Type

numbers 222 through 230.  Murphy of California had been building fine

custom bodied Lincolns for several years and was now recognized as an

official factory coachbuilder for the Type 232 Dual-Cowl Sport Phaetons. 

There were 2,132 Model KA and 1,515 Model KB produced in 1932.

    The "Red Journals" are hardbound hand-posted ledgers which were

maintained from the very beginning of the Model L.  They are now in the

custody of the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Archives in Dearborn,

Michigan.  They show that Model KA and KB Lincolns were not always shipped

with matching serial numbers.  When a given power plant did not perform to

certain road test standards, it was recycled or scraped.  For example,

Model KB serial number 1630 had engine case 1469, and Model KA serial

number 72004 had case 49607.  Lincoln Model KB serial number 1014 had its

engine replaced with serial number 1633, Model KB serial number 1325 was

replaced with 1636, and so on.  The last Model KB with the large V-12

engine was completed in late June of 1932, and was shipped in early July. 

Partially completed Model KB chassis were quickly modified to begin the

1933 model production.

    For the model year introduction at New York's Commodore Hotel, the

Lincoln brochure had not promoted the new Lincoln as a Model KB.  Instead,

the brochure was entitled Lincoln Twelve Cylinder Motor Cars.  The model

lineup was officially described by the Lincoln Motor Company, a Division of

Ford Motor Company, in their tan and gold catalogue for 1932.  It stated,

"There is a brilliance, comfort, and luxury with twenty-five body types

ranging from $4,300.  This motor car establishes more than ever the

preeminence of the Lincoln name."  The Type 234A two-window and the Type

234 three-window Town Sedan versions had sweeping, flowing lines with

V-windwhields, long hoods, and low bodies.  The five-passenger Coupe Type

236 offered wide doors for ease of rear-seat entry and individually

adjustable front seats.  The five-passenger Sedan Type 235 had a center

rear-seat armrest and two fold-out opera seats.  The Type 237

seven-passenger Limousine's rear passenger compartment, with partition

glass, had hideaway rear auxiliary seats and a robe rail.  A reading lamp

was provided for the chauffeur's compartment.  All of these body styles

used rear-mounted spare tires.  A rear-front door arrangements soon became

a Lincoln tradition.  The body Type number 231 identified a chassis only.

    For the more sporting, there was the Sport Phaeton four-passenger Type

232 with a rear-seat compartment inlaid with pewter.  It offered upholstery

of hand-buffed leather, and was available in brown or black.  The tonneau

cowl on the Sport Phaeton was optional.  The door windows form a large

quarter circle mating the front and rear windshields, as in the earlier

Type 202.  These body styles were originally offered by the factory, and

subsequently contracted out to Murphy.  Only forty-three were built, but

the Sport Phaeton remains one of the finest examples of classic Model KB

body styling.  The seven-passenger Sport Touring was "designed for long

distance touring.  A large family with luggage could travel comfortably in

it."  Seven-passenger seating meant two in the front, two in the rear

auxiliary seats, and three in the rear seat.  As with the Phaeton and the

Sport Touring, most Model KB body styles featured dual sidemounted spares. 

Thus, a large travel trunk could be mounted on the rear bumper rack.

    LeBaron's Convertible Roadster with coach bar top irons was a sleek,

streamlined design for its time.  The manual folding top mechanism operated

easily, folding away to a very low profile so as not to obstruct the rear

view.  A small curb side door accessed the large trunk for easy stowing of

items such as golf clubs.  This Type 248 Roadster was listed as a

two-passenger or four-passenger body style.  Actually, the second two seats

were the rumble seat (or dicky).  This body style was a continuation of the

previous year's very popular Type 214.  The Convertible Victoria Type 247

by Waterhouse was a five-passenger Continental style coupe.  Its large

rear-mounted metal chest (trunk) was finished in the body color.  With its

low profile top design, "it converts quickly from a dashing open Phaeton

into a snugly enclosed Victoria."  This popular Victoria design was the

first Lincoln factory-recognized Waterhouse custom body.  The Roadster Type

249 by Murphy had a completely concealed top which hid away under a hinged

lid.  "It combines streamlined appearance with the protection of an

enclosed coupe and a low center of gravity."

    Dietrich produced three Salon offerings for the Model KB.  The

Convertible Sedan Type 241 five-passenger "combines the luxurious comfort

of a closed body and the flashing grace of an open Touring.  It can be

transformed into a chauffeur-driven formal car with closed rear compartment

or used as a dashing family sedan."  The windshield was of the V-type, set

at a rakish angle parallel to the lines of the front door.  The top on this

Convertible Sedan could be folded completely below its belt line.  The

center posts between the windows were detachable.  The Sport Berline Type

240 was a formal closed body design of the non-convertible style which had

a padded roof simulating a convertible top.  Its windows were encased in

frames which dropped out of sight, and covered by automatic lids.  The

Sport Berline's interior trim was severely tailored.  The rear passenger

area had moldings of rare wood, built-in toilet cases, and a smoking set. 

The rear seat back folded forward for access to the rear deck compartment. 

Both of these Dietrich sedans had front opening doors (suicide doors) in

the front.  The Dietrich Coupe offering also had front opening doors.  The

four-passenger Coupe Type 242A and the two-passenger Coupe Type 242B had

graceful airflow lines with V-type windshields.  The front pillars were

cast of manganese bronze, small sections of great strength which allowed

minimal restriction to forward viewing.  These body styles were offered

with a rear luggage compartment or rumble seat.  This basic Dietrich coupe

design was carried over into the l933 Chrysler coupes.

    The Judkins Coupe Type 244 was said to be, "a distinctly personal car

for the owner-driver."  The inclined single-piece windshield afforded

freedom from rear window headlight glare.  This coupe was especially boxy

for a Dietrich design.  A rumble seat was optional.  The other major

Judkins Salon offering for the Model KB was the Berline, which was

available in two and three-window sedans.  These body styles, unlike the

coupes, featured the V-type windshield.  The two-window Berline Type 243A

was, "an ingeniously designed motorcar that can be owner-driven or used as

a formal limousine."  The sedan featured the new "coach sill" lines which

continued the high beltline styling, giving the appearance of added

length.  The Judkins three-window Berline Type 243B was, "a highly

desirable motorcar due to its metropolitan smartness."  Both sedans had

padded roofs, and the two-window body style had added decorative coach

bars.  Door arrangement was front-front.  The interior glass partition

could be cranked up or down, and the interiors offered novel extras such as

a hand mirror, a notebook holder, a wireless (radio), cigar lighter, map

pockets, bookshelves, center armrest, and auxiliary seating.

    Brunn and Willoughby each had two offerings for the new Lincoln Twelve

Cylinder Salon.  The all-weather Brougham Type 239 by Brunn, "a finely

developed line of motorcars worthy of their high tradition."  This Brougham

could be converted into an open drive by lowering the front windows and

folding the canopy top out of sight behind a panel in the roof above the

partition window.  The all-weather Cabriolet Type 238 by Brunn, featured

"simplicity of line, dignity, and exclusivity," marking it as a formal Town

Car.  Its rear quarter leather top could be lowered and the front

compartment converted into an open drive.

    The Limousine Type 245 by Willoughby was, "in keeping with the

formality of its function.  Its elegant equipage being dignified and

conservative."  Curved coach sill, slanted windshield, and sweeping lines

created an impression of long, low luxury "an impression reinforced by the

wide, deeply cushioned, seven-passenger interior."  The Panel Brougham Type

246 by Willoughby was a four-passenger coach.  "Elegant and correct," its

sweeping downward-curving sill was a distinguishing characteristic

reminiscent of carriage days.  The door arrangement was front-front, and

the open drive Panel Brougham's was rear-front.

    There were eighteen Type 231 chassis, three specials, ten RHD, and one

150 inch Model KB chassis shipped in 1932.  The latter was probably a

Silver Knightstown Hearse.  The April 13, 1932 issue of Business Week

reported, "The 1932 auto battle will be fought on a price basis."  The May

25th issues also carried an article entitled, "The 1931 automobile year was

better than expected."  Indeed, the luxury car market had peaked in the

late 1920s.  Fifty percent of the Big Iron on the road was now over five

years old.

    The headlines on most Lincoln display ads read "The Lincoln 12" with a

scroll border.  Simple pen and ink drawings of a single body style remained

the vogue.  Six major factory brochures were offered for 1932.  The

two-color Model KA catalogue was sixteen pages long, and featured seven

body styles, its second edition added a Roadster to the lineup.  A smaller

Model KA catalogue was twelve pages.  The Model KB had three catalogues:  a

gray hardcover edition with forty-eight pages, and illustrations of <