1934 Lincoln KB Limousine by Willoughby Fresh Restoration

1934 Lincoln KB Willoughby Additional Info:

Lincoln is an American luxury car manufacturer, operated under the Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland and acquired by Ford in 1922, Lincoln has been manufacturing vehicles intended for the upscale markets since the 1920s. Leland named the brand after his longtime hero Abraham Lincoln, for whom he had voted in the first presidential elections for which he was eligible

The company was founded in August 1917 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac (originally the Henry Ford Company). He left the Cadillac division of General Motors during World War I and formed the Lincoln Motor Company to build Liberty aircraft engines with his son Wilfred. After the war, the company's factories were retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles.

The company encountered severe financial troubles during the transition, coupled with body styling that wasn't comparable to other luxury makers, and after having produced only 150 cars in 1922, was forced into bankruptcy and sold for USD $8,000,000 to the Ford Motor Comany on February 4 1922, which went to pay off some of the creditors. The purchase of Lincoln was a personal triumph for Henry Ford, who had been forced out of his second (after Detroit Automobile Company) company by a group of investors led by Leland. Ford's company, renamed Cadillac in 1902 and purchased by rival General Motors in 1909, was Lincoln's chief competitor. Lincoln quickly became one of America's top selling luxury brands alongside Cadillac and Packard. Ford made no immediate change, either in the chassis or the V-8 L-head engine which was rated 36.4 SAE and produced 90 bhp at 2,800 rpm.

In 1923, several body styles were introduced, that included two- and three-window, four door sedans and a phaeton that accommodated four passengers. They also offered a two passenger roadster and a seven passenger touring sedan and limousine, which was sold for $5,200. A sedan, limo, cabriolet and town car were also offered by coachbuilders Fleetwood, and a second cabriolet was offered by coachbuilder Brunn. Prices for the vehicles built by these coachbuilders went for as much as $7,200, and despite the limited market appeal, Lincoln sales rose about 45 percent to produce 7,875 cars and the company was operating at a profit by the end of 1923.

In 1927, Lincoln adopted the greyhound as their emblem, which was later replaced with diamond that is currently in use.

In 1932, Lincoln introduced the V12-powered KB, generally considered the most desirable Lincoln of all time. It's 447 CuIn V12 produced 150 HP, while still offering the V8 in the KA. In 1933, an new a 381 CuIn V12 producing 125 HP was introduced to replace the V8's-all Lincolns were now V12's. In 1934, the smaller V12 was enlarged to 414 CuIn producing 150 HP and the larger V12 was dropped. This engine continued on to the end of K series production in 1939.

This freshly restored example is just out of a comprehensive near ground up restoration costing more than the seller would like to admit. The car was owned by a Lincoln Dealer for many years and was acquired by the Seller many years ago. The car had sat for some time and needed a lot of work including new structural wood in the rear compartment, and aluminum panel replacement as well. Restoration was undertaken in fits and starts as other more viable projects came and went. The engine was rebuilt by legendary Lincoln Expert Ernie Foster, all the chrome was replated, and the interior was just completed Everything is new or rebuilt on the car. Restored by one of the leading Lincoln experts in the country, the car is correct in every manner, and ready for the Show or Tour Circuit. The Seller states it's the best running Linc0ln he has-and he has more than his fair share. One interesting feature is the abundance of Shades- every window in the rear compartment has them and be fully closed off from prying eyes rather quickly.