1930 Lincoln Model L

The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in 1917 by engineer Henry Leland and his son Wilfred to produce Liberty Aero engines during World War I. Leland, who had founded Cadillac in 1903, decided to re-enter the luxury car market after the war was over with a new car; the Lincoln. Introduced in 1921, it was powered by a 358 cubic-inch L-head, 60-degree V-8 engine. Conventional V-engines of the era offset the cylinder banks slightly to make room for adjacent connecting rod bearings on the crank journals. The engine powering the Lincoln, however, used expensive, precision-made fork-and-blade connecting rods and disposed of the cylinders directly opposite each other. Leland's V-8 also had full pressure lubrication, an unusual feature for the period.

The first model, the Model L was produced from 1921 to 1930. The Model L, powered by a V-8, was comparable in size and price to a Cadillac but had a larger more powerful engine. The price of between $4,600 and $6,600 made the car only available to the most well-to-do. Leland's forte was not in styling and the car suffered from a stogy appearance and hard economic times. Lincoln tried a quick redesign with a set of twelve body designs by Hermann A. Brunn, but it was too late as dismal sales, the post-WWI recession, and an erroneous 4.5 million-dollar tax bill spelled the end of Lincoln.

The Lincoln Company was bought out of receivership in 1922 by none other than Henry Ford to balance the success of the economical Model T with the best-engineered and best-built luxury automobile in America. The Lincoln body styles were refined through the styling genius of Edsel Ford, creating designs that would make Lincoln one of the premier motor cars in the world.

Henry Ford's son, Edsel, was a talented designer with an innate sense of style. He was put in charge of Lincoln, and the automobiles that rolled out of the factory under his watchful eye reflected his vision. Production after the takeover began with the Model L, where the 'L' indicated that it had been designed by Henry and Wilfred Leland. The Model L remained part of the catalog until the V-8 was superseded in 1931 by the Model K.

1930 Lincoln Model L
With anticipation for the debut of an all-new model in 1931, the 1930 Lincoln received only minor updates. It continued to be built on a generous 136-inch wheelbase platform and was powered by a 384.8 cubic-inch L-head V8 engine rated at 90 horsepower. In comparison, the 1931 Lincoln would have an even larger 145-inch wheelbase and its 384.8 CID L-head V8 engine produced 120 bhp. Additional improvements included freewheeling and synchromesh on second and third gears, a new double dry disc clutch, double-acting Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers, and a cable-operated Bendix Duo-Servo brake system.

The engine powering the 1930 Lincoln had a Stromberg updraft carburetor, mechanical valve lifters, three main bearings, and a 4.81:1 compression ratio. It was paired with a three-speed sliding gear transmission with multiple disc clutch and floor shift controls. The braking system was comprised of a steel rod and Perrot setup on all four wheels. The steel spoke wheels measured 20 inches in size. One of the few mechanical updates was the new worm and roller-type steering system.

Painted fenders to match body colors were one of the few visual changes made to the exterior. The narrower, higher, and slightly more square radiator shell that had been updated for 1929 remained unchanged and was flanked on either side by cowl lights and positioned above the chrome-plated bumper. The list of body styles accommodated a variety of needs and uses, with both factory and coachbuilt bodies. The list of coachbuilders included in the factory catalog were Judkins, Willoughby, Brunn, LeBaron, Locke, Derham, and Dietrich.

Body Styles
Factory bodies included a club roadster with a rumble seat, a sport phaeton (with or without a double cowl), a seven-passenger sport tourer, a coupe, and a five-passenger sedan. Judkins offered a coupe (type 170) and a 4-door Berline, and many of the bodies they built received a unique windshield known as the 'Brewster windshield.' The coupe was strictly a two-passenger car and was devoid of a rumble seat. There was a golf club compartment door on the passenger side, and a leather-covered roof. The Judkins two-passenger coupe was introduced in late 1928 and built through 1930; 40 examples were produced in 1930.

In addition of the Sport Roadster offered in the 1930 Lincoln catalog, Locke also bodied a single dual-cowl Sport Phaeton (body style 163B). Locke's association with Lincoln began in 1926, the same year they established a factory in Rochester, New York. Initially, they offered Lincoln customers a convertible, roadster, town car, and landaullete. Their history in the automobile industry dates back much further - to 1902 - when they were established in New York City. The bodies they created adorned numerous prestige chassis, including Rolls-Royce, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and Duesenberg. Locke bodied approximately fifteen examples of the Sport Roadster in 1930.

Willoughby offered a four-door, four-passenger Panel Brougham and a seven-passenger Limousines. Brunn offered a 7-passenger brougham and a five-passenger berline. Dietrich offered a four-door sedan and two-door coupe, both convertibles. Derham also produced convertibles - a roadster and a four-door phaeton. Approximately twenty examples of Philadelphia's Derham-bodied convertible phaeton were produced in 1930. It was designed from the outset as an open car and then closed, reversing the normal body-building practices of the era. The noiseless top was fitted over the tops of the front and rear windows, and its elegant body lines flowed naturally into a sloping rear deck.

LeBaron produced a sport sedan, Brougham, and a convertible roadster. The company was founded by two Brewster designers, Raymond Dietrich and Thomas Hibbard, in 1920. LeBaron Coachworks started out in New York as a design house, and a partnership with the Bridgeport Body Company allowed LeBaron to become a full-fledged coachbuilding firm in 1923. This was the same year that Raymond Dietrich met Edsel Ford at the New York Auto Show, and a demonstrator of the firm's capabilities led to Lincoln becoming LeBaron's best customer. In 1930, LeBaron would body approximately 100 Lincolns with the Convertible Roadster body style (denoted as the Model 185) and carried a princely sum of $6,900 when new. Styling features included a hidden rumble seat, dual side-mounted spare wheels, sweeping curves, and a convertible top that could be concealed neatly behind the two-seat cockpit.

Production
The 1930 Lincoln models were introduced in January of that year, and total calendar year production reached 3,515 units, which was significantly less than the 7,672 examples produced (calendar year production) the previous year. Although an all-new model was introduced in 1931, production would continue to slip as the world wrestled with the Great Depression. A total of 2,007 examples were produced in 1933 (calendar year prod.) before climbing slightly to 2,411 units in 1934. When the lower-priced Zephyr was added to the lineup in 1936, production increased dramatically, reaching 14,994 units (model year production) for the Zephyr alone. An additional 1,515 examples of the twelve-cylinder Model K were also built that year.