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1923 Lincoln Model L

By 1923, the stock of the newly purchased Lincoln Motor Company was 100-percent owned by the Ford Motor Company. The Leylands were now completely removed from the company and new changes were soon to come. One of the first changes was the removal of the 130-inch wheelbase. Several changes would be incorporated mid-year, including the use of Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers.

1923 Lincoln Model L photo
Sedan 3 Window by Judkins
Henry Martyn Leland was trained in the armories of Hartford and Springfield, later working for Brown & Sharpe in Providence where he perfected equipment for accurately grinding surfaces. Later, Brown & Sharpe sent him to Detroit to sell machine tools and precision measuring instruments. Leland eventually formed the Leland & Faulconer, Inc. machine shop that, among other work, built engines for Ransom Olds' Oldsmobile.

Following a dispute with his investors, Henry Ford left the Henry Ford Company - with $900 and the designs for his inexpensive automobile. The company, at this point, was in financial difficulty, and Henry Leland was hired to appraise its assents. Along with the appraisal, Leland convinced the company to build a new car powered by a single-cylinder engine Leland had originally developed for Oldsmobile. The company was renamed Cadillac and eventually became part of William Crapo Durant's General Motors. A few years later, Leland wanted the Cadillac Company to accept a government contract to build Liberty aircraft engines for World War I. Durant was a pacifist and refused, so Leland left to set up a new company named for the president he had first voted in 1864. This company was intended to take up the war effort by building the Liberty engines. The need for Liberty engines soon dried up, so Leland and his son Wilfred switched to automobile production.

Using Leland's precious engineering and mechanical skill, the Lincolns were superbly engineered and built vehicles. Introduced in 1921, they were powered by a 358 cubic-inch L-head 60-degree V8 engine and unlike more conventional V-8 engines which offset the cylinder banks slightly to make room for adjacent connecting rod bearings on the crank journals, the Model L used expensive (and precise) fork-and-blade connecting rods and disposed the cylinders directly opposite each other. Another unique feature of the engine was the full pressure lubrication system.

1923 Lincoln Model L photo
Sedan 3 Window by Judkins
The design for the new Lincolns was entrusted to Leland's son-in-law who had been trained in ladies' millinery. The engineering excellence far overshadowed the bodies, which left much to be desired. Hermann A. Brunn was tasked with creating new designs, but it was too late as dismal sales, coupled with the post World War I recession and an erroneous $4½ million tax bill spelled the end of Lincoln with Leland at the helm. It was acquired out of receivership in 1922 by Henry Ford to complement his Model T.

Edsel Ford was placed in charge and the Lincoln's soon reflected his vision. By the close of 1922, just ten months after Ford acquired Lincoln, over 5,500 examples had been sold, which was over 2,000 more cars than the Lelands had sold in seventeen months. The Model L would remain the catalog designation until the V-8 was superseded in 1931.

The 1923 Lincoln rode on a 136-inch wheelbase and had a sliding gear transmission and a 60-degree, L-head, eight-cylinder engine. With Stromberg updraft carburetors, the engine produced 90 horsepower. There were nearly 20 body styles available, with most of the coachwork from either Brunn or Judkins. Brunn was given the bulk of the work.

1923 Lincoln Model L photo
Sedan 3 Window by Judkins
While many feared that Ford's influence would degrade the engineering excellence of the Lincoln product, this was not the case, in fact, it improved with better cylinder head cooling, aluminum pistons, and an increased wheelbase length from 130 to 136 inches. Over the years that followed under Edsel's guidance, the Lincoln marque built a reputation on refined and elegant styling, helping to propel it to become one of the premier motor cars in the world.


by Daniel Vaughan | May 2009

Related Reading : Lincoln Model L History

The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland and acquired by Ford in 1922. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac, had left Cadillac during the First World War to form the Lincoln Motor Company, which was intended to build Liberty aircraft engines. He had left Cadillac due to a disagreement with General Motors boss William C. Durant. When Leland left, he was 74 years old, and....
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Related Reading : Lincoln Model L History

Considered to be one of the most elegant of chauffer-driven automobiles of the 1920s, the Lincoln Model L Towncar was introduced in 1924. The Model L was an exclusive portrayal of the brand that represents everything that embodies American Luxury, Lincoln. Founded by Henry M. Leland in 1917, Lincoln Automobiles were operated under the Ford Motor Company. LeLands favorite President had always been....
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1923 Lincoln Model L Vehicle Profiles

1923 Lincoln Model L vehicle information
Brunn Roadster

Coachwork: Brunn
1923 Lincoln Model L vehicle information
Phaeton

Coachwork: American Body Company
Designer: Brunn Brougham
Chassis #: 13652
Engine #: 13652

Recent Vehicle Additions

Performance and Specification Comparison

Price Comparison

$298-$3,800
1923 Model L
$6,200-$15,500
1923 Lincoln Model L Price Range: $3,800 - $6,200

Compare: Lower | Higher | Similar

Model L

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
2,957
130.00 in., 136.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 81.00hp
$4,000 - $4,600
5,647
130.00 in., 136.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 90.00hp
$3,300 - $7,200
136.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 90.00hp
$3,800 - $6,200
6,583
136.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 90.00hp
$3,600 - $6,400
8,440
126.00 in., 136.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 90.00hp
$3,800 - $7,200
8,712
136.00 in., 150.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 90.00hp
$3,995 - $7,200
7,149
136.00 in., 150.00 in.
8 cyl., 357.80 CID., 90.00hp
$3,505 - $7,600
6,362
136.00 in., 150.00 in.
8 cyl., 384.80 CID., 90.00hp
$4,595 - $7,345
7,566
136.00 in., 150.00 in.
8 cyl., 384.80 CID., 90.00hp
$2,995 - $7,395
2,044
136.00 in.
8 cyl., 384.80 CID., 90.00hp
$4,505 - $7,005

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