The Lincoln KB series was introduced in 1932. It was introduced as the range-topping model, and could be bought with a truly confusing array of looks due to the fact that a buyer could order a custom body constructed by any one of a number of different coach-building companies. Our feature car is a 1934 Lincoln KB with the body built by Judkins. You will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Wakefield, NH, it is offered with a clean title. The seller has set a price of $28,000 for this classic. A big thanks must go out to Barn Finder Noah S for bringing this Lincoln to our attention.
This car is an interesting vehicle. There is no doubt that it requires a total restoration, but it appears that the starting point is quite solid. This paperwork provides key information about the vehicle from the Lincoln Owners Club. The difficulty with Lincolns of this era was the fact that the use of coach-builders tended to make obtaining spare body panels quite difficult at times. This particular car is missing its driver’s side rear fender, and sourcing a replacement may be difficult. There are a few other external trim items that appear to be missing, and all of the external trim will require restoration. The original wire wheels are also present, but once again these will require specialist restoration.
The KB was the flagship of the Lincoln range in the 1930s, and as such, they featured sumptuous interiors. This KB is no exception. I am not 100% sure if the interior trim is original, but I believe that it probably is. From what we can see in the one supplied shot, it generally looks to be in good condition. I hope that it is because re-trimming the interior of a Lincoln KB can be an expensive undertaking.
Unfortunately, we get no photos or information on the state of the engine or drive-train of this Lincoln. If it is original there should be a 414ci V12 engine under the hood which would be backed by a 3-speed manual transmission. It is to be hoped that the engine at least turns freely, as sourcing a replacement would be a pretty difficult job. However, in spite of the number of cylinders involved, rebuilding one of these engines is not significantly more difficult than rebuilding your average Ford flat-head V8, so it may not be too bad.
This Lincoln will require a full restoration, but thankfully the body appears to be solid and rust-free. The missing rear fender could possibly cause some difficulties, but that would be something that would need to be investigated further. Values on these can be hard to determine due to the range of different coach-builders involved with Lincoln at the time. The other issue is that these simply don’t come onto the market that often. Recently a 1934 KB with the body by Lincoln went to auction in the US and fetched a price in excess of $100,000. That might give you an interesting point of comparison.
I can’t help wonder why the paint on the front fenders is gone, right to the bare metal and the rest of the car looks fine. It almost looks like it suffered fire damage from an external source or maybe it was stored with the front of the car exposed to the weather. Either way I’d only do a simpathetic restoration trying to preserve as much of the original car as possible. But I would paint those fenders and power buff the rest of the car to bring the fenders closer to looking the same as the rest of the car. Single stage gloss paint would also be what I’d use on those fenders. I feel this sort of restoration would leave you with a more authentic car that you would not be afraid to drive on the road. Nice car.
Probably the body is made of aluminum.
No rear fender on left side 🤔
Magnificent looking design. The mind wanders imagining what industrial magnate was chauffeured around in this vehicle while he sat in the back seat planning out the day’s work
K model Lincoln’s are special cars. The judkins body only adds to the panache. I am fairly sure judkins bodies were hand built from aluminum so look for rust else where.
The fender is likely a standard Lincoln KB unit for a sedan. Not that it’ll make it much easier to find one! Coachbuilders typically used factory rear fenders unless a special body design specified other wise. Packard limousines often used the same rear fenders as the coupe & convertible.
To add to Bill’s comment and concur, when the body-less car was shipped to the coach builder it was a complete powered chassis with grille, hood, and fenders so that brand identity would prevail.
This could be a beautiful car. Been sitting on this ad for a month, hope there’s a capable buyer out there for it.
As an aside, Edsel had the grille for the ’32 Ford passenger cars styled after the KB design feeling it would impart some luxury look to the regular line. Smart man…..
I can see a 460 Lincoln engine, automatic trans & A/C, what a car that would make.
Nice…definitely worth restoring.
The money from my financial windfall however…will be spent buying this custom-built KB Boattail “evolution” sled.:
https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2016/09/HF16_r195_001-970×573.jpg
That Lincoln boattail us absolutely gorgeous! You must of had quite a nice windfall 👍🏼
Even in her current forlorn state, this Lincoln is still a magnificent automobile. It wont be a quick, or inexpensive rehab, but when she’s done .. WOW!
Though no speed demon, I would imagine that V-12 is plenty powerful to keep this elegance moving right along.
Would love to see the results of the restoration
I love these big elegant cars, I say rebuild the mechanicals as needed and do as little paint work as necessary and drive it to local car gatherings and enjoy it.
Would probably look like this?
http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/lincoln/152256-rare-black-7-passenger-limo-v12-call-bobby-now-914-403-7505.html
Scottymac,
The limo you found is slightly longer and allows a set of folding forward facing seats. [It’s listing says 7-passenger seating. The car on this BF listing is a shorter wheelbase. It’s more like a 6 passenger sedan with a division window. That said, without interior shots it’s impossible to know for sure, but it’s possible there might be a single sideways folding seat, but given the short length of the rear door from the front edge to the wheel arch, it cannot possibly have a pair of folding jump seats, just not enough knee room for 2 rows of seated passengers in the rear compartment.
[I was in the vintage limousine business for a number of years, and have had dozens of LWB 1930s thru 1960s limousines: Rolls-Royce, Packard, Cadillac, Vanden Plas, Daimler, Lincoln, and a few odd ones Like an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire.]
I would think using the right fender as a guide, any good metal fabricator could reproduce the missing fender. It looks like the front fenders were stripped, maybe they took the rear fender off to strip it and then misplaced it. Either way this would be one stunning automobile once restored!
If someone on this site buys it, I know someone personally who could definitely hammer out a identical rear fender for it! Anyway this car deserves a complete original restore on it! Coach built or not this is a part of the Lincoln history! It would be beautiful restored back original!
The Lincolns of the ’30’s were the best made and smoothest riding cars of their era. (Smoother riding than most modern cars.) Overall quality was superior to a Duesenberg or Rolls-Royce. Modifications to the car would be disgraceful. The K V12 is a very complex machine, it’s engine is nothing like a Ford V-8 and a rebuild should not be considered without contacting a real Lincoln expert. In many ways the engine is a mechanic’s delight – but you better know what you’re doing, and if you have to pull the aluminum heads you’re in for one of life’s great challenges. I don’t have a Lincoln book readily available to consult, but it looks like a Judkins Three Window Berline, as opposed to a limousine. All Judkins models rode on the the long 145 inch wheelbase, and the pictures indicate a completely original, correct car. A rear fender won’t be tough to find, and be very grateful that the car has a luggage rack and the all the correct covers for the sidemounts – very hard to find. As for the front fenders, I suspect that someone decided to repaint them, primed them, then left them to rust. This is a magnificent car that deserves to be lovingly caretakered.