Rare find: 1938 K Model V-12 Lincoln

In 1938, the sticker price of a new Ford or Chevrolet hovered around $600 to $800. However, for those fortunate few with the financial means, a 1938 V-12 Lincoln K-model LeBaron convertible roadster was available priced at $5,300.

One such Lincoln originally painted a sporty yellow with optional dual-side mounted spare tires rolled out of the factory on 7.50×17-inch white sidewall tires. Where the handsome Lincoln spent the next 74 years remains a mystery. What is known is that the car received careful attention with most of the original parts remaining.

In August 2012, Nasser Almasary saw the car advertised for sale in Ohio. The ad admitted that the 414-cubic-inch V-12 engine was not in running condition. Nevertheless, Almasary coerced a son-in-law and a friend into driving with him from Virginia to Ohio to inspect the Lincoln.

There he found the 5,297-pound car in relatively good condition from the greyhound hood ornament to the rumble seat in the rear with the two step plates on the right rear fender to aid in accessing the rumble seat.

The original tan fabric top was still in place, a testament to not being frequently used. The plastic rear window remains in place and the view to the rear is still visible.

A couple of the nice touches on the car that captured Almasary’s attention were the Trippe lights in front of the radiator along with the unusual shape of the headlights lenses, which are incorporated into the front fenders.

Almasary discovered that the fan on the 150-horsepower engine turned. “Then I knew that the engine was free,” Almasary says, so he bought it. Consequently, he rented a truck and a trailer in order to haul the Lincoln home.

The length of the car necessitated deflating the front tires in order to provide space for the still inflated rear tires to squeeze onto the trailer.

Inside the cozy cabin is the three-speed manual transmission lever sprouting from the floor. Atop the dashboard are a pair of vents directing heated air to clear the windshield. On the outside of the windshield are the vacuum-powered wipers.

Inside the cab is the three-spoke steering wheel through which is seen the 100-mph speedometer, a top speed that Almasary considers unlikely.

The 6-volt battery is located beneath the floor of the passenger’s feet. To the rear of the passenger door is a smaller door to accommodate golf clubs. The catch is on the inside of the golf club compartment to release the locked rumble seat door.

After the task of trailering the Lincoln from Ohio to Virginia, Almasary then did what he could to return the car to proper running condition. The black leather cushion has been reupholstered and the original yellow paint has been resprayed with a deep maroon color accented with red pinstriping.

When he had restored as much as he could on his own, Almasary put his old Lincoln on a trailer and towed it to a restoration shop in Pennsylvania to be totally restored. After a year he received the good word that the V-12 engine, topped with a two-barrel carburetor, was ready for the road.

Almasary anxiously went to retrieve his Lincoln and took the 1938 model out for its inaugural drive, which thankfully proved to be uneventful, but indeed very special.

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