The Peak Before the Plunge.(Escape Roads)(Lincoln Convertible Roadster)

Byline: JOHN F. KATZ

Edsel Ford convinced his father to buy technically advanced but financially troubled Lincoln in 1922, but the first substantially new Lincoln after that, the longer, lower, sleeker Model K, did not appear until 1931. Even then, the K was powered by the same 60-degree V8 that had served Lincoln since 1921, recently bored to 6.31 liters and now bolstered to 120 hp. With V16s already in production at Cadillac and Marmon, and new V12s on the way from Cadillac and Packard, Edsel knew that wouldn't be enough.

He had, in fact, already ordered development of a Lincoln V12 in mid-1930. Still based heavily on the old V8-retaining even Lincoln founder Henry Leland's fork-and-blade connecting rods-but widened to 65 degrees, this new seven-main-bearing unit produced 150 hp at 3400 rpm from 7.34 liters. It debuted in 1932 as the Model KB, riding the same 145-inch wheelbase as the 1931 Model K.

The V8 remained in production as the KA, demoted to a 136-inch chassis and priced-at $2,900-to tempt buyers away from entry-level Cadillacs. Both Lincolns offered a generous selection of "factory'' body styles, while the KB V12 could be ordered in additional semi-custom styles from LeBaron, Waterhouse, Willoughby, Murphy, Dietrich, Judkins or Brunn. A Murphy Sport Roadster, one of three made, paced the Indianapolis 500 with Edsel at the wheel.

Our featured car, however, is a Convertible Roadster by LeBaron, one of 112 produced that year and, at $4,600, one of the least expensive KBs you could buy. Carrying chassis No. 1257, it was sold new by dealer Foss-Hughes in Philadelphia. Dick Price, unofficial historian of the Lincoln Owners Club, owned the car for a long time. Current owner Mark Lankford bought it in 1989. A complete restoration by Steve Babinsky earned the KB second-in-class honors at its 2002 Pebble Beach debut.

The Lincoln's interior designers understood that the ultimate luxury is ...