A More Modern Lincoln: the 1941-42 Custom

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For 1941, the elegant but aging Lincoln K series was replaced by the Zephyr-based Lincoln Custom.

 

1941 Lincoln Custom

 

The Lincoln K models of the 1930s were among the great cars of the classic era, but by the end of the decade they had grown out of fashion and obsolete. The massive V12-powered machines were time-consuming and expensive to produce, yet increasingly out of touch with the changing tastes of car buyers.

The K series was offered in dozens of body styles from a number of prestigious coachbuilders in 1939-40, but the total production for both years amounted to only 151 cars. Ford production boss Charles E. Sorensen, Cast-Iron Charlie, remarked that the Lincoln K assembly line on Warren Avenue looked to him like an abandoned auto factory. Its time run out, the K series was cancelled after 1940. Reportedly, the 1940 cars were carried-over ’39 models.

Meanwhile, the Lincoln-Zephyr, reasonably priced and designed for volume production when it was introduced in 1936, was a solid success. With sales in the tens of thousands, its volume dwarfed the output of the plodding Model K assembly line. Brunn, one of Lincoln’s favored coachbuilders, produced a short run of sedans and limousines based on stretched Lincoln-Zephyr platforms in 1940, including three for Edsel Ford and his family. In these vehicles, the path forward for a senior Lincoln series could be seen.

 

1941 Lincoln Custom Limousine

Long story short, the 1941 Lincoln Custom was built on the Lincoln-Zephyr’s semi-unitized chassis with its wheelbase lengthened from 125 to 138 inches, and it was powered by the same Ford-derived 292 cubic-inch V12 with 120 horsepower. But instead of the Zephyr’s teardrop rear deck, the formally styled Custom featured a bustled rear treatment more like the Continental’s.

Just two body styles were offered, a four-door Sedan and a Limousine. Both were luxuriously appointed and equipped with jump seats in the rear, while the Limousine included a powered divider glass between the chauffeur and passengers (above). All Customs featured hydraulically-powered windows, operated by the large push buttons shown here. (See our original 1941 Lincoln dealer film here.)

 

1942 Lincoln Custom Sedan

When the Lincoln-Zephyr and Continental got new front-end sheet metal and a boost in displacement to 305 CID for 1942, the senior Custom received the same updates (above). While the Custom outsold the old K series by a sizable margin—650 cars in 1941—the number was still almost negligible compared to the volume of the Zephyr and Continental. When Lincoln production resumed for the 1946 model year, the Ford Motor Company was now under the command of Henry Ford II and Ernest K. Breech, who were on a mission to modernize and cut costs. The Custom did not return.

 

1941 Lincoln Custom Limousine

4 thoughts on “A More Modern Lincoln: the 1941-42 Custom”

  1. The ’42 front end looked a lot better on the Custom than it did on the Continental (in my opinion). In a perfect world of unlimited garages, I’d have a ’40/’41 Continental and a ’42 Custom, along with about 1000 other cars.

    Still, competing with Cadillac’s Series 67/75 was a tall order, so it’s no surprise that these only lasted a short time.

  2. 40-41 wore same sheetmetal, 42 was entirely new design. 40-41 had two half a heart sweeping grilles, 42 had a vertical center section grille with a fenders wide rectangular grille right below that. Body parts from 40-41 do not interchange with the 42 new design. 42 slat grille was one year only due to WWII, 46-48 grille is same size and shape but went to an eggcrate design supposedly to try to catch and beat Cadillac.

  4. Between these, the post war refresh and the 1949 disaster, it’s no wonder Cadillac took over the high end market.

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