(May 12, 2014) This well preserved 1946 Lincoln sedan was found on a car lot in Kingman, Arizona, complete with factory fender skirts. Although the overall shape remained the same from the 1941 model year, the big Lincoln received a makeover for 1942 with new grille, fender and headlight treatments and some rather interesting pushbutton door handles attached to the "suicide" doors that were in vogue in those days.
Only a very few 1942 models — called the Zephyr from 1936-1942 — were made before World War II intervened and production was halted. The Zephyr designation was dropped for the1946 Lincoln, which is nearly identical to the '42 model with the exception of the grille, which went from a thin, horizontal design in 1942 to a heavier grid-like grille in 1946.
The sedan lineup came with a V-12 engine from 1936 through 1948. Originally the engine was unreliable, sometimes going no more than 30,000 miles before needing a complete overhaul. Ford improved the post-war engine with such upgrades as a higher-capacity oil pump increasing the life span. The post-war engine is said to be considerably more reliable.
The 1946 4.8-liter V-12 managed 130 horsepower mated to a three-speed manual transmission and could reach a top speed of 90 miles per hour.
Based on a search of the Internet, restored copies of the 1946 Lincoln are selling for $20,000 and up, while cars such as the one found in this Arizona lot are going for less.
Photo by Jerry Brown