Lincoln Liberty engine
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| Lincoln Liberty V8 | |
| Manufacturer: | Lincoln Motor Company Ford Motor Company |
|---|---|
| Production: | 1920–1931 |
| Successor: | Lincoln L-head V12 |
| Class: | 60° Flathead V8 |
Henry Leland's Lincoln Motor Company was formed with the sole purpose of building this Liberty engine. As the United States entered World War I, Leland, then president of General Motors' Cadillac company, was unable to persuade GM president William Crapo Durant to join the development and production of Liberty engines. It is unclear whether Leland and his son, Wilfred, resigned or were fired from Cadillac, but they quickly gained a 10,000,000 government contract to build 8,000 Liberty engines for the war effort.
Lincoln's V8 engine was completed too late to be of any assistance to the war, so the company turned back to Leland's experience as an automobile maker. Raising $6.5 million more in stock, Leland began work on a high-end car to accommodate his V8 engine. The Lincoln L-series was launched in September of 1920 with the new engine inside. The car was slow to launch and take hold in the market place, and the board of directors put the company up for sale on February 4, 1922. It was purchased by the Ford Motor Company, which invested in the L-series, giving the engine and car a firm footing. The car was redesigned for 1931 as the Model K, with the V8 engine lasting two more years before being replaced by Lincoln's new L-head V12.
The engine was characterized by its narrow 60° cylinder bank angle and fork-and-blade connecting rods. It produced 81 hp (60 kW) at first, 90 hp (67 kW) by 1929, and 120 hp (89 kW) in a heavily-revised version for the 1931 Model K and 1932 Model KA.
[edit] References
- David L. Lewis (2005). 100 Years of Ford. Publications International. ISBN 0-7853-7988-6.
- Weiss, H Eugene. Chrysler, Ford, Durant and Sloan: Founding Giants of the American Automotive Industry, 44–45. ISBN 0-7864-1611-4.
- Lincoln Anonymous. Retrieved on August 22, 2006.
