1930 Lincoln Build Sheet

The "big books" that these build sheets are located in have a decoding page in the front that has all of the abbreviations and numbers decoded. One of the assistants at the Benson Ford Archives at The Henry Ford (the Henry Ford Museum) should be able to help you with this. I have spent a lot of time in these books, and from memory, I am pretty sure P Brown is an abbreviation for Phoenix Brown which is a really nice rich brown color that was typically paired with Desert Sand. I believe both of these colors were used on Fords as well. I would assume "18 Long Island" would be the the zip code or branch number to the particular Long Island dealer or branch. If a car was made as a custom order the specific buyer's name and address would be on the build sheet as well as the dealer that was receiving the car for him or her.

Motoringicons,

Thank you for the information. I have been doing some research and I think that the researcher that wrote down P.B. really wrote down, in very sloppy handwriting, "P.G." which would stand for Pyramid Gray which was a two tone color scheme used with Desert Sand. This color scheme was, in fact, used on 1930 Lincoln Victoria Coupes. As for the trim number, 1605, I have found no other information, so any help is appreciated. I will check back with Ford about a decoder page for the trim. Thanks again.

Steve

Pughs, just curious, did you recently acquire this car & if so from the central CT area, you seem to be describing a friend's car that was on the market recently.

Congrats if that is the case, it is a sound start, I think.

I think for around $10 per page you get an actual copy of your build sheet (front and back) instead of relying on them copying down the info for you.

Yes, This car is from CT.

It was $20 to have them copy down the information. I have been emailing back and forth with the Ford Research Center. They finally went back to the ledger where the information is and verified that they copied it badly and that it was actually P.G. with makes the color "P.G. & D.S". So the original color combination was Pyramid Gray and Desert Sand with a chariot red stripe, which was an actual color combination used on the victoria coupes. There was not an individual sheet for the car, just the ledger, according to them. They would do additional work for an hourly rate.

If you go in person (I know that's difficult for you) they do the research for free, and just charge you for copies. That's how I got the individual build sheet for my 1937 Lincoln K. That was 15 years ago though. Maybe things changed. In any case, I would encourage you to join the Lincoln Owners Club. They are dedicated solely to Model L & K Lincolns through 1939. They have a good West Coast presence as well, including a large meet in Northern California the weekend of Pebble.

Well congrats on your purchase. I know Ray needs to pare down and am familliar with the car - not much to do in the way of bodywork as I recall. Another poster here, Daytona, and I have both given that car some thought over the years. Hopefully you post some updates on your progress.

Yep - have not seen it in a couple of years, but it is exactly where I saw it last in your pics - not sure how you handled the distance buy but I am sure the car is just as described, Ray is a straight shooter. Fenders are nice and straight, and you won't need to touch the interior. Too bad the paint is flaking so much. You may already know this, the car came out of VT or NH, where it had sat for years, as prior owner could not start it so he parked it. Ray eventually found the distributor was off by 180 degrees and she fired right up. A very attractive bodystyle for Lincoln.

Great looking Lincoln. Congratulations on your purchase.

Congratulations Steve. When are you going to run out of room? I could take the Pierce if things are getting tight!

Steve_Mack_CT,

I didn't know any of the cars prior history. I would be very interested in any details you may have about it's past ownership

A.J.,

I am already out of room. I'm afraid I will be selling a few cars this coming year...but not the Pierce. I sold 3 cars in 2014. I need to sell 3 more.

Alsancle, I would think that you too would be running out of room. Mercedes, Dietrich Reo's and custom bodied Stutz's take up a tonne of room, especially when you start to pull them apart:]

Kirk

Steve P - That covers the history I know however, I would be happy to ask Ray about it him next time we chat. We discuseed the car a few times but mostly the conversation entailed what we thought the right course of action for it would be for it - his suggestion was a decent paint job, re-plate grille shell only, and freshen mechanicals.

When I saw your initial post it was with mixed emotion - good for you but that one is off the table for me - Alsancle mentioned that it was going to a good home with some very nice cars of the same era so that is really cool!!

FWIW I saw a '30 sedan for sale last Spring, also aluminum (did not know the sedans were as well!), not running (heads off), no where near as nice inside or out, for between $18 - 20K. That was in the big spring swap meet in Rhinebeck, NY. That car would need a full restoration, IMHO, yours does not.

Kirk, your Derham bodied Stutz had me thinking too

Steve, I hope you kept the Hollywood!

Alsancle, you don't strike me as a sporting car individual. the Derham coupe may be a bit racy for you. I think a Packard Convertible Victoria by Rollston is more your style. Besides you already have a hot Stutz.

Billety- You need to contact the Benson Ford Research Center located at The Henry Ford (Formerly called The Henry Ford Museum). For a fee, they will send you the build sheet information for your car based on the engine/chassis number that you provide. Typical of most not-for-profit institutions, the research assistants are overworked, understaffed and underpaid, but persitance on your end will get you the build sheet. You do need to be patient when you work with them on line or over the phone, but they can help.

Billety,

Here is information I got from the Benson Ford Research Center:

Thank you for your interest in the collections of The Henry Ford. The Henry Ford, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is an independent, non-profit, educational institution unaffiliated with the Ford Motor Company or the Ford Foundation.

A museum fire in the summer of 1970 destroyed many archived Ford Motor Company production records. The attached list indicates which records still exist. Please read it carefully. If you do not see the make, model, serial number or year your vehicle was made in the list below, we will not have production information for your vehicle. Please keep in mind that not all the runs listed are complete there are gaps in some of the series.

Production information varies, but may include serial and model type/number, assembly date, color and accessories. Model T records are on microfilm; other records are on cards, order sheets or ledgers. Data will be either photocopied or transcribed from a ledger to a prepared form. Shipment to a branch or dealer is sometimes noted on a record; very rarely is a buyer's name noted.

Should you wish information about your car, our fee for this service is $20.00 (this includes postage to you). Please include the vehicle engine/serial number as well as payment in your correspondence. Send it to the attention of the Benson Ford Research Center; P.O. Box 1970; Dearborn MI 48121-1970. Please make your check payable to The Henry Ford or, if you wish, a credit card number and expiration date may be provided for payment. Standard turn-around time for research, from receipt of payment, is two to four weeks.

If you are looking for general research on your type of vehicle (such as can be found in product literature), we would be happy to see if we have anything in the collection. However, we do charge $35/hour for the research service (includes 10 photocopies and shipping), and we ask for payment in-advance. If more than one hour of research is needed you will be contacted to authorize additional research time. We accept payment via check or credit card. If you are paying by check, make it out to The Henry Ford. If paying by credit card, you can fax the info to us at 313-982-6244. Please see our website for details about our research services and fees: http://www.thehenryford.org/research/services/remote.aspx

Thank you again for you inquiry, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Gain Perspective. Get Inspired. Make History.

Benson Ford Research Center

Research Assistance

P: 313.982.6020

E: Research.Center@thehenryford.org

www.thehenryford.org

.................................................

The Henry Ford

20900 Oakwood Boulevard

Dearborn, MI 48124

Billety,

Here are the records that exist:

10/0/08 production records

Benson Ford Research Center

Vehicle Assembly/Shipping Production Records

A museum fire in the summer of 1970 destroyed many archived Ford Motor Company production records. The list below indicates which records still exist. If you do not see the make, model, serial number or year your vehicle was made in the list below, we will not have production information for your vehicle. Please keep in mind that not all the runs listed are complete –there are gaps in some of the series.

Production information varies, but may include serial and model type/number, assembly date, color and accessories. Model T records are on microfilm; other records are on cards, order sheets or ledgers. Data will be either photocopied or transcribed from a ledger to a prepared form. Shipment to a branch or dealer is sometimes noted on a record; very rarely is a buyer’s name noted.

Should you wish information about your car, our fee for this service is $20.00 ($22.00 for a color photocopy of the Lincoln Mark II records only; all others are black and white copies). Please include the vehicle engine/serial number as well as payment in your correspondence. You can send the info via mail, email, fax. If by mail send it to the attention of the Benson Ford Research Center; P.O. Box 1970; Dearborn MI 48121-1970. E-mail address is: research.center@thehenryford.org. Fax #: 313-982-6244. If paying by check please make your check payable to the “The Henry Ford". or, if you wish, a credit card number and expiration date may be provided for payment.

INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION INFORMATION:

Acc MODEL MODEL YEARS COVERED ID or SERIAL no.

641 Ford Model T 1909 – 1911 1,119 to 70,920 (microfilm)

641 Lincoln K 1936 – 1939 K 5711 to K 9674 (card – many missing or fire damaged)

641 Lincoln 1940 – 1942 H 86,200 to H 136254 (card)

1946 – 1948 H 136255 to H 182129 (card)

624 Lincoln Mark II 1956 only C56-7-980 to C56-J-3348

boxes 43A-E (order sheet – many missing)

1736 Du Pont Motors Inc. 1919-1932 1-1000 (order sheet)

boxes 3-5

LINCOLN LEDGERS:

778 Ledger #0 Leland Ownership 1920 – 1922: 1-3208 (many separate notes)

778 Ledgers #1-10 (repeats Leland 1920 – 1932 1- 72010 (asmbl. date, serial#,

and continues on with Ford) crankcase #)

778 Ledger #11 1931 – 1932 KB 1 – KB 1630 (most asmbl.

dates, serial #, crankcase #)

778 Ledger #12 2/3/28-3/29/31 some parts change notes, 1928 show motor numbers

No existing 778 Production Ledgers from 1933-1935 model years.

778 Ledgers #13-39 1936 – 1942 information varies

614 Binders #1-2 1920 – 1930-31 1-65687

614 Binder #3 1931 – 1935 L 66001-72041 and K, KA, KB

641 Ledger #113 1928 -1932 Shipping Dates L

1932 – 1934 Shipping Dates KA

641 Ledger #114 1931 – 1934 Shipping Dates KB

1935 – 1939 Shipping Dates K