1933 Lincoln Model KB Coupe by Judkins

[alsancle]

I thought I posted this when it went up on Steve's website.    Anyways, it is on BAT now and given the great result for the KB Sedan last week maybe it will do well?   I always wanted one of these KB Judkins coupes.  A catalog custom and very attractive.   The fork and blade V12 is a big boy engine.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1933-lincoln-kb-v-12-judkins-coupe/

 

This 1933 Lincoln Model KB is one of 12 coupes bodied by J.B. Judkins of Merrimac, Massachusetts, on Lincoln’s V12-powered Series 251 platform for the model year. Chassis KB2390 participated in the 1982 Classic Car Club of America Pacific Northwest Caravan before undergoing a cosmetic refurbishment in the 1990s. It was subsequently purchased by the current owner in 1998 before earning a CCCA Senior badge in 2001, and participating in the 2009 CCCA Far Out West Caravan. The car is finished in black over gray whipcord cloth upholstery, and power comes from a 448ci V12 paired with a three-speed manual transmission with synchromesh. Equipment includes vacuum-assisted four-wheel drum brakes, 18″ wire-spoke wheels with dual side-mount spares, a golf bag door, black leather roof trim, a fold-down luggage rack, a rumble seat trimmed in gray leather, and a woodgrain dash panel. This Model KB is now offered on dealer consignment in California with a clean Illinois title in the owner’s name.

 

  

[Gearheadengineer]

That is gorgeous. Well out of my price range but I can dream…

[edinmass]

Fantastic car……..notice there are no extra lights or junk attached to it. Great style and not a single bad line on the car.

[deac]

Beautiful car!  It reminds me of the chapter called carossiers in the book "Edsel" and how it describes just how these coach builders and Edsel worked together to create beautiful cars like this one.  If Edsel only knew how his hard work was cherished today!  I wonder what money this Lincoln will bring.

[Gearheadengineer]

Currently at $5k. Maybe I can afford it after all. 😀

[Matt Harwood]

I just can't wait for the "gangster" comments. That's really my favorite part of BaT.

[BobinVirginia]

10 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

I just can't wait for the "gangster" comments. That's really my favorite part of BaT.

Anybody called Leno yet? 😂

[58L-Y8]

The very embodiment of all that Edsel Ford sought to accomplish in his development of Lincoln into a premiere luxury car with the support of talented engineers, designers and skilled craftsmen and coachbuilders. 

Edited June 19 by 58L-Y8
syntax corrected (see edit history)

[suchan]

1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said:

I just can't wait for the "gangster" comments. That's really my favorite part of BaT.

Does Clyde Barrow count?

[Walt G]

when Bill Harrah was alive every car anyone had for sale was one that "Harrah will buy it" , now that same thought is "Leno will buy that"

Bill Harrah and I would spend a week together at a family type car event , cars being driven all week with no big class judging in fact no judging at all.

I asked him one night as we were chatting and relaxing " so what car will you buy next according to what everyone says you will" he chuckled and smiled

and his comment was " that's what they used to say about James Melton and Austin Clark" "When will they buy or own that".

Edited June 19 by Walt G
spelling correction (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

I had a conversation with a pair of visitors in our shop who walked in and said the usual Jay Leno bullshiat. I tried to explain that Jay Leno is probably the most sophisticated collector on earth and doesn't just buy any old car. He only buys special cars with noteworthy significance and I doubt that I have any cars in my inventory that would interest him. They looked at me like I'd grown a third eye or something. The general consensus among car guys appears to be that Jay Leno just wants to own ALL the cars, regardless of how crappy or useless or unremarkable they might be. I've even had a guy claim that he didn't like Jay Leno anymore because he called Jay to try to sell him his '50s Ford whatevermobile and Jay never called back.

 

Imagine that...

[Leif in Calif]

15 minutes ago, Walt G said:

when Bill Harrah was alive every car anyone had for sale was one that "Harrah will buy it" , now that same thought is "Leno will buy that"

Bill Harrah and I would spend a week together at a family type car event , cars being driven a;; week with no big class judging in fact no judging at all.

I asked him one night as we were chatting and relaxing " so what car will you buy next according to what everyone says you will" he chuckled and smiled

and his comment was " that's what they used to say about James Melton and Austin Clark" "When will they buy or own that".

Interesting that Melton and Clark were Bill Harrah before and Jay Leno has that spot now! 

I knew a guy who sold his Buick to Bill Harrah. Harrah used an intermediary and so it wasn't known that he was the buyer until late in the process. The seller suggested that he could knock of a big chunk of the price for a couple of nights of VIP treatment at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, but Bill said "that's completely separate". I never had the pleasure of meeting Bill, but I know from his biography that he was a real "straight shooter". 

The first time I visited his collection, I was over-come and had to sit down for a few minutes. 

[m-mman]

Hummmmm…… just thinking about how much better it would look if it were painted in a bright orange and yellow two tone.  🤣

[Walt G]

21 minutes ago, Leif in Calif said:

I never had the pleasure of meeting Bill, but I know from his biography that he was a real "straight shooter". 

Indeed he was! But he was also a true enthusiast , very quiet and reserved but could be a little kid with excitement if he found something he really liked. Limitless  joy  at a discovery of a car or the history of a car , they weren't just objects or "investments".

[alsancle]

People assume that the most sophisticated collectors in the world are just as stupid as they are.

[edinmass]

 

While Jay has some interesting cars....1/2-2/3 of them are common or run of the mill vehicles without much collector interest. ( Fun drivers, yes. Important cars in the history of the automobile? Not so much. And just because a car is expensive doesn't make it special.)  Yes, I have been through the entire garage, and gotten the story on most of them. (From him.) He has a large number of modern builds, sport rods, modern creations, extensively modified and such. Interesting? Absolutely! But the Big Three's cars he has from the 50's,60's, and 70's are really nothing special. What is special about his collection? Everything runs and is driven. Some more than others. There are modern replicas like the Per Sang's............and his Tesla. A car collection is just that.....a collection. A curated collection based on history, design, and interesting provenance like one off's or show cars are all at another level. Ask yourself this question...........would any five cars from anyones collection be worthy of the top five collections in the world. And the answer 99.99 percent of the time is NO! 

 

Look at Jay's collection through a microscope............notice what is NOT there, as it's more important that what is. No V-16's, no DV-32's, no Ferrari's, no Locomobile's, no Pope Hartfords, ect. There are huge holes in his collection. The question is why? And only he can answer. 

[m-mman]

14 minutes ago, edinmass said:

A car collection is just that.....a collection. A curated collection based on history, design, and interesting provenance like one off's or show cars are all at another level.

 

14 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Look at Jay's collection through a microscope............notice what is NOT there

 

14 minutes ago, edinmass said:

The question is why? And only he can answer. 

An academic (research) MUSEUM might want “significant cars” but a COLLECTION is for the personal enjoyment and satisfaction of the person who owns it.  

A collection is not to impress, not to make a profit a collection is for FUN (!) 

 

Jay likes his cars. Jay is not interested in trophies.  (His Dusenberg Murphy Beverly lost at Pebble because it is a closed car.  He didn’t care he restored it because he likes it) Jay is the quintessential car guy. 
 

How many cars in your garage? If you have them to impress, or to document a historical story or you have cars that other people dream about you will be living a disappointing life. 
But if you have one car or many that excite YOU and bring YOU pleasure then that is a successful collection. 
 

Jay Leno is having fun. 

[BobinVirginia]

10 hours ago, Walt G said:

when Bill Harrah was alive every car anyone had for sale was one that "Harrah will buy it" , now that same thought is "Leno will buy that"

Bill Harrah and I would spend a week together at a family type car event , cars being driven all week with no big class judging in fact no judging at all.

I asked him one night as we were chatting and relaxing " so what car will you buy next according to what everyone says you will" he chuckled and smiled

and his comment was " that's what they used to say about James Melton and Austin Clark" "When will they buy or own that".

That’s some legendary car stuff there!

[BobinVirginia]

8 hours ago, alsancle said:

People assume that the most sophisticated collectors in the world are just as stupid as they are.

That’s the Dunning-Kruger effect 

[BobinVirginia]

I’m fortunate enough to have met someone that owns one of Harrah’s cars. An Incredible car that went to an owner with incredible taste! 

[1935Packard]

12 hours ago, edinmass said:

Look at Jay's collection through a microscope............notice what is NOT there, as it's more important that what is. No V-16's, no DV-32's, no Ferrari's, no Locomobile's, no Pope Hartfords, ect. There are huge holes in his collection. The question is why? And only he can answer. 

 

I've never more than said "hi" to Leno, but he has spoken about why he doesn't have any Ferrari's: According to this clip, he doesn't like the attitude.  (He seems to be talking mostly about new Ferraris, though, not old ones.)

 

 

[edinmass]

16 hours ago, m-mman said:

 

 

Jay likes his cars. Jay is not interested in trophies.  (His Dusenberg Murphy Beverly lost at Pebble because it is a closed car.  He didn’t care he restored it because he likes it) Jay is the quintessential car guy. 
 

Jay Leno is having fun. 

Enjoyment is the only reason to own a car…….unless you’re trying to impress people. As why his Beverly lost at pebble for being a closed car? We missed Best of Show with a closed Duesenberg by one vote.(First in Class & Most Elegant) Beverly’s are far from the most attractive J sedans. It takes three things to win at Pebble…..the car, the owner, and the restorer. I’m not familiar with his Beverly but twenty to one it’s not a numbers matching car…………he has said publicly that he doesn’t believe in the “numbers game”. The exact term he used when we were discussing it was………”your throwing silver dollars into the ocean.”  Most people think all Dusenberg Model J’s are great cars. Fact is more than half are a “hot mess” when you look close at them. Truth is most of the truly great Duesenbergs……….and most other truly great cars very seldom come up for sale. To quote Jay again………”Sometimes you don’t have any choices when trying to buy a car” which he was referring to his first Doble, a sedan. Recently some Model J’s that was not numbers matching sold for well over 3m & 5m. That tells you how hard it is to buy a truly good Model J.

 

I have endless respect for Jay and his work ethic. The guy is a machine into his 70’s. He buys what he likes…….which is the ONLY way to collect anything. His knowledge of automotive history is very impressive……….his library of books is absolutely stunning as I was giving the privilege of seeing it……….he's a gentleman who makes time for all true car collectors. Spend an hour with him and he’s just like any guy walking around Hershey.  Unlike most celebrities, the man is exceptionally intelligent in many areas………he didn’t get where he is because he was lucky.  He got there by a ridiculous amount of hard work and being smarter than 99 percent of the population.

Edited June 20 by edinmass (see edit history)

[alsancle]

17 hours ago, edinmass said:

 

While Jay has some interesting cars....1/2-2/3 of them are common or run of the mill vehicles without much collector interest. ( Fun drivers, yes. Important cars in the history of the automobile? Not so much. And just because a car is expensive doesn't make it special.)  Yes, I have been through the entire garage, and gotten the story on most of them. (From him.) He has a large number of modern builds, sport rods, modern creations, extensively modified and such. Interesting? Absolutely! But the Big Three's cars he has from the 50's,60's, and 70's are really nothing special. What is special about his collection? Everything runs and is driven. Some more than others. There are modern replicas like the Per Sang's............and his Tesla. A car collection is just that.....a collection. A curated collection based on history, design, and interesting provenance like one off's or show cars are all at another level. Ask yourself this question...........would any five cars from anyones collection be worthy of the top five collections in the world. And the answer 99.99 percent of the time is NO! 

 

Look at Jay's collection through a microscope............notice what is NOT there, as it's more important that what is. No V-16's, no DV-32's, no Ferrari's, no Locomobile's, no Pope Hartfords, ect. There are huge holes in his collection. The question is why? And only he can answer. 

 

25% of his collection is OUTSTANDING and it all runs and drives and is not found anywhere else.   Something you cannot say about almost any museum or large collection.

 

He doesn't need one of everything,  just one of whatever he finds really interesting.

Edited June 20 by alsancle (see edit history)

[EmTee]

To my eye, the proportions (esp. hood to rear deck) are perfect; even with the sidemount spare tire.  Just beautiful to look at!

 

 

As for the Jay Leno discussion, I'll say that he and I are alike in that we both own cars that we like! 

[Leif in Calif]

12 hours ago, BobinVirginia said:

That’s the Dunning-Kruger effect 

I had to look that one up! I believe is was accurately summarized by Forest Gump;

"Stupid is as stupid does"