The L Series was Lincoln's very first automobile. Introduced in 1920, while the brand was still independent, it remained in production until 1930.
Lincoln and pickup trucks aren't exactly two things that naturally come to mind together. For most of its history, Ford's luxury brand stayed focused on cars and SUVs, and it didn't officially enter the pickup market until the early 2000s. But sitting in front of us is a Lincoln truck that's more than a century old. It didn't leave the factory this way, but that only makes it more interesting.
This particular Lincoln dates back to 1924, when the company itself was barely seven years old. Henry and Wilfred Leland founded Lincoln in 1917, but the company ran into financial trouble and went bankrupt five years later. Ford Motor Company stepped in and purchased it. At the time, Lincoln had just one model in its lineup: the L Series.
Also known as the Model L, the L Series arrived in 1920. Built in Detroit, Michigan, it occupied the luxury end of the market, taking on established American names such as Packard and Cadillac. Lincoln also had its sights set on European luxury marques, including Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce.
The L Series continued production well after Ford took control of Lincoln. It eventually gave way to the better-known Model K in 1930. Like many expensive cars of the period, the L Series was sold as a rolling chassis, leaving customers to have the body fitted by one of several American coachbuilders.
This 1924 example spent most of its original life as a four-door sedan. Brunn & Company, a coachbuilder with a strong connection to Lincoln, originally supplied its body. For 1924, the L Series received several updates, including standard nickel-plated headlights, a taller radiator with vertical fins, and wider, more smoothly shaped fenders.
Owning one wasn't cheap. The factory package—which included the chassis, drivetrain, cowl, dashboard, and fenders—started at $3,600. That's roughly $70,000 in 2026 money. Add a complete body and the price could climb to $6,400, equivalent to nearly $124,000 today.
Judging by its original specifications, this was probably a stunning luxury sedan when it was new. At some point, however, someone decided it would make a rather unusual truck. Exactly when or why the conversion happened isn't known, although our host says it took place "years ago." Most of the original Brunn body is now gone, with only the front passenger compartment remaining.
The transformation also gave the Lincoln a much more utilitarian character. Inside, many of the touches that would have made the car luxurious for its time have disappeared. The door panels are basic wood, while the front bench seat is covered in material that looks remarkably similar to burlap.
Despite that, the cabin has survived surprisingly well. That's particularly impressive considering how much wood is involved. The original Lincoln gauges are still in place, as is the cigarette lighter, which would have been considered a premium convenience when this car was new.
Under the hood, things are a little more original. The L Series still carries its factory engine, and unlike the later Model K, which used a V12, the earlier Lincoln relied on a V8. The company used a 359-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) V8 through 1927 before switching to a 385-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) engine for 1928 through 1930. Both engines were rated at 90 horsepower. Since this is a 1924 car, it has the smaller V8.
It's obviously not a factory-original configuration, but that's part of what makes this Lincoln so fascinating. In a way, it's a glimpse at what a Lincoln pickup might have looked like decades before the company ever decided to build one.
That official pickup finally arrived in the late 2000s with the Blackwood. Essentially a more upscale take on the Ford F-150, the Lincoln Blackwood struggled to find buyers. Production lasted only a year, and the remaining trucks were sold through 2002.
Lincoln tried again with the Mark LT for the 2006 through 2008 model years. Once again based on the F-150, the Mark LT found a larger audience than the Blackwood, selling 10,000 examples during its first year and even outselling the Cadillac Escalade EXT. A second-generation Mark LT was later offered in Mexico from 2010 through 2014.
That makes this strange 1924 Lincoln even more intriguing. Long before Lincoln officially put a pickup badge on an F-150-based truck, somebody had already taken one of its luxury cars and created their own version.