Yes !!!!!!!!!! It has so much value to me it is hard to explain. Of all the cars there he would pick mine. I was so jazzed. In 2008 Bob came around and we talked a bit. He leaned over a quietly whispered in my ear That he could not find another car better than mine to give it to but if he did that Good Guys would kill him. He eventually found one he settled on.
Bob is doing well and still doing fantastic paintings. He just completed a painting of my roadster with me and my buddies Tom Burger and Norm Grabowski as passengers. Hotroddanny Bearden. I would like to post a picture of the painting but this site asks for the url of the picture and I don't know how to find that.
.......I agree with you, Rich. Like you, I love the car and you can't deny its' iconic status, but for me a traditional flame job on a Forty goes from Yellow in front, fading through Orange, to Red, with Electric Blue tips. Sorry, just my dumb-ass opinion.................Don.
It is guys like Bob McCoy and all that they have contributed to this addicition that makes me feel blessed to have grown up in San Diego in the time frame that I did. Thanks for bringing this thread forward.
Those of us who purchased that HRM when it came out were young and impressionable. We loved that car because it was something entirely new; sedans had been done occasionally but coupes were preferred. This car made sedans cool. Flames had been done, but Bob's raised the standard and created the classic look. Anyone on here who is complaining about the way the flames were done were not there then and should realize that they were state of the art at that time.
I was there and that forty was the start of my life long love of flames. I have never been able to bring myself to start flames in red to yellow. but believe that flame job carried the biggest impact of any car ever!! Jim
Bob is a great guy and a great artist, he always has the time to talk to you, years ago when I worked at antique automotive, I got to drive the 40 foot fifth wheel trailer that we used to take to the swappmeets, Carl Burnet comishen Bob Mccoy to do the art work on the trailer, it had a huge cartoon of Carl driving his hot rod, I wish I had a picture of it, the art work on it was really cool, one of bob's trade marks has been that any of the cars he draws have ford steelies with 40 caps on them , his drawings and paintings have always been of tradional hot rods and race cars, enven twenty years ago when these cars were not in stlye.
Yes, he was, he raced at Ascot when I was pretending to drive sprint cars, early '60s...what I remember best is the slow barrel roll he did in turn 3, fortunately he walked away, but always had the gas full on...easy to focus on the '40 and forget his sprint car career........
The reason the flames were not blended as well as today's, is that they would rub through layers of paint with chrome polish to get that "blend". So Sayeth the old magazines....Sooo there's some charm in it when you know that, I guess.
I can't add anything to the '40 sedan conversation, but I had the pleasure of meeting Bob at a local cruise back in 2005 when I was living in San Diego. He was driving this:
Man I had a wild ride to the Adelaide Hot rod show many years back in this thing" Busted that sweet grill" Got drunk with the Rebels till i threw up" Tough weekend
To say that Rich Venza wasn't there is ludicrous, I don't agree about the flames, but Rich was certainly there. His picture is on a cave somewhere. I love the flames on McCoys car.
Bobs 40 was the inspiration for my sedan, I thought of doing a clone, but figured it would pale in comparison to the original. His sedan is iconic.
Funny thing, I never cared for 40 Tudors nor flames but something about the McCoy's 40 just kept it in my mind all these years since I saw it in a magazine all those years ago. When I found myself the owner of a 40 I knew how I wanted to build it. Like Felix, didn't want to copy it but I was definately "inspired" by the McCoy car.
If there was ever a car meant to clone another, it is Felix's '40. Some fire and side cutouts, nerfs, and rear running board turndowns; top it off with some pinstriping on the rear...
We had to clone it! Dad bought the Hot Rod Magazine with Bob's '40 on the front the same year he bought his own '40 and he always wanted to have his car look like Bob's. We spoke with Bob a couple of times while building the car. When I ask Bob if he could remember the colors used for the Red, Orange, and Yellow his reply was "Hell that was close to 60 years ago. All I remember was it was the brightest Red, Orange and Yellows we could find. Truth be told I just asked Ray Cook to pinstripe it and when I got back it had flames on it" Turned out to be a pretty good thing in my book. Mom & Dad are making trip out to Cali from here in IA in his "40 and the plan is to look Bob up.
I'm glad someone brought this old thread back to the top..When I first saw it years ago,I did not know where my old photo was to scan..but I have since found it..This was painted by me in 1957..Thanks to the Bob McCoy 40...
Yeah Bob's car was in featured on the Car Craft October 1956, Hot Rod 1958 Annual and in Rodding & Re-Styling 1956, Custom Cars September 1957, and Hot Rod DeLuxe number 2 in 2000. I have a copy of all of them. Several were really handy getting a look at the pinstriping. Ours isn't an exact clone as dad really wanted red and black interior as opposed to Bob's white interior and of course hidden A/C, IFS and 75 feet of dynamat. (I told dad he had to drive it if we were gonna do it, I guess he's not as tough as he was in 1958 when he was 18 years old.)
Love those flames and paint. I feel just as you do about '40 sedans, and want to recognize Bob McCoy in my '40 build.