Featured Classified: ’40 Ford ‘Vert

I’ve long maintained that the best driving early Fords were made between 1936 and 1940. They ride fine, they handle great, and they stop predictably. Add a little power to the flathead and you’ve got everything you need for a daily driver that is pretty reliable and really easy to fix when shit does do what it does – break.

By contrast, the shoebox Ford doesn’t steer or stop nearly as well and later 50’s Fords don’t really handle at all. So, in my book… the sweet spot is that four or five years that ended the 1940’s.

This morning I was thinking about all of this when “32csr” posted an add in the classifieds for a 1940 Deluxe Convertible. It’s a survivor off the west coast and it ticks every damned box. The beauty of an untouched car is that no one has screwed it up yet and you get the honors all to yourself. Simply take that near perfect early Ford engineering and do your best not to confuse things while you:

1. Get it a stance. I’m feeling reversed springs and a 4″ dropped axle up front that is accentuated with a rubber rake. Maybe even go crazy with 750s out back.
2. Replace all the rubber on the car, the glass, and get the shiny stuff as shiny as you can without taking it anywhere.
3. Fresh flathead with two 97’s.
4. A t-5 would fit the theme nicely and get ya on the highway a little easier.
5. Full interior and top to get ya comfortable.

And that’s it… Of course, that’s probably an easy $20k worth of improvements if you go full tilt and the car is already listed at damn near $30k to start, but this old car thing was never meant to be fiscally responsible, right?

Full details here.