here are the first pics of my 40 as she sits right now. sorry for the pic quality due to my cramped dimly lit garage. Next weekend should be game on time. Will be getting her apart hopefully...
plans are for a ford 302 with 3 dueces hopefully and a 4 speed and 9 inch rear. would like black with a white/red tuck and roll interior. plant to keep all the stock trim and maybe 37 desoto style 5 rib bumpers. whitewalls of course. the front oines on the car are the ones i am using as they are brand new
just an update. afetr a few setbacks, and finally selling my 56 i just dropped over 3 grand on parts and the build should be in full swing in a couple of weeks after i get a few things in my garage fixed
since my last posting some things have changed but I am well on my way. i got the front frame cleaned up from the mess that it was. it had a gasser type front axle and dual leaf springs, i am going back with a transverse leaf spring and speedway 4 bars. the 302 i was going to use turned out to be junk. I have swiched plans for a SBC for the simple reasons of fitting and the low cost to rebuild one. but I am sure this won't be the only engine it ever has. I would like an early Cad/Olds, Nailhead or maybe a Y block later on down the road. Pics of progress tomorrow...
Great project - and that's one of my favorite cars of all time! A friend of mine in high school had a 40 coupe. Pretty much an original car and it was so SWEET! One day maybe I'll be lucky enough to get one....
just scored a 57 283 .060 over. the front end will be done as soon as speedway sends my other spring, ordered the wrong one and had to return it. as soon as i have the 283 in my hands i will post pics of it and the front end
Kinda curious to see how you're gonna mount the transverse spring to the axle with the 4-bar, 'cause the spring in a '40 mounts IN FRONT of the axle, usually on the forward extension of the wishbones. That's one reason you seldom see a 4-bar set-up in a '40. Good luck! DD
As promised here are pics of the speedway 4 bar kit. as you can see it mounts the spring in front just like it should. next order of business is to patch that hole in the frame someone cut, then mount the brakes and spindles as soon as my reamer comes in. still undecided whether to use the stock 40 steering box or a vega box...
I'm not sure that I can see anything in your photos that will preclude the 4-bar/spring hangar brackets from rotating about the single, verticle attach bolts as the suspension works up and down. I'd also have some concern about the angle of that panhard rod possibly inducing 'bump steer" with a normal cross-steer set-up. I've never seen THIS set-up before but of course, that doesn't mean "squat". Curious to hear your take on this. Again, good luck. DD
my take on this. it is installed according to speedways instructions and everything lined up by thier measurements. i will see how it works out. if it gives problems i may switch to mustang 2 later on down the road as this is not gonna be the final rendition of this car it will change as funds allow. this was just a way to utilize parts i already had
There is a fellow, who I believe, lives in Virginia who has this setup on his 40 coupe for a number of years. He reports no problems. If my memory is correct he goes by "T-Square Tom"
I truly believe in speedways products that was the main reason I chose to use this setup, plus i already had a stock 40 axle and spindles I could use. And I like the idea of having an i beam axle with transverse leaf spring. Just like Henry intended it So I can't forsee any problems. ANY 40 coupe is a good 40 coupe
The Jalopy Journal
