Saving a '40 Coupe, and moving beyond a bad start

Finally an update (after waiting for exhaust from reds I gave up (maybe I was "exhausted" from the wait!)) and got a kit from Waldrons.
I knew I was going to have some "fixin" to do since their kit is for a stock '40 with a stock engine. I have an 8ba in my 40 with tube shocks and a sway bar in the rear...

 

Nice work! Looks like your chassis is stout and built to drive! I like your text in the pictures.

 

Sam, it looks like we have a very similar front end setup... Chassis Eng. sway bar with an 8ba... how on earth did you get the bottom radiator hoses around the sway bay when routing them from the radiator to the pumps?

 

Truth be told I have contact between the hoses and the sway bar. I imagine that is why it is no longer offered by Bob Drake..... My plan is to keep an eye on the hoses and replace them every 2 or 3 years. It was not that difficult to install the hoses as they were soft an pliable. I also raised the radiator an inch for other clearance reasons which helped with the clearance of the hoses a little. For clarification my engine is a 59 L with 8BA truck water pumps (modified) and an 8BA distributor arraignment.

I looked through my files for a picture of the install but could not find one. This I am sure is not what you wanted to hear but sometimes you have to make some compromises . The good news is that the swaybar is well worth the compromise as the 40 handles great in the curves with minimal sway.

 

Thanks! Again...! It's what I wanted to hear! I was beginning to wonder if I had done something wrong, or maybe even if I had an earlier frame with a radiator placement further back than a '40.
I think I'll take the radiator to the local radiator shop and see if they can put tight 90 degree tubes facing up on the bottom...
Everything I've read said the sway bars are worth it!
BTW... I had a ride in Walt Dupont's 8ba powered, 4 deuce, t5 '40 coupe this summer, that thing can corner like a go-cart!!!

 

Great! Keep those wrenches moving! Spring is not that far away and that coupe needs to be on the road!

 

body work under way!
Bare metal, then Eastwood Epoxy primer pics, then a few pics of the rebuilding the bottom edge of the deck lid and then fitted to the car....

 

Wow! That trunk bottom edge is a really complicated piece to repair! Good work!

 

You've really accomplished a lot..it's really looking good.
This build really addresses the current thread here on the HAMB.."What makes your Hot Rod your own"

 

Glad to see an update on this project. Looking great.

 

update: Well I found another set of front fenders about 30 minutes away ( I discovered I had originally bought PU fenders), they're not bad, but they had the usual cracks, and running board area damage. The rear fenders I found pretty cheap at Hershey last fall, not bad, not good; they had the usual damage too, cracked wheel openings, rust-out around the bottom, dents in the back, running board damage etc.. Replaced the bottom edge of the deck lid inside and out. The front radiator pans needed fixing etc. etc. ( I think I have earlier running boards, the front holes don't match up...)
I put it all together for the first time, what a pain in the arse! ..especially alone, unless you got 4 ft long arms, and 4 of 'em to boot. I would bet when a body man of the era saw a '40 come in he charged double!
Well here are some pics, the plan is to smooth out the last little things, filler primer, sand, filler primer, sand, seal, color (folkstone gray). Hey it's never going to be an low mileage original or a show winner... it will always be a tramp... but I think it's damn kewl so far !

About the apron/fender brace picture: it dipped really low and I was afraid if I were to use a rod bend, the rod would have a sharp bend in it that might flex at the bend, so I used a 3/16 plate with a 3/16" thick 3/4" wide strap welded across the top.

 

Thanks for the update Pat. Looks like you have not just been sitting on the couch all winter. The coupe is looking great. Did you say you used the pickup fenders our replaced them? I am curious how you mounted the pickup fenders if you used them since the bolt pattern is different.

 

They were sold to me waaay back at the start as car fenders, I put them in the attic until I was ready, when I held them up to the car , there was NO WAY they were going to fit, went online and figured it out, listed them here and on C.L. and sold them it took all of about 4 hours, the guy I sold the pu fenders to had a buddy who had a pair of car fenders, and those are what are on my car... funny how stuff happens sometimes

 

Paint day! or perhaps better stated as disappointment day... orange peel run amok! Played the reducer roulette game, had some fast, turned out to be too fast... Started out swell and then my garage got hot, small garage + heat from my compressor, heat from outside... THIS IS MAINE it's not supposed to get to 70 degrees yet! So I got some more sanding to do, then shoot another coat, and hope it lays down this time.

Hey paint guys! What grade paper would be best to knock down the orange peel and be ready for the next coat... 800? 1500?

And why did Ford call this color folkestone gray!

 

been there ,drove to west vir . for 40 pu ,took me 6 years to pay off a cab that i had to replace lower 8" inner and outer ,entire floor , junked out box,fenders,hood ,motor ,every thing ! i still have the fish hook in my mouth

 

If your going to paint again I'd say start with 320-400 knock it down and finish with 600 maybe ... I have been told any finer than 600 and you lose a lot of tooth for the paint to bond...I'm just an amateur though

 

Man you are a true home builder do it all guy! A little rub and scrub and you will back in business.

 

Great job, I take my hat off to you.

 

WOW YOU HAVE COME A LONG WAY

 

Nice job Pat!

 

Odd paint... this is the rear of my '40 out in the sun it looks gray, when you look past the car to the other parts inside the garage they look tan!
Thanks Paul! ...in my garage under the fluorescent lighting this color looks very similar to the '38 Plymouth's factory color...

 

Folkstone is like Cloud Mist never looks the same twice. I like how it has come along. Did I miss it, but how did you do the checker firewall and keep the pattern straight? did you paint white first then mask off with perfect squares cut from something and then paint black and then clear everything?

 

Hat off to you Pat. I had a similar story, 40 sedan, bought on ebay, asked all the right questions about rain gutters etc, was told it was all great. When the car arrived at my door, in England, I could see through the roof above what was left of the gutters, and that was the start of it. In the end I couldn't face it, and sold it for a better 40 that was allready in the UK. Your car looks great, a credit to your skills.

 

There are whole threads dedicated to this on the HAMB, this was my contribution to one of them; some like 'em, some hate 'em.

"Well I've done three so far all using the same "technique" (lol), Painted the firewall white then covered the entire firewall with blue 2" tape butted side to side vertically, and over that used green 3/4" tape horizontally spaced 2" top edge to top edge, and then carefully cut through the blue tape using the top of the green tap as the guide, pulled out every other tape square (about 2 hours to tape)then sprayed it black...easy! (did a driveshaft too that no one ever saw, duh) ... '38 Plymouth, '31 AV8 (in Avatar), '40 coupe "

 

That technique must have been a little easier to do on the Plymouth..... Came out great on both cars! I gave some thought to doing the checkerboard on my coupe but decided it was going to be a difficult project and nixed the idea. Thanks for the pictures on how to do it Pat.

 

Man I miss that car. :-(. And I'm one person who did see that driveshaft! Lol

 

Me too Paul, I go back through the build pics once in a while... Funny how guys get attached to cars, past and present. 1938 Plymouth: The beginning, the middle and the end... but that's enough about that ! The MOST important thing is no one was hurt

 

Just went through the whole thread. Way to stay in the fight!

 

assembly time!

 

Looking good! This can really be the fun part of the build as all of these sub assemblies you have been working over these many months go on for the final time. Have fun and keep the posts coming.