Technical 1940 Ford SEDAN DELIVERY Info: Good, Bad, & Ugly

If you had the chance to pick up a 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery, a rust free California one what are the things to look at in detail? Never drove one, but know it is a rolling blind spot behind you. Sure would be a great Swap Meet vendor vehicle. This a project, would take years to get rolling, but all my projects are dreams, and I think I'd like looking at a '40 Sedan Delivery. You can mention value, sales prices on complete vehicles and the rare spendy parts. Thanks! Bob

 

The 1940/41 Ford sedan delivery rear fenders and rear bumper brackets are unique to that vehicle as are the tail light stands. As far as driving a "blind spot"use stock hinge mount mirrors and stay in front of the traffic! Price: $35k-$85k.....

 

Basically every body part is special except the front sheet metal and the dashboard. All the taillight stuff, rear door stuff, seats, etc.

 

They share rear fenders with the woodies so if you need a fender they are extreamly hard to find and expensive. HRP

 

I drove one for years. The trick I learned is to pay as much attention to your inside rear view mirror as the windshield and stay ahead of traffic all the time and plan ahead. The hinge mount door mirrors are priceless. Never get spontainious in a lane change. Check, check and double check. As stated rear fenders are impossible to find specially the right side and if you need one you'll also be needing a lot more.
The Wizzard

 

My high school car was a sedan delivery. I learned never to drive on roads where changing lanes is frequently (such as dragging main street on a Friday night)!

 

I have owned (10) 1940/41 sedan deliveries and have enjoyed them throughout the years. The are hard to see out of but you will soon learn with mirrors or a backup camera they are easy to drive. I have purchased them as projects and done cars with prices ranging from $5K to $65K which is the high end for a sedan delivery in general. The rear fenders are not the same as a Woodie as a Woodie has a gas tank hole and different mounting flanges. They are unique to the delivery and run about $400 each if you can find them. Drake sells the taillight mounts but not the rear bumper but you can use a passenger car also. The unique part is the rear door which can run $3-4K if you find one. Go ahead and bite the bullet they make neat Hot Rods.

 

The front doors are the same a 4 door sedans. When driving, you need to keep track of the car behind you and assume it moved to your blind spot if a different car shows up in the rear view mirror. The empty cargo bay magnifies every squeek & rattle like an echo chamber. Just had mine out yesterday.

 

Thanks for all the info so far! I never knew the taillights were off the fenders. Love that flamed black one, must feel like block sanding a large egg. Bob

 

Wish I could help but I have a 40 Panel cause they're cooler ! Seriously what's to ask of others ? They are cool, rare, hard if not impossible to find parts for, not practical, we all want one. Am I missing anything ?

 

That forward-sloping B-pillar on the yellow one really gives it some attitude!

 

Bob Not for you, they also need wiring!

 

I have always wanted to build one. The biggest thing I would do I make the drip rail go all the way around the top like a 60s chevy pick up. Call me crazy but those panels are UGLY with the way the doors look and the drip rail.

 

Yes, and it looks chopped & sectioned, the SD version of my favorite '40 Coupe, the yellow one in the movie, Hollywood High. Bob

Thanks, that is a detail I didn't notice until you mentioned it, guess this one has rounded door corners. Bob

 

If you have a 41 the the front hood trim and side trim is unique to the delivery. My brother used a 40 standard hood on his .they are a great swap meet vehicle you sure can fit a lot of stuff in the back . They can be a challenge changing lanes on the highway but with good mirrors and a passenger that's awake it ain't bad. Price wise I don't know what they're going for brother bought two of them 20 some years ago .if you can get one for a price you like go for it they are nice to look at.

 

photo insert by Lou Wells

Hello,

The 40 sedan delivery has its own character. It looks chopped, but it isn’t, it looks like a sedan with the rear windows filled in, but it isn’t. It could also be a station wagon with no windows, so, what does it do? It delivers. It delivers tons of fun, despite the dreaded, right hand, blind spot. A stock one is slow, while one with an SBC is fast. The hollow back sounds like a wind chamber and tunnel all in one. But it stores a bunch of stuff.

The stock seats are ok for a teenager, but for longer drives by an older couple, much better seats are preferable. The standard 40 Sedan Delivery custom “air conditioning” vent works fine if you are a kid, but older folks and wives love A/C.

The smooth sides and top make this design just what it is, a hybrid of sorts, a van, a modified wagon, and a delivery. The smooth sides without a drip rail does not allow mounting of any type of surf racks on top. For the modern very short lightweight surfboard, it could be used on top of some racks just in the shorter, door section of the roof. The rails make it easy to clamp on a rack mount. But, surfboards on top just creates a whistling wind problem, so today, we would just put those 6 foot boards inside, keeping the streamlined, smooth design working at its best.

These sedan deliveries are 77 years old, so like people, upkeep is difficult and the parts are somewhat worn out. Hidden ailments are always around when you least expect it. There are some that are pristine and well preserved, but they have all led a long and productive life. Some, not so productive. Yearly checkups are always necessary, with monthly visits to a specialist, when stumped for who knows…what the H#&&?.

Jnaki

Wait, are we talking people or a 40 Ford Sedan Delivery? Look at that cool chopped yellow sedan delivery, windows like the Nomad would make this one so cool that we would get the first one built. It already has the angled support in place. And despite those overly large rims, it does have "the look."

If we could not have that chopped yellow 40 as posted by Lou Wells, OK, we would like this one from San Diego, back in the day. Lee is gone now, but these photos still ring true for one of the best: a custom, 40 Ford Sedan Delivery… a tribute to him.


There is nothing like a 40 Ford nose. Lee did his own bodywork and shot the chrome yellow lacquer paint. A three inch dropped 40 axle gets the front down. Hubs were adapted for the Buick Skylark wires.
The stock 40 engine room makes even a SBC motor look big, especially with the A/C pump attached. The 327 uses a 350 cam, 650 Holley, and a set of Lee’s own headers. It is otherwise stock for reliability.
The louvered real belly pan is very nice. Lee routed the exhaust like an XKE Jag, although the rear end is a Mustang.
Niceties for casual cruising include
air conditioning, a working heater, tilt steering adapted to a 40 column, and a Mustang shifter hooked up to a 350 turbo transmission.
Yards of neatly pleated tan naugahyde and carpeting were stitched up by Jim Davies of San Diego. Inside the rear section is a tasteful place for murals. The lettering, striping and special effects like eyeballs inside the cowl vent were applied by Fisk. Lee also installed tinted glass.

Lee Bright, San Diego Prowlers

 

I remember the Lee Bright 40 well, in fact I still have the magazine it was in. Was this one of your pieces Jnaki?

 

I beg to dfer with you Danny, the sedan delivery rear fender is NOT the same as woodie. Totally mount differant. Been there done that

 

Just sold this 1, it went to Idaho.

 

Gas tank is under the driver seat and hard to find if you want to run original tank there (i still have mine in storage). The filler neck reveal is slightly different between the 40 and 41. Both use a 40 car frame so i used a 40 car gas tank between rear frame rails when i put mine together. Chrome "feathers" on the front of the 41 are rare and the 41 hood is slightly different to accommodate fastening the feathers. 41 sedan-coupe chrome strips along the side are formed the same as 41 and can be used to make 41 sedan delivery door or hood chrome if necessary. Running boards for 40 and 41 are same as 40 car. Blind spots?........Hell yea! My traveling buddies have millions of stories about my close calls. Get some convex mirrors and learn how to use them. Only dislike is the question i get like "is that used for funerals or something?". Most people now days dont fathom all the different things these were used for.......Mine was a Watkins Products delivery.

 

Hey OKD,
Yes, I met Lee at one of the Prowler's lakeside club picnics in San Diego. He was a big, bear of a nice guy. He was proud to show me his 28 sedan delivery and then later on, he called me to say he had a new build. I immediately drove as fast as I could to get down there for some photos.

He had a lot of influence down in that San Diego area, but when my wife and I were ready to buy this cool looking, yellow, 46 woody, the owner would not take a check from us. Lee called and said he could vouch for us, but at the time, out of city checks were a no-no for a lot of businesses. Out of city? It was double ID, credit cards, and only 35 minutes up the coast.

But, out of city is out of city. Lee was so mad at that seller. But, on the way home, my wife said it was a given that we were not supposed to buy that woody., something was telling us to hold off.

Jnaki
No, we did not buy that woody, but back in our neck of So Cal, we bought our 2nd 40 Ford Sedan Delivery that was much nicer and the price was right. Plus, my wife chose it and loved driving the sedan delivery.

 

That is a 1941 truck grille correct? I like the headlight treatment. Bob

 

great pix... love those deliveries...
had 2 '40's and a '39...
from the northeast... around here, if they are not in good shape the lower wood rots... body has a steel subfloor but an all wood inner structure... where the wood meets the steel the wood rots, can't see it with upholstery... but is a bear to repair... look close before you buy.... once the wood gets weak the deliveries come up for sale...

 

It's same as a 40 standard grille(car). In fact the original in my delivery was busted up badly so that one in the picture is a Drake repop.......I have seen original 41's with chrome and I have seen 41's with painted grille. To add to the confusion, Sedan Deliveries and Panels were(are) consider part of the ford Commercial vehicle line. And as most Ford enthusiast know, Ford updated factory production (new body design) on the cars while continuing Commercial production one additional year. Thats why my 41 SD looks nothing like the 41 car. Roughly speaking, the Sedan Delivery was built on car frame and used some car sheet-metal while the Panel was built on truck chassis and used truck sheet-metal.

 

Bob, originally the headlight would have had a 40 chrome ring with the commercial park light lens. At the time I was building this ride, I liked the looks of the 39 DeLuxe so chose to go that route. 40 HL ring would still fit by changing the bucket and guts..........

 

Regarding grilles...........Pic is straight from Drake website..............

 

Here is a correct 1941 Ford sedan delivery that the surfers have not altered yet/Note Ford Deluxe.....

 

'40 sedan delivery's with v60 engines had 4.44 rear end gears. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

This Information from EarlyFordV8.org...........

"According to the V-8 Album put out by the Early Ford V-8 Club there were 5531 sedan deliveries built in 1940 and 4846 sedan deliveries built in 1941. As you can see by the numbers there are probably not a lot of sedan deliveries left out there. The '40 came in both the standard and deluxe front end sheet-metal. The '41 used only the standard '40 front sheet-metal with special trim on the hood. There are some other minor differences between the 40 and 41. The main difference between the '40 and '41 is the outside stainless trim. The '40 used the typical grooved style 40 trim and the '41 uses a stainless that is a "stepped" style and has light grooves in it.
The '40 trim is reproduced and the '41 is not. The '41 also has the broad "feather" style trim on the front of the hood. That trim is unique to the '41 sedan delivery and the 41 pickup. It also has a unique hood release handle. The hood trim and the handle are not reproduced. The '40 hood trim and handle are reproduced. In addition the late '41 sedan deliveries could be purchased with the 6 cylinder motor. the front cross-member is deeper(by 1 inch) to accommodate the 6 cyl motor. There is also a difference in the upper hood latch and the upper grille brace to accommodate the 6. Both of these items are very difficult to find if they are missing."

 

I have the hinge pin mirrors on my 40 sedan....switched from a 4" mirror head to 5"....made a huge difference....also had a 54 Chevy sedan delivery so am used to not seeing well....allow plenty of time to change lanes...I would get in the lane I wanted & tried to not ever change.