We went today to pick up my dad's new project, a '40 Ford coupe. It was owned by an older guy in southern ohio, who bought it in 1989. The car hasn't moved since it was pushed into the pole barn that we dragged it out of today. At one time there were a couple dozen cars on the property, but times have gotten hard and the dairy farm wasn't making enough money so it came time to start selling off some of the cars. I've included some pictures of a few of the other cars, but I'm pretty sure they aren't for sale, but intended to be projects for retirement. The coupe is basically complete. The only things we haven't found are the headlight buckets and the front bumper. The car is very solid, especially for this part of the country. The only rust is a bit on the passenger side of the cowl, a palm sized spot in the trunk floor, and the rear valence under the trunk lid. The front fenders and hood are spotless, but the grill is somehow trashed. The best part is the drivetrain. It's all there and bone stock. The engine was out of the car when the previous owner bought it. The stock block is supposedly bored .030 over and is still wrapped in plastic from the long since forgotten machine shop. It came with seven pistons still wrapped in cosmoline, the last piston has somehow dissappeared. There are also new valves, new bearings, new retainers, new water pumps, etc. etc. Previous owner also included a "crate motor". It's a complete 59AB, from fan to transmission, carb to oil pan. The motor spins if you turn the fan, and supposedly was pulled from a running '40 sedan about ten years ago. The plans for the car haven't been made yet. If I had my way it would be hopped up early 50's style, but since it's dad's car it might end up staying pretty stock. For now it's on the back burner until mom's mustang is done. Hope you guys enjoy. He found out about the car after the owner's brother passed on it because he said it needed too much work. Since his brother passed on it, and because he had $2500 in it, the owner let it go for $3500. Yeah, the deals are still out there. The new pistons are in the box on top the radiator. Not sure how old those Bob Drake headlight rings are. Dad's garage. Under the cover is his '53 F-100. It's got a 429/4-spd/9" setup with a mustang II frontend. The car on the rotisserie is mom's 'stang. Some of the other cars. The Nomad, '57 Chevy, and the Model A are not for sale.
Hey before you get too far along. Take some detailed pictures of the original Ford accessory Houdaille front tubular airplane shock conversion on the front of that puppy! Stick a ruler or something in there for scale and get shots of the upper and lower mounts. COme in handy for the many guys who have never seen them before and want tube shocks without cutting.
I had heard that they were an option, along with that heater setup, but I didn't know they were rare enough that some people had never seen them. Good to know! They'll be staying for sure. Here are some better pictures of them. Consider that the wheels are 16", so the brackets place the shock eye about 10" above the framerail. And here's a shot of the NOS quality front fenders, and the somehow trashed original grill.
That grill looks like a South American repro from the 1960s. Even if it wasn't all bent up, it still wouldn't fit right. My '40 Convertible has the same tube shock conversion. Looks like you have a great start on a cool project.
You will have many months of pleasure figureing out what to do next. Great project and looks like you did good on all the spare parts.
The Jalopy Journal
