Back many many moons ago, when I was about 15 years old, a man that lived across the street from me brought a 1940 Ford deluxe coupe home one day, I can still clearly remember him driving that Hot Rod down the street. The car was white with typical era flames, Big olds with 6 carbs sticking out there for everyone to see, No Hood, Bigs and littles Just about as perfect as you could ever think a mid 50's Hot Rod should be. That car infected me with the Car Virus... Over my lifetime I have had, built, owned, driven and sold so many customs, Hot Rods and just about ANY kind of street driven vehicle you could think of. But I was never able to accumulate a 1940 coupe. Loved them with all my heart, but they were ALWAYS just that little bit beyond my reach. Everytime I would think I would be able to find and buy one, it would either fade away or I would be a day late and usually that proverbial dollar short. That is about 50 years of car life. always that little bit outside the envelope. I finally gave up and decided my last car would be a 1953 Chevrolet BelAir 2 dr Hardtop, built close to the Moonglow, but updated mechanicals. I put the beginning of the build on here about 3 years ago, got Roasted because it was not "traditional.". (In the end picture I sold this car and used the money on the '40) Anyway, about 9 months ago I ran across an ad in the local CL concerning a man that had a 1940 Deluxe coupe that he was trying to sell for $15,000. No drivetrain but good body. I called him and went to look at it. it had been a very nice very top line Street Rod back about early late 80's, early 90's. the owner at that time evidently decided to update it and took it apart No engine, no trans, no seats, no interior except headliner, some dorky 15" low profile very aggressive tires. He had installed a Mustang 2 front suspension, and a 9" posi diff. boxed the entire frame but removed every crossmember, except the main rear axle/spring support. suspension was installed nicely and he had already installed a 4" sunken firewall (Bob Drake assembly) with new floor set to fit the firewall. absolutely NO rust. While looking at the '40 there were 2- '47 chevy sedan deliveries sitting beside it, He mentioned that he would gladly trade the 40 to have his delivery "assembled"... Of course THAT made me instantly perk up, we made a deal and I picked up the delivery, brought it home to my shop, took me a total of 5 months ( most of that time was spent waiting for him to supply certain parts.) ...but I drove it back to him in January and picked up MY 40 deluxe coupe. Most of the drivetrain is OT and would get me roasted here again , but I wanted to make it into a Hot Rod that looked like the car that got me started 55 years ago. This is what it became. I like to call it a survivor in its own right, I have a stock Hood that came with it and also have a hood that is louvered, but I do not think it will get to wear either one of them, with a hood it is just another Black 40, without it it is a HOT ROD. I MAY at some time in the future paint it again but for now, it is alive with all of its little chips and scratches, spots of black primer, and hazy spots of paint. Pretty much everything needed was in a pile beside the car when I picked it up, and it was ALL Drake stuff. Crown jewel was a new complete '40 deluxe Grille. Seeing as how I live within 5 miles of Bob Drakes warehouse and sales room everything else I needed was also bought there. most expensive was a set of new running boards, (Boy, he sure likes his stuff). New engine, New transmission, I had to build a a new tubular X member to replace what the original owner removed, but it is now as solid as it could ever get. Stays cool thanks to a BIG Walker radiator that came with it, some stainless panels to keep the air going in the right direction. So, I now have the ultimate Hot Rod that I have been after all my life, pretty near the end of the trail, wish I could have managed to get it done a lot of years ago, but I am happy it has finally happened. 20170609_101441_resized by twenty gallons posted Jul 18, 2017 at 1:59 PM
Glad you did it! Know just how you feel...Trade labor for a dream. When I had MY shop, I mentioned to a fellow shop owner that I would LOVE a '40 Merc coupe...like the gem in his large holding yard. He said, "That was my Dad's, he drove it for years, then when he passed, my Mom drove it 'til a coupla years ago...You have a name for Porsches, maybe we could make a deal..." He had a '62 356 Porsche Cabriolet that needed an engine. This was 1979, and I had the corner on 356 repair/service. I produced a fresh engine in 2 days, took it to his shop and installed it. Al pulled the '40 Merc Coupe over on his '60s Holmes wrecker, backed it in my shop where I wanted it! Car was complete, some rust in trunk floor, easy fix. Finally had my '40 Merc! Wish I had a pic...
I know how you feel. I waited for years to get the 40 of my own after seeing an older teen drive down my street in one when I was in Jr. High. Anyway it's OUR TURN !!! And I promise I won't roast you.
by the way, the firewall frame and underside of the body are all painted with POR 15 with a brush. no spray gun
My exerience with POR is it is great stuff however I think I remember that it had to be top coated as it is not UV stablized and can be affected by sunlight. Check with them, I just seem to remember that notice on the can, but that was quite some time ago (15-20 years). I did ues it on the frame of my '41 pickup and its "tuff stuff"
Friends that visited while it was in progress were amazed at the mirror finish and the fact that it was brush painted, absolutely zero brush strokes. The product itself is VERY tough. but you have to watch it for a bit as it has a tendency to "flow" pretty good and if not smoothed out as it sets up, it will sag or drip, especially off round tubing. This car is as close to late 50's appearance as I could make it. although MUCH better mechanically, it was built this time as it would have been built back when I was in High school. .....except it has some experience behind the actual finished (to this point) project. Thank you guys, for the encouragement, it has been a long time coming for me.
Neat 40, although my personal preference is with a hood, but that is what keeps stuff interesting. Nice job.
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