Projects Tony Miller's Custom 40 Ford Convertible

Congrats on the build! My pants are getting tight looking at it!


jerry

 

So happy for you guys!

 

very nice--I usually don't care for 40's with major body mods but your car is spot on !!!! Hope to see it in person some day.

 

This is just a design ramble, and has nothing to do with actual progress on the car.

Some years ago, I decided that prewar fat fendered cars were my favorite style era. I had a '36 3W for more than 10 years. I tried it both as a hot rod and as a taildragger, and although I liked its looks a lot, it wasn't quite a home run for me:



Looking beyond American cars in this style, Jim Hull's Chapron-bodied Delahaye convertible has seemed to me about as pretty a car as any I have seen:


...and although it was not my intention to copy the Delahaye, my '40 project has come to have a similar overall shape:

It's embarrassing to admit that these two pictures by Don, with the car in satin paint, photographed in an open area with flat lighting, just knock me out. I can't quit looking at them (since the car isn't here for me to look at, that is):

The project and my budget are taking a rest for a minute, but I'm sure looking forward to the next steps: side windows and top. Oboy!

 

I find it interesting that both pics of those Delahaye's that you like show them painted in very 'positive' colors (nothing subtle there)....

 

Hi Tony:
It was nice to have the chance to speak with you at the GNRS. Seeing your '40 in person was a treat. Bearing resemblance to any of the great Delahayes is a good thing! TEB

 

Steve, I don't understand what you mean by "positive colors". Are you suggesting that they're flashy, flamboyant? Could you elaborate, please?

 

I wouldn't call them 'flashy' or 'flamboyant', but the green car in particular is very 'positive', close to being a primary color. The blue car is somewhat less so, but it's still very much blue with little or no 'muddying' of the color with other colors. I love what you've done with your car, but think that a 'subtle' color will do more to hide what you've done than accent it. Just my opinion....

 

I understand you now. The two Delahayes are clean, non-metallic, 2-tone color schemes. I think that the coachbuilder clearly intended the 2-tone color breaks to accentuate the lines of the cars.

I don't intend to do any sort of 2-tone or graphics on the car, and I'm 90% sure that I will choose a metallic color. While I personally favor neutral or muted colors, I think this car deserves something more colorful. There are still several colors that I find interesting, and they're all over the map. Again, I'll probably decide right before I have to buy the paint.

 

Yes, your car is not suited to a two-tone scheme or any sort of graphics (graphics are hard to pull off even on the right car). Yes, it needs something colorful. Another way of saying 'positive' would be 'saturation', just like increasing the color saturation on photoshop. Metallic could be good, I'd just make sure that the color is dominant, not the metallic. Too much metallic can tend to wash the color out. The metallic should be an accent, not the focal point. Maybe even a small amount of pearl rather than metallic, although you would want to increase the saturation some as pearl tends to wash out the color sometimes even more so.

 

I really dig your direction and execution.

 

I know I have no say in this whatsoever, but I'd love to see it in a medium green fine metallic. Kind of a play on '40 firemist.

 

I'm not familiar with '40 Firemist. Can you describe it or, better yet, post a picture?

 

My mistake, I think it's actually called "cloud mist grey", not fire mist. Don't know where that came from.

 

Thanks. I am familiar with Cloud Mist Grey. It's one of the colors that I've considered, but I'm still not decided.

 

Anything you do to enhance the car with paint is not going to add to the car in my humble opinion Tony. Conversely, any bright or glamour color would instead detract from the subtlety of the coachwork and the balance of the overall car shape. So if it were mine I'd go with a deep non-metallic maroon, a Washington Blue or even a Folkstone Gray - something very subdued and stock-ish - perhaps even a stock '39-'40 FoMoCo color. The car is just sooooooo nice it would be a shame to ruin it with an unfortunate color choice now. I have faith in you. You'll do the right thing and make us all - those who have followed the build, that is - proud.

 

Hi Tony:
I have been looking at 1950s Porsche and Mercedes-Benz color charts. They have some great colors like Heron Grey. I think a flat subtle color is more attractive especially in the long run. To me bright metallics can be tiresome. Good luck on your decision process. TEB

 

The back story to my phantom convertible is that it is, first of all, a re-proportioned body design that could have been done by Ford in 1940. The channeled/sectioned body, the stretched wheelbase, and the (slightly chopped) postwar convertible top with quarter windows are all alternatives that Ford might have chosen to do in the original design.

On that imaginary platform, it's a mildly customized car: lowered, rubber rake with chrome wheels, shaved deck. The Merc-like grille, Studebaker taillights, and '39 side trim are all custom details that could have been done by the factory, but might also have been done by the car's owner. With the possible exception of its stance, nearly every detail of that customizing is precedented by other cars customized in the '50s.

So, the overall premise is an alternative '40 Ford convert, mildly customized in the '50s. In that '50s era, metallic colors were prevalent on the majority of customs and many factory cars, and it's also the era in which my own interest and involvement in cars grew up.

Choosing a metallic color for the car is first a matter of my personal preference, but it's also precedented by Ford's own paint colors. Edsel's speedster from 1934 (updated around 1940, I believe) is a metallic greenish-grey, and metallics started appearing as a factory option on Fords at least as early as 1940.

I'm confident that there are many non-metallic colors that would look great on the car. I just want to do it in a metallic color, and most likely will.

 

You might find this quarter window-ed convertible interesting.

 

Always the diplomat. Great answer, Tony. I appreciate well-thought-out builds and, with this line of thinking, your choice is better than mine. I was thinking '40s, you are building '50s. Great car!

 

I have seen that before, and it is interesting. I'm pretty sure it's a '39, with the shorter cockpit. I don't care for the overall shape of the top or the side window opening; we'll see if I can do any better.

Thanks to all who are interested in this thing. The comments and dialogue are fun for me.

 

Great well-thought out concept with an understanding and respect for history. Coupled with creativity and a fine sense of proportion and design this is resulting in a modern classic custom. Definitely needs a stunning and classy metallic color, but don't know if I could make a decision if I had to!

After following this thread I keep thinking; what if Ford had developed the first "true hardtop" in 1940 with a similarly proportioned car, scooping the Cadillac Coupe deVille and Buick Roadmaster Riviera by nine years...

 

Thanks! Rik Hoving has done a very nice photochop of a '40 Deluxe coupe with a hardtop window line. Maybe if Rik is reading this, he'll post that image.

 

That would be great, I love the look of your convertible so much, I think a hardtop version would be equally awesome.

 

Here it is. Rik says that this is an old Digital Restyle done from a low res photo for a HAMB "contest" several years ago. Note that it's sectioned about the same amount as my car, and has a window assembly like a '40 Merc. Looks great to me!

 

I thought this was the cats meow.

Even better if it had a 2" chop.

 

Tony, that comment made me think of a color that is available on the new Mustang - "Guard Metallic." Now, I have no idea what that color name means, but it is a very nice looking, surprisingly subtle color. It may be too modern.. or even complex.. for what you have in mind. But I do think with the brightwork on your car, it could look amazing. Still looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

Nice car the 40 Ford is one of my favorites especially the coupe. That's why it hurts me so much to see one have it's roof cut off. But I understand finding a true convert. to start with might be more costly. Congrats on the build.

 

YOUSE GUYS COULD FIX DA LEANIN TOWER OF PIZZA!!!

 

Yep, just add a bit more sausage on one side along with a few extra slices of pepperoni... maybe extra sauce; suddenly its standing tall and straight!! And ready to eat!