Projects Tony Miller's Custom 40 Ford Convertible

Another winner, Tony. Always thinking a little out of the box.

 

Somebody commented that casual observers may not notice the subtle changes, or won't know what has been done to it. Seeing this image, I don't think it will often be mistaken for stock.

 

Any more progress on this car?

 

Looking awsome Tony.

 

It's progressing slowly, as funds permit. The decklid opening has been moved rearward by 4", again (like the lengthened doors) to match the factory dimensions and enlarge the cockpit. The upper corners of the deck lid have been rounded. Completing the sheet metal between the cockpit and deck lid will be next, and will complete the roughing in of all the body proportions.

When that's done, Don will be returning to constructing the window frames and building the structure for the top. There probably won't be much to see of these elements until September.

 

Man, you know, I was just looking at the early pics of the section and the work on the hood for the hundreth time, and suddenly had the thought, "how would this look applied to a chopped '40 PU?" Made me feel all funny in my pants. Sure looks good. This is going to be a stunning car when its done.

 

Thanks!

 

Looking good!

 

What I really like about this project is the fact you are going to simulate a 40 Merc grill. That will really make it a stand out for sure. Nice job and good vision. I like where this one is going. Would look killer with a 41 Ford dash in it instead of the usual suspects.

 

Don , Tony , you guys are building an iconic kustom in every sense of the word , brilliant lines , I'm blown away !!!.

keep up the good work

 

I absolutely agree -- the '41 dash is gorgeous in its simplicity. This is an "if it ain't broke" issue, though. I have a decent '40 dash, I like '40 dashes, it's one of the things I can be satisfied with as it is.

Maybe in another 25 years, when the car needs freshening, that'd be the time to do the 41 dash.

Thanks!

 

I understand. It was just a wild random thought that just popped out. Carry on, your killing it.

 

simplistic perfection.

 

you've totally eliminated all the "bad" of a 40 convertible.. the addition of the quarter windows is the key.. and the section is pretty keen as well

 

I agree; the quarter windows were the basis for the entire project. When we put the pieces together in Photoshop, the postwar-style top needed to be chopped to match the height of the stock '40 top, and the lowered top made the body look tubby. So...

The overall height reduction is pretty startling, as you may have noticed from the comparison with the stock '40 higher on this page.

 

This is a very interesting build being tackled by true artist. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see more.

 

For the few who are following this project closely:

I had earlier posted this Photochop done by Rikster a few years ago, when we first began the project:



At the time that Rik did this illustration, I was still dithering about color. My original vision for the car was that it should be a dark metallic charcoal, or gunmetal, but in Photoshop form that just didn't look very exciting. I thought that a car with this much work invested should wear a more "look-at-me" color, and the metallic burnt orange seemed like a good choice (the blue of the earlier side view was never in contention; it's just the color that the original photo happened to be).

In the time since that was done, I keep coming back to my original notion for its color scheme, and a few other details have changed: the choice of wheels, which were originally going to be painted steelies, and the size & shape of the grille opening.

I recently asked Rik to do a revision to the car, to update the wheels, grille, and color. I'm tickled with his result:



Rik struggled a bit with the color, as it's quite difficult to "fake" metallic/pearlescent paint on an existing photo, and I appreciate his effort.

I saw a car at the '40 Day car show in Anaheim last month, and it is very close to the color that I really want. So, in order to be clear in expressing my intentions: THIS color.



None of this mental masturbation really makes any difference to the progress of the project, of course, but it keeps me involved and out of trouble.

 

I dont care what color you paint it ,its still going to be a stunner!

 

Love this car.

 

The last version is really fine. Looks as though Edsel and his design team had done a concept vehicle to evaluate something smaller than the Continental.
Top work as always.

 

Thank you! That's exactly what I'm trying to achieve (With a trace of hot rod influence, of course).

 

Looks great Tony. Love the wheel choice.

I think it deserves a very rich color
What about something like this?



Or

 

How many times have we heard (and perhaps even said) that the lines of a '40 Ford are perfect as Ford stamped them? But..... this car is truly breaking that "myth" wide open. A '40 is a mighty purdy thing but with the right vision and talent changes do make it pop.

Looking forward to updates.

 

I can't wait to see this car when done.

 

I like what I see. Stance and proportions are killer on this '40, but would we expect anything less from Mr. Miller's design/taste? I love how drastically better a slightly channeled '40 looks over stock. Nailed it. As for color I agree with Roadsterpu, I would look into the rich browns, golds, etc. A creamy root-beer would be just the ticket, or an Amber Ale.

-Josh

 

That's a spectacular brown, Paul. The gold will never happen; I'm not a gold guy.

I've been wrestling with the color thing for several years now. On the one hand, my taste is pretty conservative, and I'm happy with quiet colors like the ones on my two Victorias. On the other, I know that the car would command more attention with a more vivid color like the brown you showed, or candy something -- but I have learned not to do stuff to my cars that make me uncomfortable driving them.

There have been some other quieter colors that interest me. The Edsel Ford speedster that was recently re-restored is a great color, very similar to the gunmetal grey on the '39 above but with a greenish cast to it:



Unfortunately the color doesn't photograph at all well -- you can't see the green in the picture above until you notice the upholstery color. Today I saw a late model Toyota with a very similar color, but the green tint was more noticeable. Perhaps there's hope.

And finally, of course, it could be several years before the car is painted, so there is ample opportunity for me to change my mind many times.

 

At least the green hue would compliment your other cars.

My intention was to find a color that highlighted the proportions.

I like the idea of a green tint.

 

That car needs a '40 Merc front bumper. I've got one saved for a '40 Ford coupe I'm gonna build some day that will also have Mercury influences.

 

Excellent!!!!!