Duncan's (sort of) project - 1940 Ford

[Duncan]

After a very long search, I finally found my art-deco era car I was looking for. 

 

I had a few candidates, but always favored the 1940 Ford Coupe.  I pulled the trigger on this one and hope to have it home from Arizona next week.

 

It's super clean top to bottom, and even though it's thoroughly updated, it's got minimal and tastefully done mods.   It still looks like a mostly original '40.

 

 

 

 

I'm plannng to personalize it bit to my taste, but it's not too much of a project, really!  I think it's going to be a great car, and I can FINALLY stop combing the ads for 2-3 hours every day!   

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by Duncan

[KELMO]

That looks really sharp! I like it.

[datsunfreak]

Going back to steelies or keeping the torq-thrusts? 

[Duncan]

I like the torque thrusts, (They're very 60's-70's) and I like the steelies, too.  If you recall, I had Minilites, and a set of wide whites for the old 1200 sedan.  I think doing both is the way to go, and I can change it up occasionally...

 

When I get the car home, I can pull off a wheel and check the pcd and offset.  What's on their now fits great with no tire interference at all, so I want to duplicate that fit with the steelies.  I'll get more pics when it gets here, but the car has dark maroon interior, and I'm thinking of painting the steelies to match the interior.  With a beauty ring and a small cap, there won't be a whole lot of maroon exposed, so I'm hoping they look good..

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Duncan

[Lockleaf]

I really like the interior matched steelie with caps and rings idea.  I haven't really considered creating that kind of accent with steelies, but there is now a high likelihood that I will be stealing that idea.

[Duncan]

Well, you're not stealing it from me!  That has been going on for years with the fat-fendered rods. 

 

I remember Datrod had some tan painted steelies on his red wagon, and they looked great..

 

 

[datsunfreak]

17 hours ago, Duncan said:

the car has dark maroon interior, and I'm thinking of painting the steelies to match the interior.  With a beauty ring and a small cap, there won't be a whole lot of maroon exposed

 

 

That would look killer. 😁👍

[Duncan]

This is what I was thinking.  The second one down is painted dark maroon with trim ring and a cap..

 

Not necessarily with the flipper cap, but similar.  I'm liking the grey wheel next to it as well...

 

https://thewheelsmith.net/wheel-catalog/smoothie-wheels

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Duncan

[mrbigtanker]

Get the car already fucker.lol

[Duncan]

It's here, fucker..

 

Just unloaded, and the neighbors were gawking.

 

[datsunfreak]

9 hours ago, Duncan said:

Just unloaded, and the neighbors were gawking.

 

[Duncan]

Actually, a few of my neighbors are car guys, but can't indulge for one reason or another. Kids in college, p-whipped, etc, etc..  

 

Believe it or not, there is an older couple that moved in a few years ago, and then a noticed a younger guy was there.  Turns out their son plays in the band "Korn" and they weren't working during the pandemic. They travel so much, that he doesn't even have his own place.  He's there so seldom that I just noticed him due to the pandemic..

 

   

Edited July 30, 2021 by Duncan

[Lockleaf]

Hahahahaha.  That is pretty amazing Duncan.  

 

You didn't mention any concerns, so I'm assuming the car was pretty much exactly as you expected it to be, also meaning you are still happy about the deal you made?

[Duncan]

8 hours ago, Lockleaf said:

You didn't mention any concerns, so I'm assuming the car was pretty much exactly as you expected it to be, also meaning you are still happy about the deal you made?

 

So far, the more I dig into it, the more I like the car.  I knew it had some spare parts with it that were in the trunk, so I pulled those out, and there are probably $1k worth of parts in there.  There's new bumper guards, new tail light lenses, 1 new door handle, new door striker plates, the old door latch mechanisms. (the new ones were already on the car)  In addition to that, there a lot of assorted brackets and stuff I'm not quite sure what they are for, but the majority of it is from Bob Drake Ford parts.

 

I got under the car to see if it had a oil filter with a p/n, and I noticed it has adjustable front coilovers.  I found the adjustment wrenches in a plastic bag in the parts box.  The instruction sheet was with them and sure enough, they were from QA1.  That was a very nice surprise, and completely unexpected. The QA1 adjustables are about a $600 option with most IFS kits.

 

I also noticed the motor has aluminum heads.  I have no idea what they are, but I was not disappointed to say the least.  

 

Anyway, I have quite a bit of exploring to do.  I have no idea where the fusebox is, but I haven't really looked under the dash yet 🙂 There's also a knob on the dash that I haven't got a clue what it does 🙂

 

In my defense, I didn't really have a lot of time with it today, and it was a parade of neighbors stopping by to check it out.  They are all well-meaning, but I didn't get to play around with the car much..

 

And the biggest surprise: The freaking clock on the glove box door works!!  

 

I'll get some pics of some of this stuff here soon.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Duncan

[Duncan]

Wow, I used Hagerty Insurance with my wagon, and the price was pretty good.  Hagerty quoted me just shy of $600 per year for the amount I valued the '40 at.  

 

I wanted to get a couple of quotes, and AAA quoted me $213.00 a year on the '40 at the same value as I wanted with Hagerty.  They move slower, and I won't get an approval until later next week, but I was pretty surprised at that rate.  I was paying about $200 annually on the Sunny, and I think I had that car valued around $10k at the time.

 

It does pay to shop around..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Duncan

[KELMO]

Did I mention I am a wee bit jealous right now?

 

Dig the snot out of that thing.

[Duncan]

4 hours ago, KELMO said:

Did I mention I am a wee bit jealous right now?

 

Dig the snot out of that thing.

 

Thanks Kelly.  It's a bucket list car for me. 

 

I've always wanted something from this era and, and with old age, health problems, etc, etc. It was a "now or never" type of thing.

 

I have it registered and have the new plates, and it's killing me not being able to drive it while waiting for insurance. 

 

 

 

[Duncan]

Just some various photos i took for the insurance company..

 

350 small block Chevy.  Hard to spot in the pic, but it has Ford logos on the valve covers.  I thought that was kinda funny..

 

The car doesn't look it, but it's a fairly heavy car.  It moves pretty well, so I'm thinking with the slight lumpy cam, aluminum heads, intake, carb, etc I'd say it's probably around 300hp or so. Just a guess, of course..

 

 

Dash is unmolested.  There is an aftermarket gauge panel and matching clock in the glovebox, but the dash is uncut.  It is a Deluxe Coupe (vs a standard Coupe) so it clock and radio were installed at the factory.  It does have A/C, but it is a low profile unit mounted back from the dash a bit.  It blows cold. Right onto my knees 🙂 

 

 

The seat is a dark maroon done 60's pleated style.  The door panels and kick panels are done 90's tweed style that doesn't match the seat.  I'm not digging the tweed panels too much at all really.  Too red, and hot rods in the 90's had the tweed stuff when that was all the rage.  Didn't like it much then, like it less now.  The seat and door panels appear lighter than they are due to my camera, but I still don't like the reddish tweed..

 

 

The rear area behind the seats has the tweed, too.  I'm headed to the fabric store as soon as I get insurance to get some 1/8" foam and see if they have the matching maroon fabric for the seats.  I can recover all the panels (except the door panels) myself easily enough.  I'm going to have an upholsterer put some pleats in the door panels to match the seats.  

 

I would actually buy a walking foot sewing machine and learn how to do this myself, but it won't pay for itself.  The same thing goes for a tig welder.  I can tig weld pretty well, but I wouldn't use it enough to make the investment worth while..  I don't even really use my mig anymore as is..

 

 

[datsunfreak]

Other than my brain can't comprehend the radiator hose going inside the radiator shroud, I think it's AWESOME! 😁👍

[Duncan]

It is a little different, and I have a shot of that from the driver's side I'll upload this evening.  It does pass through the shroud, but I'm sure it made specifically for this application.

 

 

It has a mechanical fan, and I'm about 99% sure this setup is specific to this car with a sbc...

 

 

The area between the front grill and radiator of a '40 Ford is usually open.  This has the stainless piece on top, and also on the bottom of the grill.  This car came from Arizona (also "Hot as Balls") and has a/c so I imagine this helps quite a bit.  I had two electronic fan controllers die on me in the wags, so I was happy to see the mechanical fan on this car.  I drove it for about two hours here the other day taking care of DMV stuff, and it was stop and go constantly in high 90's temps, and it was hovering around 180-185 on the temp gauge.   It may be a little overkill for SoCal, but I like it, and the a/c is very usable.  (Shoots right at my balls, so it's heavenly)

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by Duncan

[datsunfreak]

12 hours ago, Duncan said:

This has the stainless piece on top, and also on the bottom of the grill.  This car came from Arizona (also "Hot as Balls") and has a/c so I imagine this helps quite a bit.  I had two electronic fan controllers die on me in the wags, so I was happy to see the mechanical fan on this car.  I drove it for about two hours here the other day taking care of DMV stuff, and it was stop and go constantly in high 90's temps, and it was hovering around 180-185 on the temp gauge.  

 

I'm betting that massive aluminum radiator is doing a lot of the heavy lifting too.  😁

[Duncan]

I DO like the maroon/burgundy seat in the Coupe, but for some weird reason, the door panels, kick panels, carpet, etc are red, and not the maroon/burgundy.  Kinda bugs the shit out of me.. In addition, all the other panels are tweed (90's Coddington/Foose style) and the seat is 60's pleated style.  I like the pleated MUCH better.

 

Anyway, I only found one company that makes a kit for the 1940 Coupe and it's the pre-molded type and it's cheap in price and the quality is suspect so I though "what the hell" and did a little experiment.

 

 

Bought these two items for under $20 and I have a funky floor mat that's got to go so why not...

 

 

I vacuumed the shit out of it, and used a still brush to break all the fibers and dirt loose.  Then I applied a liberal amount of the Turtle Wax carpet cleaner, then brushed it in really well with the supplied brush.  Didn't get a photo of it, but after the stiff brush treatment, i wiped it with some clean towels which picked up the loose dirt I just dug up with the brush.

 

 

I placed the damp mat in the sun, and it dried in about ten minutes.  I left it for 20 more just to make sure it was dry.  It's HOT today, so I moved the mat into the garage and let it cool off for another 10-15 minutes and then hit the first coat of the dye.  I used a light coat (per instruction) and let it dry which literally took 5 minutes.

 

 

I ended up giving it three coats to fully cover the red.  If the red wasn't so bright, two would have probably done it.  I was very surprised it turned out as nice as it did.  Compared to the original one, the black has just a slight crunchy feel to it, but I'm still impressed how well this turned out.  I think it's probably take 6 to 8 cans to do the entire car, which is not too bad, really.  The carpet was done very nicely by an upholsterer, and NOT a kit.  I don't think anyone would notice it's a dye job..

 

 

 

[Duncan]

I also found this company Oregon that is a professional carpet dyeing supplier.  They offer supplies to the pro industry and I can get the materials from them for (it looks like) around $50.

 

I would need some tools and equipment (along with a helper) but my friend in San Diego has an old carpet cleaning machine that has the water extractor, so this might be viable as well.  I'll post their video, and I found it pretty interesting.  Check it out if you're interested.. Even though they are doing a room, it fully applies to Auto carpet, as well..

 

 

[datsunfreak]

18 hours ago, Duncan said:

I ended up giving it three coats to fully cover the red.  If the red wasn't so bright, two would have probably done it.  I was very surprised it turned out as nice as it did.  Compared to the original one, the black has just a slight crunchy feel to it, but I'm still impressed how well this turned out. 

 

I've used this, as well as the SEM stuff, and it always ends up a little crunchy feeling. But it does work well, and seems to hold up long term. 👍

[Duncan]

1 hour ago, datsunfreak said:

 

I've used this, as well as the SEM stuff, and it always ends up a little crunchy feeling. But it does work well, and seems to hold up long term. 👍

 

Thanks for the feedback.  There are some Youtubers using RIT dye, but some of the commenters say it doesn't hold up, and some even said their shoes were getting the dye on them.  I always have floor mats, so the shoes thing doesn't really apply.   I'm gonna look into it a bit more, but will probably stick with the Dupli-color.  I just wish they sold a version of it that would go into a real spray gun..

 

Someone also mentioned they used a not-too-stiff nylon bristle brush and went over the carpet between coats.  Combing the carpet helped disribute the dye and alleviated some of the crunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Duncan