1940 Ford Deluxe coupe build

I posted a before picture of my 1940 Ford coupe project in my introduction post, but I will repost here and show recent progress. It should be a great cruiser with independent front suspension, real leafs, sway bars front and rear, mild sbc, and a T56 six speed transmission. The color is grey-blue, a little darker than it shows in pictures. I used Dupont chroma premier - single stage. I'm in the middle of color sanding now. The last picture is what the car looked like when I bought it about five years ago (I started working on it about 1 1/2 years ago). The car had been a project in the early 80's and had been sitting in a garage for almost 30 years. The wheels and tires are only used during construction.

Nice job, looks like you have a 40 with 39 rear fenders, I have a 39 with 40 fenders. Keep us up with your progress. Mine has been with me since 1968, I would like to get it going again but more then likely it will end up as someone’s barn find someday.

Richard

Very tasteful, solidly constructed car. Love the blue. It looks like one you can jump in and go anywhere.:):)

Don

One of MY & many others favorite body style.

Great job so far.

Ratty 46

Cool build, love the car porn shots, I`ve got a three duece setup I`ve got to finish it up....:toocool:

nice job you have done. keep the updates coming.

I like the Blue too, looks very old car, Neat !!!

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Very tasteful, solidly constructed car. Love the blue. It looks like one you can jump in and go anywhere.:):)

Don

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I have had computer problems lately so I haven't been putting any update photos. I am moving along on my '40' coupe. I put my passenger side front fender on yesterday and will put drivers side on today. I have a new set of American torq thrust wheels (17" in rear, 15" in front) that I still need to put on. Got the car all wired, air conditioning installed, idles pretty nicely (still needs fine tuning after it's run a little bit), and I still need to finish installing windows in doors and paint hood. If I live to be 100, I'll get pretty good at this hot rod thing ((I'm 63 now)! Pretty excited that it should be on the street in the next few weeks.

Cool dirtcop, glad to see the progress, its a shame we did`nt start these things when we were 20, its looking good.

Great progress! Coupe is coming along quite well! Glad you got back on to update us!

well, i love it but the 40 ford deluxe coupe is my all time favorite car.to me there aint a better lookin car on the planet.well done.

well, i love it but the 40 ford deluxe coupe is my all time favorite car.to me there aint a better lookin car on the planet.well done.i knew a feller back in 67-68 in mcallen texas that had a black one with a 327 in it that was bad azz!it would lift the front wheels and was nothin but gone boaz!!i seen it many times take the big block cars with no prolem.mater of fact i never seen it loose on the street.if that feller is still with us hes on one of these dang forums somewhere.where are you steve?

Great Looking 40 Ford my friend. Love that Blue!

Anxious to see how she rides as I am doing the same set up on my 46 Ford Tudor. Thanks for he updates.
Don Jr.

I love the blue!

I've got a 1939 Ford Deluxe Coupe that I had intentions of building to resell but couldn't make up my mind on color.

I've got buddies with an orange '40, a red 40, and Silver, purple, blue, cream and black '40's.

I'm sure that whatever color I paint it, a prospective buyer will likely want something different.

So anyway... it's for sale as is...in primer...paint it the color of your choice!

Nice coupe....... One of my 3 favorites, 32 Ford 5 window, 40 Ford coupe and 55 Chevy. Looks like it should be a pleasure to drive. Ditto on the blue.....:D

Looks great. I've always wanted a '40. Yours is perfect.

Tom

This thread led me to finally try and figure out what '39 and '40 standard and deluxes look like. Does a '39 deluxe have the same nose as a '40 standard? I've never tried to dive into this, but now I'm curious. :cool:

no, their quite different.the lights,grill,and hood are different.

I always thought the 38 deluxe became the 39 standard ???

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Originally Posted by 35fordcoupe

This thread led me to finally try and figure out what '39 and '40 standard and deluxes look like. Does a '39 deluxe have the same nose as a '40 standard? I've never tried to dive into this, but now I'm curious. :cool:

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the standard had one tail lite and one wiper i thought .. the deluxe had both

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Originally Posted by HOSS429

the standard had one tail lite and one wiper i thought .. the deluxe had both

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It did in 1940, I once owned a 40 Standard.

Could someone post a few pictures and point out the differences? I did a little google searching, but you never know what someone changed out on their "standard" or "deluxe"

For specifics of 39 vs 40, here are several differences

39 was the first year for hydraulic brakes
39 had windshield wipers on top of the glass, 40s are below
40 was the first year for sealed beam headlights, 40 headlight rings have parking lights on top
39 bumpers have an inset stripe, 40s are smooth
fenders and running boards are different
hoods are different
hood trim is different, the ford emblem is at the front on a 39 and at the back on a 40
inside door handles are different color
39 had a banjo steering wheel, 40 had a two spoke
39 has round gauges, 40 has rectangular
grilles are different
39 was last year for floor shift, 40 was first year for column shift
39 had swing out winshield hinged at the top, 40 did not
39 was last year for wood grain on dash (I think)

mike in tucson

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Originally Posted by 35fordcoupe

Could someone post a few pictures and point out the differences? I did a little google searching, but you never know what someone changed out on their "standard" or "deluxe"

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Hey Robert,
I had a 39 Ford Deluxe tudor sedan a long time ago. I believe the grille & hood would interchange with the 40 Ford Standard, but not the 40 Ford Deluxe. Here are a few things I've found showing the differences....

39 Ford Standard http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/1939ford-project.htm

39 Ford Deluxe http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1939-ford-deluxe.htm

40 Ford Standard http://www.carnut.com/iown/40ford.html

40 Ford Deluxe http://www.oldride.com/classic_cars/283556.html

thanks guys that helps. some of it is similar to what I thought, but I've never sat down and studied them. The '39 standard and deluxe and more different than I thought. I've probably always assumed a '39 standard was a '38. Standard and deluxe makes much less difference for a 35/36. I believe my car is a standard with one horn, one tail light, trunk, etc. but over all there's little difference.

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Originally Posted by robot

For specifics of 39 vs 40, here are several differences

39 was the first year for hydraulic brakes
39 had windshield wipers on top of the glass, 40s are below
40 was the first year for sealed beam headlights, 40 headlight rings have parking lights on top
39 bumpers have an inset stripe, 40s are smooth
fenders and running boards are different
hoods are different
hood trim is different, the ford emblem is at the front on a 39 and at the back on a 40
inside door handles are different color
39 had a banjo steering wheel, 40 had a two spoke
39 has round gauges, 40 has rectangular
grilles are different
39 was last year for floor shift, 40 was first year for column shift
39 had swing out winshield hinged at the top, 40 did not
39 was last year for wood grain on dash (I think)

mike in tucson

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'39 last year for rumble seat (convertible coupe)
'39 last year for convertible sedan
'39 doesn't have vent window on front dooors (wind wing, however available as a/m addition), '40 does.
'39 has tear drop tail light, '40 has chevron shape.
'39 side trim is smooth and narrower than '40 which is ribbed and wider.
Lots of little things too, but this should be enough for a good visual.

Well I finally took my '40' coupe out for it's first drive. As always I now have a list of things to get right before the next drive; adjust clutch, rebleed brakes (4 wheel disc so takes a little tweaking), play with carburetors (idled fine until first drive, now not so much), and a couple other things. Car rode beautifully, six speed trans is going to be great, and lots of looks by other drivers. Fun drive, but pretty stressful. Hood still needs to be painted.
I just bought a '53' International R110 pickup that hasn't run in 20 years. Should be a nice little project and hopefully functional shop truck.

congrats on the first drive! glad you were able to make it out yesterday in honor of my birthday :cool:. The best I did was move the car out of the garage to work on some things then 5 minutes later it started hailing! :eek:

Kool looking rod there dude.

That is SOOOOOOOO kewl.

I dig the 6 speed action too. Not enough three pedal cars on the road!!!

REGS

looks great, good work!

Great build love the color, 40's bring back such fun memories for me had a lot of 40 ford models and toys when i was small left a lasting impression on me!

Hi, 40 looks wonderful,excellent I have being looking for a colour for my 37 project and i think i have just found it,any more details?

nice car, very well done. i like it.

Awesome car and great build! I have always loved the look of a 40 without a hood. I may not put mine back on once I get it put back together. Well, not for a few weeks any way. LOL