"I see a lot of r&p steiring in the hot rod pages i look at. Is it easier to use r&p or to try to fab something up??"

I'd advise that you either rebuild what you have or swap in a frame clip or use one of the MII crossmember conversions that are available. Also, here's a post from one of the CHR contributors that offers up another idea of a crossmember conversion using your stock frame rails.......

" If you don't want to cut the front off the frame you could try takeing off the front suspension and putting in a Fiero front end. It has rack and pinion steering disc brakes and five bolt wheels. The front crossmember is easy to remove from the Fiero and wide enough to fit most frames with just a few brackets. I lowered a 40 Ford 6" with this setup."

More info on clips....
http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/ifs&rearend.htm

Here are several early cars with a description of the suspension systems used. Although there isn't necessarily any fabrication information, you can see what "the other guys" are using......
http://www.streetrodstuff.com/Studio/Coupes/

http://www.hotrodders.com/t11650.html

http://www.hotrodders.com/t18838.html

http://www.hotrodders.com/t30591.html

http://www.scottshotrods.com/IFSsystem.asp

http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/

If you do use your stock stuff and rebuild it, check the price of aftermarket discs first. You may find that you can do a whole front end from a donor car for less than buying just disc brakes for your otherwise stock '40.

If you decide to swap a clip and don't know how to proceed, e-mail me and I'll outline the whole thing for you. There is a lot of work to it, but if you pay attention and are proficient at welding or have someone who is and can help you, it is just a matter of following the steps.