Vehicle Description
1940 Ford Deluxe
The clean styling of Ford's 1940 offerings was one factor that
drove sales to more than five hundred thousand units, a jump of
more than fifty percent over the previous year. Part of this
popularity could no doubt have been attributed to Eugene "Bob"
Gregorie's influence on the stylists who penned this design while
he was chief of Ford's design department, a post that he held from
1935 to 1943. It was a freshening up of a styling concept first
introduced in 1939 by the addition of a new front end design.
Sealed beam headlights were offered for the first time by the
automaker on the 1940 model. Aside from being a major safety
improvement, their design contributed considerably to the new
look.
For consignment, a 1940 Deluxe coupe hot rod if you will, and in
very tasteful form. The design was so wildly popular among hot
rodders, Ford actually sold the rights to the design in later years
so they could be reproduced in fiberglass. This car is all metal,
retains its beautiful bulbous design, running boards, and nice
chrome abounding. Built by our consignor from front to rear and top
to bottom with heat & AC, electronic fuel injection, and wait for
it....a modern 5.0 Liter Coyote crate engine....a breath of fresh
air here in our Hallowed Halls of Classic Auto Mall.
Exterior
All steel, bathed in very nice Kona Blue Metallic paint, adorned
with near perfect chrome and brite-work, we have a rolling work of
Art Deco art. Very little was left unturned on this
restoration/redux, as the lines are straight, gaps are really nice,
and steel is straight. The original lines have been retained
throughout the car and it looks just fab. The large teardrop
shaped, visored sealed beam 1939 Ford headlamp bezels flank a
horizontal ribbed curved V grille and tall beaked hood center. A
nice chromed spear works its way back on either side along the
beltline of the slightly curved sides. Black texture finished
running boards are down low and connect the curvy bulbous fenders
perfectly. At the gracefully curved rear of this car, we see 2 V
shaped Sergeant stripe like tail lights almost getting lost in the
deep field of dark blue paint but managing to hold their own.
Polished and gleaming American Racing Torque Thrust wheels in 17
and 18-inch format keep this rodder firmly grounded and are wrapped
in 225/45ZR17's and 275/40ZR18's respectively.
Interior
A swing of the door, and we shake hands with red custom leather
stitched tuck and roll and smooth panels playing together to make
up the door panels. Shiny door handles are within this field of red
leather and not a mark on them and we note the wood grain painted
sill surrounding the window opening. Slipping inside, late model
Nissan wide tuck and roll stitched and heavily bolstered leather
buckets are in the door panel matching red. These chairs are nice
and wide with neatly curved backs, so they offer up plenty of room.
A wood rimmed banjo style steering wheel sits atop a polished
adjustable column and fronts the dash, which is now covered in more
wood burl painted steel and highlighted in front of the driver by a
modern white face gauge pod, and LCD odometer and trip. In the
center of the dash is a chrome speaker grille with the Vintage AC
heat/AC control just below. Various knobs grace the dash and in
front of the passenger is the factory clock mounted within the
glovebox. Very nice black carpeting floods the floor, and a custom
console rains down from the dash holding the digital
AM/FM/USB/Bluetooth & backup camera equipped touch screen stereo,
power window toggles, and short-armed shifter with a leather boot
and knob topper, and a black topper. Wonderfully comfy and
ergonomically laid out for the most discriminating hot rod driver!
A shout out to the trunk which is also dressed up to the nines in
black carpeting and red leather side panels and has the battery
within its confines.
Drivetrain
A flip of the bulbous hood, and we are met with a shockingly
massive and extremely powerful power plant in its blue and black
glory. The mill in question is a 435hp 5.0 Liter Coyote V8 crate
engine and feeding this technological marvel is electronic fuel
injection, meanwhile on the back is a 4R70W 4-speed automatic
transmission. This pushes power rearward to a John's Industries
3.50 TracLoc equipped Ford 9" rear axle.
Undercarriage
Very clean and totally restored, no rust here with power disc
brakes both fore and aft providing the whoah factor for this Fatman
chassis. A like new Magnaflow dual exhaust system snakes its way
rearward through the structurally sound framework, and very nice
undercarriage of floor pans, toe kicks and rockers...all rust free.
The suspension consists of a Mustang II style front end with
coilovers and works with ladder bars and Ridetech coil overs in the
rear to provide the ride.
Drive-Ability
She fired right up with a low rumble for an idle, and off to the
test track where we made plenty of noise, experienced wonderful
acceleration, smooth shifting transmission, and good solid
handling. All functions were working fab at the time of my test
drive and when behind the wheel it's easy to forget you aren't in a
modern car.
Take the very popular for the time design, spice it up with a near
flawless Kona Blue Metallic paint job and pepper on some chrome on
the exterior, stitch a bunch of red leather to create a great comfy
interior, updated gauges for the dash, and we have a real winner.
And do not forget the fuel injected 5.0 Coyote engine and
modern-day heat and air conditioning. Add in this being a hand
built by our consignor hot rod and we have a real winner in our
Hallowed Halls!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
