Vehicle Description
1940 Ford Coupe
VIN: 85611412
Highly regarded hot rod designer, Don Varner, purchased a rust free, original 1940 Coupe from Steve Lyken in Solvang, CA around 2000 and set to work creating this stunning car. From 2001-2004 Varner's team of experts turned an ordinary '40 Ford into a timeless, mildly customized hot rod.
No part of the car was left untouched. Varner's mods included a 2.75 inch chop, tapering the hood 2 inches to the front, the glass is all frameless, drip rails were removed while artfully leaving the coachlines of the rails on the body, hinges have been hid, door handles removed, trunk handles & bumpers removed, 1950s style nerf bars added front and rear, smoothie running boards, 1939 trim and 1939 headlights, custom taillights, custom made '39 grille, the front fenders radiused 2 inches, all the fender were flush fit with no welting, and exhaust tips fashioned to finish a full custom exhaust system. The body and paint were done by Marks Body Shop in Paso Robles. The 1940 was all metal finished with no bondo. Don hates bondo.
The lush green leather interior was created by upholstery artist and hot rod legend, Sid Chavers of Santa Clara, CA. The chassis and running gear were done by well-known racer and builder, Lem Tolliver.
A ZZ4 350ci crate motor was purchased from Chevy and was fitted with Edelbrock/Weber Pro-Flo Fuel Injection. Output is north of 355hp and 405 ft/lbs of torque. The transmission is a TH400 3-speed automatic that sends the power to a Ford 9 inch rear end. The custom exhaust is stainless steel.
The Coupe has independent front suspension, elliptical rear springs, gas shocks, rack and pinion steering, and Wilwood disc brakes at each corner.
Varner would keep the car until May of 2009 when we purchased the car for one of our clients. At this point the car had only 49 miles on it since the build. Before delivery to the new owner the suspension and chassis were fine tuned by Canepa, including narrowing the rear end and tubbing the body to make way for a new set of wider 1960s style ET wheels with BF Goodrich tires, as well as upgrading the steering box and shocks.
Once again back at Canepa the hot rod has been fully inspected and mechanically serviced. With less than 1,500 miles on the Coupe since its build it presents as a freshly finished car. Now concours detailed it is ready to win shows or draw admiration from those you blast by on the open road.
