Hot Rod Potential: 1940 Ford De Luxe Coupe
Ford introduced its De Luxe marque in 1938 in response to General Motors’ plethora of varying luxury levels, and Chrysler’s Dodge, De Soto, Plymouth, and Chrysler. This expanded the Ford nameplates to include Ford, De Luxe Ford, Mercury, Lincoln-Zephyr, and the range-topping Lincoln, with Continental coming out the following year in 1939. This ritzy Ford coupe can be found here on eBay, with a current bid of $9,500.
The seller is honest, and that’s commendable. They mention that it needs everything, and they’re not lying. The body and frame are relatively rust-free, save a couple of small holes and a healthy even coat of patina…but it will need tires, interior, glass, electrics, suspension, and powertrain, and that’s basically the whole car. Inside, just about the only thing that remains in good shape is the dashboard. Complete with gauges and a passenger’s side clock, it’s a magnificent exercise in art deco car design, and whatever the buyer ends up doing to the car as a whole, I recommend keeping the dashboard as it is. Maybe spruce it up a little. It’s beautiful.
Underneath, I mentioned that the body and frame are relatively rust-free. And they are, but it’s worth it to mention that there is a large hole in the floor not done by rust, rather it seems the previous owner wanted to hot-rod it and cut the floor to make room for a new transmission. That huge single front leaf spring looks like it might need to be replaced, too. Heck, just get an all-new suspension setup. Good opportunity for air ride.
This car needs everything. I mean look at that, even the tire looks original. The benefit of this car’s incomplete persona is that it’s basically a shell of metal for you to do with as you please. Concours-level factory cruiser? Go for it. Gasser? Just lift the front end, put in the largest V-8 you can get your hands on and a two-speed Powerglide. Hot rod? Some nice purple paint with a gold flake and a Chevy LSA would do the trick. You can make this anything you want it to be, and that can’t be said for most cars with a more defined character…for example, the Chevrolet Corvette or Jeep Wrangler. Something like a stripped Ford De Luxe leaves the driver free to express themselves through their own vehicular art, and I think the world would be a better place if more cars provided that freedom.
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Comments
I had the opportinity 5 years ago to buy a 39′.
It was an old dirt racer, front-end was already modified and it had a 427…
Garage was filled with parts to restore it, pretty everything was there but the car was a dirt racer…
It was the brother’s hot rod project that never happen, he passed away before even beginning it. He had the paper and asked 5k$
Should I bought it?
Prolly.
Lots of work, lots of money ahead for new owner, but, it is a ’40 Ford and they are still wanted for their unique design.
You start out with an original steel body in decent condition. Much better than a plastic kit car. All parts needed are available to build this car into whatever you want. I don’t care for the airbag setup but that’s just my personal view. You will end up with a very large investment by the time its a done show and go car, but consider the hours of knuckle scraping, loving time you’ll have in it. The pride of showing it will make it all worth it.
God bless America
I recall the days when these were plentiful clapped out junkers that still ran for $50. Late 50’s and early 60’s.
Purple paint and LSA? (wretch) It’s a ’40 Ford coupe! If you want a Lexus, buy one! Either restore it or fix it up with some traditional class.
It has a nice dashboard that’s it.
Black paint and a flathead.
A 40 Ford coupe gasser? That’s heresy!
The picture is of my former ’40 Deluxe tudor that I bought in 1994 for $ 9500.00. I regretfully sold it in 2017 for $8500.00. other than the 15″ radials, complete (all windows) tinted glass and a 12 volt alternator it remained as stock as the day it rolled off the assembly line. Prices that people get for cars needing a ton of work baffle me. My ’40 was a joy to drive, it wasnt any kind of speed demon but could cruise on the interstate and keep up with traffic, Boy oh Boy do I miss ole “Blackie”.
Hopefully this picture will post without too much pixelation. .
I built a 40 Coupe years ago, sold it of course like a dummy, it was a Standard opera coupe (rare). I got a lot of new parts for it from Denny Carpenter and Bob Drake, and other places, that was back when money was cheap 1975-80. Someone will have to spend some money on this one but 40 coupes are desirable cars.
It’s a bit sad and feel my age, nobody, including the author mentioned a “rum runner”. While these had a big following in drag racing, like the Willy’s, I can’t remember seeing a stock one like this. How it escaped becoming one is a miracle in itself, but the 1940 Ford coupe was the car of choice for moonshiners, including, the late Junior Johnson, who admitted, he got his start running moonshine in N. Carolina in a ’40 Ford coupe. Usually the motor was replaced with a Lincoln or Mercury unit, and suspension stiffened, with radios in their infancy, it outclassed most police cars, and they usually “got away”. Since the very last thing the world needs, is another drag racer, I hope it gets restored with 25 cases of fake moonshine in the back!
Looks like a pretty good starting point, but is it worth throwing 40k+++ at it these days, time will tell.