The amazing thing about the old car market is that great cars pop up all the time. Just when you think all the solid, rust free cars in desirable body styles have evaporated, up pops a fantastic ride. Take this 1940 Ford Standard coupe for example, found for us by our Ford loving reader Michael. Fresh from storage since 1964, this gorgeous family heirloom is up for sale on craigslist in Laplace, Louisiana. While the body looks great, the real claim here is the 29,999 miles on the odometer. Do you think this jet black coupe the real deal?
As is usual for craigslist ads, I wish we had more detailed pictures and information. The pictures aren’t very detailed, and it appears the seller has just cleaned the car with a pressure washer. Wetting a car down makes it look like brand new, and is a common tactic used by sellers. Nobody expects a car this old that is advertised as one with original paint to have a perfect finish. Someone willing to drop this kind of cash wants to have as much information about the condition as possible before heading to the wilds of Louisiana.
Regardless, there seems to be no rust present, and all of the panels look to be in perfect shape. The reflections in the paint show nary a blemish. Even the areas between the body and the fenders appear free from rust. Pooling water on the running boards doesn’t make determining their condition any easier, but they do look to be in good shape as well.
The bumpers and trim look to be in amazing shape as well. This car was built in standard trim, which meant a lack of chrome plating in the grill and headlight trim. Other differences from a deluxe car included the installation of a single taillight and only one sun visor. Many believe these deletions actually enhanced the look of these cars.
This picture of the speedometer is the only glimpse we have of anything in the interior. I want to believe the claim that this car has just 29,999.6 miles on it. However, that is an odd place for someone to stop driving a car. Odometers do fail, but the condition of this car does make this number believable. A good look at the condition of the interior would help bolster the seller’s claims. We are told that there is rodent damage to the headliner and the door panels. However, the original rubber mats in the cockpit and the trunk are still in the car. Everything else is said to be original.
Under the hood is Ford’s famous Flathead V-8. The engine is said to turn free, and all of the linkages to the carburetor and shifter are moving freely. These were good motors, and they could be made much more powerful by adding aftermarket heads, headers, and multi carburetor manifolds. The Flathead was the engine that much of the aftermarket speed parts industry was built on. This in turn lead to stock and modified racing through AAA, NASCAR, and other early sanctioning bodies. Both the Flathead mill and the 1940 Ford coupe were also the weapons of choice for many bootleggers and moonshiners. While this marriage between fast cars and liquor was most prevalent in the South, this car was originally from the Boston area. There are no obvious signs of speed enhancing modifications, but one can dream. The people of Boston love their illegal booze as much as Southerners, don’t they?
Reading the ad, we can assume that the car doesn’t run. The gas tank and the air cleaner were lost on the move from Boston to Louisiana. Otherwise, the seller tells us that there is no rot anywhere in the car. If so, then this car could be worth the asking price. 1940 Ford Standard coupes are at the top of the list for Flathead Ford collectors and those of us who dream of tearing down a moss draped dirt road carrying a few hundred Mason jars filled with bootleg whiskey.
Even if the mileage claim doesn’t prove to be true, there is a lot of evidence that this car warrants a closer look. What do you think?
I think the real question is, for the street rod crowd, does this make more financical sense than buying a repro body for your project. Those who prefer to keep a car like this all original are sadly dying off. I would leave it as is, get it running and enjoy.
Amen Brother!
Great car – if indeed, it is as described.
What He said!
Nice!
I didn’t know that they came without Sargent stripe taillights.
I like those.
Why only a tail light on drivers side? Was it a cost saving reason to not have one on passenger side?
Second tail light was an option….
The Deluxe model came standard with both tail lights. This is the lower price model incorrectly referred to as a “Standard” model. In 1940 Ford no longer cataloged the lower price car as a Standard model, just called it a Ford V8 while identifying the higher priced and better optioned car as the Ford Deluxe.
What a Black beauty! This is the first time I recall seeing the front end of a ’40 Ford Standard Coupe.
Best time to sell a car, when its raining! Never ever buy a car in the rain!
@Joe Haska. Or a bike! I bought a Honda 350cc Four cylinder in the rain, at night, when I saw it in the daylight, dry, I nearly had a heart attack. Live and learn.
wetted down? ground is dry..car would have dried before the car did..
I don’t understand the seller making outlandish mileage claims on a 78 year old car that was already 24 years old when it went into storage. Even if the mileage is “real” and personally I highly doubt it, it doesn’t matter! Everything that’s deteriorated, corroded, hardened, dissolved or otherwise destroyed by time will need to be replaced, rebuilt, resurfaced or redone anyway, even if the car has a million and 29,999 miles or just 29,999 miles. Just one look at the engine compartment photo shows you how time and time alone wears and deteriorates things on the outside of all the “stuff” we see there, now imagine that it’s doing the same job inside the block, inside the transmission housing, the differential, the wheel bearings, steering box. On and on it goes. All the low mileage claim tells me is that the seller will say anything to effect a sale, and therefore I reasonably cannot believe anything he says that I cannot verify.
All that being said, he’s still going to get his asking price. May even go higher. These are getting rarer and for some folks money is not an object. Wish I was one of them. I’d love to have this one! …and start from the ground up…resto mod.
I have a 47 Plymouth bus.coupe with 36,000 orig miles. Was put under covers in 1970 in a garage and stayed there until I bought it in 2003.
So thou not often but still found
China-trailer you are correct when it come to gaskets seals door rubbers, and cloth covered wire. But metal wear parts such as cylinder walls or bearing races or transmission gears is another matter. If it is not moving it’s not wearing out so mileage still matters. Fact is if this is true milage than this engine is just nicely broken in and will likely only need to be rescaled. By the way a lot of the seals back then were made of leather and if still coated in geace or oil.than you might be surprised at how good they still are.
Well, not every 40 Ford coupe was a rum runner, like Hollywood would like us to believe (like every Charger is the General Lee). It was probably a very popular model. I doubt the mileage too. Years ago, 30K miles was kind of the tipping point for a used car, and I bet Pops yanked the cable before it became one. Cool find, regardless of the mileage. Shame, for what ever reason, this person can’t keep his dad’s pride and joy.
Why would anone consider this unrestored parts missing non running mouse eaten car for this red iculas price when you can buy a restored version with no excuses ( gas tank lost in transit –give me a break) for the mid 20s– just to get a worn out discolered speedometer head
Please provide a link to a restored 40 Ford coupe for “mid 20’s”. I want one. Or two…
Lets start with the positive. An allegedly original car is always more attractive to me. I don’t really want someone else’s modifications and reupholstery in tuck and roll.
That said, it appears the paint is faded on the right rear roof by the rear window. Could be the light reflecting on the water.
Given the condition of the engine compartment and its origination in Boston, unless it was never driven in the rain and snow……..well…………you know.
LaPlace is super humid.I mean like 98% with no rain most of the time in the summer……….Cajunland…. So the surface rust on the generator etc will only increase unless its stored in a humidity controlled vault.
And if you want that kind of money for a ’40 Standard you better lift up her skirt and show the goods! And put down the crack pipe.
If you’be ever driven one of these cars you probably know when equipped with original running gear the rear end howls like a coyote on a full moon night. This particular example seems to be well preserved from what we can see. Very seductive body style, that lures you in like a beautiful woman in her little black dress screaming come and get me, I’ll give you more pleasure than you can ever imagine. Some lucky devil will get this car and make all their dreams come true.
Why such negativity on such a great car? I recently restored a 65 Impala (70k miles) that was parked in 1976 inside a leaky dirt floor barn. The inside of that old 327 was near perfect! Same with the 4 speed. As far as the mileage, it doesn’t make a lot of difference at this point? Odometer is what it is. I don’t think seller rolled it back? Lol.
While I agree with Jeff that the seller is giving lots of signs of slathering lipstick on this somewhat of a pig, I will take issue with the notion that it’s some sort of amazing that cars like this are popping up on the market. As someone who’s been playing with and still owns three cars from this pre-war era I would make the point that there are more cars on the market like this today than there were 20-30 years ago. For those willing to apply some market demographics it’s a simple case that the number of people interested in this kind of car is a declining number, primarily because they are dying every day. Not trying to be maudlin, it’s just reality. For those that tend to over read statements like that I’m not claiming this slice of the car hobby is dead, just declining at a steady pace. This seller is a good example, he references it being dad’s car………implication by that and the desire to sell, he’s not all that interested in owning/using it. Pretty common today, which brings a bunch of hoarded cars to market along with the ones that have been pampered and used.
Without some very credible documentation, and plenty of it, the low mileage claim is not of much, if any, value. Those above who are skeptical are on solid ground. And as noted, perhaps a bit too negatively, just sitting, especially in an uncontrolled environment, will lead to deterioration. That shot of the speedo shows evidence of somewhat significant corrosion that might be a hint as to the rest of the vehicle. It’s going to take a fair bit of tinkering to get this thing serviceable. I would like to know, just for curiosity, the story behind why the serial number (presumably chassis) is painted on the firewall. On the one hand the seller hasn’t gone as crazy as some on his ask, and says obo, so once he gets sufficient feedback to convince himself that he is out of the market, a reasonable deal might be made. Even if a serious prospect wanted a “cleaned up barn find” ride to tool around in it’s going to take plenty of parts and even more labor to get there. On the other hand, in the past 3 months I’ve seen two cars that fit the “cleaned up barn find” driver format sell for almost half this ask. Just jump in and enjoy, probably with some steady “fiddling”. Nice jump in and enjoy ’40 coupes sell regularly now-a-days for mid 20s, and a few even less. Next year at this time they’ll be even lower by some amount I’m not willing to guess. I say that at some personal expense………………I own a ’40 coupe, and unlike some of my contemporaries, I also recognize reality.
Why no pictures of inside?for an $30000 car advertised with no pictures of inside kinda strange to me
You’ll never understand,so don’t bother asking again
To Uncle Bobs point, we are near a cross roads with collector cars. My passion are the cars coming off show room floor late 60’s early 70’s. Most people are passionate about cars of there childhood. Some day the market will be full of cars that no one wants.
Ford Flatmotor was the favorite power for Bank Robber Clyde Barrow, of Bonnie and clyde fame. He even wrote a letter to Henry ford singing the praises of the Ford V8! Soak that mill down with Marvel; pressurize the oil system, get some spark going and I bet she purrs like a kitten. My $.02? Look it over carefully, every square inch, and make an offer. Sorry cant say anything negative about this beauty.
Good Luck to the new owner!
I agree fresh oil fresh gas good battery and I’ll bet she fires right up. My 51 dodge had around a 25 year slumber the last 5 were outside. And all I did was as mentioned above. I gave it a little splash down the carb and it started like a car that was running all along. I got 40 lbs of oil pressure right away and it ran as smooth as can be. That engine is a 218 CID flat head 6. The truth is a lot of cars that are just sitting around even for year will with the right touches just fire up and run. I find that people are to quick to assume that the engine and drive line are no good. What parked a lot of these cars were hydrolic brake failure and the lack of will to fix them. JMHO.
I think that this is a gorgeous car! Look at the lines, look at how she stands! Very sexy! However I am all in on being comfortable! Redo the interior bring it up to date! Keep the body original as possible and for goodness sake don’t replace that beautiful engine with GM swap! Bump the Hp up but keep the mechanicals stock as possible! Maintain her and enjoy her!
Twice I read in this thread that you can buy a nice 40 coupe for mid 20’s. I just don’t think you can. I buy and sell 1940 Fords almost exclusively and receive leads from all over the country. This car wouldn’t draw a bid from me due to the asking price.
If you’re the Tim from Northern California who favors Cloud Mist Grey I’m familiar with you and the very nice cars you build. We’ve both participated in the “78th anniversary…..” thread on HAMB where you can see my coupe posted under the same screen name. I purchased it from a fellow HAMB’er last year at just a hair over mid $20k, well below 30. Maybe not up to the quality you build to, but a very presentable and usable mild hot rod. I could cite several other examples but I’m not sure it would be a good use of time.
Beautiful car
I had a 40 standard coupe that had the opera seats option, very rare, most were business coupes with the package tray. Yes I would like to see a pic of the interior on this one too.
The rear end is dazzling.
This car belonged to my Uncle who bought it around 1962 from one of his paper route customers. I moved it for them a number of times over the years and it is the real thing. The interior will need some love but it would function if you’re not to picky.
Hello, I’m the owner of this car that was my dads (the second owner of the car). There is only limited pictures of the car on Craigslist because real entusiests, would ask for more. The car was rinsed off of dust from the garage, and pictures were taken with a dry finish. The paint is original as well as the paint on the floors and trunk not shown. I have over 100 pictures of the vehicle inside and out including undercarriage. My dad put it in storage because he loved the car and had many at the time. The car still has the mass inspection sticker on the windshield that expired in 1965. If interested find me on Craigslist New orleans. Thank you
I am the owner of this car who listed it on Craigslist. The car is just what the ad states, and although the car was rinsed off before taking the pictures, I can assure everyone the paint was not wet when the pictures were taken and that is what the paint actually looks like. I also have close to 100 pictures of the interrior, floors, jambs, doors, ect., and will send them to whoever would like to see them. If someone was seriously interested in the car then I would expect them to ask questions and want to see more. Craigslist doesnt allow you to post 100 plus pictures in there ads. It seems the interrior is a big question on here so here is a couple photos for you. As stated in the ad, it did have some mice damage on the headliner (holes and urine) as well as the door panels (urine). The front seat also has grease stains on it. The opera seats are in this car as well. Pictures can be supplied at anyones request, of anything on the car. Looks like i cvan only do 1 photo in this reply, sorry
Thank you,
Steve Randall
The dash
The seat
The headliner
inspection sticker
Door panel
The ’40 coupe, both Standard and Deluxe, was THE BEST looking pre war vehicle Ford ever produced. (I’ve only seen one ’41 Ford, but I wasn’t overly impressed with the styling. The ’42 Ford front end looked more like that of a ’46 Mercury).
One question: why do people assume that super low mileage on a car that age is (A) a lie or (B) a disconnected or turned back odometer?
BTW, the first model car I ever built was a ’40 Ford coupe made by AMT.