Early Ford fans can name plenty of favorites – the revolutionary v8-equipped ’32, a hot rod icon even today; the ’37 with its dramatic grille restyle; the refined ’39 – the first year of hydraulic brakes; and the modernized ’40. For ’39 fans, here’s a Deluxe coupe, waiting for a saviour. It’s advertised on eBay as a parts or project car, with a price of $10,250. Decide whether to continue its hot rod journey, or bring it back to stock, then pick it up from McCool Junction, Nebraska. Thanks to T.J. for the great tip!
The ’39 Ford Deluxe was a new design harkening to the upscale Lincoln-Zephyr. Its sharp-nosed styling was penned by Bob Gregorie and inspired by Edsel Ford’s fondness for yachting. While both the Standard and the Deluxe employed a new alligator hood opening, the teardrop headlamps, bright trim around the windshields, and a new grille were reserved for Deluxe buyers. The ’39 represented the beginnings of Ford’s “upsell” strategy, aiming to draw new customers who might not be ready for a Lincoln. This car comes with a Chevy small block still wearing its hoist chain, backed by a Turbo-Hydramatic 350 transmission and a Mopar rear end. No word whether the engine runs, but I’m going to guess it doesn’t.
The interior is left up to the buyer’s imagination. The ’39 coupe originally seated three across on a single bench seat. The seller notes that he has the hood and cowl trim. This was the last year of the crank-out windshield; in 1940, Ford substituted vent windows to facilitate airflow. The Deluxe came with that banjo-style steering wheel that’s still present, a locking glove box, and sun visors. It was the last year (for a while, anyway) of a floor-mounted shifter; in 1940, all of Ford’s cars came equipped with a column-shift gear lever to maximize interior space.
The 1939 coupe body style is one of the most attractive ever produced. The trunk was capacious, but its best feature was its long, gentle curve, drawing the rear fenders back to that neat tail. Deluxe buyers received two tail lamps as a matter of course; Standard buyers could order one more to augment the single lamp on the driver’s side. A few dents can be found around this example’s body, but rust is minimal. What say you – bring it back to stock, or hunt up its hot rod history and steer that direction?
Cool find…a Ford 289 or 302 would be more fitting. Moonshine anyone?
The cool thing is, if you want to remove th Chevy and re-power with a Ford it is real easy. That motor has the old school adaptor bolted on the front. Mounts the Chevy to the orginal mounts for the flathead. No cutting, no welding. What could be more fitting? If you use a Ford newer than a flathead you will need to do some mods to make it fit.
I saw one of these many years ago with a 389 Pontiac and 3x2s. Now that was a runner for sure. Even had an extra tank.
Love these old Fords.
Agree or a flathead….the floor looks just like my 39 Coupe with the floor patch under the top wiper arm – Robert said it leaked all the time it was in Portland other than that he said it was a great trip out West and back to Texas – I was lucky he sold it to me. There’s a few of these around Texas for sale for half this in the same condition….West Coast stuff is always higher.
Boooo, hissss, I know what happened to “Happy Howard”?,,aw screw that, it’s me,^^^, dagnabit, and I’m not sure, these old eyes at 2am are a bit weak, but I think this is a business coupe, no? The bigger back end and flat floor, the regular coupe is shorter, it seems. Naturally I’m appalled that someone would do this to one of the most beautiful Fords ever, I guess I’ll never understand that. It needs a flattie V8, 3 deuces, Columbia O/D, I mean, there’s got to be 6 of these in the world today,,,is nothing sacred?
You’re, I say, your right!
All these Ford coupes were the same on the outside. The so called business coupes had a package tray behind the seat. In ’37 Ford had 2 coupe bodies, the longer being the “Club Coupe”.
Well, let’s be honest. $10,000 for someone else’s 1/4 complete project. No thank you. Just from looking at the postings on barnfinds, there’s a lot of good deals in the under $20,000 range.
Price out of sight but the car looks good. Used the ’39 gearbox in my ’32 but found them weak even with the Mercury flat head up front. Always kept a couple spares in the garage. This ’39 needs to be back on the road regardless of the powertrain.
These are beautiful cars. And the Banjo steering wheel is one of my all time favorite designs. Michelle hit the nail on the head writing about the design of the Fords and the Lincolns. Both are handsome cars. If it were me, I’d go Howards route, Flat head V8 3 speed trans and an overdrive.
Looking at it from the rear shot, I was imagining what Gene Winfield (RIP) or Chip Foose would do to it.
We lost Gene last year, one of very few who could take something imagined and turn it into art.
In his mid 90s and going strong until an aggressive cancer took him down and fast….just a few months.
Nice Ford. Love it in its current visual state, except for what’s under the hood. If it could be bought for half the asking it might be worth it. Sell off that thing in the engine bay and find any v-8 from Henry’s catalog, hopefully with a 4 spd attached. Maybe not as easy an install but easy enough. Couple of cheap mid 60’s Ford bucket seats, upgrade the brakes and suspension and let it rip. Yup, that’s what I’d do.
This seller definitely wants their piece of the pie, some checking around they are listed for sale in the $30k to $50+k range I did find one for $29k appears to be original except for being converted to 12V. I see this one as an expensive blank slate depending on how far you wanted to take it.
Can’t, I say, I can’t tell. Is it a flat head?
pull the s/b chevy and put a flat head in it. install a complete interior then just put some shine juice on the body and drive it once it’s safe.
Are they or are they not 40 headlights ? The 39 had more of a tear drop to them ? Not sure.
Yup
As I understood it at one time it started about 1937 the Deluxe Model of that year was the same as the following years Standard Model and so on. This went on until the 1940 models came out. i.e. The 1939 Deluxe looked like the 1940 models for the most part. In 1941 there was a body change along with the trim packages. Since we’re swapping engines, IMHO a 368 inch Lincoln Y-block with an adapted AOD behind it with a 9″ or an 8.8″ Ford rear axle to put the power to the ground.
These are the first year for Ford sealed beams, so correct. Yes, 39 had the attractive but less practical glass over bulb.
Just so you know….1937 was the first year for the ‘alligator opening’ hood and teardrop headlamps..!! Quit crying over the Chev engine and just buy it..!!
I’m just not seeing what everyone else is seeing here. If you had the resources, garage, lift, tools, etc. and the skills, how much would it cost to get this roadworthy? Meaning V-8 power train of your choice, brakes, suspension, electrics and interior. I’m curious, which is why I’m asking, how much do you folks think it would cost to make this something that could be registered and driven on the road?
Located in McCool Junction, Nebraska, population 409 and a speedway near by, google it .
Yes, the Junction Speedway! Yeehaw! Love speedways.
If this thing has a title, it’s worth roughly this asking price. Especially if you haul it yourself. Unless you prefer fiberglass.
Hey Bubba, let’s drop that worn out Chevy 350 you have in this old Ford, we can get big money for it.
I know Ford advertised these as having room for three adults, but as the owner of a ’40 coupe, they would have to be very skinny adults. I only hauled three in the coupe once, and for only five miles. It was a cramped ride.
Mine has a Mercury flathead, and I prefer it that way, but if I had this one, a Ford FE big block would be my choice.
In my opinion, (while not asked for) this beater is worth maybe half of the asking price. These aren’t all that rare, and you could pretty easily find one much nicer than this one. As far as building one goes, (be it this one or a different one) when I wore a younger mans clothes by far the most common running gear was small block Chevrolet so that is how I would build one. Just sayin’.
Have any you dreamers ever built a car? Can you say POS, Money pit! Buy a finished one for 1/2 the cost to build this one and save a couple years of your life.