According to an interesting story provided by the seller, this 1940 Ford Tudor used to run moonshine in Tennessee back in the day. At one point it ended up in Connecticut where the original Ford flathead engine was replaced with a short-block Chevy V8, but neither motor is in the mix today. From a garage in Milford, Connecticut, this Ford (likely a “business coupe”) will need a complete restoration and the seller believes it’s solid enough to justify the work and expense. From a listing here on craigslist, you can trailer it home for $4,500. Thanks for the cool tip, Henry Reining!
Sources indicate that more than 98,500 Ford coupes (aka Tudor) were built in 1940, of which two-thirds were business coupes. They were sold primarily to traveling salespeople who traded a back seat for additional storage space for all their wares (Fuller Brush and the like – remember them?).
From what can tell, this Ford has been off the road for more than 60 years. It was brought in for service to a shop in Bridgeport in the late 1950s where the garage owner noted a large steel tank in the back with hoses, vents, and a large pipe with a ball valve – said to be a sign of a moonshine runner.
This Ford is a roller, having likely not moved on its own for decades. Though a lot of primer is present (and green paint under that), the seller says the body is solid and the interior is complete yet needs work to be viable again. A transmission will go with the sale, but there’s no indication it’s original to the Ford (a “3-on-the-tree” manual). As the auto has been sitting for so long, the title went missing. It’s being sold by the widow of the former owner (could he be the driver that outran the law with some illegal hooch in tow?).
Looks like a two door sedan to me. Know the history of the Ford booze runners and it was the business coupes that they used in Mississippi while I was living there. Still, this car would be fun to fix up and play with… without the booze.
Why was there such a large market for moonshine? Was the regular taxes on “safe” booze really that much more? Had to be a lot of attitude involved here.
Any tax, even a penny, is a lot more than none.
Moonshine was a lot cheaper to buy especially in quantity. Also the white lightning was untraceable.
Two problems here. One, untraceable? Why is that important to an end user? I think if there was a problem with the product it would be nice to know who was to blame and has liability. Then, why would you need the hard stuff in quantity? That sounds like a rather large problem to me.
It wasn’t the tax that drove Mississippi moonshine runners it was the fact that alcoholic beverages of any kind were banned from the state. Went to the Mississippi State College engineering school and on football weekends we went to Alabama to buy booze. Amazing how much of it you can stuff in an old ’49 Ford.
My understanding was that there was a prohibition era, and many back-yard producers. If you wanted grog, ot was buy moonshine or go on a cruise that went outside the national limits.
Others say that the stills were used to distill oil in competition to the oil companies. Elliott Ness helped to end their businesses.
Don’t quote me!
I think there was always some demand for cheap untaxed liquor, but prohibition created the need for large scale illegal manufacturing and distribution – the only way people could get booze. Once those systems were in place, why would the folk’s making money quit?
Prohibition was a dumb idea, obviously, but the larger problem is why people need to drink so much that it causes problems in their lives and in other lives as well. Has the world always been that bad that an escape was needed that badly? Prohibition was justified as a societal problem of both ill behaviors and one of public health. They of course were right. Though the backlash was one that caused even more problems and the crime syndicates created haunt us today, at least the modeling for them.
You do know what a short block is ??
A short block is an engine block with crankshaft, rods and pistons.
Car is a Tudor SEDAN. not a coupe. I have owned both and recently sold my Tudor. I think price asked is more than it is worth. Repo parts aren’t cheap and it needs a lot of them. Used parts for these are also not cheap and may be useless. I wish the buyer good luck, PS, a short block is a complete engine less heads, intake, pan and accessories.
writer should’ve called the chev engine small block, the ad text says this. Also Tudor’s & Fordor’s are sedans.
Uhh this is a sedan not a coupe. How does one even confuse the two? Where’s Bellingham Fred?
I’m right here, I was scrolling the comments before I was about to go on a rant. I’ve seen a lot of ads lately that call sedans coupes. Many from classic car dealership where they should know better. I never expected this from a Barn Finds writer. Maybe the confusion came along when they stopped making “true” coupes, and things like ’55 Chevy 2 dr hardtops were called “Sport Coupes”, or some such thing. Maybe not by the manufacturer but in the car guys and gals vernacular.
Don’t get me started (too late) on the redundancy of “2 door coupe”.
For a later date that,as well as the difference between Roadsters and Convertables.
Thanks for the call out RKS. I hope all is well up your way.
He probably meant small block.
one easy way to tell a coupe from a sedan is seating, most coupes are two place meaning two passengers only, some have a jump seat where someone could sit sideways behind the front seat.
coupes do not have roll or crank down back windows they push out like the old vent window did the coupe that had no back seat was the business coupe
It’s great to see these snippets of information posted on this and other articles on this site. They fill in gaps that history sometimes omits.
What happens to all this knowledge when the posters can no longer post?
Just for fun, I will comment on the car, and not the trials and tribulation of moonshine liquor. My introduction to what I now know is an incurable fixation on automobiles was 1/25 scale model cars. When I got the bug in ’63 or ’64, 40 Fords were by far the most popular model. I became enamored with them and when I turned 16 in ’65 I darn near bought a wrecked 40 sedan. It had been a pretty nice car prior to the accident, (283 4 speed, white tuck and roll, etc.) Luckily, I came to my senses and realized the work required to make it roadworthy was beyond my 16 year old skill level. Anyway, to this day I have a soft spot for 40 Fords, so I hope that whoever gets this does right bby it.
I took started with the AMT 1/25 cars probably in 63 – 64. My brother had a real 40 Standard Tudor (same original color as the featured car) so 40 Fords became a staple in my collection. The 32 5 window coupe came in a close second. Luckily my Mom didn’t throw away my collection when I left for college, collected all my boxes when I bought a home of my own.
The above blue car is the coupe, the yellow a sedan.
Still fun to relive my youth, can go into my basement workshop (especially in the winter) and look at how I built them 60 years ago and maybe even complete a few that I started back then!
I remember once seeing a ’40 Ford for sale that was NOT a moonshiner. Beyond rare.
My thoughts exactly. Almost as rare as a 283 chevy that is not claimed to be a corvette engine
I want to know what the roll of garbage sacks is hiding?? If you notice they have strategically placed it on both sides on the rear bumper for the pictures. Hmm.
Days gone by we see these old things someone has a day dream about fixing her up than they look at the estimate on body and paint etc sorry
I have recently seen this “Tudor” business. For those less educated, this is , I believe, an English word, possibly some Englishman’s last name, or it denotes a specific family.
I recently saw this same word used relative to describing a “two door” 1930
Ford sedan. the description was ’30 Ford Tudor.
No wonder the vehicle business is so screwed up these days!
Tudor is a brother of Fodor.
But they can’t spell in the Middle Kingdom and they called him Frodo
And with those pearls of wisdom, the confusion should be over.
Not seeing a pedal set up for a SBC or any thing but a flathead looking at that firewall along with that trunk picture. And rear helper springs….not seeing that either….even my 40 Deluxe 4 door had that assessory. The $4500 price should sell it without the moonshine story.
A friend of mine’s uncle told us that he was running moonshine back in the day. He said that he got pulled over and was instructed to open the trunk for inspection. Nervously he opened the trunk to reveal spare tires mounted on their rims. The officer never thought to look inside the tires! The uncle said that he silently prayed that none of the hidden bottles would shift, causing a distinct sound!