This 1940 Ford Coupe looks like the kind of car that will require very little work to see it return to the road. With a solid body and frame, and an engine that runs, this Ford offers a world of promise to its next owner. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, it is offered for sale with a clear title. Brisk bidding has pushed the price to $14,000 with the reserve unmet.
As well as looking straight, neat, and in generally good order, this underside shot shows that the car also appears to be solid and free of any rust issues. I can’t see any obvious problems here, and the body panels also appear to be straight and rust-free. All of the external trim is present, and it seems to be in really good condition. The paintwork is a bit ordinary in a few spots, but I honestly can’t see why the car couldn’t be driven as it currently stands.
The interior seems to be quite serviceable, with little immediate work required. Apart from a plate missing off the dash, it looks to be complete. The cover on the seat looks a bit frayed, but if you threw a blanket over it you would never know the difference. The headliner looks like it might be stained, but what can be seen of the rest of the trim looks promising.
The 221ci flat-head engine in this Ford is said to run well. We get no indication of the condition of the rest of the drivetrain, but it all looks encouraging. It seems that it may take little work (or possibly none) to get this old Ford fit for the road again. For someone looking to dip their toe in the water with their first shot at classic car ownership, this is a car that seems to offer its share of promise.
For classic car enthusiasts, owning a classic car is all about the ownership experience. For some, it is the challenge of undertaking a full restoration. For some, it is the tinkering and tweaking to ensure that their prized possession is always operating at its best. For some, it is all about climbing behind the wheel and savoring the driving experience. This 1940 Ford Coupe offers something for every person on that list.
As stated, what a great way for armchair enthusiasts (like me) to get off the Barkalounger and back into the garage.
Another iconic car I wish I had in my 50 car show room! If I had one, that is! The Flathead V-8 would stay and be upgraded with period correct speed parts!
I am a chevy/ GM guy, but this is one of the Fords I would love to have!
Nice ride! Owned a 34 coupe back in the early 80’s that I kick myself for ever selling. Completely different car, but still….
My favorite Ford from that era. Beautiful car. Can’t believe how clean the underside is.
Isn’t that a big ol H shaped rust hole in the floor pan on the right side of the underside pic? Looks like someone sprayed black paint under there to cover things up.
Yep, rattlecan black followed by a new exhaust system. Makes you wonder what they’re hiding.
Paint hides a multitude of sin.
Looks like a body mount to me.
It’s a conspiracy, I tell ya….
beautiful–would do a fast wash and leave the outside alone..Not much more beautiful than a 40 ford coupe!!
Good luck to the new owner!!
cheers
GPC
Yes, this car could wind up at my place, and I’d give it a good home. I think the ’40 Deluxe has got to be the BEST design of that year. So many other cars just looked bargie to me. The ’40 Ford exuded class…
What’s not to like, absolutely love it. I could easily find a place for that one. Fix it up and drive it. If someone wanted to restored it, do it. If someone wants to restomod it, get a whole new frame and use that with modern drivetrain then slide the body onto it so everything is reversible at a future date.
This car deserves to be back on the highway where it belongs, whether old or new school.
I started tracking this one last week. One of the multiple reasons was to compare the outcome from this one to the burgundy colored one that was on here a week or so ago. They are very similar cars, both appearing in better condition than their age might expect, one repaint each, close to stock configuration and relatively rust free. Somewhat difficult to judge because we’re only looking at pics, but the burgundy one has a few images that lead me to believe it has less rust issues (though minor) than this one. BTW, that floor pan “H” looking thing might not be rust as that would be an unusual spot for a ’40. And for the “body mount” comment, these don’t have outrigger type brackets, the floor pan bolts through to the frame rails in that area. Neither car shows pics of the most common rust areas even for a supposedly “rust free” car; the very rear of the trunk floor where the “toolbox” is located, the quarters just behind the B pillar, the bottoms of the cowl, the ends of the drip rails, and the pocket formed by the X member intersecting with the outer frame rails.
This blue car is what I would characterize as an “honest” car, looking much like what those of us as teenagers in the ’60s would have done in mild modification. Non-factory repaint color, gauge cluster replacement (standard instead of deluxe), and simple interior retrim. Only thing unusual is remaining single exhaust. It even still has the original air cleaner.
I find bidding patterns interesting. There are 22 bidders who have posted 71 bids, though the price isn’t particularly high for that many bids. Lot of nickel/dime, low to no feedback bidders who usually disappear when the reserve is hit or the price gets up to market. Dare we call them recreational bidders? With the poor ad detail (as in close to none), the seller might be spending a fair bit of time fielding questions. Some prefer it that way I guess. The other side of that coin is that the seller has shown the extent of his knowledge of the car in the breadth of his description.
BTW, that burgundy one just started it’s third ebay listing last night. The first one got bid up to $26k+ without hitting reserve. I missed the ending of the second listing but last I saw was $18k+ with not reserve……that one got pulled. Now it’s up with only one pic, scant description, and no reserve. Some slightly belligerent poster here took a shot at me for pointing out that it was a listing dealer selling it, but this shows why I have reservations………looks like game playing now. Why didn’t they make a deal with the last bid on the first auction and come in close to that higher than market typical bid? Shill bidding? Hard to know. Perhaps their tactics are to “pressure” an unrealistic seller into recognizing where the market is. No matter what, seems like a lot of monkey motion.
Looks to me like the peculiar bidding pattern is from auto-bidding or whatever it is called. You put in your high bid and the auction raises the previous high bid by the minimum and then their high bid raises it ad-nauseam till everyone’s max is met. looks like a lot of that.
Why people spray the black on the bottom of a car is always suspect to me. Do they really believe anyone thinks it really looks like that?
On the bidding not quite. Bid interval is $100, but some of the jumps are higher and the time stamp doesn’t follow the auto bid formula. These are more likely folks hunting for the lead or hunting to bump.
You gots to love those fat fenders!
Also a Chevy guy but love it and would buy it and drive it. Maybe update it with some flathead speed parts but that would be it.
Uncle Bob, I was waiting for your comments to see if I could add any words of wisdom? Probably not, only to say this does appear to be an “Honest Car”, and a Forty Deluxe Coupe; is certainly a great find ,depending on the “Monkey Motion”. With this changing market and what’s hot and what’s not, if I was in the market for another Forty, especially a coupe, I would stay in the game until 20K, but over that it would take serious some soul searching and determining how nice the car really is.
sexy………
Not a repaint but a factory Ford color Cloud Mist Grey opalescent color.
click image for full page view.
Good reference material, but I’m confused by an apparent change somewhere. In the email alert I got it showed you typed in Como blue, which I would agree is close, though to my eye the subject car looks like a lighter approximation. However your reply now says Cloud Mist Grey, which to the eye of most who don’t know the name gets identified as a green.
Probably the difference when I scanned the page it is blueish. I did type in Como Blue but realized it was a Mercury only color and edited it.
Nice overall car. Looks like a kink in the tailpipe from the picture, and that H shaped mark might be rust as that is in the area of the drivers feet. Still looks better than most, also I thought that could be an original color, glad PT dug out the old paint chart.
A friend of mine found a new 40 Ford Deluxe Coupe in 1956. The owner had passed away in 41 and his wife had it put in a garage, and up on blocks. Someone had tacked gunny sack covers on the upholstering. We probably changed the oil and greased it. I doubt that we drained the gas tank. It would run 80 mph down the highway like a new Ford should with the stock V8. It soon got a 315 cubic inch flathead built in the basement from mail order parts that Hot Rod Magazine said were appropriate. There weren’t any speed shops in Iowa in 1956.