These Ford Coupes are some of the prettiest Fords made in the Deco era. Thankfully this one has lived a simple and humble life as a scrap hauler having towed a trailer. Unrestored, and with a unique patina, this beauty is aching to be put back on the road. With a little over 1 day remaining in the auction, bidding has reached $8,100. Find it here on ebay out of Joplin, Missouri.
The mighty flathead V8 is in unknown condition, but the seller has mentioned that the engine is full of oil. The air cleaner is missing, as well as the spark plug wires, but the remainder of the engine seems complete. There are a couple of colors in the engine bay, one being blue that is on the exterior, the other being a burgundy like color. Perhaps the inner fenders were swapped from another car? At some point in this Fords life it was equipped with a Columbia 2 speed rear end which I am sure was added for hauling capability.
Quite original, and featuring a neat dash mounted fan and heater, it is obvious the owner of this Ford was interested in comfort. Although the seat may have been comfy at some point, the seat is now a bit chewed up and weathered needing to be reupholstered. It is exciting to see the deco style door panels remain although they are dirty and a bit tattered. The dash wears a lovely patina, and thankfully has never been damaged or hacked up in its history.
Although having a few dents from the test of time, this Ford is remarkably solid. Some of the windows are broken and the remaining glass in this coupe needs to be replaced as it has delaminated, or cracked. Rust seems to be a minimal issue with this one, as the seller mentions the only problem area being the driver floor. With that being said there is plenty of surface rust on the exterior, none of which looks to be critical. Rare and beautiful this Ford would be great to have no matter what your plans may be for it. What would you do with this ’40 Coupe?
That Columbia makes all the difference!
Be still my beating heart. THAT is true thing of beauty.
The only thing for the likes of me is to do a full blown restoration, not a concours quality but something you can have some fun with. Of course the 8BA that has been put under the hood will give it a little extra push. I’d run that motor until I found a correct 01A to drop in. A few go-faster goodies are always welcome on a flathead and you don’t compromise the reliability much at all. This car will be a lot of fun. Just don’t butcher it….
Amen brother. Leave it beautiful. A full restoration. No butcher.
Geomech you took the words right out of my mouth I can’t agreem more, of course it will need to be black fenders red body.
y’all will notice that this is equipped with a 49-53 flathead motor; had an engine swap earlier in it’s life, probably about the time of the Columbia rear end conversion. Leave it that way, makes a much better car with that extra power and gearing. To buy a Columbia at a swap meet these days will cost $2k average.
Brian, I see the under dash heater but you forgot the above dash 1940 “air conditioner”!
One of my all time favorite cars!……..and I’m not into 30’s & 40’s era cars. I’m mostly into late 60’s, early 70’s cars (what I grew up around). This body style is a work of art! I think the later model flathead swap is a plus for me! Seems like a lot of body damage on the rear of the car (rear fenders, trunk lid, etc), otherwise pretty solid.
I had one of these in 1976. It was a fun car to cruise around in. Once, while parked in a drive-in restaurant, a couple came over to look at it. At one point, the woman said to her husband, “Oh look, it has windshield wipers just like a real car”!
Humm…. Up until then, I thought it was a real car. LOL I always get a chuckle out of comments like that.
This would make a nice weekend driver with a bit of sympathetic refurbishment.
Oh, come on, you guys, scrap hauler my butt, this a “rum runner” if I ever saw one. I believe, the car of choice for illegal booze haulers, was this very car, 40 Ford business coupe, V8, and 2 speed rear. I can just hear that banjo “getaway” music, can’t you?( and the cops being left in a cloud of dust) What a find!
I remember two brothers I went to high school with owned a speed shop back in the early mid 60’s had one of these. Mahogany in color with a build to the hilt 327 set back 10% and a B&M hydro. In the day very very fast. ATF/FBI caught them making moonshine in the basentment of the speed shop. Confiscated everything. Judge gave them a choice of jail or the Marines. They took the Marines.
Bill you just reminded me of a similar scenario. A guy in my high school spent more time in court room than the class room. The last time I saw him he was packing up. Judge told him its the Army or the brig! He took the Army option. I don’t think they do that today but they should!
And if I had the room this 40 would be nestled in my shop.
It takes a special person to restore a car in that shape, with special cash available. If you just have to have one, buy one already done you’ll save a bundle. If you just love to tackle old rusty projects and don’t care if you will ever get your money back then here you go. Just fix the mechanicals and drive it? Still a major job. The Columbia is interesting but there are better options now days with a 5 speed transmission or a Mitchell overdrive. It’s already too expensive to buy and flip, that ship has sailed. I think it’s garage art, best looked at and not touched.
This is really tempting. What a beauty! I can appreciate how complete she is. When I started mine years ago, reproduction parts were not available and I had to scour Hemmings. Now, Bob Drake can completely reproduce a ’40 if you have deep enough pockets.
That’s my girl above.
It needs a hole in the hood with a big blower sticking out.
Radius the rear wheel openings with a torch to make room for big pie slicks and strip off any thing unnecessary to reduce wait.
Oh wait, it still has a flathead.
In that case tidy it up and don’t mess with perfection.
Just saved your own butt there, didn’t you Sid. In my late teens I found a 1940 Merc coupe in a back yard and went in to ask if I could buy it. (Found almost every car I owned in high school that way.) Anyway, the lady of the house told me it was being saved for her boy— about 13 or 14 at the time. About a mile away I found a 1935 Ford coach for $35.00 and never checked back on the Merc. That was in the summer of ’61.
I’d have to make a replica of this rather unknown movie car.
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_304660-Ford-V8-De-Luxe-01A-1940.html
Love the ’40 Ford.
Have said this here before, and nothing has changed. Has been a long time with the same feeling. Wish I could have one.
What would I do with it? I would park it in my garage and whenever I had a tough day at work go in my garage and stare at it dreaming of the day I would be behind the wheel.
leave the hitch, part of the cars unique history..
I’d paint that purple rim white to match the other three.
Add a modern v8 drive-train, power steering and 4 wheel disks, 2 decent front seats, and drive it just the way it looks.
No, Ward, No. The 8BA ( 49 -53 ) hooked to a Columbia rear is all the reliability and horses this unit needs. That combo will easily sit at 70 to 75 MPH all day and its all Ford.
Rebuild parts are easily available and it is simple and manageable to maintain.
My ’49 Monarch runs an 8CM that was rebuilt around 1978 and still easily keeps up with traffic with an OD tranny.
Just for arguments sake Wad.
Sold for $11,340.00 with 66 bids.
No, Ward; This car is not like the majority and should not be. It has made it this far… It deserves to be cleaned up and serviced as it is. This thing is a time capsule and should be treated as such! I’d rebuild every component as needed to be as safe and reliable as is. Showing class is often knowing when to stop. Period