Sitting For 50 Years: 1940 Ford Tudor Standard

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If you look very carefully, you can just see the merest glimpse of a shed poking its way through the undergrowth. It doesn’t look like anyone has been in there for years, so you just have to wonder what is hiding in there.

After hours spent cutting a path through the brush and undergrowth, a shed was revealed, and all that stood between our intrepid adventurer and his potential booty was a rusty old padlock. The lock was cut, the shed door opened, and the light of day fell upon a 1940 Ford Tudor Standard. It has been sitting in the dark and hadn’t seen the light of day for 50 years.

The Ford was sitting there, coated in dust, surrounded by an indescribable pile of farm implements and junk, just waiting to emerge from its extended hibernation. After sitting alone and forgotten for five decades, naturally, all of the polycord tires were flat. Amazingly, an air-line was attached to them and they inflated, and are still holding air. The moment of truth arrived, a rope was attached to the old Ford, and it rolled freely out of the shed and easily found its way onto the waiting flat-bed.

Now that the Ford has emerged, it has been given a wash and is looking for a new home. If this is a car that you would like to own, and to return it to the road, you will find it located in Douglasville, Georgia, and listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $6,000 at the time of writing, but the reserve hasn’t been met.

Underneath that layer of dust was a car has been found to be in remarkable condition. There is a small spot of rust in the front floor on the passenger side, but that’s it. There are a few minor dings and marks on the body, but these really are quite minor. This is a car that could be returned to service, and the choice would be to undertake a restoration as time and money permitted, or the new owner could just drive it and enjoy it as it currently stands.

The interior will undoubtedly need some work, and given the fact that it has spent a large part of the last 50 years serving as the home of Mickey Mouse and friends, things might not smell all that good. The front seat is in better condition than the rear, as that has spent all of those years out of the car, and has been exposed to the same sort of coating of dust as the exterior of the car. Still, the majority of the interior is present and is just waiting for someone to weave their magic. One really cool feature is the heater that is sitting under the dash. It actually has a V8 logo inter-laced into the chrome on the front, and it looks quite brilliant.

I’ve often talked about just how durable the old Ford flathead V8 is, and this one is a shining example of that. After sitting for so long, it would be quite understandable if the engine was locked solid, but it isn’t. The engine turns freely. However, the owner hasn’t tried to start it, simply because he doesn’t want to risk inflicting any damage on it. The original 6-volt electrical system is still present, and the owner is including a 6-volt deep cycle battery with the car. So the new owner can make the decision as to whether they try to start it, or whether they pull the engine and freshen it up first.

This is a car that has a bit of a story behind it. Whether it is true, or the stuff of legends, it may never be known. The owner claims that in the past the car may have been used for running moonshine. If this can ever be confirmed, then it would be a great back-story for a wonderful car. Even if it is only a legend, it probably doesn’t matter. The story of how it was found and rescued is probably enough for any good storyteller.

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Comments

  1. 86_Vette_Convertible

    Mechanics, running boards and floorboards look to be the majority of the attention this one needs from what I can see. Amazing what half a century of storage can do to a 40 Ford!

    Like 13
    • Jerry Brentnell

      for one thing thats not a 40 ford engine! look where the distributor is ! not that it matters but thats a 51 or newer flat head !

      Like 8
      • C P Murray

        49 or newer

        Like 1
  2. Rick

    A great find, but that appears to be a 1940 Ford Standard. . . not a DeLuxe.

    Like 11
    • Adam ClarkeAuthor

      Nicely picked up Rick. Thank you for that. I’ve fixed that up in the article, and I always appreciate an eagle-eyed reader.

      Like 12
  3. Bob McK

    Now this is a barn find!!! Great story. Thanks for sharing it with us. Someone is going to have a wonderful car.

    Like 23
  4. r s

    Not sure but weren’t most cars used for running “shine” equipped in some special way, i.e. hidden storage tanks, and also performance modifications for better speed?

    I’m glad this beauty wasn’t just ‘stored’ in a field, it would be scrap today.

    Like 12
    • 71FXSuperGlide

      Yes, and how NASCAR got it’s start, with places such as Red Vogt’s garage on Hemphill Ave in Atlanta providing the mods for cars coming down Rt 9 (Now 400) from towns like Dawsonville, GA.

      This car would fit in nicely with their moonshiner display they have there every year.

      Like 4
      • ACZ

        Take a picture of it outside the Dawsonville Pool Room. Grab a Bully Burger at the same time.

        Like 1
  5. Vudutu

    True barn find, love these stories.
    Amazing condition and color.

    Like 14
  6. geomechs geomechsMember

    I’d sure love to have this one at my place. Clean the interior up and Fix what it needed. Pitch those aftermarket gauges and fix up the original set. No doubt this is going to need some wiring repairs, and possibly a complete new harness. Looks like an 8BA (maybe even a Merc) engine has been swapped in. Easier to tune than the original beast. I am curious as to what is on the left side of the engine to justify that plumber’s nightmare with the LH rad hose. Get it running and put it on the road. Restore as you go. I’m sure it could tell you a lot of stories along the way…

    Like 10
  7. stanley kwiecinski

    first pic. I thought maybe was Claude Raines’ 40 ford? invisible.

    Like 6
  8. canadainmarkseh

    Quite a find, simpathetic restoration comes to mind with me I’d pull the engine check it over replace gaskets and seals. Repaint the engine and detail the engine bay. My only concern on the body is the rust on the roof and just how deep it goes, but even that is manageable. Of course the brake hydrolic’s will be shot they always are in these older cars with cast iron cylinders. Finally the interior will need to be restored. Lots of potential here though and this is a stylish car. Nice find.

    Like 6
  9. DayDreamBeliever DayDreamBeliever

    Someone is going to own it less than 24 hours from now. High bid of $6100 has apparently met the reserve.

    What a great find!

    Like 6
  10. Will Fox

    This find will have bidders fighting over it! VERY solid; very original; and the best part is, nearly everything this needs is being reproduced today!! Love the “Ford blue” color. I doubt it’s original, but its amazing how well this cleaned up with some soap & water & TLC!

    Like 8
  11. ron trainor

    Back in the day, my mother drove me to school in one of them.

    Like 3
  12. Ben

    NOW THAT’S A FIND. Great car and it cleaned up nicely.

    Like 5
  13. dweezilaz

    Excellent story, Adam.

    Like 3
  14. Joe Haska

    Ihad a 40 std tudor for about a year, and I loved it. DrovE from colo to L.A. in it, all by self and never got bored. It was all stock except for a dropped axel and a stone stock 265 Chevy mated to the early Ford running gear. It was done when I bought except some minor issues, as it had been driven very much when I got it. I paid 24K for it and boasted it was a 25k car all day long. When I sold it, I tried to make a larger profit. Didn’t happen, I sold it for 25K could have sold it for that 10 times ,but not once for more than 26K. Funny how cars sometimes ,just have a number and thats it. Heck I didn’t care, I drove it for a year for FREE.

    Like 2
  15. BigDoc

    My favorite car of all times I absolutely love ’40 Fords.

    Like 4
  16. John

    I tried SO hard to buy one of these in the early 60s. My neighbor had one for sale but he wanted $500. I had $300. My parents would not loan me $200 to buy an “OLD” jalopy. I tried everything I could do to bridge the gap. Neighbor would not budge, parents would not budge. I bought a 52 Chevrolet for $150. It was not a V8.

    The Ford would have impressed more girls. Maybe there was some logic in my parent’s position.

    Like 6
  17. Del

    I don’t know why guys perpetuate the myth that certain cars will attract girls.

    Its a fallacy.

    Girls would like you to have car. Whether its Honda Civic or Hot rod, most could care less.

    Like 1
    • Paul Joseph, Luiso

      Not the girls I went to school with. During most of high school I drove a 1950 Chrysler Windsor 4 door that was in Immaculate shape with room enough for a gang fight in the back seat. I got no action whatsoever.

      Like 1
    • MG Steve

      You might change your opinion, if your father forbade you to buy a car, even though you had earned the money, and had funds in reserve for the insurance. Then, your dad trades in his half way cool car, and buys a used 59 Rambler, for my “dating years”. Pink and gray on the outside, black & red interior. Ugliest car ever created. I will say that when you finally did finagle a date, at least you knew she wasn’t going out with you because you had a cool car.

      Like 2
  18. steve stevens

    Would cost a fortune to bring this old girl even back to normal based on the pics I looked at…

    Like 0
  19. JP

    A really great find! Thanks for sharing it with us all.

    Like 0
  20. DayDreamBeliever DayDreamBeliever

    $6400 at the end of the auction. I’d have guessed a little more than that, but I’m rarely right anyway…

    Like 1
    • Joe Btfsplk

      I think that barn dust adds value… there is more to be gained by not washing your find before you auction it And add a box of Ball jars to your interior pics!

      Like 1
  21. Little_Cars Alexander

    Definitely could be a good moonshiner with that trunk and the back seat removed. Later Mercury mill? All the better for speed. A standard may not have come from the blue oval with a V8. The video of its extraction was a bit hard to watch. Last time I ran back and forth across a rollback like that fellow did I slipped hard and broke my wrist. An oft-commissioned rollback will have a coating of grease on it and be slippery as snot. Wonder why the truck wasn’t brought in straight to the shed door? Someone had to sit on that nasty driver’s seat to steer the car. Well bought @ sub $6500.

    Like 1

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