The giant trunk attracted my attention to this old black car parked outside an auto parts store. I couldn’t tell it was a Ford until I saw the badges, and I had only the dimmest clue to its age until I went and asked the internet.
Maybe I got it right calling it a ’40; donno. But the trunk looks enormous, at least from the outside, at any angle. I wonder if the tailpipes might look less extreme if there were a bumper.
It’s a V-8 Ford; says so right on this art-deco callout in the middle of Trunkworld, here.
These are actual, real whitewall tires, as described in scripture. Are 5-lug wheels original? No idea. But I think the red wheels go well with the whitewalls on this black car…
…and its big, bulbous fenders.
The hood and interior door panels might be stashed with the bumpers.
I wondered whether these headlamp fixtures were original, or one of the aftermarket conversion kits widely popular for 1930s cars when the 7-inch round sealed beam came in for 1940. This being that year of car, these are factory fixtures. Originally they would have held a pair of…
…these, evidently made for Ford by Tung-Sol (see the T-S under the SEALED BEAM callout?).
More deco details: that ribbed trim strip. Those chevron-shaped taillights. That gasoline cap.
Whoa-HO! A flathead Ford V-8 engine with Edelbrock finned aluminum heads; shiny waterpipes; twin (Stwomboig?) carburetors; looks like there’s a set of headers under there, and I’m sure I’m missing a bunch of remarkable stuff here –under the hood-. There’s a vacuum gauge duct-taped to the left windshield; clearly the owner’s doing some period-correct tuning on this hot rod.
And under the door, here, looks to be the end of the Lake pipe on the other leg of an exhaust cutout.
There’s one on the other side, too. Lake pipes, as in “…she purrs like a kitten, ’til the Lake pipes roar”. Which brings us to…
…these decals (sorry outta focus; my phone decided it knew better than I did what I really wanted a picture of), which got me wondering just what a “deuce coupe” is, anyhow. From what I found, formally it means a 1932 Ford coupe, so I guess officially this isn’t one. But the decals suggest the working definition’s edges have softened with time.
(as to the title of this post: advertising has it there are deuce coupes of plump, juicy raisins in every box of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.)
!940 headlamp surrounds, grille and tailights I’d pick it as a 40 but I have an idea 40s still had the wide 5 wheels and the smaller bolt pattern came in later could be wrong nice car though the 39 coupe is my favourite prewar ford.
Bryce I think 1939 was the last year for the wide 5 rim.
that’s correct
Sweet find! Yes those headlamp fixtures are original, and although I do prefer a 40 Ford to have a hood that is a fine looking engine indeed.
I don’t think the definition of a deuce has softened, it’s a 1932 Ford. But the owner must have enjoyed the event enough to put the decals in the window.
I’ve got a real soft spot for flathead era Fords, thanks to hanging around with my uncle as a kid. That reminds me, his friend Don has a 32 and is working on a 1948 Ford coupe, I should pay him a visit sometime and see how he’s coming along.
A FINE looking ’40 Ford Tudor coupe…. 🙂 🙂 I haven’t seen one in many years, but those integrated, flowing shapes never get “old”; simply timeless “low priced” beauty. The ’40 coupe or the Tudor sedan were both very easy on the eyes. Even the 4 door looked quite nice.
One of my uncles had a ’40 Tudor sedan when I was young, but I did not comprehend what
I was seeing. $igh.. 🙁 …DFO
“Deuce coupes of raisins” Ow! 🙂
Excellent pictures and commentary. You do manage to find the shiniest unusual vehicles just out there on the street. I don’t think I’ve seen many hot rods like this outside of car shows, certainly not just curbside like this. Great!
Thanks! Thank you! You guys are great! I’m in town –
all week– for the foreseeable future!Jeff….I was completely confused through the article until I read your post. Then I got it!!
Yeah I know, sometimes I’m thick.
Even with the last line in the post, below the YouTube vid…?
Of the 39-40 cars, I always thought the 40 was my favorite until I got an up-close view of a 39. My verdict – I like the outside trim and details of the 40 but the interior of the 39.
It appears that this owner nixed the much-hyped 1940 feature of the column-mounted gearshift and replaced it with the now-mandatory floor shifter.
A very fun find!
Ford used the same body shell in 1939 and ’40. The headlights and taillights say it’s a ’40.
Fine pix. My attention was caught by the SHORT engine compartment. It looks “modern” in this context. Most cars in that era were designed to take a choice of inline 6 or 8, and the compartment was long enough for the 8. Ford clearly designed around its V8, and used it to gain more passenger room.
Don’t feel bad, I wouldn’t have known it’s a Ford either. All old business coupes may as well be identical. And geezers still say that “all new cars look the same”.
Verdade…..
Nice find. Around here, Chevies of this vintage now seem much more common than the once-ubiquitous Fords. I was born in the mid-fifties and for someone of my generation the 1939 – 40 Ford was the Tri-Five Chevy of its day. I’d have no difficulty identifying the year, whereas I’m pretty vague on most modern stuff. Though by the mid-sixties the Tri-Five (though I never heard that term until 50 years later) was also pretty iconic as a hot rod and/or drag racer. And well through high school there was a ‘40 coupe parked curbside in our neighborhood, along with a similar vintage Mercury and at least two Model A’s – all at different houses. It took me a few years to realize what the deuce in Little Deuce Coupe meant but I think it had figured out about 50 years ago. Ahh, the generation gap ….
A nice old Hot Rod .
I wonder what the gauge duct taped to the windshield is ? .
-Nate
Oops, thanks, I’ll go add what I meant to mention about that.
I am guessing that “Deuce Days” welcomed all old Ford hot rods, and probably other makes of similar years. As the “deuce”, or the ‘32 Ford, is considered “top of the heap” of such things, it is a play on the term.
If you actually restricted the event to ‘32s, you’d cut out over 90% of likely participants. Cut out the “repop” or modern ‘32 copies, and another significant portion of the rest of the field would be eliminated.
One of my all time Favorite Fords.
Edsel Ford probably had quite an influence on this design?
The last year for the classic Fords, at least stylistically. Not a fan of the ’41 and up versions.
Can’t say which is my favorite; they each have their merits and charms. But this ’40 is near the top.
Also not a fan of the 1941 thru 48 models.
I suppose the owner was trying to fine tune the dual carb set up. It’s a shame that the car didn’t have the prow like hood in place. For years every ’40 that you saw had the flattie yanked out and a small block Chevy installed. The trend towards traditional cars lead to greater popularity of the original engines. Many cars had been re-fitted with their period correct drive trains. Forty Ford coupes are true hot rod icons.
Speaking of hotrods, I should do a COAL on my Hot Rod Lincoln.
Yes please.
I am not a hot rodder but know many; they are of my generation and mostly older.
For them the description “40” means only a ’40 Ford. Or they’ll say “34” or “36” or “49”. Those always mean Ford – not any other car. “40” never means a 1940 Chevrolet or Plymouth or Cadillac or whatever; it is only a Ford.
But it is never a “32”; that is always a “deuce”. And an “A” is a Model A Ford but the year never seems to matter. They don’t say “29” or “31” when identifying any Model A.
A number describing a car which all clearly understood to be a Ford probably ends with “51”.
After that though, “55” always means a 1955 Chevrolet – never a Ford. “55”, “56” and “57” are only Chevrolets, never Fords.
That’s the way they talk. I know that car is a Ford not because I’m a hot roddder but because of the history and significance of Bob Gregorie’s designs.
The other «Deuce» that comes to my mind is the beloved “M DEUCE” Browning M2 Machine Gun, a classic hotrod of land, sea & air.
’36 to ’48 is commonly referred to as the “fat fendered” era. ’38 to ’40 shared the same body. The ’39 Standard had the ’38 Deluxe grille, the ’40 Standard had the ’39 Deluxe grille.
In the late ’50s to early ’60s it was popular to leave the hood off of ’40 coupes to show off the engine. It was a short lived fad.