Those old Fords are just plain wonderful cars that do not need updating.... I looked long and hard for one before I bought my 40 coupe, every time I read an ad that stated "updated with M2 suspension" it made me sad and angry at the same time. These are charming cars that really drive beautifully as Henry designed them.... I was surprised when you sold that sedan, selling one only leads to future regret....
39-40 Fords are my dream cars. I like the round gauges and over the windshield wipers on the 39 Deluxe, and I like the Chevron taillights on the 40. Maybe someday I’ll own one…
I was thinking about that this morning. In 2007, we started having kids and I started freaking out about the practicality of old cars. More than anything, I didn't want to be one of those dudes that Street Rodder Magazine used to talk about: "Kenny was a hot rodder in his youth, but gave it up to put his kids through college. Now that his kids have left the home, he is finally free to be himself again." Fuck that. So, I bought a 59 Chevrolet wagon thinking it would be practical as hell. But it was bagged, had a/c, and all that other shit you think will be conveniences but only end up being liabilities to reliability. I didn't like it... Sold it... and bought this '39. The '39 was my daily for six or so years, but then I got the bug for another Riviera. So I sold it and bought the green '65 Riv. To this day, Rivieras are the most comfortable cars for me... They fit me like an old glove. I drove that one daily for about three years until I had to sell it due to unforeseen circumstances. To replace it, I got a '64 Ford pickup - another FANTASTIC old daily as it's dead simple and pretty reliable. But then, the summers in Austin started getting even hotter... and the traffic got even worse. It got to the point where I dreaded going into town because of my old car. Not so much reliability wise, but comfort wise... So, I finally sold the '64 and bought a modern car. I've actually enjoyed having a late model the last few years, but I can't wait to live somewhere again where I can daily old shit once more...
Since I was old enough to draw a picture, I have lusted after a 39 or 40 Ford. I still have sketches I did when I should have been taking a math test in Middle School. I still have not owned one, as something else always seems to get in the way. There's still time...
Funny story about the '39... I used to carry a Leica M3 film camera EVERYWHERE. And LFI used to do these "One Roll" Competitions where you sent your roll of film to Leica and every quarter, they'd pick their favorite roll and give the winner a new camera. We had just finished the Revolution at the Austin Power Plant and I was confident it was the best roll I'd ever shot. Might as well send it in, right? But I had one frame left after the show and didn't realize it until I was taking the kids to school the next week. So, I haphazardly pre-focused the lens and just randomly fired a shot over my shoulder while driving down a bumpy country road. I sent the roll in... and didn't win... but that one shot over my shoulder got me some honorable mention award and a family/friends discount on the Leica M7 I now shoot with.
I sold mine to a HAMBer in October and I regret it, but there's nothing I could do. Sometimes when you have 5 kids, one being a new baby and inflation is killing ya, the toys are the first thing to go. My son and I drove it to the Gathering at the Roc, around 800 miles in a weekend including the reliability run. Good driving old car. All stock with a 305 Chevy.
Ryan, I had a '40 Tudor with a warmed over 8BA that I drove for a few years. I ended up selling it and that is a decision I still regret to this day. It sat right, rode right and I hope the fellow I sold it to is still enjoying it. Ah well, at least I got to enjoy the old turtleback for a while!
I have no idea what happened to the 39 beater, Dave n I owned together,,he move out of state in 1963,took it with him,never payed me for my 1/2{ $50 } we only payed $100 for it in 1962 >was not running at the time. And missing the trunk lid= maybe why I never heard again. It was fun car.a bit ruff. V8 -60 I got going fairly well.
Agreed. Great pix, nice car. Had a '39 Deluxe coupe and a '39 Standard Tudor and put plenty of miles on both of them, albeit with non-original OHV drivetrains. The sedan came after the coupe (needed family space) and even though it wasn't a daily I think we put about as many miles on it just driving as we did for car gatherings. Sold when another project came my way. I think a car-wise fellow once said something about "selling leads to future regret"? I do know where our old coupe is and I'd love to have it back but the present caretaker has told me his son wants it. And of course, somewhere along the line my original Mor-Drop front axle was "upgraded" with a M2 suspension.... **Sigh**
Love this shot. Random over the shoulder i phone shot of my then three year old singing cruising down the highway in the ‘64 ragtop
Dad bought ours in Missouri in early 1965. It will never be sold. Goes to my son, then grandson. Dave
I went through a 39/40 phase in the late 70's through the early 90's, I was obsessed with them and I owned 2 extremely nice '40 DeLuxe tudor sedans, followed by a '40 pickup and a '39 coupe & a 39 convertible and 3 1940 coupes. My first 40 sedan was probably the best car I have ever owned, I say that as the car did everything I needed it to do, it was a daily driver for Brenda while I drove my model A pickup on a daily basis, the ' 40 sedan handled great and the ride was excellent, the interior was sewed in a stock pattern and the car was black, steelies and all the stainless was stock, the car looked original. But, We drove that sedan to the NSRA National's in Columbus, Ohio, to Louisville,Kentuckey and Memphis ,Tennessee not to mention a few road trips along the way. I built a glass mullins trailer to pull behind the sedan to haul a weeks worth of what it takes for 2 adults and the twin girls, they were 5 years old our first extended road trip. Of all the thousands of miles we put on that car the only problems we ever had is it ran hot in Columbus mainly because we were stuck in traffic for more than a hour and another trip the rough roads caused a short in the wiring for the head lights, that was it. Yeah, that '40 sedan was the best hot rod I ever owned, but I just had to have a Deuce and then I got obsessed with them, I would love to have another '40 sedan some day. HRP
I agree that some cars look perfect right out of the box and 39/40 Fords are one of the best! Every time someone mentions that they "customized" a 39/40 I get a gag reflex because 99% of the time they just F*^Ked it up! I don't personally own a 40 but hang with a group that almost everyone owns a 40. Have ridden in most of them and driven a few of them and have not had much bad to say ever! Great Hot Rods! If they were less expensive I would probably own one, all the ones I can afford need way more work than my old body can do.
39 & 40 Fords are wonderful little cars. I am 70 years old and have been driving them since before I got my drivers license. They are comfortable, ride nice, steer well, and can be driven in todays traffic. 37s and 38s are close but have mechanical brakes and a less developed transmission, both easily corrected. 40s ride and handle a little better due the front sway bar that allowed a softer spring rate. As an avid flathead speed guy I hate to admit it but the closer to stock the more satisfying the cars are as far as drivability. My formula is punched out 239 c.i. engine, close to stock cam and compression, single carb, 39 floor shift trans, lowered for looks and center of gravity, juice brakes, 12 V system, 40 sway bar and springs, Columbia overdrive rear axle with 3.78s (o.d. is 30%), original seats. 35 & 36 can easily brought to "40" specs, with the addition of 37 and up steering box. I love my 32s but the later cars are tons better as far as drivability.
I have the exact feelings about my '51 Club Coupe. I have owned it for 36 years and I had the good sense not to sell it. 3 Corvettes, 2 El Caminos, and even a '36 3-window have come and gone during the time I've had it. The car has never let me down, although I did drop in a modified '51 Mercury engine 6 years ago when the original got a little tired. This was a very good original purchased new by two bachelor farmer brothers as their "Sunday go to church" car. They pampered it and meticulously maintained it. I think that is the reason it is such a good car, being used but never abused. Now that I am older, I can still get in and out of it with ease and it performs very well with the updated Merc engine. The only thing that is not perfect is parallel parking and similar maneuvers, which are a little difficult, although that is tempered a bit by the large diameter steering wheel. I now live an a small town, so that's not even much of a problem, if at all.
Dad had a 38 Fordor and later got a 40 Tudor, he said the car had too much power for the chassis He wasn't a person to talk a lot or tell stories of his youth. I grew up on an Iowa farm and whined that he should have kept the 40, I suspect he thought I whined a lot In 1949 he bought a new Nash.
Selling the 39 will haunt your forever. I've had 2, 40 standard sedans. One had no motor but the other I bought for 8 dollars and drove it home, blowing the 39 trans on the way. My dad helped me realize I now had 5 old cars parked at his house.....4 old Fords and a 56 Olds ragtop and the old man made me give the 40 back......fuckin cranky old man.
My dad had a '40 he loved in the early 60s. He was drafted and rented a garage to park it while in the army, unfortunately was stolen before he returned home. I remember as a kid him carrying the vin# number in his wallet looking at vins of 40 sedans when we went shows. After he passed a few years back my mother gave me his wallet and tucked inside was still the sheet of paper with the vin written on it! He was still looking 60 years later ...
I have a keeper, but tit isn't the best car ever built. My 36 Pickup was bought for me when I was 2. It is small, rides rough and rattles. But, they can bury me in it.
My/Lee's shoebox is the prettiest car I've ever owned... And it sits crazy low, so it's a bad measurement here... But I think shoebox Fords were a real step backwards in terms of ride, handling and braking. The steering box in these cars is just so bad... As a custom though... none of that shit really matters.
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