Projects Look what followed me home. 40 Ford Standard Coupe.

Look what followed me home 1940 Standard opera coupe. Any help finding a standard Grill, sides and center would be very appreciated

As I scrolled thru the market place adds, literally swiping my finger upward while postings for everything from antique washing machines, to old caulking guns. Yes, people resell caulking guns. The thumbnails sped by faster than the cherries on a slot machine, when it first caught my eye.

Little backstory. I have been slowly collecting parts for my next build for many years. Actually over a decade now, patiently waiting for the car I’ve always coveted. A 1940 Ford coupe. But the selection always falls into 2 categories.

1. Restored and High Dollar.
2. Sitting in a field rusting away missing a large percentage of glass, body parts etc.

My budget dictates my method of slow and steady purchasing of parts more than any guru like patience. And a passion that still motivates me to set the alarm for 4:30 am (That’s in the wee morning or late night depending on your views on these things) Driving 100+ miles to hit a swap meet. Coming home with something I could have just as easily right clicked on, without the time, gas money, entry fee, etc.

In the Thumbnail pics was my wish of wishes, a 1940 Ford Coupe. Old oxidized Orange Lacquer paint. Not from sitting in the elements for decades. But the cover of a garage. No engine. Interior shot but there. The price was in the realm of what I could afford if I sold off some of my collection stashed around my garage and storage sheds. But would I have the time to sell what I needed to buy my new project? And even if every piece needed to fall into place happens, do you even have the ability anymore? Honestly.

Well, take action then see what happens.

I messaged the seller and waited. And waited, messaged again, still nothing. Well, guess that answers that. Stop plotting and planning. Get back to the grind of the day to day stuff. Over a week passed when I got a reply. It was still available. And now I got the story on the car.

The 20 something year old grandson of the owner now possessed it. . He was selling because it was above his abilities. And was into 70’s Corvettes. Sigh, ahhh youth. Hey, at least it wasn’t to buy Japanese action figures. Or as I like to call them, Dolls.

The Car: his grandfather drove it with pride back in the late 50’s when he blew the flat motor powering it. It was pulled into the garage where it sat with the, any day now I’ll get to swapping the motor out and put some more ponies into her when I do. Narrative that plagues so many. Some time went by, when he was called for service in Vietnam. Did his tour, came home, and began struggling with addiction and alcoholism. Years became decades. But he never lost his home or his car which tells me a little something about his constitution. “I’ve got the original yellow plates, with the last registration sticker 63 I think. Somewhere around the house. “

We set up a time for me to come look her over, 4 days ahead on Sat. I began messaging him Friday noon to confirm. Nothing. Sat came and went, nothing soon days passed. I was getting pretty pissed about all of it, when finally he got back to me.

“I was looking for the pink slip and asked grandpa if he knew where it was. He asked why I needed it. When I told him. He said he wanted ME to have the car to restore. Not to sell.” I wanted to interject, that’s because he has good taste in vintage cars. My stomach sank. I understand your grandfathers motivation. Let me know if his position changes. And I hung up.

Now at this point it is very difficult to view this entire event as anything but disappointing and let it get me down, which is exactly what I did. But sometimes life has hurdles it’s going to throw at you. Which you can navigate with dignity and poise, or let them take you out, and get knocked on your ass. I’d like to think I managed to get thru this somewhere down the middle. And THIS was all about to come down the pike.
Brain Cancer. A med/large mass was found in the left temporal lobe. Basically between my ear and brainstem. And it was touching the brain stem. If it hasn’t grafted itself to the stem I’ll be fortunate. If it has. It’s just a matter of time. Before its terminal. When I read the MRI results so many things flooded my being. Sorrow. Regret, anger, frustration. Fear of not seeing my 9year old daughter grow into the wonderful person she is.

Cancer runs in my family. It orphaned me at the age of 17. Now I was going to have to tell my daughter what both my parents told me. They’re saying I’ve months to live. The cycle continues.
To be continued


My life became a flurry of Doctor phone calls, interviews, plans, more MRI’s and the ever looming date of my brain surgery closing in fast. I went on medical leave a month before the craniotomy and 3 months after. With the support of friends and my boss. I managing to stay afloat. I’d go out to the garage to wrench on my 32. But just didn’t have the mental capacity to do anything. The smallest task seemed insurmountable. I remember just draining the radiator was too much for me to fathom. And this was prior to the surgery. Let alone after. Radiation wasn’t an option as the tumors location in my skull. And it was touching my Brainstem. No bueno. If left there long enough it could graft itself to the stem. And just like crossing the streams…. It would not be good. The date came. The med/large tumor was removed. Biopsied….. Benign. Thank god. Now comes physical therapy learning to keep balance. The tumor had choked out the vestibular nerves as well as the acoustic nerve. That’s balance equilibrium and hearing. I was about as steady standing up as a new born colt. But I was alive, and didn’t have to tell my daughter anything but a very under played white lie about needing surgery. Nothing big. Just a little thing.


Funny thing is this whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking about that Orange 40. And how good it would look with my 392 Hemi, shoe horned in it with all the right equipment. Cragar 4-2’s intake, Mallory flat top with tach drive. Connected to either a hipo galaxy top loader with jeep shift tower. Or an A833 with over drive. Still haven’t decided which 4 speed to use. A narrowed Olds Pontiac Third member spinning big windowed magnesium Halibrands. It would stand its own next to any Willys. Especially with the right livery.

I messaged the kid every 3-4 months reminding him I was still interested and I was not going to fuck his grandfathers car up. The paint would remain. The body would remain unmolested. I even would suggest Car culture movies like Ford vs Ferrari, American Graffiti, and even 2 lane Blacktop. And the one of my personal faves. The World’s Fastest Indian. And after 18 months the text id been waiting for finally came in. He’d dropped the price almost 40% before I even answered. Now it was on. Got the message on Tues, went there with my nephew (good friends son) Nathan. We threw down a deposit, and I came back the following Sat with trailer and balance . And pulled her out of her storage. Dragged her home. The excitement of I got my car, slowly turned into oh man….. I got my car, now I gotta build it. All the pieces did fall into place. Except me, and my abilities, which have definitely been diminished. It’s been a tough few years. I’ll never be the same physically. I’m even more forgetful than before and my balance is screwed. But this little project is exactly what I need to prove to myself I haven’t lost it all. It may take me a little longer than before. But I’ll get there. This I swear.

Brandon (Highboy) Lortz

 

Party On..Great Score....

 

I’d drive it

paint is perfect

 

I’m sorry to hear about your condition, that ‘40 should keep the spirits up and motivate you to keep moving and not sit and wait.

 

Thoughts your way...this was a difficult read for so many reasons...I hope for a miracle for you Hamber...

 

Hopefully things will work out, stay positive

 

Just threw in the second installment . Thanks for your message.

 

I sincerely hope your dreams come true; it's also therapeutic for you.
Keep us updated.
Regards Harald

 

I’m sure glad you did!

 

Having just married, I was told my wife had the same kind of nasty disease (but not a benign one) and that I should prepare for the worst.
That was 35 years ago, and my wife just celebrated her 60th birthday this summer!
You have to fight. She did it, like a full-time job. She set goals (having children, etc.) and worked hard to achieve them.
It's VERY important for recovery.
Your Ford 40 project can be a wonderful therapy.
Go ahead, do it!
My best wishes are with you, and I'm sure those of the entire HAMB community.

 

Well We all need to recognize that life is just unpredictable.
Having everything follow a steady course can make us think that we deserve the blessings.
When the shit hits the fan it can screw up the appreciation of what is positive in all of our situations.
However, You Good Sir, kept your focus on what you felt to be the dream of of many.
The payoff is:
Now getting through all the therapy required for physical strength making an Icon come to be. Thanks for sharing the details here, and hold tight to the plan.
We're eager and waiting for when You will make us smile for you.

 

Thanks for sharing your story. Seems God has a purpose for you to hang around a while and that is sure a cool 40 you can play with. I like your plans for it and look forward to how this goes.

 

Been through something similar, not that level though, but in the hospital bed I promised myself to come out on the road again, for me, and my familys sake.
Having kids, and a strong passion for your hobby, has a great impact on your will and ability to recover! Sure!
Congrats on the ‘40, as another owner of one- I think its the coolest Rod!
Cheers

 

Glad the second half of the story was much better. And, glad you got the little car, she's a beauty!

-Abone.

 

Wishing you the best for your health and new project!

 

Great looking project car. Great price too. I wish you the best. Good luck and Gods speed.

 

Keep us posted on your progress, and the 40's progress. Glad you came through the C scare in relatively good shape. Keep on!

 

Great find I had a 40 DLX and let it go. Still kicking myself over that Enjoy

 

Thank you. Your comment just caused the release of some saretoninx

Thank you. Your comment just caused a small release of serotonin in my body. Either that or I’m having a stroke. Guess I’ll know the answer by the end of the day. You and your wife’s story are inspirational to me. After my surgery the neurologist set out timelines for when I’d be able to get back to a sense of normalcy. I took these timelines as challenges. That I’d beat. It was foolish of me. Guess the old ego took over looking back on it. The increments of healing were big at first then they slowly plateaued, I’m not thrilled where I find myself these days. But it could take years for the old brain to heal. So again. I’m happy I’m here. And BTW I just had my second 6 monthly MRI. No growth in the bits that were left behind. So I’m happy about that.

 

Wow, I looked at that and said, "That's too much to read." I'm glad I did. My family has the same history, and I'm currently slightly past the mean age of my parent's passing....and also have cancer issues (as predicted, diagnosed right at the mean age). However, using this as a catalyst for living and enjoying life, I've gotten my bucket list started. I've got cars I've either wanted, or am thrilled to have. I have what I need for the next 30-40 years (is 98 too old to hot rod? No, it is not). My '40 Ford coupe is more of your category 2, but I never thought I'd be able to own one at all, so I'm very happy.
Blah blah blah....
Having said all that, thank you very much for the inspiration. Let's keep on living, brother! I will be following this thread closely.

 

We all need to keep praying for you, to keep going, don’t give in or up. The Lord has blessed you with the tumor being benign and with the 40 coming to live with you. Keep on moving and challenge yourself to get things done. Please keep us posted on the progress.

 

Thank you, for telling me what I wrote resonated with you. And we share some hardships many won’t know. I remember two important markers involving losing my parents. The first was when they’d been gone longer than they were present in my life. The second was when I surpassed them in age. Mom was 48 dad 55. When I was a kid I thought they’d live full lives. I also thought at 17 I was practically an adult. Now I see 17 year olds and I’m like wow I was young. Granted Gen X 17 is a millennial 45.

 

A second input/
One of my closest friends had the same surgery as you some years ago, we where very afraid to loose him.
Tomorrow he and I will ride my Panhead and his Sportster, take a weekend trip to a dragrace event, two days of race, beers, and old rock’n’roll.
You can do it!

 

Good for you you're still here! Now just get on with it! Ha ha!

Chris

 

Hey thanks for sharing your story, as others have said, it seems you have a purpose for being here & that coupe is a real gem wow! Hopefully you can take it back & show the family!

 

Very well written story. You took us on a helluva ride with your writing skills, and I felt so happy for you as I got to the end. If we were closer, I'd want to come over and help you on your car in some way. Being a determined badass is working for you. Please keep the HAMB up to date on the '40, and how you're feeling. Thanks for writing. Good post.

 

That’s even more reassuring. I’ve had a class M since high school. And haven’t ridden my old BMW since my vertigo started 2 years ago. I have ridden my bicycle without incident. But that’s a light bicycle not a machine. it’s act of turning my head quickly that still makes my head spin. I drive my car fine. I’m just still fearful of the shift to a motorcycle where balance is a key factor. It may just take more time to heal. My brain is supposed to ignore the bad signals it gets from the severed vestibular nerves. I’m just not there yet.

 

Macht Schell Baby!