“It was a very simple car with a mildly warmed over Ford and a lowered stance. For all intents and purposes, it was just a stock early Ford engineered in the 1930’s to be a utility vehicle for typical American families.” “I drove that car every single day for the next 6 years and put over 60,000 miles on it while doing so. To date, it’s the best Ford I have ever owned. It wasn’t all that exciting and it certainly wasn’t fast, but it was honest and did exactly what it was asked to do.” "I eventually sold the sedan to a guy on the west coast and have since lost contact with it, but not much time goes by between instances of wishing it was still sitting in my garage. There’s just something about the 39/40 sedan that makes it more than the accumulation of its parts. I’m searching for a word here, but lets just settled on “practical.” Hello, What a description of a very cool 39 Ford sedan. I could alternate several words in the above writing and it would fit the description of my Flathead powered, 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. It did the same, ran like a top, did not cause me any problems and kept on ticking. It also was not fast and I did not make the lower end of the Cherry Avenue Drags Top Eliminator list by racing the 4 and 6 cylinder hot rod/cruisers. The fun thing was that over time and being a teenager, I accepted the fact that it was low cost, minimal maintenance and so reliable that I would be able to drive it 200 miles away from home on our long surf road trips. All running Pemex Gas, service at any local gas station and oil if needed from unnamed companies South of the border, as well as up North in the Santa Barbara area on those cold water surf road trips. But, it all ran like a top and never had to go ask for help. Jnaki Not only did the flathead, 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery run like a top, it helped me realize that it was the journey AND the destination that made it fun. A huge part of the journey was the reliability of the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. Lack of pure power, no money to add speed parts and hoped that we got to the long distance surf spots with us intact. All keys to having “fun, fun, fun…” Like modern day “glamping” folks, we had a built in camper just a reach behind our seats. Plenty of cold drinks, food and sleeping bags made it a super low cost place to stay for the next round of surfing those cold waves in Santa Barbara, plus, exploring more South of The Border places. For what I could afford, it was the “Best Ford ever…” NOTE: But, as things go, later on after we got married, my wife and I got a project 327 powered similar 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. It certainly had more items, but it was still a cool hot rod that needed tons of work to get it safe and sane. At first, it drove us up the wall with the little stuff that made it unsafe and unreliable. Then, after working on it as much as I could, we had to take it to a place that did repairs and they had it for weeks. Finally, a combination of things was done and now, it drove with added power, and a smooth comfortable ride. It was difficult to keep my wife out of the sedan delivery. She was in it as much as me and went all over by herself to go shopping or visiting friends. Coming up to the current status during the pre pandemic and pandemic era, we started the search for a two door Ford Sedan, in So Cal. (got sold from not acting quickly enough) and then a Candy Apple/Tahitian Red (one of my wife’s favorite colors) 4 door sedan that would allow us to get our granddaughter to school, to her after school activities and dance practices. Plus, the rear front opening doors would welcome our granddaughter and her friends with a wide front entry, like a private limousine… YRMV
Am I the only one who noticed that the genius also zip tied the steel brake line to the upper control arm and there is no rubber hose to the caliper either. Just all steel line!
Lots of great ones here. Have had maybe 13-14 pass thru here in the past 20 yrs. A 40 coupe is my favorite but have had a few sedans as well. During the covid scare and being older I kinda hunkered down for a long time. Got in a funk and sold 40 coupe in the photo which we had for many years- big mistake!! Should have kept the folkstone std as well.Oh well--found another nice one that I have been playing with--flatty, Columbia etc etc. 40's are great driving cars-love the axle cars set up right.
...Tim, You can make those images bigger by hitting the "full image" button before hitting the "reply" button...
Thank you! My old 40 CMG coupe, my sons and my old 57 Fuely went to a collection. They are now may be up for sale but a bit more than I want to spend at 80. Should have never sold the CMG deluxe!
My 39/40 a favorite since I was 13 years old and saw the Ray Vega tub at my high school. The Valley Custom Shop built 38 Ford Tub, the car that started me on Tubs, Still my favorite custom car.JW
I learned to drive on a '39 hump back on my family's farm. It was around 1960 (I was 10 years old) and my dad had to tape pieces of 2X4 to the pedals to help me reach them. Was the last of the floor shifted cars and I loved it....
I just realized I didn't put the usual sleepy pic of my 39 in this topic. That might even be a misdemeanor. Oops...
The Jalopy Journal
