I just bought a 1940 Plymouth coupe from a gentleman here on the hamb. Barn find, sat since 1961, etc. I have wanted a 1940-41 Merc/Ford/Plymouth ever since I can remember but just havent had the funds or the right car at the same time. I found this one and sold my Harley to get the car and build started. I Will be building a 360 stroker motor for it with a chop and bags, paint, etc. I will probably at some point sell my 52 for funds to complete my dream car build. I dont want to, but having 2 kustoms isnt what I want to do. Heres a couple of pics that inspire my build. It's gonna be a lot of work, but Im really excited!! These cars done right you hardly ever see and I always said that if I ever had to get another make of vehicle, Mopar stuff would be the way. Dodge guys are a rare breed for sure!
Will be a beautiful car when done . Fords are my First choice but last summer I did sell my 1937 Plymouth p.u truck to buy a Shoebox Ford . I kida wish I had kept the truck . I have a 1970 Ford Super Cobra Jet to stuff in to the rails but the more thought about it the more I knew that is would get me in to a lot of trouble ! I was building a mild 700 hp engine for the truck and just figured better stop while I am ahead ! Would have loved to have finished it to have lots of fun with it . I also had a few other Mopars over my younger years . My favorite was my 1969 Dodge Super Bee , Yellow with a Black stripe ! Loved that car the best of all the cars I ever had ! There is nothing like the brute power and torque from a big block ! Just had to try one to understand ! Jim
Excellent choice, especially if yours is a businessman's coupe like those in the photos. Here's a couple photos of my '48. I've owned it for almost 30 years, but rarely drive it these days. It's all stock on the outside but full custom underneath including mini-tubs for wide tires. It's a kick in the **** to drive, but motor is a little too built for today's pump gas. How 'bout some pix of your '40?
Yeah, Business coupe it is. The story is that the man that owned it got too old to drive in 1960. His son took some parts out of the distributor, the old man went to start it, it wouldnt, and there in the barn it sat. Last year, the guy that I bought it from picked it up at the farm where it sat covered for all that time. Last registered in 1961. Pretty cool.
It looks really straight and rust-free. That'll save a lot of time. Here's a tip that'll save you even more time: Don't fool around with either the stock front or rear suspension. There's nothing worth saving. Cut the frame off ahead of the firewall and build something new. You'll need to narrow the frame at the rear and build mini-tubs to get any kind of tire under the car, so you might as well start from scratch when it comes to a rear suspension system as well. Ray Lund, the very talented guy who built my ch***is, built the entire frame/suspension from a spare frame center section. We then took the body off my car...I was still driving it...cut away the areas of interference with a plasma cutter and lowered it onto the new frame. He then built new body sections - inner rear fender tubs, floor, firewall, etc. to fit the new frame and running gear. Turned out very, very nice. A lot of guys try to modify, adapt, etc. the original stuff...kind of like most Ford-based hot rods are built...but it just doesn't work. The MoPar suspension and steering are very antiquated and are simply beyond help, in my humble opinion, and are best tossed away immediately. Another very minor point: If you chop the car, go very mild to retain the already excellent flow of the top. To enhance the chopped appearance, shorten the front windshield about two inches and fill in the area above it. As you may have noticed, the windshield was extended upward to aid stop light visibility, a move which was very practical but really f'd up the roof line. This is not as noticeable on the early cars like yours, but it is still there. They really went wild on the '46 - '48 cars like mine, however, and jacked the windshield 'way up into the top. If I was building my car again, I'd leave the top at stock height but lower the windshield top edge to be just a smidge below the side window top edge. I could'a done it, but it didn't become noticeable until I painted the car. Then it stuck out like a sore thumb. Nice car... Oh...while I'm thinkin' about it...I did some research at one time to find the "ultimate" roof line for a chopped businessman's coupe. Most of what I found were awful, not just bad but brutally bad. But I did find a couple of cars that aced the chop, making the car look even better than it does stock, not just making it lower. I think the best chop utilized a club coupe deck lid, which is shorter, to get the top line right. I'll see if I can find the images. I think I saved 'em somewhere on my 'puter.
Love that body style ! Looks to be a really good base to build from . Body looks great with a minor dent in the left rear fender . Kool story and proves that there is STILL a lot of old cars out there to be bought ! Jim
WOWIE, what a beauty! That looks like it is gonna be a really sweet ride- really nice shape! Whatever you do, keep us posted.
what?!!? no progress made between yesterday and today? is someone slacking? build man build... we want to see this one.
Nice. Looks like a great start and those completed pics should provide plenty of inspiration. Always loved your Ford too!
__Yeah dwaynerz, its coming from Fairbury IL. __vein, I haven't sold the Customline yet, but I imagine I will have to, to afford the build of the 40. Wouldn't be a bad trade off if I can get the 40 as well put together as the 52. Thanks for the encouragement guys!
i mapquested fairbury. about 3 hrs from me so i feel much better. had it been within 20 or 30 minutes, i would be bummed.
Nice find Rich. I love those cars too, they are gorgeous when done right. Oh yeah and maybe I'll save my pennies so that I can buy your 52 when you get to the selling point.
Well, shes listed in the cl***ifieds. Would LOVE to hand her off to a hamber!! Putting the ad up kinda makes me feel like ****. Im sure Ill feel better once Im cruising the 40... I hope anyway. If she doesnt sell, I guess its not so bad, my 40 will just take a little longer to be going down the road.
Sell it to that nice new pin up gal that just joined the HAMB,she is "purtier" than you anyhow,I already told her she could be "Avatar of the Week"
The car got here today and its GREAT! I was a little taken back by it being completely orange from rust, but my DA and some 60 grit made short work of the surface rust only to expose clean smooth metal. Original paint in the trunk is like new and the floors are solid as they come. Its strange, some things on the inside of the car are like new and some are weathered as they should be. The more I look at it and get into it, the better it looks. Good score... Now with this build!
My Plymouth was like that, too, with seemingly mismatched parts on the inside, some weathered and some not. The car had lots of stainless steel and chromed br*** parts inside which were like new, and the pot metal parts were really nice, too...unlike most other makes. Even the amber plastic knobs were pretty nice. I think Chrysler Corp. really focused on quality in those days, starting with the materials they used.
Glad to hear it is a nice solid base to start your dream with! Now, don't forget to post pics when you start to make progress. If you need any photoshop help with ideas shoot me a pm.
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