1940 Chevrolet Fleetmaster

1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe Business Coupe These new Chevrolets for 1940 have been designed and built and priced to be first again, first in quality, performance, appearance, and economy, first in public favor, and first in sales, again in 1940 as they have been in eight of the last nine years. Chevrolet herewith presents three series of passenger cars, Special DeLuxe, Master DeLuxe, and Master 85. All three are built to the same high standards of quality, in design, materials, and manufacture, for which Chevrolet has long been famous. From the 1940 Chevrolet brochure   For consignment, a 1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe Business coupe showing 3,648 miles, but the true miles are unknown. While once the stalwart chariot of a hard working American man, it's now intended for fun even though the build is all business when it comes to performance! Exterior Eye searing Rally Red will get your attention just before you hear the roar of the Deluxe turn the corner, and the bumper delete aspect of the car creates a wind defying profile which seems to cant forward in movement even when parked. Articulated fenders reach broadly beyond the body, arching over 15-inch Cragar wheels that look just right while a hood scoop emerges from the hood, jutting forward in the same attitude of the protruding headlights. The slanted B-pillar follows the lines of the business coupe's rear and whether the designers intended it or not, it's a well balanced design that works well with the slightly raked stance presented here. Imperfections are few, with some touched up and untouched chips, scuffs, running boards showing some age, paint blistering, uneven gaps with cracking paint where the bumpers would be on the apron, and some evident filler flaws.   Interior Gray cloth door panels retain the petite hardware associated with period cars and show some light staining but are fully intact and handsome. Gray vinyl ProCar reclining bucket seats occupy the cabin with race style lap belts in red and the package shelf behind them is configured as if a rear bench seat, with gray cloth and red inserts, clean and attractive. A red leather wrapped chrome spoked steering wheel on a tilt column fronts a dash with modern, digital gauges and a Captain America Moon Equipped tachometer perched on top. You'll also have the modern convenience of an AM/FM/CD radio with Aux and USB connectivity and a VintageAir unit. Red, white and blue color the mean looking Kilduff Lightning Rod shifter, three sticks that look like something out of the NHRA! It's over black carpet and under a gray headliner, both in great shape. The trunk is barren, bare metal and currently houses an Optima yellow top battery.  Drivetrain Show worthy is the 400ci V8 from 1972 under the hood with FloTek 200cc aluminum heads and dual Holley 450cfm carburetors on a high rise intake. The 700R4 4-speed automatic houses a Stage 2 shift kit and 3200rpm stall converter, routing power to the Quick Performance Ford 9 in back with 4.11 gears and Positraction.  Undercarriage Clean conditions prevail underneath with a transmission cooler fan is the first thing we encounter ahead of the rear axle. Headers send a pair of pipes that enter Thrush mufflers just before heading to the sides and exiting under the running boards. A Wilwood master cylinder feeds the disc brakes in front and drums in back while suspension includes a Mustang II front end and leaf spring with traction bars in back. A driveshaft loop is present in this rust free environment. Drive-Ability The 400 fires up with a discernible exhaust note and a smooth idle, while the triple shifter in the center console is out of conduit to movement, and we lap the car around the test loop where it demonstrates obvious power, straight tracking, and a comfortable cockpit. All functions on this well sorted build operate as intended and we return the business coupe to the mall to await its next transaction. While Classic Auto Mall represents tha