1940 Ford Deluxe

1940 Ford Deluxe Convertible
ASURES
The clean styling of Ford's 1940 offerings was one factor that drove sales to more than five hundred thousand units, a jump of more the fifty percent over the previous year. Part of this popularity could no doubt be attributed to Eugene "Bob" Gregorie's influence on the stylists who penned this design while he was chief of Ford's design department, a post that he held from 1935 to 1943. It was a freshening up of a styling concept first introduced in 1939 by the addition of a new front end design. Sealed beam headlights were offered for the first time by the automaker on the 1940 model. Aside from being a major safety improvement, their design contributed considerably to the new look.
For consignment, a Deluxe convertible hot rod if you will, but in tasteful form. The design was so wildly popular among hot rodders, Fo actually sold the rights to the design in later years so they could be reproduced in fiberglass. This car is an original all steel convertible body, retaining its beautiful bulbous design, running boards, has a convertible top put on and all sits on a CI frame The interior is a sight to behold in all its parchment glory, and an overall very nice build for sale here at Classic Auto Mall.
Exterior
With the body finished by Worrell Auto Body and bathed in very nice Steel Blue 2 stage paint, and adorned with a small chrome tubula bumper on the front, near perfect badging and brite-work, we have a rolling work of art. Very little was left unturned on this restoration, as lines are straight, gaps are really nice, and steel is straight. The large visored sealed beam headlamp bezels flank a horizontal ribbed curved V grille and tall hood center. A nice chromed spear works its way back on either side along the beltine of the slightly curved sides. At the curved rear of this car, we see 2 V shapes Sergeant Stripe like tail lights almost getting lost in the deep field of blur paint. The rear bumper was omitted, and a smoothed rear roll pan was added for clean crisp looks. Gleaming 17" American Racing wheels are noted on all 4 corners. A pristine canvas convertible top, which is manually operated, prepares us for a gaze into the interic
A swing of the door, and we are in a parchment bucket seat and door panel custom vinyl and leather heaven. With the leather buckets we can see not a mark on them, just some material bunching on the upper bolsters. Moving to the back reveals a pristine parchment bench bringing up the rear. On the dash some liberties were taken on the original design, but it retains its beautiful form with blue shin paint and even shinier chrome horizontal ribbing over the factory speaker location. A chrome steering column has a leather wrapped polished aluminum hub center steering wheel at its end. This fronts a bevy of Classic Instrument gauges in round form with chrome bezels. Blue padding covers the lower parts of the dash and a parchment and blue console flows down to the floor and holds both the AM/FM/CD stereo and upholders. Royal blue carpeting in mint condition floods the floors. The trunk too has been finished to perfectio with more blue carpeting and parchment and blue side panels.
Drivetrain
A flip of the massive hood, and we are met with an equally massive 350ci V8 in chromed and polished splendor. Our consignor states that this mill was assembled by Lorenzo and makes a turn smoking 400hp. A QuickFuel 4-barrel feeds plenty of fossils and air to the mill, and it is backed up by a rebuilt TH400 3-speed automatic transmission. A Ford 9" rear axle by Currie has Positraction added in to