1940 Ford Tudor Build Thread

[34_40]

"On the Bridge"... sounds like an old Led Zepplin song!


I've never taken the gas tank out of a 39/40 Ford. Curious what Ryan can offer.

[40FordDeluxe]

Agree about he bridge photo. That is nice.
I am having trouble pulling my gas tank down to replace it with a larger poly one.
I have pushed it to the drivers side and need about another 1/4 inch for the passenger
side to fall. Got any suggestions?

Scooting, mine was a real PITA to get out. I had to push it to the driver's side as far as it would go, then wiggle it towards the front and back of the car while trying to shove to the driver's side and then the darn thing fell out. You might be able to bend the LH side flange and gain more clearance to slide it over.

[40FordDeluxe]

This is a nice feeling even though I know there is still a long road ahead for me. It sets on all 4 tires on it's own and it can roll without dollies etc. I still have to install the rear air bag mounts etc. But I wanted to put it on the ground and see how I did. I wanted to make sure my back fenders fit and I wanted to see how it sets.

The first pic is roughly ride height. The second pic is all aired out per say. I have 3 3/8" in between the frame and the ground at the lowest point of the frame. The front cross member has about 3/4" under it. Currently the rear end housing is resting on the frame rails. There is 5" between the bottom of the front of the rear fender and the ground.

I am trying to decide if I want to notch the rear of the frame and allow it to come down 1 more inch. I have the room right now for tire to fender clearance. I haven't decided if I want to do it. If I don't I may regret it and even if I do, it's not like I have to utilize it. I plan to use a nice large rubber bump stop in case a bag ever fails nothing will crash down and kill body or suspension parts.

I did have to cut the floor to make room to allow the rear axle and suspension to come up while the suspension is dropped. I never used the original spare tire area and will cut that out and make that area all uniform. I'm planning on putting my air tank under the package tray I think. I might put it behind the rear end instead if I have enough room. I have 2 different tanks to choose from so I'll just have to see how much room I end up with.

[randyr]

Nice work, Ryan! Looks like you might have to swap those rear wheels for some wider ones to fill up those fenders...

[40FordDeluxe]

Yeah Randy, I think I'm going to try to buy a different set of wheels after this is driving. These are 17x9s so maybe I'll go with a 10 or 12. I have thought about going back to my steel fenders and trying to widen them to fit these wheels and tires. We'll see. Worst case I'll run these for now. 2018 needs to be the year for this car.

[falconvan]

Looking awesome, Ryan! Love the wheels.

[53 Chevy5]

Wow, your getting after it,It's looking good ! That offset Explorer rear end can be a pain to fit, I got to get a sway bar on mine yet. If I stop by this summer can I figure on a ride in the 40 ?

[40FordDeluxe]

Seth, you bet you can! I have 2 weeks vacation left to use by May 31 and have no big plans so I'm thinking about taking a week off. Shutting my phone off and working on the 40. That would be nice.

[RichB]

Ryan:
Love the progress your making!

Rich

[Hotrod46]

I am trying to decide if I want to notch the rear of the frame and allow it to come down 1 more inch. I have the room right now for tire to fender clearance. I haven't decided if I want to do it.

Do it now. As you said, you would hate to need it later and not have done it.

It's looking great. Love the hemi!

[40FordDeluxe]

Today I didn't get much garage time. It was so nice out I decided I needed to take down all the out door Christmas decorations. I wanted to get it done before the weekend so I might be able to get some time in on the car on the weekend.

I did move some clutter and pushed the Camaro outside. Colt, my youngest son, helped "drive" it out. He has found a liking to the thing. Get in line son.

Anyhow, here is a better side shot of how the 40 is setting currently. I think I will go ahead and notch the frame in the rear. Like Hotrod46 said, I'll probably regret it later if I don't do it now. My buddy Adam asked me, "Does it need to be lower though?" I told him, no probably not but I know it will drive me crazy thinking I could have made the effort to make it a little lower, and doing it later will suck. Haha It won't effect the way it drives so what the hay. I've never had anything really low to the ground so this will be it. It'll still be a decent height for driving on the road.

[34_40]

Wow Ryan, that's kind of a mile marker moment ain't it? She's lookin' great too.

[40FordDeluxe]

Wow Ryan, that's kind of a mile marker moment ain't it? She's lookin' great too.

Yes Mike, it is. Thanks. I scheduled some days off in 2 weeks. I'm going to get some paint ordered so I can try to get the body and frame to become 1 again by the end of that time.

[firebird77clone]

What's in a name:

Christmas lights have to be put up and taken down.

I've got "party lights", jes' leave them up year 'round.

[Driver50x]

I'm glad to see the progress on the 40 Ryan. That stance looks awesome to me. And the big hemi just looks so "right" sitting there!