1940 Ford Tudor Build Thread

[40FordDeluxe]

My wife came out and took evidence photos to show who made it not black now....... It is black in low light situations. It's cool to me. It reminds me of the car it was when I was little and then it changes to what it is today.

[40FordDeluxe]

Now it was time to clean up all the front suspension and paint it to make it look new again. I modified the lower control arms and the uppers just got scuffed and scratched over the years. Clint cleaned the rack up and I let him shoot the cast steel part.

[40FordDeluxe]

It is the dash's turn for modifications. Years ago I purchased a stash box made by Hot rods by Dean. I planned to put a radio in it back then, but I'm not sure what I'll put in here now. I also plan to make a full length console from the dash to the trans tunnel and back to the seats so there will be plenty of room for things.

The kit allows you to make the stash box removable but I decided since welding was required to put it in anyway, I'd just weld it in. Once I had the box installation complete, I had to make the decision to fill the original radio hole or not. I opted to since a radio won't fit there now and chances are I may not run a head unit in this car any how. I plan to use my phone and use an amp and a blue tooth receiver and amp to run some speakers. That's way down on the list though.

[40FordDeluxe]

I primered the dash with 3 coats of filler primer. Now I need to block it out and shoot it. The filler pic is just an old inside joke to me. My old boss would chew my butt for wasting that material. There was always a project setting there that extra filler was spread on so it never went to waste!

The last pic shows the car now having complete hubs with packed bearings, caliper mounting brackets installed and calipers on for tor the first time in years.

[40FordDeluxe]

Now it was time to put the trim back on. That was a bit nerve wracking but I got it done. I only replaced 1 piece and that was the LH rear quarter piece. It was a real bear to get the clips in to it but I finally managed. I also got a new deck lid emblem. This car had a blue one on it when I got it but Deluxe cars should have had a red emblem to match the rest of the Deluxe badges.

[40FordDeluxe]

It was time to start running lines. I started with air lines so I could get the car in and out or load it on a trailer if I had to. I just used nylon DOT black tubing and compression fittings. I picked up an air bag controller that has a wireless remote to control them. I might change that to a wired unit but we shall see. All the remotes in my house disappear so I'm afraid this one could have the same fate.

I haven't painted my garnish moldings yet so I just put the front door ones in so I can roll it outside. I wanted to wash it before I started wet sanding it to buff it but I didn't get the chance that day.

Finally some other pics outside.

[40FordDeluxe]

Here are 2 night time pics for contrast.

[v8nutz]

Nice! Lots of progress.

[rspears]

Looking really, really nice! I was wondering when/how you'd handle the transition from black to metallic blue!! It's gonna be sweet, especially with that diesel rolling smoke!!

[Hotrod46]

Looking good! Looking forward to seeing it finished.

If you're not wanting a traditional dash radio, look into marine units. Many have remote head units with smallish control boxes that can be mounted anywhere. The one I have works good, but doesn't have a CD player. I use USB and Bluetooth.

[stovens]

Very nice blue metalic

[Navy7797]

Looking good, keep at it your almost done. The last year on my 9 year build I did at least one thing a day to my truck, it may have been just tightening a nut but I made it a point to do that every day (almost) . Looking forward to see the rest of it.

[40FordDeluxe]

Thanks guys! Navy, I'm going to try and get it more complete and drivable by summer. I've gotten some stuff done recently but nothing pic worthy.

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[40FordDeluxe]

I'm finally making some head way on the 40. I finally am close to setting the engine in the frame but for real. There are many things I never had installed on the car during the build. Not big things but things that are instrumental for the car to run and operate. You can see my mess and the Hemi still on the stand. I then got the engine prepped and ready and then masked off and shot. Thanks to Matthyj for the phone assistance when I had questions. I had a local pin striper decorate the air cleaner lid. I might buy a 2nd and have another guy do something up as well. We shall see.

[40FordDeluxe]

Now we're getting somewhere! I had planned to paint the engine ford blue but Matt sent me some pics of a car his friend is building and I had to steal his idea. These engines were originally silver with gold valve covers but I think they look great gold. So now I have my first large gold nugget. The cost is about right for one. The pink pic was a gag joke. I sent that to my wife and she came out about 20min later saying I wasn't funny.

My original dip stick tube broke on removal but I had already purchased a new hot heads one. Of course it didn't fit. I was really imprerssed to see the made in china on the stick..... But what really impressed me was the hack job on the tube where they shortened it and the snip job on the stick. I had to file both and remove the metal burs to get the stick to slide in. I had to turn down the adapter they made on a lathe to fit my block. I find it odd that I have to modify a part made specifically for this but I used my precision bench grinder to knock it out. Ching chang perfection......