Nice forty Ford

That is an extremely nice car. It would need to be treated with the same level of care we see with a fresh high dollar restoration IMHO. Wow.
 
One of the things I noticed and has been a long topic of discussion is the wire loom cover on the firewall....."Always Black" is the way it was......BUT I keep going back to the "Original" factory photo of the 39 Mercury (as my 39 Mercury is what prompted the discussion) and the photo with it installed and painted body color, my 39 Mercury with it painted body color AND this 40 coupe with it painted body color....AS several other 39/40's I have with them painted body color.....AS well a 41/42 style in my collection CLEARLY painted blue/body color both front and back side and NO evidence of ANY black paint on it????
 

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Jim,

I know nothing about '40 Fords, but I'm if curious Ford did not offer that "extreme" duty air cleaner as an option in '40?
Tim, I think in certain countries and applications they were stock.....I'm not saying it was 100% true BUT our 1935 Australian Ute had the "extreme" duty air breather on it when we got it and it looked just as rough as the rest of the car did when we got it......I believe it to be original to the car!!! ALSO makes total sense give the purpose and location of the vehicle.
 
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That's the heavy-duty air cleaner. It was an accessory, factory authorized, concourse correct.
 
THANK YOU Kube, Tim and rockfla for correcting my false assumption. I never new such a 1940 air cleaner existed.
Learn something new every time you folks post.
Attached is some additional air cleaner info. I just located.
 

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One of the things I noticed and has been a long topic of discussion is the wire loom cover on the firewall....."Always Black" is the way it was......BUT I keep going back to the "Original" factory photo of the 39 Mercury (as my 39 Mercury is what prompted the discussion) and the photo with it installed and painted body color, my 39 Mercury with it painted body color AND this 40 coupe with it painted body color....AS several other 39/40's I have with them painted body color.....AS well a 41/42 style in my collection CLEARLY painted blue/body color both front and back side and NO evidence of ANY black paint on it????

No one can tell us with certainty what happened back in the various assembly plants.
That being said, it's possible the covers did get painted body color at some plant, at some moment in time.
However, engineering releases clearly indicate these were supposed to be gloss black regardless of body color.
And, common sense would dictate they most likely were with rare exception. The cost to match body color and the logistics to do so would not align with a low-priced Ford built quickly and as economically as feasible.

If you were on the concourse and I judged your car, you'd get a deduction for a body color cover.
Offer me proof otherwise and I'd be thrilled to have learned something new.
 
THANK YOU Kube, Tim and rockfla for correcting my false assumption. I never new such a 1940 air cleaner existed.
Learn something new every time you folks post.
Attached is some additional air cleaner info. I just located.

I've attached a photo of a properly restored heavy duty filter.
This type was described as to be used in extreme dusty conditions. I doubt many found their way on to a car. Still, they were offered and no doubt a few did get installed on cars vs. trucks.
 

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After the dust storms back in the early 30s, some folks started getting serious about protecting their vehicles from such situations. A lot of roads in rural farming communities were pretty dusty during drought situations. If you got stuck following a harvest truck then it could get pretty dusty.
 
I've attached a photo of a properly restored heavy duty filter.
This type was described as to be used in extreme dusty conditions. I doubt many found their way on to a car. Still, they were offered and no doubt a few did get installed on cars vs. trucks.

I don't mean to derail this thread, but now I'm curious. Looking at the picture Kube posted, how much dust do you think entered through the breather on top of the oil fill tube? I guess that breather is kind of a quasi-oil bath set up since the fiber inside gets misted with oil vapor, but it is still sucking in "fresh" air from under the hood.

Not as strong as the carb does, but it is still pulling in air.
 
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after the dust storms back in the early 30s, some folks started getting serious about protecting their vehicles from such situations. A lot of roads in rural farming communities were pretty dusty during drought situations. If you got stuck following a harvest truck then it could get pretty dusty.

A valid point indeed!
 
Both the heavy duty and the accessory oil bath air cleaners catch a lot of dirt! Plus they add a very light vapor of oil to the air.
 
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