Dennis Carpenter's 40 Ford

[funrunr]

For those of you that could not make the autorama. Here's a pic of Carpenter's 40. It looked awesome. If you wanted to start with the best available and could afFORD it, this would be the way to go. Not all of us are fortunate enough to find the virgin barn finds and have to start with what's available. It was great to look at!

 

[tb40]

Nice work
I talked to Carpenter a few weeks ago.
I would love to have my men here in my shop build some of the new 40's
We shall see how things go.

 

[bart78]

It looks nice. But I bet right now you you could find a complete car and come out ahead. I saw a older restoration the other day. For about the same price as that body.

 

[Sid the Maineiac]

How much of these are made in the USA ? All,part,none ? Would be a good selling point if they were built here!

 

[bart78]

Complete body shell doors and trunk lid. 15,500. That's what I found on his web site. That's just the body doors and trunk lid.

 

[flatjack9]

As of yet, they are not tooled up to produce a hood. This from one of the guys at the Autorama.

 

[Bassman/NZ]

It looks nice. But I bet right now you you could find a complete car and come out ahead. I saw a older restoration the other day. For about the same price as that body.

And how much rust are you going to find when you strip the body for a repaint? I've seen so called older restorations.... look very nice until you strip the paint. Then you find every nasty devious trick known to man.

 

[oldredford]

It is all stamped in Taiwan.

 

[bart78]

I think even if you found a little rust you would still be ahead. But if you bought a complete car. You would have everything. And you could make the changes as needed or wanted. I have no idea how the carpenter coupes are titled. Do you have to come up with one yourself. Or do you have. 2013 Dennis carpenter coupe? In today's economy you can find good deals on cars. I think the person that goes the catalog bought car will not be doing most of the work. If they were they would be starting with a good project car.

 

[mfrk]

Whered the hood on that one come from?????

 

[Krylon32]

It's a big leap in the repro dept. but unlike 32 roadsters there are some really cherry 40 coupes reasonably priced on the market. Just saw one in the want ads by Frank in CA for 32,000. Rust free and ready for the road. Looks like a better deal?

 

[1952henry]

And how much rust are you going to find when you strip the body for a repaint? I've seen so called older restorations.... look very nice until you strip the paint. Then you find every nasty devious trick known to man.

A bit harsh, I would say. Not every person who has restored a car took a shortcut to be devious, or even nasty. A fella long on desire but short on funds and/or time may have had to resort to some less than "correct" restoration practices.

 

[Gumpy]

A little rust shouldn't scare a person off rather i take it as a challenge and only work within my means, I would only purchase something i can repair myself, besides the new coupe may be for the street rod crowd--- I love to find dusty old original cars with a story to tell!! gump

 

[richard crow]

a little rust from the north east rust belt meads no floor roted all around the body at least six inches. & the chassis roted as well

 

[FRITZ47]

And how much rust are you going to find when you strip the body for a repaint? I've seen so called older restorations.... look very nice until you strip the paint. Then you find every nasty devious trick known to man.

I recently purchased a 1940 Convertible and we decided to sand it down and give it a quick repaint. Believe it or not, after taking the body to bare metal we found "zero" rust - a few small dents, but no rust. So instead of a quick paint job, we decided to give it a well-deserved full restoration. There was no patching or welding required. I am thinking that the car was never driven in winter. This is very unusual in our area (Eastern Ohio/Western PA). The car was previously purchased by the previous owner's husband (now deceased) some years ago in the New England area.

We have now completed the painting process (doors, fenders, hood, deck lid and interior removed) and car is currently in process of color sanding and buffing and later reassembly. We still cannot quite get over the fact that we found a car without any patching or rust, as most all pre-war cars have had some work done. A new black top and most of the tan interior is on order from LeBaron Bonney. I will post future pictures when car is completed.

Fritz

 

[FRITZ47]

It is all stamped in Taiwan.

Taiwan products are usually of considerably higher quality than products made in China, and developing such a source definitely keeps the costs down. Many (probably most) of the early Ford products that we purchase from the major vendors are made in China and/orTaiwan, so our options are limited.

Fritz

 

[NYfatboy]

a little rust from the north east rust belt meads no floor roted all around the body at least six inches. & the chassis roted as well

This is the perfect description of the 20 os so early v-8's I've owned since 1977!

 

[cuzncletus]

Here in the southeast, especially in the mountains, it's not unusual to find a 39 or 40 with virtually no rust. I think there's a couple of reasons for this. First is that all 39's or 40's always had value; first as cars, then as 'shiners, hot rods, or race cars, and finally as antiques. Even in the 60's I rarely saw a 39 or 40 coupe that wasn't covered by at least a roof, as were most tudors. The second and foremost reason was the ol' Henry used some really good steel. I've owned three 39-40 tudors. (I never had enough money for a coupe and still don't.) None of them even had the tool well rusted out. The only rust I found on the one I have now was in the drip rail where pine needles had gathered moisture for years and right under the driver's feet. It was about a day's labor to fix it all. Enough money and a little time will yield you a good coupe in Tennesee, Virginia, or any of the Appalachian states.

That said, I welcome all the reproduction bodies. They're great high end street rod material. Good on Dennis Carpenter.

 

[tweetiebird]

I am trying to put a 39 Lincoln zepher columbia in a 40 ford. The 40 has a 6 spline on the pinion and the Lincoln has 10 spline. The question, is does anyone make a coupler that is 6 spline on one side and a 10 spline on the other.

 

[PeteVS]

I am trying to put a 39 Lincoln zepher columbia in a 40 ford. The 40 has a 6 spline on the pinion and the Lincoln has 10 spline. The question, is does anyone make a coupler that is 6 spline on one side and a 10 spline on the other.

#1: You should have started a new thread for your question since it appears to be somewhat unrelated to the topic.
#2: Six to ten spline couplers have long been available, but if they're not available now (I haven't checked) the sources could have dried up. Check with MAC's or any of the other distributors.