Ford & Mercury 1939 - 40 custom & mild custom

1940 Ford Coupe restyled by Kustoms of Los Angeles member Tom Hocker and Barris Kustoms. Tom Hocker of Oakland, California bought a used 1940 Ford around 1947/1948. Tom decided it had kept its stock appearance too long. With help from his brother, the car was gutted from one end to another, leaving it as an empty body shell. The aft portion of the frame from the forward part of the kick-up rearward portion.[1] The rear part including the cross member, was then repositioned 5 inches higher. The lowering job was not enough for Tom, he decided to have the body modified by Barris Kustoms. Sam and George used Tom's ideas as a starting point and added a few of their own. Barris chopped the top 2 & 3/4" in front and 2.5" in the rear. The windshield was leaned back and the rear window was leaned forward.[1] The rear upper corners of the doors were rounded and the drip moldings removed. All exterior trim and handles were removed and the fenders and rear gravel pan were molded to the body. The doors and deck lid were electrically operated by push buttons which were installed in the dash board.[1] Up front, the hood was peaked and the side grilles were replaced by solid panels which were molded to the body, leaving a much narrower and much less complicated grille. Barris fabricated new headlight rims from sheet stock which were frenched into the fenders. The parking lights were inserted in the bumper guards resting on a narrowed 1949 Pontiac bumper.[1] In the rear, the taillights were removed and new ones were installed in the bumper guards. The rear bumper was a 1949 Pontiac unit. The tail pipes were extended through the rear bumper. The car was fit with dual Appleton spotlights, a V-butted windshield and Packard fender skirts.[2]

Once the metal work was done, it was sent to Carson Top Shop for a complete upholstery treatment. The entire interior was finished in rolled and pleated white and gray leatherette with a floor carpet in neutral shade. The window frames were all chrome plated.[1]

The car returned to Barris Kustoms once again. The front was lowered 4 inches to match Tom's lowering job. Barris went over the car carefully before painting; it was painted fuchsia orchid.[1]
When the car returned back to its owner, Tom installed a 1948 Mercury featuring a 3.5/16 inch bore. Edelbrock Manifold and headers were added. The car got a Kong ignition and Zephyr gears and the rear end was modified with 3.54 gears. The souped up Merc engine made this 1940 Ford a real runner![1]

In Trend Book 143 Restyle Your Car, Tom's name was misspelled Tom Harker.


February 17-22, 1953 Tom's coupe was exhibited at the fourth annual National Roadster Show in Oakland.

 May 29 - June 2, 1957 Tom's Coupe was shown at the first annual Napa Valley Rod and Custom Show. By then a 1956 Cadillac engine had been installed in the car. The car had also been restyled further and quad headlights had been grafted on. Pontiac bumpers had been installed, and it had been painted Sky Mist Blue Metallic with scallops by Kid Jeffries. The interior was done in white and grey rolls and pleats.[3]

 
Tom later painted it light metallic blue with scallops. The handmade headlight rims were later replaced by double molded headlights. Sometime in the late 1960's or early 1970's, it was repainted white and purple. The car was used in American Graffiti. The car is still around, and is currently owned by Ed Hagerty. The car is now undergoing an complete restoration.
 



Magazine Features
Rod & Custom November 1953
Custom Cars September 1957
Rod & Custom December 1957
Custom Cars January 1958
Trend Book 143 Restyle Your Car



Hocker Clone







 
 
siteweb: http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Tom_Hocker's_1940_Ford

La voiture aujourd'hui restaurée

Un clone

Most folks think about the future at some time or other. As street rodders, we have ideas in our heads as to how to improve the car we are driving, or a million ways we would build a future project. As a child, did you ever draw photos of cars you had seen in the magazines at the drug store and imagine how you would like them to be? If you did, dig them out, and you may be surprised how cool some of them are.




Doug Beattie of Vancouver, Washington, has had this design in his head, needing to escape, for years. A tip from a friend found a donor ‘40 Ford coupe with good sheetmetal, giving him the basis to start his long held dream. Forty Fords are one of the iconic hot rods of all time, and their art deco design makes them a car you don’t usually mess with when it comes to changing that design.



Doug is no newbie in the car world, starting at age 14 with an Olds-powered ‘30 Ford Model A coupe. Being mechanically minded certainly didn’t hurt building his business, as well as a bunch of hot rods over the ensuing years. To get started, he went to see Donn Lowe, and his sidekick Eric Johnson, in Oregon City, Oregon. Lowe is a very well-known metal massager and grassroots customizer, hailing originally from the northeast. Forty Fords can be a real challenge if you start messing with the lines; like chopping the top, sectioning the body, then dropping what’s left down over the frame. One of the few guys who can pull it off is Lowe, and the proof is in the final photos. Doug added ‘40 Lincoln headlights and ‘54 Plymouth taillights, which seem to belong there, like Ford design had thought of it. The hood was pancaked to balance out the final overall look after completely redesigning and reshaping the entire body. Bumpers were custom-made from two ‘61 Corvairs for the front and a ‘47 Pontiac for the rear, and plated along with all the rest of the shiny stuff by Oregon Plating of Portland, Oregon.




Rolling stock is important to any righteous rodder, and this coupe has the best. Doug and Johnson started with the stock ‘40 frame, boxing it the entire length and adding a custom crossmember and removable panels for access to wiring and plumbing. After this came the Currie 9-inch with 3:00 limited-slip gears. To hold it down, custom polished stainless steel four-link, antiroll and Panhard bars were made. Polished coilover shocks and 11-inch drum brakes round out the rear suspension.



Moving on, the front is made up of a fully polished Heidts independent front suspension and polished coilovers. The front brakes are 11-inch Wilwood with a chromed Wilwood master cylinder and proportioning valve. Fabbed up to make all this work was a set of custom pedals. The steering is rack-and-pinion and is connected to a ‘40 Lincoln Continental column and restored steering wheel. Even the gas tank was made right there in the shop in stainless steel, holding a generous 16 gallons.



Customs in general are notorious for looking good on the outside, but don’t worry about what is underneath, or “all show and no go!” Not the case here with Doug’s old coupe. It has a Ford 351 Cleveland V-8 machined by Wayne Harry of Vancouver and screwed together by Harry and Doug. As you can see, Doug is a hands-on kind of guy, going to the best in the field when needed, and doing all he can himself. They installed a Crane cam and roller rockers and added a 2x4 Edelbrock manifold with matching Edelbrock 500-cfm Performer carburetors, and finished it off with vintage Edelbrock valve covers. To keep the carbs from getting choked up, they then added Stellings dual custom-made air cleaners, and to exit the exhaust, in-house stainless headers and pipes with glasspacks. Putting this to the road is a Ford AOD transmission juiced up by Performance Transmission in Vancouver, Washington, with a modified Lokar shifter and in-house chrome-plated driveshaft. Additionally, the chassis rides on EVOD 16x6 wheels that were one-offs designed by Doug, and are wrapped in 205/75/16 Diamond Back tires.

As for the inside the dashboard is truly a work to behold. Made from the original ‘40 Ford and ‘40 and ‘41 Lincoln dashes, the combination of the different elements of the two cars made a balanced, well thought out fascia that is a thing of beauty. The gauges and clock were then restored and updated by Classic Instruments, and look like Edsel Ford put them there himself. Putting the juice to the engine, lights, gauges, and a Pioneer stereo were mastered by hot rodder and builder Bob Belozer of Oregon City, Oregon. Bob is also known for his attention to detail, and used this expertise to help with the final fit and all the little rubs that come up when finishing any car build. Building a custom car like this one is rather like a major manufacturer coming up with a running driving prototype. This stuff was not made to work in harmony, so we have to massage it a bit so it will all get along.



The upholstery is often left to the last without a lot of pre-preparation. Not the case here. But then, with a build like this, what did you expect? Mickey McVay from Reno, Nevada, made his first trip to Oregon nearly a year before the scheduled time for completion of the car. He stayed right in Donn Lowe’s shop, and spent several weeks making all the necessary pieces needed to support the upholstery. In the meantime, Lowe and Johnson scratch-built the seat for driver comfort and quality of trimming. This way, when the car was painted and nearly finished, he had laid the groundwork for the final fit of the complete interior. Dave Baham of Vancouver, Washington, massaged the body, and painted it with a custom Glasurit mix of Bronz Maroon, which really made the final look jump right out at you. Now it was time again for Mickey to head back up to Oregon with his sewing equipment. Like a year earlier, he stayed in the shop to stitch and install the complete interior. Artistry comes in many forms. And a great stitcher is one who pays attention to many small details, so that when he is done, everything fits perfectly.



Then as it happens so many times, it was a thrash to make the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. Two thousand and eleven happened to highlight customs at the show. Doug, his wife Diane, and a slew of friends were in the right place for a new custom to appear.

Among a room full of trophies the car garnered at numerous shows were The World’s Most Beautiful Custom in Pomona, and Custom D’Elegance at the Sacramento Autorama. Five years and several wheelbarrows full of the green stuff were well worth it when Doug’s design became reality and was sitting on the floor at the GNRS.

Read more: http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/1204sr_1940_ford_coupe/viewall.html#ixzz2nZJWfZ6L

When you say “’40 Merc” to someone, a half dozen or so images probably pop into their head. Maybe Gil Ayala’s car appears, or Nick Matranga’s, or Ron Martinez’s, or even John D’Agostino’s Stardust or Brian Everett’s contemporary examples come to mind.



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It’s hard to break new ground when working with such an iconic profile, but the guys at TED’s Rod Shop in Riverside, California, were able to do just that. They combined a hot rod attitude (and drivetrain) with classic custom lines with just enough unique touches to set this 1940 Mercury coupe apart from anything else parked alongside it. And when you’re talking about '40 Mercs, that’s a real accomplishment!

Tod Saylor and Eric Newman make up the “T” and “E” in the TED’s name (their buddy Dave is the “D”, but not part of the business), and the project started when Tod bought the car after seeing it at the first West Coast Kustoms car show in Santa Maria in 2008.








The car had been chopped and a Mustang II front suspension added, but it wasn’t until TED’s blasted the paint off the body that they could see what was underneath, and it wasn’t pretty! Both the front and rear suspension sections were welded in a few inches forward of where they should have been, and the chop job wasn’t up to TED’s standards, so they started over from the ground up.







Since the car was basically shop-owned, the guys couldn’t really work on it during business hours (as those are reserved for customer’s cars) but, to add to the mix, the TV show Chop, Cut, Rebuild was knocking on their door wanting to film the entire process for their upcoming sixth season. TED’s said “yes” and it was off to the races! 







TED’s wanted to build the Merc with classic custom styling, but also wanted to detail every aspect of the car as they went along (not really the norm in the custom world), so underneath this car looks as good as the exterior does. The chassis was addressed with a new Mustang II–type front suspension from Jim Weimer Rod Garage, which utilizes an air ride system from RideTech and a set of 11-inch disc brakes.

Out back a Currie 9-inch rear with an aluminum carrier and a Detroit Locker differential and a set of 4.11:1 gears went together with a stainless steel four-bar system from RideTech installed by TED’s. Currie Enterprises also supplied the Ford Explorer disc brake conversion for the 9-inch, and ECI delivered one of their clutch and brake pedal assemblies.







One of the more imaginative design aspects of the car is with the 15x6 steel wheels from Wheel Smith, which are copper plated, that provide a polished penny appearance at the outer edge of the wheel as they’re mostly hidden by the Dodge hubcaps and custom bullets. The rollers are wrapped in Firestone 670-15 wide whites.




Besides the chassis detailing, another non-traditional approach with the car was taken with the drivetrain, which centers on a Ford Racing 347 that is prepped with Edelbrock performance and dress-up parts. The crank, rods, and pistons are all forged, and an Edelbrock roller camshaft was used. Up top a pair of Edelbrock thunder AVS 500-cfm carbs feed the beast, which is fitted with headers and stainless steel exhaust by Doug Thorley and an ignition system from MSD. A Be Cool aluminum radiator works in tandem with the mechanical fan, and a chrome 100-amp alternator supplies the juice to the motor.





Under the car a polished aluminum driveshaft from Inland Empire Driveline matches the polished bellhousing for the Tremec TKO five-speed box. The pressure plate and clutch disc came from CenterForce, and the pedals, shifter, and cables arrived from Lokar.

This all makes for an impressive rolling chassis, but the best was yet to come. Though the roof had been chopped before TED’s got a hold of it, Eric Newman decided to take another 2 inches out of the rear and another inch up front before raising the entire windshield 1 inch (into the roof) before he was satisfied with the lines of the hardtop roof. And since there wasn’t an off-the-shelf answer to the “What are you going to do about the side glass” question, TED’s spent dozens of hours in the fabrication of the one-off curved glass trim edging and subsequent blocking of the copper before the chrome plating was done. Glass for the car came from Oldies Glass in San Bernardino, California, which is a family operated business since 1923.



The hood’s side molding was shortened, too, and front and rear bumpers from a ’47 Ford were added (with taillights added to the rear bumper guards). Ted Elliot helped with the build, too, and Herb Weber and Dan Geiger both worked on the leading before the car was turned over to Jimenez Brothers Customs of Riverside to have the paint applied (House of Kolors Brandywine over a black basecoat).



With the gloss done, the car was coming together nicely, and the attention turned to the interior. Mike Grandaw, from Studio Steel, applied his metal fabricating skills to the column drop, molding it into the dash, and behind the middle glovebox door (there are two gloveboxes) you’ll find the controls for the RideTech suspension, the Old Air Products A/C system, as well as the tiny iPod Nano that manages the headless stereo system.



Wanda Wells of Wanda’s Upholstery laid out the HushMat insulation before the burgundy carpet from J&J Auto Fabrics in Rialto, California, went in. Wanda’s also created the split bench front seat as well as covered the door panels and seating with a combination Ox Blood and White Diamond pattern vinyl. Up on the dash a chrome ididit column went in as did a stock Merc steering wheel, which was modified to fit on the column.



TED’s turned to Julia Owen to restore the original gauges, and she augmented the look by adding some copper around the edge of each gauge. (Copper is used throughout the car, from the wheels to the additional firewall piece, to some of the engine’s water and fuel lines). Wiring of the gauges was made easier with a kit from Painless Performance, and Audio Shoppe in Riverside set up the sound system using Arc Audio gear. The power windows, controlled by switches from Hotronics, are from Specialty Power Windows.



With all the work that went into this cruiser, plus the added pressure of having a film crew looking over your shoulder while it goes together, then you might be surprised to hear that TED’s was able to complete the build in five short months, start to finish. The car made its debut at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2010, where it won the Radical Early Custom 1935-1948 class as well as the prestigious West Coast Kustom Outstanding Nostalgia Custom Award, too.

Reluctantly, Tod had to sell the hardtop, but it went to a friend of the shop’s, so it’s OK, and TED’s is working on a host of new projects. We’ll have to wait and see what comes out next—just imagine what they can do when they have more than 150 days to completely build and finish a car!

Read more: http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/1110sr_1940_mercury_coupe/viewall.html

The raw materials for a project can come from many sources, especially when dealing with original tin. Sure, we all dream of that perfect barn find, but truth be told, many of us start with something with way less salubrious origins.



One of Terry Wallaces work colleagues knew hed owned a 40 Ford back in the mid-60s, so he told him about a 39 that had been sitting out in the high desert east of San Diego for several years. Of course, to any hot rodder worth his salt, such information is always impossible to ignore, and Terry and his son had to check it out.



According to Terry, The body was rust free and fairly straight, with the exception of a dent in the roof. It had been a Gasser at some point in its life, with radiused rear fenders and a homemade tube front axle with questionable welding. The X-member had been cut out and the firewall set back for some long-removed engine. The hood was cut and a homemade scoop attached. To say it was rough would be an understatement, but we thought it looked great, and when the owner threw a Ford 351 Cleveland in with the deal, we bought it. When I got it home, my wife just about freaked out and told me to keep it covered so the neighbors wouldnt scream about it!



I wanted to build a mild custom but still be able to race it at the antique drags. Dave Chappelle, a friend who builds suspensions, came over to look at the frame and told me it was not salvageable, so I called John Heinzman to order one of his reworked original frames. I ended up buying a newly built chassis with a Heidts IFS and a Ford 9-inch rearend with Traction-Loc and Moser axles. Chappelle air-bagged the car and built a killer four-link that he dared me to break.



With a solid chassis for the coupe, the body was pulled from the original frame at Dallas Pattersons shop to be sent out for media blasting. When we lifted the body off with his forklift, the dent in the roof popped out to leave very little bodywork, Terry says. Dallas fabricated a complete new floor and firewall. The new version was brought back out closer to the original location to allow room for the Vintage Air A/C unit, and the Ford engine didnt require distributor clearance at the rear!



After the new frame and body were united, Terry decided itd look neater with fender skirts covering the radiused rear fenderwells. As the build continued, he located a pair of 40 Ford rear fenders, though still kept the skirts. The door and trunk handles were deep-sixed and the hood was peaked, continuing the mild custom theme, and a Roger Starkeyupholstered Glide seat went in.




Terrys good friend Clark Williams owned a machine shop at the time, and therefore got the nod to build the 351 engine, before partnering it with an AOD trans and bolting it in the coupe, just in time to drive it to the last West Coast Kustoms show in Paso in gray primer. The coupe made the 800-mile round-trip, despite having just 10 miles on the odometer at the start. Terry then drove the car around for almost a year, after a four-year build so far.



Once the coupe was thoroughly shaken down, Terry took it to another friend, Abe Mena, at San Diego Rod & Custom, for it to be finished. He wasnt keen on the aftermarket grilles available, so Mena fabricated a new one from parts of the messed up original, succeeding in making it look almost stock. Benji Tapiz finished the bodywork and painted it black cherry (a color Terrys wife liked), while Starkey redid the seat because he didnt like the way hed done the original three years previously, then upholstered the remainder of the interior, and the running boards, to match.

Well let Terry have the final words: In seven years I went from a car I paid $700 for, to what you see here. As I used friends for most of the build, the cost was much lower than it could have been. So you went slightly over budget then Terry? Hey, who doesnt?

 
Terry Wallace

San Diego, California
1939 Ford coupe


Chassis

A Heinzman Street Rods chassis with Heidts IFS supports the coupe, with a four-link rear suspension and airbags all round by Dave Chappelle. A 15-gallon stainless steel gas tank is mounted in the rear. Up front a Flaming River rack-and-pinion ensures everything goes where Terry points it.


Drivetrain

Machined and assembled by Clark Williams, a 351 Cleveland lives under the hood, now with a Crane cam, a 750-cfm Holley on an Edelbrock intake, Mallory ignition, and March Performance accessory bracketry. A TPI-assembled AOD trans puts power through a San Diego Drivelinebuilt driveshaft, to the Moser-equipped 9-inch rearend.


Wheels & Tires

Coker 6.70-15 wide whitewalls are used at each corner, with 15x7 Ford steels at the rear, and similar-diameter steelies from a late-model front-wheel-drive Ford are up front. All are disguised with Starburst Moon discs.


Body & Paint

Terry readily admits now that if he were to do it again, hed start with an older restoration with all the original parts. However, if that were the case, the grille and bumpers would likely be stock, so were pleased he took the route he did! The doors and trunk have been shaved of their handles, the hood peaked, and custom fender skirts and grille installed. It has 59 Cadillac taillights sitting in custom surrounds. Benji Tapiz laid on the PPG Black Cherry with blue flake.


Interior

Thats a stock steering wheel atop a LimeWorks column, with Haneline gauges in the dash. Roger Starkey tackled the pearl white vinyl upholstery and black carpet, incorporating silver thread. San Diego Rod & Custom used a Painless harness to hook everything up, while a Vintage Air A/C system keeps the occupants cool.



Read more: http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/1302rc_1939_ford_coupe/#ixzz2pK1aD52c

 une ford 40 sectionné et top choppé , mon rêve     

Stéphane tant que je vois que tu es là, des news de ton projet   t'en n'est ou???

  nul part , j'ai rien fait dessus   

Tu l'as redémonté comme prévu ?

 même pas   

This 1941 Ford pickup, known as “Creme De Menthe”, took a little break after the last time it was shown – 50 years to be exact. Yep, the last time Steve McClain’s hauler strutted its stuff was at the Grand National Roadster Show in 1964!

The gleaming, iridescent finish on this Mercury Custom Coupe is unmistakably the work of Rick Dore – it’s his signature. Under the hood is a lusty, 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 linked to a 350 Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. “This was Johnny Loper’s Merc,” Dore says. “He owned several custom shops in the Southwest. I built it to be a driver; the new owner can take it cross-country with confidence.”


The project itself was inspired by Nick Matranga’s severely lowered, hardtop ’40 Mercury, which has long been acclaimed as a cult classic. Former Rod & Custom editor Pat Ganahl called it “the most copied custom of all time.” The completed coupe was featured in a few magazines before Matranga sold it in 1952. The next owner totaled the hardtop, and it was lost forever.


Premier custom craftsman Rick Dore, of Glendale, Arizona, has been elected to four Custom Car Halls of Fame and has won countless awards. Dore subtly elaborates on classic themes, enhancing them with his own blend of past and future. With the hindsight of history, and his own inspired vision, Rick Dore has created a tribute to the past that is totally contemporary and perfectly roadworthy. It currently has about 6,800 miles on the odometer.

Starting with a 1940 Mercury, Dore chopped the top four inches in front and six inches in the rear, then reshaped the entire roof, creating a smooth rearward sweep. In front, he elevated the windshield’s height one inch and trimmed the crown of the roof to eliminate the Matranga car’s “lowered eyeshade appearance.” It’s perfect. The chrome sidespear was re-sculpted and seductively shortened for a cleaner profile. The front and rear fenders have been molded; the running boards were trimmed, and the skirts are flush-fitted, with discrete lower edge flares. The bodywork is all metal, as you’d expect on a Rick Dore custom. Inside, inviting front bucket and rear bench seats were trimmed in soft Italian white pearl leather, complemented by a console accented to match the exterior.

This car was auctioned off by RM Auctions in March of 2010 at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida.

300 hp, 327 cu. in. Chevrolet V8, 350 Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, posi-traction rear end, suspension by drop axle in front with air bags at the rear, four-wheel drum brakes.

Source: RM Auctions
Photo Credit: Copyright Darin Schnabel