Certainly a car that I always loved....couldn't afford them then and can't afford them now. Hemmings did and article last week that '40 Ford lovers should take note of. Here it is:
The second such all-steel reproduction body that Ford has officially licensed, the 1940 Ford coupe project began more than two years ago, when Bob Drake Reproductions of Grants Pass, Oregon, began working with a Taiwanese company, Muscle Car GT, to develop new tooling for every panel and component necessary to assemble an entire body shell. In early 2010, Bob Drake Reproductions claimed that the bodies would be available by that fall, but while the company was able to offer individual reproduction body panels in steel, it never did progress to offering entire steel bodies. The project then transferred in January to Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts, which began the licensing process with Ford, finalized the development of the tooling and stamping process with Muscle Car GT, and then selected Sanford, Florida-based Real Deal Steel to assemble the components into full bodies here in the United States. The first completed body then came together in August.
Carpenter, who specializes in locating original Ford factory tooling and pressing it back into service making reproduction Ford parts, said there was little chance of finding the original body tooling for the 1940 Ford coupe. “Those were scrapped many many years ago,” he said. “The earliest tooling we’ve found so far has been from the 1960s.” However, through working with Ford Motor Company, he said they were able to locate some of the original drawings for the 1940 Ford, though they weren’t as helpful as they expected. “We found that back then, the drawings only offered general dimensions; the tool and die maker on the factory floor actually did the final dimensions.”
Joe Whitaker from Real Deal Steel said that the bodies are built to the original Ford blueprints, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t room for improvement in the assembly process, given that Ford originally mass produced the bodies and Real Deal Steel will craft each one by hand. “Basically we’re using the same steel used in modern automotive construction, but because we’re using a high-tension stamping process, which puts a real strong finish in the panel, we’re able to use 19-gauge steel instead of the original 18-gauge; all the subrails and inner bracing remains 16-gauge, just like Henry used,” Whitaker said. “We’re using about 20 to 25 percent more spot welds than originally used. Also, during the assembly process we build the body around fixtures, which allows us to assemble the doors and decklid before we do the final fit of the rear quarters and tailpan. That’s quite an improvement in fit and finish over building the bodies, then hanging the doors and decklid afterward, as Ford originally did.”
photo credit: 2012 Ford Media
text credit: 2012 Daniel Strohl via 2012 hemmings.com
