Ford reveals a '40 Coupe steel body ready for resto-rod fans at its SEMA Show stand.
It’s been said that at some point or another, everything old is new again. And the auto industry has a history of embracing retro designs such as the reborn Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger models.
Ford even had a retro design studio in operation for a while – though the maker pulled the plug after the disastrous launch of the last 2-seat Thunderbird.
But now, Ford is digging even deeper into its past, all the way to the favorite of American hot rodders, the ’40 Ford Coupe. A complete body shell will soon be added to the Ford Restoration Parts catalog, and unlike some replicars, this one will be made out of the real deal, sheet metal rather than fiberglass.
The maker is giving a hint of what you could do – using plenty of other Ford catalog parts – at this week’s SEMA Show, the annual gathering of the Specialty Equipment Marketers Association, which is just wrapping up its run at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Along with the basic body kit shown here, the maker also had a fully assembled version of the ’40 coupe done up in dazzling copper metal finish. Appropriately, we’re not talking high-tech here. The heart of the 72-year-old design is a carburetor-fed V-8 crate engine, the 430-horsepower Ford “Coyote.” It’s run through a 4-speed gearbox.
The copper paint gets some tasteful chrome accents and is contrasted by a black “ultra-leather” interior.
Put together by Hollywood Hot Rods, in Burbank, California, the Ford Coupe already has 16,000 miles on it, incidentally.
Carpenter Industries, of Concord, North Carolina, is putting together the ’40 Coupe body for Ford. The complete package goes for $15,450 plus shipping and handling.
What you spend after that is another matter. Hollywood Hot Rods estimates it’s invested $180,000 in its completed resto-rod.