We’ve been mulling over doing our own build for some time now. While on the hunt for something with classic Art Deco styling, we came across a 1940 Ford pickup in workable shape. It looked to be a fun one to hot rod, quicker than a car and with less parts, which fit the bill for “shop project” nicely; we decided to make a go of it. A short road trip later, the 70-year-old faded Ford was on its way to a new life.
On arrival, the truck was mainly just sheet metal, sitting on a Chevy frame. Within a few days, we tore it apart and sent it through our media blasting booth to remove all the rust and see exactly what we’d be working with; the sheet metal was coated in PPG epoxy primer after blasting to preserve it going forward. The diagnosis: fortunately the doors and fenders were in great shape, and the hood only needed a small patch and a few pinholes filled. The cab, running boards, and bed were going to need a little more TLC.
Due to the Chevy chassis that the truck came on, we had to locate a replacement. Another road trip was in order, this time to Kansas for a 35-40 Ford frame. Once back at the shop it was also stripped down, a few spots fixed and brackets removed (since the frame was a trailer at one time in its life), and into the blasting room it went. We followed with a coat of PPG industrial line paint in a custom-mixed cool gray with a slight blue tint, for a nice peekaboo under the body.
Fab work was about to get underway and the search was on for suspension parts and an engine…
Stay tuned for updates as the North Texas Customs hot rod comes along…
