^{1940 FORD DELUXE COUPE.}

^{Restored by Peter Hibbert, commencing September 1994 at Vermont South, Australia.}

^{Our 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe was shipped from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. I had earlier obtained an Import Permit dated 20th September 1994 from Canberra, A.C.T.  The 1940 Ford Coupe arrived at Melbourne port & was cleared by Customs & Quarantine. I had earlier gained a 28 day permit to drive it from the port to home. I excitedly drove it about 6 miles when the engine failed. I found the battery had lost charge over the importing months & I finally called for assistance to get it home safely. I immediately proceeded to get into the restoration of this genuine 22,000 mile perhaps 800 point show quality Coupe at home as I have a 2 post hoist & pit beneath. As a builder, I had planned for a strong car hobby when I built the home during 1983. There were many other classic cars I restored prior to the 40.}

^{The restoration was a full strip down pulling all that could come off & lifted the body with the 4 point hoist arms to roll the complete chassis frame out behind. Work commenced on the under body detailing of this totally rust free example. It was a Whiskey runner of moonshine that the Revenuers seized & held for 30 years prior to releasing it to the public. I found holes drilled in the trunk floor & wood hacked off the rear of the seat frame to obviously fit a cylindrical moonshine tank. I am the 3rd owner. Meanwhile, the interior kit seemed OK, stripped out & cleaned & packed carefully. 1994 in Australia, necessitated a conversion to RHD. Not so presently for vehicles over 25 years. The instrument panel pulled & stripped completely & unused. All gauges, etc saved & refurbished.  The body was stripped of all paint to original steel & found to be rust free but needing repair to the tool tray area & rear fenders. The rear fenders had been crunched up by the LA fork lift driver to load the Ford into a container. A very expensive repair! The pulled original wiring loom was OK save for a few covered bare areas & has been retained to this day.}

^{Having to convert to RHD necessitated searching Australia for instrument panel, front stub axles,}

^{(x-rayed as OK), tie & steering rods, accelerator linkage & pedal, RHD pedal cluster, RHD steering box, RH door arm rest /pad & speaker grille that is handed, making new RHD timber floor toe boards of the LHD patterns & hammering out RHD engine splash trays to reverse off the left pair.}

^{Hunting throughout Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia & Victoria resulted in buying these RHD parts ready for refurbishing. The change to RHD of the steering column was OK & the gear lever swung over 180 degrees resulting in the gear change lever being on the left side. The fire wall closed & reformed to mirror the steelwork from left. Notable is that the chassis was factory drilled to take the right steering box. The engine was a total strip & rebuild with all new components as 30 years sitting at the Revenuers warehouse did it no favours! The crankshaft, camshaft, connecting rods were all OK, ground & used. (Since the original engine build, I have rebuilt the 24 stud Mercury 239 flat head using twin # 94`s & then reduced to a single carburettor, alloy inlet manifold & water pumps, 4” throw Mercury crankshaft, a mild camshaft, 12 volt conversion & stepped down gauges, alternator & finned alloy cylinder heads). The differential had minimal wear & was closed. All the ‘long’ engine components were all refreshed & or refurbished. The gearbox was completely rebuilt. The drive train all OK but new master brake cylinder, brakes, wheel cylinders, brake & fuel lines & bearings/seals throughout. Other minor components I machined at home to duplicate original. The body was painted in a colour to replicate Dearborn Blue. I recorded, bagged, labelled all parts to include the original Ford hardware that I refinished in my workshop to the standard & colours that old Henry intended. All bright ware replated/polished. A few reproduction parts were purchased from USA suppliers & are of a fine quality.}

^{The most satisfying task of this 3-1/2 year restoration was the reassembly & the later showing/driving to events receiving many awards.}

^{It is a great high speed light nimble Ford that is used on many auto` events.}

^{Thank you. Yours in Early FORDIN`. Peter Hibbert. Australia.}