Well guys and gals, I'm back with another project in the works. This time it's a '40 Ford sedan that is being given the custom treatment. It is inspired by the heavily customized '40 Fords of the late '50's and Early '60's. I started with a bunch of stuff I found for cheap over the last 5 years, which started with a '40 sedan body I couldn't say no to for $200! Then came fenders, doors, rear fenders, a frame, dash, etc... piece by piece for about $100 a shot. I figured I've got just over $3k in what you see here, including sandblasting and putting the body in epoxy primer. Anyways, I've always loved the Dave Cunningham car, and El Matador, and a few others that are a little less well-known. The truth is, this car has been in my head for damn near 20 years. I've always thought it'd be cool to have a hot rod '40 and a radical custom '40 that look like they could have both been built around '58-62. To me, that's the golden age of neat shit. I understand now why I couldn't find legitimate numbers on the Dave Cunningham car, as far as how much it was channelled, sectioned, or what have you. Some people even think that car was chopped. I don't think so. I had read that it was channelled 5.5", though some reports said up to 10". Sectioned 5" or more... The details were fuzzy, to say the least, and now I know why. I had a couple friends help me put the frame together last week, and over this past weekend, I held a class with about 12 participants and we went to town cutting, welding, and bringing my vision to life. We channelled the body 5.5" over the frame, but somehow in the back tool tray area there's a 10" difference. The firewall was sectioned 5 inches, and the fenders raised 4" on my car. I've given it the moniker "Der Herumtreiber", or The Prowler, at least for now, because it looks like a big cat on the prowl, and it also translates to "vagabond", which loosely describes me. I will discuss other details of the build as we go along, but it'll be a long term project that gets worked on when time allows. It'll either have a Flathead Ford V8 or a '57 Cadillac 365 with 4x2's in it. We'll see!
Not bad. Not bad at all. Is it me or does this thing have the same aesthetic as the late Dave Cunningham’s car.
yes, it's heavily inspired by that car, it will not get the goofy fender coves, though. Thanks! Yessir, Merv was there for more fun!
The goofy fender coves were courtesy of George Barris whose shop efforts went south after Sam left (IMHO). All George did was screw up the terrific original design, which (according to what I remember reading) was built by someone other than Dave Cunningham. You could say Dave really was cunning when he latched onto the project.
Just read that the Cushenberry car is the "Matador", and this November 1961 issue of Rod & Custon was sitting on a desk behind me. Dad took me to NYC to the Custom car show at the Coliseum when that car was first build. If I had a camera the photos are long ago misplaced but the grill made a lasting impression. Good luck with your build. Bob
My car will get canted quads. Everything else is custom, it might as well get custom headlights as well!
This rules! Having gained a bunch of inspiration on my own 39 sedan from your other 40 sedan I can't wait to see how this progresses. I even have another 39 sedan in the yard that I have mulled over doing the same thing to.!
Let's have a race to see who can build the bitchinest custom sedan... GO! Happy to be an inspiration!
Man, this last weekend was a blast! Probably my favorite class with Uncle Joel so far. I can't wait to get to work on this project again. I bet this project moves pretty quickly. Hey Jeff, I think Joel might be a bit excited about this one. See you in a couple weekends at SK500.
Uncle Joel…lol And, probably won’t actually get to see you at SK500 this year. I have to drive to Minnesota that Sunday and then to Colorado the next weekend… Pretty sure I need to stay home for a minute since I have also been in Wisconsin and Colorado this week too.
Yes! The fenders will get a slight reshaping in order to accommodate the lights. I remember seeing a '40 coupe at Back to the '50's with Corvette taillights and I thought that was pretty cool... So I'm doing it! Bloedorn approved! That's good enough for me!
I'm going to put a whole row of these ugly blue gauges in the filled dash and probably a few in the firewall too.
Sectioned, channeled, canted quads, wild insides, along with other who-knows-what custom stuff; the 'vette lights may end up a bit tame.
Man! this is so cool! I actually have a buddy selling a 40 sedan, that I had thoughts of a Cunningham-style-car (with coves though) Then I remembered I don't like bodywork, and can't afford a fancy interior.... But I'm glad somebody is doing it!
I'll add some scoops or something... Luckily I've got the patience for welding and bodywork, and have enough upholstery experience and ideas to get myself in trouble...
After a fun weekend in Colorado with friends giving a '48 DeSoto a facelift, I'm excited to get back home to Missouri and put the finishing touches on my paint booth, so it can be operational by the end of May. I'll put a few hours a week into "Der Herumtreiber" in the next few weeks and show progress as I go along.
The Jalopy Journal
