Description
We proudly present this amazing Ford V8 Coupe Deluxe LHD 1940. Finished in Gloss Black paintwork with Leather Quilted Recaro Seats, Built to Endurance Rally Specification.
This left-hand-drive Ford Coupe DeLuxe was imported to the UK and registered with the DVLA in December 2014.
Endurance rally car prepared by Flathead V8 engine specialists Royal Kustoms - a company who have turned out competitive period cars for the Flying Scotsman, Peking to Paris and the Road to Mandalay endurance rallies.
Vehicle history
Ford produced the car in a range of different body styles; sedan, coupe, convertible, station wagon, pick-up and so on and also in two different trim levels; Standard and DeLuxe. The ‘37 stayed in production through to 1940 after which came the 1941 Ford.
Power came from a choice of an entry level 136 cu. in (2. 23-litre) flathead V8, which generated 60 hp - or a 221 cu. in (3. 62-litre) flathead V8 delivering 85 hp.
By 1940, the coupe had gained sealed-beam headlamps fitted further outboard and given bigger bezels. The bonnet was given a high, flat top and in DeLuxe spec the front grille was widened out with additional louvres to reach the fenders.
The combination of the legendary 221 cu. in flathead V8 engine and a fabulous body shape has made Ford Coupes of the ‘37-’40 era the go-to base metal for automotive alchemists looking to fettle, tweak and hammer their way to the ultimate custom car or hot-rod.
This stunning Deluxe on offer was painstakingly built to be competitive in vintage and classic endurance rallies such as the Peking to Paris event but largely due to Covid never taking part. As such it represents the opportunity to acquire an “out of the box” endurance rally car ready to compete in the post Covid 2023 vintage and classic rally calendar.
Royal Kustoms of Poole in Dorset, carried out a rebuild of the car at a cost of over £100, 000, the Coupe was rebuilt, with a 296 cu. in (4. 8-litre) flathead V8 and prepared for endurance rallying in time for the 2020 season. Although the car has undergone shake-down runs totalling 3, 000 miles, the car did not race in 2020 due to Covid it has yet to turn a wheel in competition.
With plans changing, the owner decided to sell the car and returned it to Royal Kustoms in September for a full service and check over.
Royal Kustoms estimate that the build today, excluding base car purchase, would exceed £200, 000.
Royal Kustoms are highly regarded for the quality and ingenuity of their race and rally preparation. This car has been obsessively over-engineered – outside, inside and underneath – to the most exacting standards of build quality and craftsmanship.
Fully fettled and ready to go, the car starts, goes and stops as you would hope. The handling and balance are impressive, as is the power on tap from the stroked and bored, 4. 8-litre ‘Flathead’ V8 offering around 170 bhp and excellent amounts of torque.
And it goes about its business to a barking, thunderous, roaring soundtrack.
No expense has been spared, no corners cut, no compromises tolerated.
Every structural, mechanical, electrical or cosmetic component is the best that it could be.
The car has spent most of its life in the dry Southern States of America was sourced in New Mexico and brought to the UK in 2014.
The body, panels and wings are original as is most of the chrome work.
- Chassis
Original 1940 Ford Chassis converted with a custom centre section to accommodate 5-speed gearbox.
Fully step boxed the entire length of the chassis rails with added strength gussets.
Rear chassis crossmember converted to take 1939 pickup Parallel leaf-spring kit with custom rear crossmember.
Hydraulic bump stop brackets fitted onto chassis.
All chassis areas with either roll cage or suspension hoops fitted have crush tubes fitted into the chassis.
Front and rear tow hitches installed.
- Suspension and Steering
Front: Original style transverse spring front suspension with custom-made front spring with new spring shackles fitted with poly bushes.
Royal Kustoms designed and made front shock hoops with removable strut brace.
Fox front shocks custom made and setup for exact weight of car. Fox adjustable hydraulic bump stops.
Front suspension wishbone has additional reinforcement.
Front anti-roll fitted.
Rear: 1939 Parallel leaf-spring kit fitted.
Fox rear shocks custom-made and setup for exact weight of car, fully adjustable for height.
Fox fully adjustable hydraulic bump stops.
Royal Kustoms top A-arm made with hi-acute off-road Land Rover centre ball joint.
Steering: Fully adjustable electric power steering unit connect to a GM525 heavy duty quick steering manual steering box via Borguson steering U/ Js with added tilt adjustment.
Fully refurbished spindles with new kingpins fitted.
- Drivetrain
Ford Tremec T5Z Motorsport 5-speed transmission.
MDL dual-friction clutch disc and diaphragm clutch plate.
Wilwood external hydraulic clutch slave cylinder.
Mustang racing mechanical clutch release bearing.
Custom-made propshaft fully balanced with heavy duty U/ Js fitted.
Ford heavy duty 9” rear axle assembly with Strange heavy duty half-shafts and 3. 55 crown and pinion. Custom-made by Hauser racing.
- Brakes
Lincoln Bendix 12” Front drum brakes with re-lined road/ race shoes and added air scoops on backing.
Ford 11” Bendix self-adjusting rear drum brakes with road/ race linings.
Wilwood adjustable pedal box running Wilwood front and rear master cylinders.
Remote brake servo installed onto front brakes only, running a vacuum hold tank.
Brake proportioning valve and residual valves fitted. Braided flexy lines installed, front and rear.
Hard brake lines are Kniefer with a stainless outer spiral sleeving fitted through out.
- Engine
296 cubic inch Ford ‘Flathead’ V8.
Ex-military block. Fully ported and polished. Heavy duty main caps. Engine block converted for oil filter system.
New Scat 4 ¼ inch stroke forged crank shaft.
Scat H-beam rods with 2. 0 inch bearing size for modern rod bearings.
Ross Racing 3 5/ 16” forged pistons with Molly rings.
Custom Cam shaft with adjustable lifters, Isky racing springs correctly weighted, 1. 6 Manley stainless intake and exhaust valves, 1 peice valve guides.
Mellings oil pump with baffled oil pan.
Edelbrock 75cc finned ally heads. Cosmetic head gaskets installed. ARP head bolts and complete stainless bolt set.
Twin Stromberg's correctly jetted for engine.
Modern seal/ bearing water pumps. K&N air filters.
Custom-made lightened flywheel. Engine fully balanced. Custom-made harmonic balanced front crank pulley fitted.
MSD electronic distributor with switchable on-the-fly twin MSD off-road epoxy racing coils with rev limiter.
-Fuel System
Pro-Alloy 175-ltr custom-made fully baffled ally fuel tank.
Twin Facet Red Top electric fuel pumps. Twin Malpassi Competition fuel filter/ regulators.
Sytec large metal pre-filter element fuel filter. Sytec anti drain back valves.
Cohline 2240 100% ethanol fuel lines fitted.
- Electrical system
Complete new custom-made wiring loom fitted with reset trip-able fuses and heavy-duty relays converted to 12 volts.
120 amp alternator. Varley Red Top Racing gel pack battery. 12-volt power sockets installed under hood, inside car and also fitted in boot. Master cut-off key connected onto neg side of battery.
16” high CFM electric fan running with twin auto fan controllers set at different operating temps, also with a fan override switch and a river crossing switch.
New Classic instruments - fully electric gauge cluster.
O2 Lambda sensor and gauge fitted for AFR ratios. On-the-fly switchable fuel and ignition systems.
New electric wiper motor fitted with wash wipes.
Nav systems (GPS and wheel speed sensors) doubled up.
Ignition coils doubled up.
- Body and Roll-Cage
Full restoration of body shell.
Original front sheet metal work. Custom-made hood with louvres and side panels. Custom-made floor with drop down boot area and removable trans cover panels enabling transmission removal from the inside if required.
Custom-made seat framework with lockable under-seat drawers.
Custom-made fuel tank framework with removable ally bulk heads and panel work.
Front and rear fenders reworked for higher tyre clearance and to place tyres in the centre of the fender openings.
Full re-spray. Body fully rust protected with all under panels sprayed with Raptor protection and all areas wax treated.
Car fully sound and heat deadened with Dynamat and ½ Dynaliner throughout whole vehicle.
Half custom roll-cage extending into boot, picking up onto rear suspension spring mounts. Fully removable with removable door bars made from carbon-based cold-drawn seamless steel tubing with a tensile and yield strength up to 35% higher than standard mechanical cold-drawn steel tubing. Fully certified to MSA and FIA spec with FIA approved cage joints.
Full under body protection with front axle skid plate, engine skid plate and rear suspension skid plates.
All new rubbers and seals fitted.
On the Outside
The Coupe is painted in gloss black with chromed grille and waist-line trims. The paint looks in a largely excellent condition, with just a small paint defect under the rear window. As it hasn’t yet been rallied, there is no obvious damage to the bodywork. The bonnet has been given additional louvres on top for enhanced cooling during long runs.
The chrome bumpers, overriders and exterior trims look solid and generally good but are starting to speckle in places. There are some lovely styling features in the exterior trim, such as the double-chevrons of the tail lights and the custom tailpipe deflectors.
The UK registration plates are in a US style as if from California and the passenger window bears a decal from the Earl Dorris Garage of Fort Worth, Texas. This is (or was) a real garage run by Robert “Earl” Dorris himself, who was also a Civil Air Patrol pilot during the war.
The coupe sits on 16-inch, cream-painted steel wheels, which are fitted with Coker Classic whitewall tyres. Like the rest of the chrome, the hubcaps and trim rings are a little speckled.
There are also 4 x wheels with the BF Goodrich rally tyres fitted included in the sale.
As per sporting regulations, towing strong-points have been fitted fore and aft.
There is also a lightweight trunk lid, to save those extra seconds when competing. A full length custom car cover is also included.
On the Inside
It’s optimally designed and built to survive several weeks of high-speed, high-adrenaline, high-risk racing on the way to winning an endurance race.
The interior is custom-trimmed with ruby leather, stitched in a diamond pattern across the seat facings and lower door cards. The seats are modern Recaro racing seats and are in excellent condition.
The dashboard is essentially the interior bodywork painted black and it is fitted with a new nostalgia-style, 6-dial Ford cluster from Classic Instruments. The central twin temperature gauges are by Stewart Warner and above and below them are multiple analogue knobs and toggle switches for the various electrics. All are annotated as to their function with a playful serif typeface.
A modern, multi-function Gauge Pilot rally computer is mounted on top of the dash on the passenger (co-driver) side. A wiring loom runs away from it providing connections to power and to its sensors. Another modern touch, not quite so obvious, is a twin cup holder and power socket fitted to the drive tunnel.
Up above, the wool headlining looks in excellent condition and the black-painted half roll-cage has an LED lamp mounted onto the horizontal. Down below, the carpets and floor mats appear in good order. A fire extinguisher is fitted to the front of the passenger seat, which also has a secure storage drawer underneath.
Although there are some contemporary elements to this interior - the steering wheel, pedals, gear lever, door handles and window winders are all original style and help maintain the largely period look of the interior.
The boot is divided into an upper “parcel” shelf and a lower carpeted luggage area. On the upper deck is a spare wheel and a small pack of service items for running repairs and maintenance when in remote places. There is an LED work light mounted on the roll cage upright in case such repairs happen at night.
History Highlights
Since being imported to the UK, the Coupe has been in the care of Royal Kustoms of Poole in Dorset and the history file includes the following invoices and estimates from them for preparation work on the car.
Dec 2014
12 volt conversion
12 volt components (electronic ignition, coil, starter motor, alternator, headlamps)
Battery
Various electricals
Check and tune Stromberg carbs
Recommissioned in October 2016 at a cost of Circa £64, 000
Rebuilt engine
Gearbox
Rear axle
Full respray
Suspension all round
Roll cage
Brake package
Fuel tank and system
Sound deadening
Electric power steering
Upholstery
Exhaust
Rubbers and seals
Seats
Gauges
In July 2017 Costing £5700
Recaro Sports Seats fitted
Interior retrim in leather
New Carpeting all fitted June 2018 costing circa £6000. 00
Gauge pilot rally computer and sensors fitted
New wheels, tyres and hubcaps
Carpeting for boot
In September 2022, Royal Kustoms carried out a full service and check over costing £1200. 00 including:
Oil and filter change
New spark plugs
Checked timing
Fan belt adjusted
Engine bolt check
Fluids replaced
Brakes stripped, cleaned and rebuilt
All body and chassis nuts and bolts checked
All lines and hoses checked
Steering components checked and re-greased
Electrical components checked
Tyres and tyre pressures
New rear bumper overriders
Front cowl vent adjusted and checked for water leaks
The car comes with an additional set of wheels fitted with unused BF Goodrich All Terrain rally tyres and new hubcaps, a lightweight vinyl boot lid that can be substituted for weight saving, a custom cover and a small rally service kit.
Please call for additional details on this incredible car.
