Project  1940 Ford 2 - Dr Deluxe

Dennis Lebbin  - Towanda, KS

 

Dennis Lebbin's current project is a 1940 Ford Deluxe 2 Door Sedan.  The car was purchased from a Rusty Nuts Club member shortly after  Dennis joined the Club.  The 40 sedan had a nice body and frame, with a previously modified Bobcat or Pinto IFS and a Ford 8in rear end. The floor was complete and had a pair of bucket seats included. There was no steering column installed, but one was included.  The IFS modification was poorly done and Dennis decided to restore the frame and then install a Mustang IFS.  The following pictures show the car as it was when Dennis got it, followed by the frame restoration , the new modification and installation of the new Mustang IFS. Dennis also installed a Chassis Engineering rear spring set up with a '69 Cougar 9 inch rear end.

Click on a small picture below to see a larger version

1 dl4005.jpg (35009 bytes) 2 dl4002.jpg (61732 bytes)  3dl4004.jpg (63263 bytes) 4 dl4007.jpg (81344 bytes) 5 dl4003.jpg (42604 bytes)

Picture 1 through 3 show the car still loaded on the trailer in Dennis's shop. Picture 4 shows the frame after the body was removed (Dennis was installing the new rear springs). Picture 4 shows the original front cross member and frame horns that were removed by a previous owner. 

 6dl4014.jpg (68796 bytes) 7 dl4015.jpg (69581 bytes) 8 dl4020.jpg (57039 bytes) 9 dl4019.jpg (69423 bytes)10 dl4023.jpg (66613 bytes)

Pictures 6 through 10 show the frame before , during and after the original cross member was re-installed, and a new Mustang IFS was installed.

11 dl4017.jpg (61379 bytes)12dl4016.jpg (62375 bytes) 13 dl4021.jpg (60679 bytes) 14 dl4022.jpg (65135 bytes) 

Pictures 11 and 12 show the rear bottom pan removed and a portion of the trunk area (rusted bad) removed and new metal cut and formed for replacement.. Pictures 13 and 14 show the new spring assemblies with a Ford 9 inch rear housing installed. 

 15 dl40p_0001.jpg (91451 bytes) 16  dl40p_0003.jpg (100740 bytes) 17  dl40p_0004.jpg (93287 bytes) 18  dl40p_0002.jpg (80032 bytes)

Pictures 15 through 18 show the car with the body mounted on the chassis.

While the car was on the lift, the brake calipers, pads and lines were installed as well as the electric fuel pump and fuel line. 

 19 dl4026.jpg (77224 bytes)  20dl4027.jpg (82468 bytes) 21 dl4025.jpg (80851 bytes) 22dl4028.jpg (54383 bytes)

Pictures 19 through 22 show the car with the front and rear fenders mounted to check for tire clearance and wheel center in the wheel wells.  Dennis found a nice set of Mustang wheels and tires at a local wrecking yard, and will be installing them soon. A drive shaft was picked up and will be sent out for shortening and re balance.

23 dl4030.jpg (53871 bytes)  24 dl4031.jpg (49775 bytes) 25 dl4029.jpg (54895 bytes) 

Picture 23 shows the car with the grill assemble mounted. Picture 24 is the car on the trailer, getting ready to take to a professional body shop for estimates. Also note the Mustang wheels. Picture 25 is a show of the new rear bumper with the third brake light mounted behind a Ford script cut out.

Be sure and revisit the project for more pictures as the car is put together.