Words & Photos: Larry Martinelli
This 1940 Ford coupe was customized by Boyd Coddington. The restoration was completed for a professional baseball player in November of 2000. The car comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. Some of the design and build was done by Chip Foose, who worked for Coddington at the time. The current owners had the good fortunate to meet Foose, and he remembered the car and who it was built for.
After much encouragement from the wife and a lot of needling from a lifelong friend, along with months of searching, visits, phone calls and sleepless nights, the car was purchased by the new owners, Phil and Jean Keith of Rocklin, CA in March of 2016. Phil has always loved cars, but this is his first car of this type. There was even a small bet between Phil’s wife and a friend as to whether Phil would purchase it. She won. No word on the amount of the bet or if it was paid.
In addition to winning several awards at local car shows, it won the 75th Anniversary Ford Pick at the Good Guys show in Pleasanton, CA .
The beautiful red paint is very similar to that of that of the Fire Trucks in Los Angeles. The engine bay, interior metal and the TCI frame are also the same red. The seats, head liner and trunk are all done in leatherette with matching custom carpeting. It features New vintage heat and air. Other interior features include a custom billet tilt and power steering wheel, power windows, an Alpine stereo with a USB connector and a 12 disc CD changer. Although not very useable, there is even a rear seat. A new Viper alarm with motion and glass breaking sensors provides some extram security. The remotes for the alarm system are also programmed to release the door poppers.
The car is equipped with a 350V8, matched with a T350 automatic and 9” Ford rear end. An AES mini starter was recently added. It has rack and pinon power steering and power front disc brakes. The dual exhaust system has new ceramic coated Hooker headers, with Magna Flow mufflers connected to the stainless steel exhaust pipes.
The engine has a lot of custom polished aluminum features: Edelbrock air cleaner and valve covers, pulleys, power steering, water pump, etc. The intake manifold is also polished aluminum. There is also a new Griffin polished aluminum radiator. There is a remote battery disconnect and a remote location of terminals for connecting a battery charger or tender. The Goodyear tires are mounted on 15 inch custom Halibrand Sprint polished aluminum wheels. It has VDO gauges.
The all steel body is attached to a custom TCI frame. The underside of this car with its chrome features and attention to detail make this Coddington built car a complete package.
In addition to its history, a few features that make this ’40 a little different are the molded drip rails, the recessed tail lights from a 39 ford, the v-butt windshield, the shaved door handles and removal of the chrome trim and badging. Also, the gas cap and fill tube have been relocated from the outside of the fender to a recessed area within the fender, creating a cleaner look.
