1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe

Description

There's a growing segment of the rodding community that is starting to appreciate a more subtle approach. No longer just modifying for the sake of being different, cars like this 1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe coupe embrace their heritage, updating things only enough to make them faster, more reliable, and more practical while keeping the fantastic good looks that make them so timeless. This is a great-looking rod, but that's only because it started out as a great-looking car.

Nicely restored in bright red with color-matched wheels, the final product looks fantastic on the fat-fendered bowtie. Everything but the rear fenders is made of steel and someone obviously spent a ton of time getting it to fit together just right. They didn't skimp on the paint, either, liberally drenching the entire car in bright red urethane with a forever shine that looks great and really makes the car stand out. Almost all the factory trim was retained, and if you look closely at it, you'll see that it's really artfully designed, from the wonderfully complex grille to the vents on the hood to the beautiful trunk hinges. And all of it has been restored, giving the car a lot of extra jewelry to show off at cruise nights. Tinted windows update the look just a bit and help keep things cool inside, too, making this one a nice all-season cruiser.

That cool interior is finished with power bucket seats from a late-model wrapped in custom tan leather upholstery. The original back seat and door panels were treated to the same kind of makeover, and the dash was painted to match the body. A very talented woodworker hand crafted that oak center console and the dash insert, which holds a set of art-deco Dolphin gauges and an AM/FM/CD stereo head unit. A billet tilt column carries a matching billet wheel with a tan leather rim, and with black carpets on the floor, it has a very sophisticated look. A/C was installed using a few well-placed vents under the dash and retractable seat belts make safety easy and convenient. The trunk is upholstered in tan carpet with custom side panels, plus a main bulkhead that leaves no question as to what kind of car this is.

You're probably not surprised to see Chevy small block power under the hood, but the 305 cubic inch V8 is beautifully detailed and looks great under the long pointed hood. Plenty of chrome, particularly the polished firewall, gives it rock star good looks and a few well-chosen color-matched components tie everything together quite nicely. An Edelbrock intake and carburetor build horsepower, as do the long-tube headers and Flowmaster dual exhaust system, which sounds just right. A 700R4 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission makes this a wonderful highway car and with a late-model independent suspension and power disc brakes up front, it rides and handles like a much younger machine. Color-matched steel wheels with simple hubcaps and trim rings give it exactly the right look, especially when wrapped in 205/65/15 front and 225/70/15 rear BFGoodrich blackwall radials.

This is a really clean rod, but it's also a fitting tribute to some of the best designs of the pre-war era. Sometimes, you really can't improve on the factory, you can only polish it up. Call today!