1938 Ford 5 Window Coupe

Ford Motor Company introduced its DeLuxe Ford line in 1938 as an upscale alternative to bridge the gap between its base model, (usually called Standard), and luxury Lincoln offerings.  The "Deluxe" name was first used starting in 1930 to specify an upscale trim starting with the Model 40-B and Model 45-B, then later the DeLuxe Ford line was differentiated as a separate "marque within a marque" with separate styling and pricing through 1940.  During 1939, Ford had five lines of cars: Ford, DeLuxe Ford, Mercury, Lincoln-Zephyr, and Lincoln.  After the war, this was simplified to Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln.  The 1941 Ford line included "DeLuxe" and "Super DeLuxe" trim, but these vehicles were not marketed as a separate line.  As Mercury Eight sales progressed, the DeLuxe approach was cancelled.  

For consignment, a 1938 5 window coupe hot rod if you will, and in tasteful form.  A design so wildly popular among hot rodders, that about the only thing topping this body style is the 1939/1940 Ford coupe.  This car is all metal, retains its beautiful bulbous design, running boards, and nice Art Deco charm.  It has been nosed and decked, and 350 cubes of Chevrolet iron, a custom interior and some snappy wheels that all work to bring a breath of fresh air here in our Hallowed Halls of Classic Auto Mall.

Exterior
All steel, bathed in very nice Black Rose Metallic basecoat/clearcoat paint provides the backdrop for the nearly full chrome deletion save for the small side mirrors, we have a rolling work of art.  Very little was left unturned on this restoration, as lines are straight, gaps are really nice, and steel is straight save for a scrape on the rear fender but one must look hard to notice it.  The hood has been smoothed of all its chrome and the top retains its stock height giving this bulbous curvy rodder just the right look.  The large teardrop shaped, sealed beam headlamp bezels flank a horizontal ribbed curved V grille that zooms rearward emulating a heart shape.  A nice flame motif licks its way back on either side along the beltline of the slightly curved sides.  At the gracefully curved rear of this car, we see 2 frenched in teardrop style tail lights almost getting lost in the deep field of Black Rose Metallic paint but managing to hold their own.  Gleaming 15-inch Billet Specialties wheels are polished up and on all 4 corners and are wearing staggered width blackwall radials.

Interior
A swing of the door, and we shake hands with custom tweed broadcloth panels playing together with a small dark maroon vinyl insert and long sweeping armrest to make up the door panels.  Billet door handles and power window are within this field of maroon tweed and not a mark on them.  Slipping inside we come upon just beautiful tight tuck and roll stitched broadcloth covering the split bench seat in the door panel matching maroon tweed.  This seat is nice and wide with neatly curved backs so they offer up plenty of room and support along with a foldable armrest.   A Billet Specialties steering wheel fronts the dash atop an adjustable billet column and fronts the fully custom dash, which is now all custom covered dark maroon for the topper.  This is all highlighted across its width by a darker maroon panel holding blue LCD displays and vents for the AC.  More maroon padding covers the bottom of the dash and very nice mauve carpeting floods the floor.  Wonderfully comfy and ergonomically laid out for the most discriminating hot rod driver!  A shout out to the rear bench that mimics the front and more maroon tweed envelops the entirety of the cabin and I adore the overhead console that houses the AM/FM/CD stereo.

Drivetrain
A flip of the bulbous hood, and we are met with a consignor-stated 350ci V8 power plant in chromed and polished splendor.  On top of this blinged out masterpiece is an Edelbrock intake manifold with a 4-barrel carburetor and polished air cleaner assembly atop.  On the back is a 3-speed automatic Turbo Hydramatic 350 transmission and this pushes power rearward to a Ford 8" rear axle.  Ultra clean and highly polished, just the way I like it.

Undercarriage
Very clean and totally restored, no rust here with a black painted frame and near flawless black painted flooring.  Power disc brakes are on the 4 corners to provide the whoa factor and a like new stainless steel exhaust system, complete with headers and Ultraflow mufflers, snakes its way rearward through the structurally sound framework, and very nice undercarriage of floor pans, toe kicks and rockers…all rust free.  Suspension is Mustang II style with coil overs in the front and leaf spring in the rear.

Drive-Ability
She fired right up with a low rumble for an idle, and off to the test track where we made plenty of noise, experienced wonderful acceleration, a smooth shifting transmission, and good solid handling.  All functions were working fab at the time of my test drive save for the electric popper not opening the trunk.  Sadly, this does not have a manual override so we have no clue as to what lies in the trunk.

Take the very popular for the time design, spice it up with 2 stage Black Rose Metallic paint and pepper in some custom touches to the exterior, stitch a bunch of tweed broadcloth to create a great comfy interior, new digital dash, and we have a real winner.   And do not forget the rod mods like frenched taillights, shaved bumpers and of course the 350ci engine all blinged out to the heavens.  1938 never looked so good!

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.