Drake 40 Coupe Cancelled

[RPM]

Spoke with a Drake rep this morning, said the announcement was made at their sales meeting last week the 40 Coupe project has been cancelled. They have trunk lids on sale at $900 (reg $1500) along with other sale items. Carpenter has bought the sheetmetal which explains his color ad in current Hemmings. Sorry to hear this project has been abandoned, but the economy surely hasn't helped. Thanks Bob for all the effort. I'm sure this was a difficult decision. RPM

[Vanspeed]

He had alot invested in this project. I wonder what happened? Poor sales figures?

[sturgis 39]

I am disappointed about the project being abandoned. I thought it was a great idea but pretty expensive. I love the 39 and 40 Ford coupes and they have always been a hot item. The wife says I love all old Fords and need some serious help.

I can not imagine the man hours spent on this project. It was a big undertaking.

[32phil]

I saw the prototypes several times at different shows. It sure was an ambitious project. It seemed to me they had all the pieces, probably could not get over the initial new product launch issues. When Ford built the first Model A bodies in 1928 they scrapped almost all of the first 100 built, learned from it and slowly improved from there . I guess Bob could not absorb that kind of a loss vs. cost.
Thanks Bob , I appreciate the effort

[jack orchard]

I hope the economy improves so that the 40 Coupe can proceed. I am saddened to hear this news. I wonder how many would have to be sold and where the break-even price point would be. A sad day...jack

[19Fordy]

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Wow, I am sorry he couldn't continue with his dream and commend for "putting his money where his mouth is" re: his sincere efforts. I am sure it was a tough decision.
My thinking is it would have taken to long to recoupe his investment and the manufacturer just couldn't maintain the quality standards required.

[JM 35 Sedan]

I knew it was coming but did not care to be the bearer of bad news preferring to let Bob Drake or a spokesman for his company maybe announce that here since he/they are members of Fordbarn. I learned about this two weeks ago when i visited Dennis Carpenter's place in Charlotte, NC. I kept quizzing their sales folks on how/why they were selling what was unmistakably Drakes '39-'40 panels, fenders, trunk lid, etc., all advertised in a DC hand out flyer. From what I was told it was easy to put 2 & 2 together as to what was or had happened.

Bob...I also say thank you for the tremendous effort you put forth trying to make this project happen. Maybe when this economy actually recovers you and Dennis could put together a joint venture to actually make this '40 Ford Coupe happen at some later date. Also, thank you for all you are continuing to do for this hobby!

[deuce5wndw]

I have heard that Real Deal steel in Fl. is going to continue the complete body project and Dennis is going to have the body panels. They are the people making the 57 Chevy body. Dale

[HOTRODPRIMER]

I want to hear it from the man himself,,then I'll believe it. HRP

[sturgis 39]

Originally Posted by HOTRODPRIMER

I want to hear it from the man himself,,then I'll believe it. HRP

I agree with you. I could probably never afford one but I had thoughts about an original frame and running gear.

[Shadetree]

I am sorry to hear this. At my age I couldn't even dream about building a `40 Ford coupe but I was happy to see they would be available. Like the `34, the `40 coupe is a true classic.

I like Bob Drake's products and happy to see them available.

[1931 flamingo]

Going to be interesting as Street Rodder Mag is "building" one/

Paul in CT

[Flathead]

I hope any tooling is saved so it could be used someday.

[likesoldstuff]

As I also posted earlier on The Hamb:


The facts:

Bob Drake is no longer involved in/going to offer the 1940 sheetmetal. That entire project has been taken over by Dennis Carpenter and will be a Carpenter exclusive.

Real Deal Steel, LLC (my company along with my partner Randy) will be building the 1940 coupe bodies in our plant (assembled from overseas components) in Sanford, FL by June/July and will offer them wholesale only to dealers like Dennis Carpenter who will offer them to dealers and customers. Not sure of final pricing yet, TBD. Hope to have #1 assembled and on display at SRN.

The politics:

A big long story that really does not matter. We'll all have new '40 sheetmetal and bodies; just from different suppliers. Bodies will be US assembled instead of overseas assembled.

Real Deal Steel, LLC currently builds 55-57 Chevy new steel bodies and offers parts. Take a look: http://www.realdealsteel.com/

Feel free to send me an email to comment or ask questions. I will tell you what I know. [email protected]

See ya'll! Joe W.

[joel]

So, are there spare/repair parts available at this time?

[Bob Drake Repro]

I’d like to put the story straight. I’m sure a number of you have heard rumors and stories about this project, but here’s the conclusion:

We invested a great amount of time and money on this project. We supplied original car bodies, numerous parts and technical support. We put together a tremendous marketing plan and did everything we could to deliver.

Our partner in this venture didn’t feel that we were selling an adequate amount of parts and then they lost hope in our potential to sell complete bodies. We could not agree on who would be responsible for the final assembly of the body. So, this company decided they would not continue our relationship and is no longer producing parts/bodies for us.

I’m very disappointed that my dream of building a complete 1940 coupe body will not come true, not only for myself but for the whole Drake team. They all have done a wonderful job on the ‘40 project.

I apologize to our many customers and potential customers that had hopes of owning a Drake ‘40 coupe and I want to thank the many customers that helped support us during this project by buying and installing ‘40 coupe sheet metal parts.

We’ll still continue with all the other ’40 parts that we’re so well known for and the Drake team looks to the future on the horizon, as there are so many more things still to be done. Trust that our team will give you the very best service and quality out there.

Thanks again for your support.
Bob and the crew

[uncle buck]

Thank you Bob for your side of the story. I know how much effort you put in the dream of making it happen. I appreciate all you have done for the hobby and wish you, Trent and the rest of your crew the best in the future. Hope to see you at the Portland swapmeet this weekend. Dave

[JM 35 Sedan]

Bob, thank you for the real story on your '40 coupe project. I was hoping you or someone on your team would make a post here informing us of what really happened. Again, thank you for all you have done and will continue to do in the future to keep this great hobby alive!

[Bob NH]

Bob and fine crew, I have followed the progress from the beginning with keen interest as I own a 40 coupe. I can not imagine the tremendous amount of engineering and planning to take on a project of such magnitude. My hat is off to you all and best of luck on all of your future plans .

[392roadster]

Are fenders still being made???