‘40 2 door sedan
 

Have an opportunity to purchase an all original Ford with 32,834 miles, but it has that 60 in it! Do I buy?????

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Condition and price and what you want are the king of what a person buys. Tim

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Of course, this is all about what you desire and if it's in the price range you are willing to accept.
If your car was IDENTICAL in every way to another with the one exception, the other has the 85, devalue the 60HP car by about $4000.
Keep in mind that the 60HP is one heck of a weak engine. Good for around town, I'd not even consider getting it on the highway or even a long steep hill.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

My personal opinion is that after the novelty and newness of owning your newly acquired 60HP Ford wears off, you will wish you had bought the more desirable higher horsepower version. Performance will be disappointing.

GOOGLE: "1940 Ford Sedan for sale" and lots of stuff comes up.

There's a good looking 40 sedan on ebay right now for $20K or best offer. Don't buy anything unless you see it in person and drive it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/36471870390...Bk9SR7DI9-K-Yw

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Put an Olds Rocket in it and make a hot rod. Then you can clean the "60" up, mount it on a stand in your shop and you'll have one hell of a conversation piece. (Basically I'm agreeing with the rest of these guys.)

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

For comparison, I'd sold a tudor about five years ago. It was VERY high point restoration with a factory installed Mercury engine. Yes, documented. I fought to get $24k.
Values on these have NOT gone up in the past five years. Not at all...

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

There is a good reason that this car is so low mileage. No fun to drive. These 60 HP engines are great for boats and midget racers but not so much in a full-size sedan.
I agree with the Olds Rocket transplant idea. That would be a marvelous car and very fun to drive and show.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

I had a '46 Ford convertible with a Rocket under the hood. Very cool car but kinda scary as it was so powerful. Too powerful in my opinion for the stock Ford chassis.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Thank you all for the replies. I’m leaning towards not buying it now. Just wanted something I had in my senior year and thought it would be cool, but I’m too old for engine swaps, thanks again!

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

If it's a clean car, I would buy it, an engine change is not hard on a 40, I have never even taken the hood off for engine changes; that's how easy they are. I would think it wouldn't even cost a lot to have someone change it for you. But, it has too be bought at a reasonable price too if an engine change is in the future. Of course I may make it sound easier because I have all the equipment to do an engine change.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

What do you plan to do with the car? If you are driving around a small town and going to the burger stand the 60 may be ok. If you live in hilly area or want to drive long distance then 60 will be a bit weak. There is a local member with a 60 hp 37 pickup with the factory 4.44 rear gears and a Mitchell overdrive. He drive the truck on tour and does alright in the flatlands of the Texas coastal plain.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Continue to shop around as there are many '40 tudors out there. Most have the 85 hp flathead. You won' t be happy with the 60.

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Also keep in mind that the 60 hp came with a tube axle (front axle). If you were to put a 85hp V8 in it you might not want the front tube axle.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

This. Tube axle and 3.5" wheels. 3.5" wheels will net you $1,500 if they are nice and the a nice tube axle another $500-600 if it's nice as well.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Not necessarily Seth.
In fact, some 85HP cars came with a factory installed tube axle.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

I did not realize this. Would the 85 hp axle be better since it is heavier construction? I don't think I would want the tube axle with a 85 hp engine. What are your thoughts?

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Seth,

These Ford tube axles were often used for Hemi powered gassers, etc. in the 50's-60's. Those Hemis are a lot heavier than a 85 hp flathead.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

47topless,yeah and there are 2or3 people putting the 60hp flatheads in motorcycle chassis.my son and i have been going to the davenport ia. labor day motorcycle swap meet. Tom.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Seth, in my opinion, for what that is worth, I'd think the tube axle would be plenty strong on today's roads.
By 1940, the tube axles were for the most part being phased out. They were supposed to be used up on the 60HP cars. However, when I was researching for my book, I found ample evidence they were pretty much "used up" regardless of model.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

I had a V8-60 in a 38 STD Tudor a few years ago; it was about like driving a Model A as far as power and acceleration goes. You have to wind it up pretty good in second before hitting third, just not much grunt like a normal 85HP in a 37-40 Ford.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

As they say it is more cost effective to look for an 85hp car. If the 60 was really cheap, there are a lot of head aches with istalling an 85. Most of all finding a GOOD engine to start with.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Pictures?

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

I can't believe anyone would want to put a 700 lb Olds in a Ford. If a OHV engine,I would opt of a 292 Yblock (about the same weight as a 85 hp) or a rear sump 302, with a closed drive T5 trans.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

I'm not certain what that '49 Rocket engine weighed that I'd installed in the '46 Ford years ago but can't imagine anywhere near 700#.
The large straight eight in my '31 Buick is shy of 700# (not by much).
Regardless, the '49 Rocket was kind of legendary back in the day and fit perfectly beneath the hood of the Ford.
Back then, adapters were readily available and made the installation appear as if it came from the Ford assembly line.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Thanks, Kube. Some people get it, some don't.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Hhmmmm, Olds 303 Rocket came out in '49. 292 Y block was '55 I believe after all of the issues with the 239 Y Block top end oiling. 292 Y blocks weighs 625 lbs. That's six years of lead time for those grubbing hot rodders to get their hands on one.

According to the interwebs, it claims that the 303 Olds weighed 671 lbs. & produced 135 HP and 253 ft lbs of torque with the 2 barrel carb.

Olds Rocket was a the first "true" hot rod engine. I believe Kube said he did it back in the day, not now.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Tim,
You are correct in that I did that swap "back in the day". Being young and inexperienced I did not think through the chassis changes that surely would have made that ride more enjoyable, read: safer.
The car was scary quick, no doubt due to the additional HP and the torque increase.
Ah, the good ol' days :)

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

Kube, I'll bet that Olds was a good runner and probably modified to perform that well. Being a flathead guy, I have never had a "Fordsmobile", but I was involved with making a couple in the early sixties for some friends. The first was an early 303 of indeterminant heritage from the local junkyard into a '40 Tudor. We got it in after figuring out the starter and oil filter interference problems. The engine burned a little oil and was not fresh by any means but it provided an acceptable performance over the flathead that had been in it before. Because of my experience, I was "drafted" a few years later to help another guy put a fresh '57 J2 into a low mile '39 Standard Tudor. Now that car was flat out scary; the difference was like night and day.

One thing to add. Although the 303 Olds is quoted as weighing 671 lbs., all of them required an aluminum starter "switchover" housing to replace the cast iron original. When you add an aluminum intake instead of a stocker, you save over 50 lbs.

Re: ‘40 2 door sedan
 

If you don't want it give the # and I will take it
John
714 420 7650