Quote:
Originally Posted by Kube
What changes did they make that you believed the '40 was much more refined / nicer to drive than a '39?
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Ford advertised more refinements than the three I list below, but I am not sure if each of those additional changes listed as a refinement was included for advertising purposes, or if each change really reduced the noise experienced by the driver. Dave Cole did a nice article on the subject in the March-April 1999 V8 Times.
My experience with driving lots of miles on 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 46 Ford passenger cars leads me to agree with a noticeable improvement for the driver due to at least these three changes:
- Column shifter with rubber bushings at the column and at the transmission to reduce drive train noise transmitted into the passenger compartment
- Choke and throttle controls with rubber bushings to to reduce drive train noise transmitted into the passenger compartment
- Wing vents in the front doors instead of a crank out windshield, allowing smoother air flow in the front seat area when driving
Sealed beam headlights, which were adopted by almost every manufacturer for the 1940 model year, need to be mentioned as well. Earlier headlights with separate reflectors work surprisingly well when the reflectors and lenses are in new condition, but dim substantially as the reflectors tarnish and the inside of the lenses get dirty. Replacing the bulb on a sealed beam headlight renewed both the reflector and the lens, restoring headlights to new condition until the wiring itself degraded.