From a Daily Driver to Racecar to Hot Rod and now Traditional Custom – This 1940 Ford has seen it all
If old cars could talk, many would share tales of wide-ranging experiences, even multiple lives, encountered during decades of service. Darrell Moseley’s 1940 Ford convertible certainly could. It’s been a regular passenger car, a racecar, a hot rod, and now a custom.
“I acquired the car in 2007 after chasing it for about 10 years,” Darrell says. “The owner before me raced the car in the ’60s – I got 21 trophies with the car when I purchased it. I restored the car as a hot rod, and I’ve spent the last year converting it to a mild custom.”
Darrell is no stranger to cool hot rods and customs – he’s had many, including a chopped ’40 Mercury we featured back in 2023. He’s got a good sense of traditional hot rod style, which he instilled in this ’40 Ford convertible when he first rebuilt it.
The car’s initial hot rod resurrection included a dropped front axle, disc brakes, a Vega steering box, and an 8-inch rearend. It had a slight forward rake, wide whitewalls, and red steel wheels with caps and rings. Power came from a 283c.i. small-block Chevy built by Doug Morrison with an Edelbrock intake and carb, ram’s horn exhaust manifolds, and a ’58 Chevy three-speed overdrive transmission.
Finished in custom-mixed blue paint applied by Darrell and tan leather upholstery, the car had a classic hot rod vibe enhanced by its louvered hood and tasteful pinstripes. Darrell and his wife, Lisa, enjoyed many road miles in it, including a trip from the 2016 Goodguys event in Columbus, Ohio to Deuce Days in Canada.
Since then, Darrell has developed a stronger appreciation for traditional customs, aided by the purchase of his chopped Merc. He could envision the convertible in a similar tail-down style, so he decided to embark on a mild custom makeover on his 1940 Ford. The first step was a stance adjustment that brought the back end down a little. That was enhanced with fender skirts painted to match the body and 16-inch wheels with wide whitewalls and Cadillac Sombrero wheel covers. Darrell added Appleton spotlights at the base of the windshield for good measure, plus ’41 Ford bumpers (the rear one is a rare woodie example).
Inside, Darrell turned to Keith Kirk Upholstery to stitch the seats is fresh oxblood leather done in a vintage style. A Ford Crestliner wheel from Steering Wheel Kris updated the mostly stock dash, which has under-dash Vintage Air A/C for those hot Texas summers.
We’d say this ’40’s new (old) custom style suits it very well. It also serves as a reminder that you don’t always need to sell a car to experience something new. Sometimes you just need to make select changes to reveal a different look.
Photos: John Jackson, Damon Lee
