Survivor! Tom Holland’s 1940 Ford Tudor
Tom Holland is a former dirt-track racer who needed a project after hanging up his dusty helmet. His son Jason is plugged into the Omaha hot rod scene and had a friend selling a 1940 Ford Tudor that had survived for decades with mostly original paint and parts. It seemed like a perfect hot rod project when Tom saw it.
The Hollands made a plan to build the ’40 into a reliable, no-nonsense hot rod. The stance had to be spot on, so they started by installing a Speedway Motors dropped axle and Posies leaf spring up front and a Pete & Jake’s ladder bar setup out back, which positioned the copper-painted 16-inch steel wheels and 4.50/7.00 Firestone rubber just right.
There’s a reason so many small-block Chevys are used in early Fords – because they fit well. But the Hollands wanted to keep this one Blue Oval and put in the extra effort to install a healthy 347c.i. stroker small block Ford, backing it up with a T5 five-speed to keep things fun.
The black paint is pretty much as Tom found it, except for a repair Jason made to the lower driver’s door, which was distressed to match the rest. “I didn’t want to make it perfect,” Tom says.
A Classic Instruments gauge cluster and hidden Hot Rods by Dean radio panel behind the speaker add a little convenience on the inside, which is otherwise comfortably worn. Simple, cool, and timeless – a combination that’s tough to beat.
Photos by Damon Lee
