Roseville Rod & Custom Gets Busy on the Goodguys 2026 Grand Prize Giveaway ’40 Ford Coupe
In the first installment covering the plan for Goodguy’s 2026 Grand Prize Giveaway ’40 Ford coupe, we showed off the ultra-clean original car that would serve as the project’s starting point. We were happy to see that the cleanliness was beyond skin deep – there were no dirty secrets revealed during teardown. Even the thorough multi-stage media blasting process at American Stripping in Sacramento revealed few surprises and virtually no rust. The car was exceptionally clean.
As you’ll recall, Roseville had already taken delivery of a new chassis Total Cost Involved (TCI) with an independent front suspension, Ridetech coil-overs, a Currie 9-inch rearend, and Wilwood disc brakes. Meanwhile, Ross Racing Engines has been hard at work on a supercharged ’50s-era 331c.i. Cadillac V8, which will be fed by an AutoTrend EFI and connected to a Tremec TKX five-speed transmission from American Powertrain.
Since we last left off, the Roseville team has fitted the coupe body to the TCI chassis and has started the mockup process for the engine, transmission, and other mechanical elements. This has required some fabrication and other custom work, which we’ll show in this installment. The crew is tackling whatever it can to maintain momentum while waiting for other parts and components to arrive, while also making some refinements to the body (we’ll show you more of that in the next installment). There are a variety of tasks being checked off the list, from fabricating engine mounts and trimming the firewall, to mocking up the Vintage Air system and crafting some under-dash control panels.
The accompanying photos provide a taste of some of the mockup and fabrication work being done to keep this fine ’40 moving in the right direction. With progress like this being made over the winter, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for the 2026 Grand Prize Giveaway as we roll into spring and get ready for the midsummer reveal of this cool coupe!
Photos by Roseville Rod & Custom
