Don Moore's 1940 Ford Coupe

Don's coupe as it looked in 1963.

Around 1973 the rear wheels from the coupe were sold and installed on this car.

A photo of the coupe taken in 1975, after Bob Nichols of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, had purchased it. Bob came across an ad for a 1940 Ford Coupe in a Tulsa newspaper. There was no other info in the ad except for the phone number, so Bob decided to check it out. The seller was a guy in Oklahoma City. Bob and the seller came to an agreement, and the old custom soon found a new home in Broken Arrow. Photo courtesy of Jim Helms.

Even though the Coupe had been an old show car, Bob started driving it around. "He drove the wheels off it," Jim Helms told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in August of 2023. Photo courtesy of Jim Helms.

A photo of the coupe that Jim Helms snapped on their way to the 1975 Street Rod Nationals in Memphis, Tenneessee. Photo courtesy of Jim Helms.

The T-Bucket that Jim Helms drove to the 1975 Street Rod Nationals. He still owned this in 2023. Photo courtesy of Jim Helms.

The coupe as it looked when Ron Smith bought it in 2010.

While waiting for the Halibrand wheels to arrive, Ron tried out a set of wheels from one of his Model-A's on the coupe.

The coupe as it sat July 9, 2011, after Ron had restored it back to its 1963 configuration. Photo by Jimmy Riffe.

Photo by Jimmy Riffe.

Photo by Jimmy Riffe.

Photo by Jimmy Riffe.

Ron and Dave Stuckey with the restored version of the coupe at the 31st annual KKOA Leadsled Spectacular in Salina, Kansas in 2011.

1940 Ford Coupe restyled by Dave Stuckey of Stuckey Kustom for Don Moore of Midwest City, Oklahoma. The build was started in 1961 and completed in 1962. Dave restyled the coupe while he still was doing some work for Darryl Starbird's Star Kustom Shop in addition to working out of his own shop as well, therefore the coupe has sometimes been referred to as a Star Kustom Shop creation. Up front, Dave installed a new grille cavity similar to the Edsel grille. Canted quad headlights were also frenched and tunneled into the front fenders. The hood received a one-piece look by filling the original seam. A scoop was added to the side of the modified hood. The fenders were molded to the body, and all four wheel wells were radiused. A 1/2 inch conduit was molded in to give the fenders a round finished look. The fenders were rolled front and back, and new running boards were hand-made from sheet metal. The drip rails were molded in, the rear glass was replaced with a larger one-piece glass, and the door handles were shaved. The rear end was restyled by adding a large rolled pan that incorporated push-bar-type nerfs and a shrouded license plate housing. Matching nerf-bars were also installed up front. 1960 Chevrolet Corvette taillights were fitted into the rear fenders. All bodywork was done in lead, and the body was painted in multiple coats of orange lacquer paint. Inside, Pivot-type bucket seats were added. The complete dash was handmade. It housed Stewart-Warner instruments, and was covered with rolled and pleated. The interior was done in black Naugahyde with silver piping. The stock flathead was scrapped in favor of a larger 292-cu.in. Chevrolet V8 that had been fitted with a polished 471 GMC blower, Thompson pistons and an Isky cam. Polished Halibrand mag wheels with slicks on the rear and small tires up front wrapped up the style of Don's winning show stopper and strip teaser.

Around 1973, the wheels from the coupe were advertised for sale. and sold from the car By then it had been painted black, and the guy who bought the rear wheels thinks the current owner had installed a set of Cragars with thin whitewalls on the car instead.

Bob Nichols Buys It

In 1974, Bob Nichols of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, came across an ad for a 1940 Ford Coupe in a Tulsa newspaper. There was no other info in the ad, except for the phone number, so Bob decided to check it out. The seller was a guy in Oklahoma City. Bob and the seller came to an agreement, and the old custom soon found a new home in Broken Arrow. It came with a bunch of trophies, and an extra back window. Even though it had been an old show car, Bob started driving it around. "He drove the wheels off it," Jim Helms told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in August of 2023. Jim recalled that after Bob had driven it for a while, "the transmission started shifting weird. He called B&M to ask them what the problem might be, The first question they asked him was what color it was. Bob told them it was red. The guy told him that they hadn't built that transmission in years but told him how to adjust it. Accessibility to the adjuster was a problem considering the location, so Bob peeled back the carpet and drilled a hole in the transmission hump to gain access and adjusted it. Problem solved." Bob called Jim a bit later, suggesting that they should drive to the 1975 Street Rod Nationals in Memphis, Tenneessee. "The plan was made, and it turned out to be a great road trip." Jim saw the car several years later being driven through the swap meet area of the Springfield, Missouri, swap meet. "The old black lacquer had seen better days. That was the last time I saw it.." Jim recalled.

Ron Smith Buys and Restores it

In November of 2010, Ron Smith of Odessa, Texas bought the old coupe. By then the blower was gone, and a parachute and a chrome Halibrand quick change had been installed. The old coupe had been sitting in storage for many years, and when the owner died, his son got the car. The son kept the coupe for some years until he decided to sell it off. When Ron got the car, it hadn't been driven for many years, so he redid the brakes, re-wired it, and installed a new set of Halibrand wheels and tires. Ron also got in touch with Dave Stuckey who told him the original paint color and codes. Texas Street Rod's of Big Spring, Texas sanded down and painted the coupe for Ron. Texas Street Rod's worked their way through 7 layers of paint and took it down to bare metal. The lead work on the old coupe looked still perfect. July, 2011 the coupe had received a new paint job, and it appeared exactly as it did in 1963. It still missed a blower, but Ron had a rebuilt and polished Cragar 471 supercharger that he planned to install in it later.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Hot Rod Magazine December 1963
Popular Customs Winter Issue 1963