Pete Marriott's 1940 Ford

Pete's coupe as it sat in 1985. Photo courtesy of Bill Bryan.

Photo courtesy of Bill Bryan.

Photo courtesy of Bill Bryan.

Photo courtesy of Bill Bryan.

Photo courtesy of Bill Bryan.

1940 Ford coupe owned and built by Pete Marriott of Lake Orion, Michigan. The build was started in 1978, and it was the first car that Pete ever did any bodywork on. He started with an empty body. There were no fenders or frame, and the rear quarter windows were filled. Pete constructed a frame from a 1965 Pontiac Tempest chassis. He used the front and rear portion from the Tempest, and built his own frame in-between to tie it all together. The top was chopped 4 inches. Using parts from a donor 1940 Ford sedan he created new rear quarter windows. The windshield was laid back 1 1/2 inches and raised 1 inch into the roof, keeping the same height as the side glass. The bottom of the opera window is stock length, and the new top of of the window was taken from a sedan rear side glass, creating a nicely shaped rear opening.

The door corners were rounded, and the center bar was removed from the rear window. After the top was chopped, Pete sectioned the body 2 1/2 inches. After the body had been sectioned, Pete trimmed off the bottom of the doors. The lower door hinges had to be raised on the cowl. The body was not channeled. The front fenders were rasied 2 1/2 inches. The rear fenders were kept in the stock location at the back. The front of the rear fenders were lifted 2 1/2 inches. The front wheel openings were radiused. The hood was sectioned 1 1/2 inches. The headlights were frenched. In the rear, Pete installed 1941 Studebaker taillights. The trunk lid was the only panel Pete didn't cut. He only cleaned off the license plate and handle. Pete painted the car himself. Under the hood, Pete installed an early smallblock Chevrolet engine with a supercharger and a transmission. The interior featured traditional rolls and pleats upholstery. Pete spent a year and a half building the coupe, and it was completed late 1979, early 1980.

Pete still owned the car in 2015. By then, he had over 100,000 miles on it.