See below for the story of Craig’s car

A Tale of Two Forty’s

My first forty Ford was purchased in 1978 from the Los Angeles edition of the Valley News and Green Sheet. It was advertised by Patsy and Freddy Miller of Chatsworth. They were friends of my father from the ‘50s. My father knew Freddy from Van Nuys High. I called about the car and went to look at it. I mentioned my father’s name (Jerry) and Patsy talked with me, then put Freddy on a call from Hawaii. They were asking $5,500 and I paid $5,000. My father and I brought the car home. It ran, but the brakes were locking up. Over the next months, I fixed the brakes (new master cylinder, brake shoes, wheel cylinders, brake lines and hoses). The flathead was a 59A with iron heads that I got from John Wolf (who was also a long time friend of my father’s).

In 1984 the stock running gear was changed (Currie 9” Ford rear end narrowed to 543⁄4”, pumpkin centered with 3:50 gears). The stock suspension was replaced by a four link, Halibrand wheels were added. A ’67 Chevy 327 (270 HP) was installed, along with a Turbo 350 automatic transmission. A ’65 Mustang steering gearbox replaced the original and a ’67 Pontiac tilt steering column was added. The front axle was replaced with a 4” dropped axle. A Posie’s front spring with reversed eyes was also installed and the wishbone was split.

My second Forty Ford was bought by my father in 1951, just before his 16th birthday. It was his second car; his first was a ’35 Chevy Standard coupe. He drove his ’40 Ford to Van Nuys High from 1951 to 1953. My mom gave me the car in 2014 after my father passed.

Craig