VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 the wrong year chevy

with all the talk of how great the 38's, 39's, and 41's were....did i buy the wrong car? i have a '40 special deluxe that's in good condition. but it seems like after monitoring the posts i feel like i bought the wrong year car. was the '40 not well made? just wondering...kw

Your OK ken, but according to Charlie everyone that has anything but a 41 has a piece of crap. I figure most of us members just have crappie cars.......

I don't think so..They look mighty nice to me.

If you bought the wrong car then so did I , 1940 master deluxe,
working on the car it has some 1940 only parts . If your like me you bought it for all the right reasons it's a great looking car and it has a lot of the first and last items for chevrolet that year . Your not alone alot of us think the 40 chevy is a great car.

There is nothing wrong with a 1940 Chevrolet.
They were better cars than any previous years and mechcanically almost the smat as a 1941-1948. Also shared some parts with a 1939. The 1939 is kind of a one year car also. Drive train and engine a cross between a 1938 and a 1940. Body and sheet metal all one year with the rear bumper and the 4 bumper guards being the same as a 1938.
The year you own always seems like an odd ball when it comes to finding parts.

Okay, I have to set the record straight here. I don't think I ever said that anything but a 41 was a piece of crap. My comments, however, may have given that impression. I admit the error. Grin. My opinion based praise of the 41 is merely that, to me, it is superior in looks to all other Chevies from the 48 back to 1911.

The reason the 1940 is a distant (but not by much) runner up to the 1941 is the carry over of running boards, less horsepower, less streamlined body, etc. Visualize this.

Chevrolet board meeting.

President of Chevrolet: "Well, guys, that presentation of the new 1940 Chevrolet was really cool. A much finer looking car than that 1939 you came up with last year. Tell me, though, why did you keep the running boards?"

Designer Spokesman: "Well, we had a bunch left over from the 39. We modified them. We had to get rid of them somehow."

Prez: "Well, OK, what about the antiquated headlights?"

DS: "Um, well, we plum forgot about them until it was too late. We just decided to plop 'um on top of the redesigned fenders. No one will notice."

Prez: "Yeah, but how about sealed beams? These things still go bulbs."

DS: "Same as the running boards. We got a bunch of bulbs left over from the 39, as well."

Prez: "What about the engine?"

DS: "No change from the basic 37. Maybe next year. But it'll still outrun a Ford."

Prez: "Good. Well, what did you do that will help sell these 40s?"

DS: "Well, we came up with the coolest wheel trim rings you ever saw. We call 'up 'shark teeth.' We're excited. Lookie, here's a picture."

Prez though skeptical, looks at picture. His eyebrows lift, eyes bulge and mouth drops open in the form of an 'O'): "Ohoooow. Wow! Just Wow! OK, guys, run with it!"

All Chevolets, especially from 66 back, are nice looking cars and, for the time, beautiful and well designed cars. The reason that I go on, ad nausea, about the 41 is that it seemed that everything came together that year. Engine and drive train, styling, et al. The 42 thru 48 got that cap on the front fenders only for aerodynamic reasons. I think the trade off was not worth it. To me it screwed up the looks big time. Sadly, the only things they dropped the ball on in 41 was the reverse polarity switch and not carrying over the shark teeth rims.

For the above reason, to me, the 1941 stands out. Many years ago, an author of an article in the G&D, touted the design of the 41. If I remember correctly, he thought the 41 Special Deluxe 5 passenger coupe was the most beautiful car Chevrolet ever came out with. Not to disparage other year designs, I totally agree with him.

Best, Charlie

BTW: Is that red paint in the bumper grooves in the pictured 40 Cabriolet?

BTW2: I've already had my butt taken to the woodshed (several times) for my zealous, over the top praise of the 41. I got a good whoopin's from folks whose opinion I respect. I guess I'm about due for another visit. Such is life.

i appreciate your comments about the '40's. i was thinking that i should sell and start all over again. (gasp! i might not live that long!) sooo! i'll just keep my old dependable as it dosen't give me much problems...knock on wood... thanks for setting me straight as always. kw

The 1940 Chevrolet along with all popular conventional cars in 1940 had sealed beams.

Very few 1940 cars did not ave running boards and the ones that didn't did not have the concealed running boards as the 1941 Fisher A bodies had. The lack of a running board was regarded by many as a very radical thing in 1941, so much so that Chevrolet even offered an ugly metal foot scraper as an accessory.
In 1940 the Chevrolet had 85 HP, Ford the same and Plymouth 84. That was considered adquate at that time. The 1941 was a heaiver car and required more HP to match the performance of a 1940.
There again head lights in the fenders were considered easily damaged in 1940 - not always a plus in a consertive low priced car.
The 1940 design was 100 percent competitive with the other "low priced" cars. My thoughts were the 1940 design should have been introduced in 1939 as that was the year that was behind in styling....and ran the 1940 body for two years.
There is more than just the red bumper stripes on that 1940 and lopk at the red wheels.

Gene, well, I noticed the red wheels, as well. But I didn't want to say anything about that because it might not set right with Steve who seems to think a mismatch is the cat's meow. Just look at all the effort that went in to getting him to color- match his wheels. I'm still not sure he's persuaded it was the right thing to do. Grin. Best, Charlie

BTW: I've come up with another "Murhpy's Law": If there is a groove, there will always be enough red paint will fill it. Sort of like space and clutter.

I reckon that PK and Charlie thought that things were getting too normalized and sedated around here and decided to stir the pot one more time!

Gene, It's funny to me where you mention about the head lights in the front fenders being a bit ahead of their time for conservative Chevrolet buyers. My Grandfather went through the same little episode in 1951-52 with his purchasing of Chevies. He worked at a dealership, and got a new one every year from 47-51. When the '52's came out he didn't trade the '51 in because the all new '53's were soon going to be in. Imagine his horror when he saw the new '53 with... A one piece windshield!! Why if you ever got a rock, you'd have to replace the whole thing!!! He didn't buy a new car again until 1963!

well there is nothing wrong with stirring the pot. but some of us take it seriously. so be gentle on some of us. we can take a little ribbing. i guess it's better stirring the pot instead of smoking the......you know what i mean...no offense... takes me back to woodstock. GRIN

I'm use to this because as my group was running around after high school this one guy thought he was a Romeo and always tried to date the prettiest girl and brag, "Ain't she the prettiest?" Then she would dump him and then he'd go after the 2nd prettiest, and say the same thing. Get dumped and fall further down the line but still telling us the same thing. "Aint she the prettiest?" After he hooked on to this average one he kept telling himself and us the same thing untill he really believed it. Now when we tee up sometimes he says, "Wasn't my wife the prettiest Huh, Huh?" and we say, "Ya. Ya." just to pacify him, and then "Now hit the ball so we can get on with the game."

I was wrong on the 40 headlights not being sealed beam. Sorry. Busted again. Just shoot me. Charlie

BTW: I didn't start this, so you all give me a break.

BTW2: I'll shut up about 41s. Again. (Can I get an AMEM!) You see, a 41 is like the guest speaker who is so well known, owing to quality, integrity, idol status and fan base, that he needith no introduction. Yep. Sorry, for all of you who don't own one and "doth protest to much." I'd wager that if you'd just admit the truth, you'd confess that it's what you dream about. Oh, yeah, me thinketh it be so. (We need a puke pause about here.)

BTW3: I'll probably never see the outside of the woodshed again. Dang! But so be it.