Car Spotter: Pictures of 1940 cars

[PFindlay]

Since acquiring a 1940 Oldsmobile, I've taken a greater interest in 1940 cars of all makes.  So how about a thread showing pictures and information about any 1940 cars?  Original or period pictures are great, as well as specs and a few "firsts" (or maybe lasts).

 

It would be interesting if there could be similar threads for other years and the result would be a great reference for many.

Edited January 1, 2021 by PFindlay (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

3 minutes ago, PFindlay said:

Since acquiring a 1940 Oldsmobile, I've taken a greater interest in 1940 cars of all makes.  So how about a thread showing pictures and information about any 1940 cars?  Original or period pictures are great, as well as specs and a few "firsts" (or maybe lasts.

 

It would be interesting if there could be similar threads for other years and the result would be a great reference for many.

 

 Go for it! 

 

  Ben

[PFindlay]

This is my 1940 Oldsmobile Series 60 Convertible Coupe.  The series 60 had a 230 cu. in. flathead engine (95 hp) and a 116 inch wheelbase.  Olds made about 1300 of this model with a base price of $996.  This one has the optional 4 speed Hydramatic transmission.

 

1940 was the year most automakers introduced sealed beam headlights, and was also getting near the end of running boards.   This car's Hydramatic transmission was the first fully automatic transmission offered by any of the North American makers.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[J.H.Boland]

I once had a '40 Olds opera coupe with only 56000 miles on it. Haven't seen it in years.

This is my '40 Packard, a 110 business coupe with 43000 original miles .It has a 245 cu,in. 100 HP six and three on the tree. Ads of the day for Olds, Buick, Mercury and Dodge, who's corporate noses were out of joint at Packard entering the mid-price field, called Packard styling old fashioned. Packard called their offerings "classic" styling, to which I wholeheartedly agree.

Edited December 30, 2020 by J.H.Boland (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

Well it didn't take long to zero in on the front view as being a key 1940 feature.  The grill and headlights were a focal point. 

 

Here is my friend's 1940 Nash Ambassador.  6 cyl, 235 cu. in., 105 hp.    Wheelbase 121" and a base price of $955.

 

This picture is from a commercial the car was used in.

 

 

 

 

[padgett]

Why are near all pictures from the front ? Personally am a sucker for slip stream/streamliner/torpedo back/fastbacks.

[PFindlay]

I saw this today in a For Sale thread so I thought I'd add it.  1940 LaSalle.  322 cu. in. V-8 engine, three on the tree.  Base price $1395.   Nice car.  1940 was the last year for LaSalle.

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by PFindlay (see edit history)

[kgreen]

It’s fun to recognize in photos of street scenes when a 1940 car was introduced would include cars dating back another 20 years and could include a horse drawn wagon.  
 

Here’s a photo of one of my 1940 models. It’s a Buick series Super with a 248 ohv in-line 8. Working on another 1940 Roadmaster. 

[Pfeil]

On 12/30/2020 at 10:34 AM, PFindlay said:

This is my 1940 Oldsmobile Series 60 Convertible Coupe.  The series 60 had a 230 cu. in. flathead engine (95 hp) and a 116 inch wheelbase.  Olds made about 1300 of this model with a base price of $996.  This one has the optional 4 speed Hydramatic transmission.

 

1940 was the year most automakers introduced sealed beam headlights, and was also getting near the end of running boards.   This car's Hydramatic transmission was the first fully automatic transmission offered by any of the North American makers.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Nice car!

Don't know if you are aware that Oldsmobile and Pontiac of 40-41 Have models that cover the GM spectrum.

The "A" Body = Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile

The "B" Body = Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, LaSalle ( 1940).

The "C" Body = Cadillac, La Salle 1940, Oldsmobile, Pontiac Torpedo series. 

[58L-Y8]

On 12/31/2020 at 9:07 PM, Pfeil said:

 

 Nice car!

Don't know if you are aware that Oldsmobile and Pontiac of 40-41 Have models that cover the GM spectrum.

The "A" Body = Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile

The "B" Body = Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, LaSalle ( 1940).

The "C" Body = Cadillac, La Salle 1940, Oldsmobile, Pontiac Torpedo series. 

Yes, 1940 and 1941 were the only two years Pontiac was allowed the use of a GM C-Body, in this case the Cadillac 60 Special-inspired Torpedo sedan, coupe and convertibles, exampled by the 1940 LaSalle shown above.

Edited January 2, 2021 by 58L-Y8
Added '40 Pontiac Torpedo Eight photo (see edit history)

[tripwire]

Here's a picture of my 1940 LaSalle, Model 52-29, Convertible Sedan. #51 of 75 of this body style. 1940 was the final year of production for the LaSalle that was first offered in 1927.  This car line was part of the Companion Makes series of brands GM utilized to fill perceived pricing gaps in their vehicle offerings as dictated by Alfred Sloan's "A Car for Every Purse and Purpose" marketing strategy in the mid 1920s.  In 1940, LaSalle offered two series, Model 50 & Model 52. The Model 52 was based on the C Body platform, also known as the Torpedo style, shared with other large GM cars.

 

Wes in VT

 

[PFindlay]

Thanks for the good information on what was going on at GM in 1940.    You can certainly see the family resemblance in the GM products.

 

Anyone want to add a 1940 Ford, Merc, or Lincoln?  And where are the Mopar guys?

 

Peter

[Dave Henderson]

It was 1950, I was a first year college kid, living in old wooden barracks left over from the WWII Navy V12 program at UVa.  I'd just sold my '35 Ford and had $150 jingling in my pocket, and a yen for some new upgraded wheels.  I spotted the wrecked '40 Roadmaster sedan at the Buick place and inquired about it.  They were happy to unload it for $75.  It was said that it had rear-ended a '39 Ford so hard that it drove it up a bank.  Luck came my way quicker than expected when another '40 RM came my way for $50.  It actually ran, but had rolled over, was a rust bucket, and was missing its passenger door.  What it DID have was just what I needed, Grille, radiator, fender, and suspension parts.  With my buddy Paul we proceeded to swap out parts and breathe new life into the sedan.  I still had $25 left, which went for smalls and a quart of Duco lacquer which about finished it up.  I did have a small "overrun", but it was worth the expenditure, a new in-the-box set of fitted fiber-weave seat covers. 
All in all it was a fun experience and the car came out pretty well for an amateur low buck dirt lot job.  I drove the Buick for about a year and then got an intriguing offer, a swap for a '37 Cord.  Deal done!  I still have the Cord.

[Guest]

I'm still a sucker sucker for this two tone pink '40.

 

[CChinn]

Here’s my 1940 Chevy Special Deluxe. Has a 216ci Inline 6, 85 hp, 3 speed manual transmission

[58L-Y8]

1940 Mercurys, the club coupe and convertible sedan; 1940 Dodge and Graham

Edited January 2, 2021 by 58L-Y8
Added 1940 Dodge picture (see edit history)

[Marty Roth]

Here's our 1941 Cadillac - delivered to "Miss Cornelia", Commodore Vanderbilt's granddaughter as a divorce gift for her husband when she moved to Europe in 1941. Comong to us in 2006 with barely 20,xxx miles, she now clocks +/- 45,xxx miles and is as dependable as she is voluptuous. She has the optional running boards, gold-tone rearview mirror, radio, heater/defroster, and is a three-on-the-tree stick shift.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

I copied these from another 1940s thread on this forum - Mike's 1940 Buick Super Coupe 56S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Walt G]

my 1940 Buick Roadmaster conv. sedan model 71C. "Restored" cosmetically  in 1972, 50,000 miles from new . AT one time owned by the Hell's Angels San Francisco Chapter .

[SC38dls]

Walt - no running boards!  
dave s 

[Walt G]

Dave

Nope, no running boards. G.M. used many body parts for open and enclosed bodies between their makes of cars. Cadillac series 62 and LaSalle used the same body panels/stampings. This was a new body style/shell for 1940. The smaller series Buick Special and the Century for 1940 had running boards because they were using and older body style/shell. The Roadmaster, Century and Limited used the same motor and the Special and the Super used the same engine. I bought the car sight unseen, it was in Ca. and I am in N.Y.  A friend in the Franklin Club told me about the car as he saw it at an annual car club "Friendship meet". I really liked the conv sedans Buick made in the 1930s especially the 1936-41 era. so when I was starting to look for one , this one seemed to be exactly what I wanted in all respects - condition, price,  but location was a bit of a reach!  Buick historian Terry Boyce remembered the car from the early 1970s when he lived in Ca. , he tried to buy it then. Sold new in San Francisco after being on display at an auto show there for new cars. Runs better then it looks, Fast Car, first Buick I ever owned. Two heaters - one under the front seat and one on the inside of the fire wall, has two speeds - off and furnace, gets hot enough with them both on to melt the plastic on the dash knobs and steering wheel rim. Location is in front of my house, that is Belmont Park Race track in the back ground.

Walt

[Peter S]

Beautiful cars with wonderful stories

[4Hud]

Here is our 1948 Frazer Manhattan. They are a very comfortable driving automobile.

  Also a photo of my father at ten years old when his uncle came to visit the farm in Saskatchewan, this uncle lived in the Detroit area and had recently purchased a Frazer from the factory in Willow Run MI. Apparently it made quite an impression on Dad, we have four KF cars in the collection today. 

[John E. Guitar]

Great thread!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by AndrewSydney (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

Thanks for the contributions, guys.  It's nice to see more '40s cars getting used.  

 

However, this thread was intended to display 1940 models of all types for the purposes of comparison and "car spotting."  It would be great to see a similar thread for 1946 - 48 cars like yours.

 

Hopefully there are more 1940 models and body styles out there to add to this thread. 

 

Peter

[Pfeil]

The "C" Body Buick, Olds, and Pontiac.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

On 2/4/2021 at 9:55 AM, Pfeil said:

The "C" Body Buick, Olds, and Pontiac.

And now for one of the best valued car for the money, the Chevrolet "A" body that resembles a Buick;

 

[CHuDWah]

On 1/1/2021 at 1:32 PM, PFindlay said:

Thanks for the good information on what was going on at GM in 1940.    You can certainly see the family resemblance in the GM products.

 

Anyone want to add a 1940 Ford, Merc, or Lincoln?  And where are the Mopar guys?

 

Peter

Can't believe nobody has posted a Ford - here are a couple pix from the internet (sadly, neither car is mine ).

 

De Luxe (authorized accessory grill guard):

 

and V-8 (commonly called Standard but Ford didn't use that term):

Edited February 8, 2021 by CHuDWah (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

Here's a 1940 Buick that surfaced in another thread recently.  

 

[36DodgeRam]

My '40 Plymouth Roadking coupe. Running boards were optional, but mine sports the original running board delete.  Most I have seen have the running boards.

 

[Buffalowed Bill]

1. 1941 Studebaker President Coupe Sedan. I apologize for the photo size I couldn't get it to enlarge and too lazy to make the effort.

[40phil41]

Here is a photo of my 1940 Dodge. My wife's grandfather purchased this as a 6 month old used car in 1940. I dragged it out of a field on the family farm in 1968 and spent 3 decades resurrecting it.

 

Phil

 

 

[PFindlay]

Well done, and thanks for adding to this thread.  We're a little short on Mopar products.

Peter

[PFindlay]

I found this 1940 Hudson on another thread (currently advertised on Hemmings) and thought we should add it to this thread.  Nice looking car!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[8E45E]

1940 Horch

[8E45E]

1940 Chrysler 

[8E45E]

1940 Bantam

[Pfeil]

1940 VW beetle sunroof All wheel drive

[8E45E]

1940 Hudson

[8E45E]

1940 Oldsmobile