Chassis & Frame Specifications for a 1940 Ford 4 Door Car
by Marlin QuintanaFord's 1940 car lineup continued the basic design introduced for 1937, including sedans, coupes and a convertible in two series: Standard (model 022A) and De Luxe (model 01A). Each model was sold in four-door guise as both a station wagon and a "Fordor" sedan.
Dimensions
All 1940 Ford cars rode on a wheelbase of 112 inches. Sedans and station wagons had an overall length of 188.25 inches and height of 68 inches. Track was 55.75 inches in the front and 58.25 inches in the rear. They used 16-inch wheels, with 6.00 by 16 tires for cars equipped with the larger V-8, and 5.50 by 16 for those with the smaller engine. The Standard Fordor weighed 2,936 lbs., while the Standard Station Wagon weighed 3,249 lbs. The De Luxe Fordor weighed 2,966 lbs.; the De Luxe Station Wagon weighed 3,262 lbs.
Engines
Ford offered two V-8s in 1940. The smaller was a 136-cubic-inch (2.2-liter) unit that produced 60 horsepower (hp) at 3,500 rpm and 94 foot-pounds of torque at 2,500 rpm, with a compression ratio of 6.12 to 1. The other displaced 221 cubic inches (3.6 liters) and produced 85 hp at 3,800 rpm and 155 foot-pounds of torque at 2,200 rpm. Both were versions of Ford's "Flathead" engine, first used in 1932 models. Both had a cast iron block and three main bearings, and used a two-barrel Chandler-Groves carburetor.
Other Specs
All 1940 Fords used steel body-on-frame construction. Sedans came with a 3/4-floating rear axle and Lockheed drum brakes at all four wheels. Power was transmitted via a three-speed, sliding-gear transmission with a column-mounted shifter. Options included two-tone paint, fender skirts, bumper guards, fog lamps, locking gas cap, white sidewall tires, heater, defroster, radio, side mirrors, seat covers, cigar lighter and De Luxe hubcaps.
References
- "Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942"; Beverly R. Kimes, Henry Austin Clark, Ralph Dunwoodie, and Keith Marvin; 1996
Writer Bio
Marlin Quintana began writing professionally in 2010. A programmer and web developer, he has worked for Motorola, IBM, FameCast and his own small company, which from 1999-2002 built custom, highly interactive websites. Marlin has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art and a Bachelor of Science in computer sciences, both from the University of Texas at Austin.
