1940 Plymouth Coupe - A Different Type Of Decadence

While growing up, your personal preferences continue to evolve. Where you might have once fancied a Raleigh Chopper over a more desirable Schwinn Orange Krate, something tilts you one way or the other. And then there are tastes that cause some of us to prefer anything but Blue Oval or Bow Tie based. For Rufus Price, growing up in West Medford, Massachusetts, during the early '50s allowed him a chance to see first hand all of the neat rides coming out of Detroit.

Hanging out with his twin brother, Richard, they were always losing track of time thanks to numerous cool cars. Some of his earliest memories surrounded a particular pair of chopped customs, one being a '50 Merc and the other a '40 Ford. Add in time engrossed in "The Little Books" where the Barris Brothers ruled with their innovative creations and designs and it's easy to see that he was well on his way to laying the groundwork for a solid hot rod future.

While cruising through the back roads of rural New Hampshire in 1995, he came across an old car parked on the side of the road with a "For Sale" sign taped to the windshield. A detailed investigation proved that the primered coupe was a '40 Plymouth; a model that Rufus had never really paid attention to in the past, but one that now peaked his interests. A deal was struck and Rufus hauled the car home to his garage to start work on its transformation with his son-in-law, Shelby Lunceford. Once the pair began to tear the car down, they found out that there were quite a few hidden surprises with every corner they turned, proving the car was not as solid as it appeared to have been.

Once the car was hauled to Back Bay Customs, it was fully torn down to give Back Bay the chance to start the build from the ground up. Starting with the chassis, the team added custom tubular crossmembers, accenting the Fatman Fabrications IFS with Carrera coilover shocks while out back the 9-inch Ford rear was treated to Posies Super Slider leaf springs and Carrera coilover shocks to soften the ride. To make sure that plenty of stopping power would be on tap, 13-inch Wilwood discs were added at each corner with matching six-piston calipers while power transfer and handling was complemented by Goodyear rubber mounted to a set of classic American Torq-Thrust IIs. To give the car plenty of aggressive power, Rufus made the decision he wanted a Chrysler V-8 bolted to the 'rails so he contacted Golen Engine Service in Hudson, New Hampshire, to assemble a wicked small-block Mopar to fit the bill. Starting with a '69 Chrysler 340ci block, the team at Golens bored it 0.030 over and then dynamically balanced the factory forged steel crank before filling the block with Keith Black slugs and a COMP Cams stick. To make sure the hot small-block was getting enough breath, they topped it off with an Edelbrock Performer intake capped by a Holley 600-cfm carb. The powerplant is linked to a Chrysler 727 automatic matched to a Gear Vendors overdrive unit.

To add the final bit of glamour to the mix, the team at Back Bay Customs played their cards just right when they started to massage the vintage steel body back to perfection by adding just enough subtle fabrication changes to make Detroit's original design even more seductive. Once all the body lines were razor sharp, a lustrous coating of Martin Senour Infinity Blue Sapphire metallic was laid down, sealing the deal. To be sure that Rufus' business office was every bit as comfortable as his favorite easy chair at home, Justin Cunningham and Steve Ursino of Kustom Kreations of North Reading, Massachusetts, took on the task of trimming out the interior with yards of butter soft Doeskin Bisque leather. Combined with a knockout sound system, Vintage Air, and an ididit tilt column, you couldn't ask for a more comfy cruizin' zone.