Road Tour 1940 Ford - 2012 Amsoil/Street Rodder Road Tour

Always one of the most asked questions each year about the Road Tour car is what color is it painted? These cars for as long as we can remember have relied on PPG paints. PPG was again chosen but for the first time it was from their Envirobase paint line, which uses water rather than solvent as the carrying agent for the pigment. (Much kinder to Mother Nature!) The initial bodywork was handled at HHR and then the coupe was moved to Scott Bonowski of Hot Rods & Hobbies (HR&H) for the application and final detail while David Findley at FinishMaster mixed the custom formula. (We also need to thank Intercity Lines for shuttling our project.) The mix utilizes PPG pigments with the final color based on a copper pearl with a hint of Russet Brown; six colors were added to the base copper color. When asked what color the coupe is we like to answer with: “Catch Me If You Can—Copper!” (We couldn’t resist. Go back to the September and October issues for the full story on the paint process. For the formula check with Findley at FinishMaster.) To further accent the exterior color Sherm’s Custom Plating handled much of the chrome, giving the coupe just the right amount of brightwork. Now, all we need to hope for is that Dixey breaks out his supply of Surf City Garage polish and keeps the shine in shiny on the fresh paint and chrome.

Today’s hot rods are all about performance underhood and within the framerails but there’s another area where hot rod performance has excelled and that’s in creature comforts. The interior of many of today’s street rods engage modern ergonomics in keeping with something fresh from Detroit. The Road Tour ’40 was not to be denied its “lap of luxury”. Before final interior appointments were applied, Dynamat was positioned throughout to ensure sound deadening and heat resistance would add to the overall interior comfort. To further enhance the interior Steele Rubber Products (doors, trunk, hood, windows, bumper openings, and weatherstripping) was employed, guaranteeing a sealed cockpit with neither little or no wind noise nor the intrusion of some of nature’s other goodies (rain!).

The “seat of power” literally is built around a Wise Guys Seats & Accessories split back bench complete with adjustable back, foldout arm support, and a pair of 12V power ports with Yogi’s-supplied seatbelts. The Wise Guys selection of padded foam was then covered over in black Naugahyde piped and stitched in copper by Mark Lopez and his staff at Elegance Auto Interiors. Lopez followed the same black and copper theme throughout on the door and kick panels and headliner and also laid down the early BMW black tight-loop carpeting. (The trunk was also similarly finished and is the resting place for the Optima battery linked to the engine compartment via a Painless Performance Products cable and kill switch kit.) The DC stock ’40 dash is accented with Dakota Digital’s award-winning ’40 Ford VHX Series analog instrument panel with a Ford direct-fit instrument cluster that’s equipped with a silver gauge face and blue backlighting.