Moving this ’40 Ford pickup down the road is a Ford Performance iron small-block–based 427 with 10.5:1 compression and aluminum heads. Enhancing the hi-po heads are C. Cook Enterprises custom valve covers, including the “Ford” name. Providing looks, functionality, and performance is the combination of a fully detailed, thorough paint- and brightwork, Vintage Air Front Runner, and a Borla 8-Stack V-8 EFI throttle body topped with C. Cook Enterprises air cleaners. The engine management system is based on a Holley Dominator with eight Holley Smart Coils remotely mounted. The exhaust is also a work of art in that they are custom made from 1-3/4-inch stainless steel and fully polished throughout back to and including the pair of MagnaFlow mufflers. Receiving the 535 hp and the 545 lb-ft is a Ford 4R70W overdrive trans with a 10-inch converter operating with a 3,500-rpm stall speed and moved by a floor-mounted Lokar Performance Products shifter.

The body is what appears to be a stock ’40 Ford pickup with several tasteful custom touches. The front and rear bumpers come by way of a ’40 Merc while ’39 Ford headlights and ’37 Ford taillights are used. From here it was copious amounts of bodywork by Alan Palmer who then painted the sheetmetal in Axalta Regency Red.

Next up Gabe’s Street Rod Custom Interiors covered the Glide Engineering bench seat with a coffee-colored leather material that was also used on the headliner, door, and kick panels. The factory dashboard now sports Vintage Air A/C and heat registers that direct the cool climes from the Vintage Air A/C system with its controls mounted to a below-the-dash panel that also accommodates a pair of air registers. Mounted within the factory dashboard are a Classic Instruments’ custom-faced yet factory-appearing gauge package with a 140-mph speedo and an 8,000-rpm tach. Accessory gauges include water, fuel, volts, and oil instruments all updated for today’s engine and transmission. Mounted to the lower portion of the dash is a LimeWorks steering column accessorized with a LimeWorks turn signal mechanism and then the column is topped with a recreation of a ’40 Ford wheel. Bringing everything to life is an American Autowire system wired into place by the craftsman at Wheeler’s Speed Shop.

If you want an everyday pickup (and what hot rodder doesn’t?), here is as prime of an example as exists. Fortunately for all of us, Joe was able to find one of these rare ’40 Ford pickups and bring it back to life that all of us can appreciate.