InTheGarageMedia.com
hen speaking with Gary Upton, of SoCal, it becomes obvious of his lifelong fascination with ’40 Fords. Just prior to owning this potent ’40 Ford coupe he owned and drove a hot-rodded ’40 Ford pickup. However, the hopped-up Merc Flathead and modified stock chassis, while having served their purpose, had come to the end of its usefulness. Gary felt it was time to move onto something more in keeping with his relocation from the back roads of Oregon to the SoCal freeways.
Once inside the coupe you will see a stock ’40 dashboard that now features a custom lower section, which houses the Vintage Air registers as well as the ignition key and headlight switch. The Vintage Air controls are mounted directly in the center of the dash below what would have been the speaker grille section. If you are wondering about the instruments, wonder no more as they are directly from Dakota Digital and are wired using an American Autowire kit, as is the rest of the hot rod. More hot rod industry hardware includes the use of a LimeWorks Speed Shop column with a three-spoke leather-wrapped wheel from Juliano’s Hot Rod Parts. The seating is a bench by way of Glide Engineering that was stitched, as was the remainder of the interior, while at Gabe’s Street Rod Custom Interiors. The interior leather is colored in an Expresso brown following through to the headliners, doors, and other related panels, while a tight weave brown carpeting is used. A “spoon” early-style throttle along with more traditional fare, such as the round brake pedal, are all pressed into service.
Gary is a lifelong hot rodder who has grown up with performance cars and enjoys all aspects of hot rodding and the SoCal scene. As a youth he would jump on his bike and ride to the newsstand and buy the latest rodding magazine (as would many of us) and would dream about the future. Well, the future has arrived.
VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 38 • 2023