1940 Ford Deluxe

During 1939, the relationship between the Ford Motor Company and Murray Corporation of America began to deteriorate. Murray had been the builder of Ford's station wagon bodies, but labor issues and quality problems had caused their relationship to dwindle. By this point in history, Ford had installed new presses at the Rouge complex which gave them the ability to do their own stamping, which allowed them to be less reliant on Murray. It also led Ford to consider the in-house production of the station wagons. Ford management began discussions with Iron Mountain operation, which was then providing the wood parts to Murray for assembly. This resulted in an all-body assembly to be performed in the northern Michigan locale, and that bodies be sent to assembly plants fully finished and trimmed. This went into effect at the beginning of the 1940 model year.

During the first week of August of 1939, two hundred examples were completed and then shipped for assembly in preparation for the new model's September 29th introduction date. In 1940, Ford had 18 assembly plants, with only a few being tasked with wagon production. After Dearborn, the largest producers of wagons were Edgewater, New Jersey, Richmond, California, and Chicago, in that order.

The bodies had a roofline that was slightly altered and more rounded at the windshield header. The lower panel became narrower, and the rear quarter panels were consolidated into one piece. The spare tire was relocated back to the tailgate, where it had been located from 1935 to 1937. The rear doors which had been hinged at the back in 'suicide' style were now hinged at the front. The Standards came in maple only. The Deluxe wagons were offered in a choice of maple or birch framing. The panels used a darker-colored gumwood, and the bodies were given three coats of varnish, hand-sanded between each application.

Additional features of the Deluxe woodies included an adjustable front seat and cushions faced in genuine brown Spanish grain leather. Deluxe Ford's had a DeLuxe grille, chrome headlight trim rings, 'Ford DeLuxe' lettering and trim rings, and a DeLuxe instrument panel. Both Standard and DeLuxe had sealed beam headlights and a steering column-mounted shift lever.

In comparison to the bodies built by Murray, the Ford-built bodies were constructed to higher quality and at a lower cost. Sales improved, exceeding 11,000 units.

All 1940 Fords, including the station wagon, had sealed beam headlamps and the new column-mounted transmission shifter. The mounting lugs of the steel disc wheels moved toward the center of the hub. Buyers had the choice of three different engine options including the popular 221 cubic-inch V8 with 85 horsepower. The 136 cubic-inch V8, installed in just two Standard wagons, offered 60 horsepower. The 239 cubic-inch V8 from the new Mercury was rated at 95 horsepower. This engine was used in 95 Deluxe station wagons.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2019