40 Years Later

It happened back in the ’60s, and it still happens today. Hot rods are built, hot rods are sold, and hot rods disappear. We often wonder about hot rods we’ve built or known that have suffered a similar fate. But the good news is that hot rods also resurface. This is the story of a ’40 that literally disappeared and was kept in storage for almost 40 years.

From Surfer Yellow Show Car to Stolen Hot Rod

This particular ’40 coupe was a hot rod when Bill Kincheloe bought it in the early ’60s in Van Nuys, California. He improved the car considerably, building it into a very nice show-and-go ’40 of the era. The car had a complete chrome undercarriage and a hot 327 Chevy motor under the hood, and many mild yet effective body modifications were performed on the coupe. It was painted Surfer Yellow, a bright hue popular on the West Coast in the ’60s. Bill used the coupe while he was in the Air Force, but one day the car disappeared; it was stolen from his driveway. When the police finally recovered the car, it was missing the engine, transmission and seat. Discouraged that his pride and joy had been so maligned, Bill Kincheloe rolled the ’40 in his garage and left it there for the next 18 years. Realizing that he wasn’t going to do anything with his old coupe, Bill gave his old Air Force buddy a call and sold him the coupe. This fellow rolled the coupe in his garage with good intentions of restoring it to its former glory, but another 18 years passed by before the car was once again sold. This time, the aged yellow coupe fell into the hands of longtime hot rodder Bob VanHorn of Merritt Island, Florida.

Gene Winfield’s Receipts Help Trace the Coupe’s History

Bob VanHorn has been around hot rods since he was a kid, and as he told us, “I had owned three ’40 coupes between 1963 and 1967 when I, too, was living in California. This coupe was so solid that I decided to keep the car pretty much the way it was, with the exception of the color. Along with the usual documentation, like a bill of sale, this ’40 coupe came with some interesting paperwork that included paid invoices from Gene Winfield’s Custom Shop and the original pink slip from 1966. These bits of history aided Bob VanHorn in tracking down the rest of the story on the ’40 coupe, and as a matter of fact, it was through the Winfield receipts that he managed to contact the original builder, Bill Kincheloe, who filled in the voids of the car’s past.

A Frame-On Rebuild and a Return to Chevy 327 Power

When Bob purchased it, he was amazed at how solid the body was, and even the older chromeplating under the car was still in decent condition. After a full assessment, it was decided that this coupe was so good that it could be built as a frame-on project. The front suspension was really quite simple, and after removing it from the car, hours of cleaning and detailing were spent on the 2-1/2-inch dropped and chromed front axle. Likewise, the chrome front spring and shocks were cleaned up, as were the chrome backing plates on the ’40 brakes. The rear suspension is completely stock, including the brakes, so after rebuilding the brakes on all four corners, the coupe was ready for an engine. This would be the first engine to bolt into the coupe since the old 327 was stolen in the ’60s.

To keep things traditional, Bob installed a 327 engine that was built to stock 250hp specifications by Scovilles Auto Machine shop in Merritt Island, Florida. The 327 was installed in the ’40 using an Offenhauser adapter plate to mate the Chevy engine and clutch to the ’40 transmission. Cal Custom valve covers and the Wolk air breather keep the traditional look going.

Winfield Bodywork in Lokar Burgundy

Since Bob VanHorn is a traditional kind of guy, when it came time to do the bodywork on the coupe, he couldn’t think of any body modifications that the coupe would need, but he wanted to change the color. You see, Gene Winfield had performed all the neat modifications on the car, like the shaved door handles, relocated gas filler, shaved decklid and filled roof antenna hole. So the yellow lacquer paint was stripped down to bare metal, and then Bob meticulously prepared the coupe for final paint. When the panels were straight and ready for paint, Bob sprayed Lokar Burgundy on the car. This is a color that was mixed for Lokar, and the good people at Lokar were kind enough to share the formula with Bob. The result is a coupe that looks even more traditional than it did in the ’60s!

A trace of the original yellow can be found on the car as the yellow rims now wear spun Moon discs, and the coupe rides on Diamondback whitewall tires that measure 205-75/15 up front and 235-75/15 in the rear. The original white rubber runningboard covers that had been on the car since the ’60s were carefully cleaned and reused, and traditional pinstriping completed the package.

Burgundy and White Vinyl and the Original Sun Tach

Replacing every wire in the car was accomplished by using an E-Z Wire kit, including rewiring the ’55 Ford steering column turn signals. The inside garnish moldings and glovebox door were sent off to Space Coast Plating in Melbourne, Florida. A replacement seat was located for the coupe, and the entire interior was then stitched in burgundy and white vinyl by Jeff’s Custom Upholstery in Merritt Island, Florida. A white headliner with burgundy piping completes the period-perfect interior. The original Sun tach was converted to solid-state performance and was reused, and Island Graphics in Merritt Island refinished the original gauge cluster.

Back on the Road After Nearly 40 Years

And so, almost exactly 40 years after the once-stolen coupe was rolled back into Bill Kincheloe’s garage, Bob VanHorn drove the fine ’40 coupe out of his garage. The car has a timeless appeal and charm that vintage hot rods all seem to enjoy. The car is almost perfectly preserved to the original build that was executed in 1965, and for that we applaud Bob VanHorn. Respecting the work that was done earlier and complementing it with excellent work and color decisions have made this a ’40 coupe with a history and a look that will never grow old. Today, the car is driven regularly to local and national events. It sure is good to see this ’40 coupe back on the road after a 40-year respite.