A Blacktop Motor Minute
In the late 1930’s going into the 1940’s there was a streamline design aesthetic that could not be ignored by the likes of Ford Motor Company. Edsel Ford hired 22 year old Bob Gregorie in 1931. By the time he was 30, Gregorie had designed the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr, the first Mercury, the prototype for the Lincoln Continental, and the car considered by a many people to be Henry Ford’s best looking: the 1940 Ford. The round fenders, pointed nose of a triangulated hood and smooth sweeping lines to the rear bumper, it was all-out cool. Great as a cruiser and a racer the 40 Ford is iconic.
Don LaPerna picked up this car a few years ago and has been futzin’ with it for a while. The interior was completed just recently when he took it to the Historic Main Street Garden Grove Friday Night show. I got a chance to talk to Don, just before a light rain came along and closed the show. Sit back and enjoy.
