Adams intended to do a full restoration of this 1940 Tudor, but instead opted `to build it as I would have in high school, but could not afford it then.' Still flathead-powered, the gleaming black sedan has covered at least 36,000 miles since he put it back on the road.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The trunk of the Tudor is finished in matching black and white upholstery for a fully finished look.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The depth of the gloss black paint on the sedan is revealed in the mirror-like reflections across the trunk lid.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Fender skirts, wide whitewalls, lakes pipes and DeSoto bumpers were the hot ticket back when Adams was in high school, so that's how he trimmed out his '40 Ford sedan. Note the classic blue dot chevron tail lights.
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Another old school detail is the use of flipper bar hubcaps up front on the '40 Sedan, with a teal colored 15-inch wheel mounting wide whitewall tires.
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Rick Fisher of Augusta executed the beautiful gray interior in the sedan, adding seat belts for safety's sake.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
There was really no reason to modify the already-beautiful '40 Ford dashboard, complete with working clock. Joanna Adams said she is more comfortable driving the sedan than the pickup, despite the fact the car has a manual transmission and the truck an automatic.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
While the pickup features the commonly used Chevy 350 V-8 power plant, the sedan remains true to its flathead roots, with this nicely detailed factory rebuilt 239 cubic inch engine. Thanks to a Mitchell 2-speed overdrive, the car registers 20 miles to the gallon at highway speeds.
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The Adams approach to travel involves a 1940-style teardrop trailer in tow behind the couple's gorgeous blue '40 Ford pickup. Who wouldn't love camping with this setup?
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This is what a serious channel job looks like in finished form. The truck's cab was cut and lowered over the TCI chassis frame rails by 6 inches, creating the deep door sill below the floor.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Digital instruments were a long-off dream when Adams began building his truck back in 1956, but the custom pod in the center of the dash looks right at home in the color-keyed interior, which features a '40 Ford car instrument panel and modern analog gauges.
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The impact of a 6-inch channel job is readily apparent in how low to the ground the body work on Adams pickup sits. Running boards were discarded and 1948-style Chevy pickup fenders incorporated into the1950 Ford bed sides.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Gilbert Adams' custom 1940 Ford pickup was a long time coming -- 55 years, to be precise. But the devotion and craftsmanship he sank into the project has paid off in a big way, as this view of the '40 Ford DeLuxe automobile front clip illustrates.
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The 6-inch channel job required a custom rear pan to be fabricated to fit the heavily modified bed; rectangular exhaust tips direct the sound of a pair of Smithy mufflers out the back.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Roger Maunz of Jim's Upholstery trimmed out the door panels in pleated Cessna Citation aircraft leather.
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The Amish-built Pleasant Valley teardrop trailer was treated to matching wheels and tires and the same teal paint and 1938/'39 tail lights as used on the truck.
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Gilbert and Joanna Adams chose a Route 66 theme for their teardrop trailer, which has sleeping accomodations for two, plus kitchen facilities in the rear compartment.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The 350 cubic inch Chevy V-8 was dressed up in cream paint and chrome to match the interior of the truck. It connects to a 700R4 overdrive automatic which in turn is mated to a 9-inch Ford differential.
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Road ready, the 1940-style aluminum teardrop trailer tucks neatly in behind Adams' custom truck.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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