“My first car (in the early ’50s) was a 1940 Ford convertible. My brother gave it to me when he went into the Navy. I loved the car and had few dates in high school as I spent all my money on repairing, souping up and customizing it.
It was a dark green, eight-cylinder, 100-horsepower Ford with a black top. The top was made of cotton in those days and only lasted for about a year. With every rainstorm or snowstorm the driver and front seat passenger would get soaked. I also added two large spotlights to the front window frame, leopard seat covers and fog lights.
I replaced everything under the hood with chrome parts. I was convinced that the chrome head mounting nuts provided me with extra horsepower. If I couldn’t replace anything under the hood with chrome I painted it high-gloss red. I installed duel Hollywood mufflers with chrome tailpipes. I added a flying angel hood ornament to the hood and a Cadillac emblem to the trunk. I never added fuzzy dice to my rearview mirror as I didn’t want to get gaudy.
My machine (named by my grandfather) also had a leopard steering wheel cover, a big custom rearview mirror and a steering wheel whip.”
— Paul E. Moody, Barrington, R.I.
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