As a model building kid during the golden age of model cars (1958-63) I fell in love with the 1939-40 Ford coupe when it first appeared in the Trophy Series kits from AMT. Subsequently I found two near perfect examples of actual cars that reflected what my real car was going to look like when I got old enough to drive (in retrospect I never managed to own a 39/40 Ford):
This photo was the earliest published. I had to borrow the 35 cents to buy the magazine it was in. Although I had the article when new, I’ve never been able to find the magazine it was published in again:
The car had everything. Black paint, mag wheels, a Sun tach, chrome window frames, and tuck and roll upholstery.
Much later a similar example came along. It also wore brilliant black paint and mag wheels.
And it had one additional feature. The ultimate in upholstery, black diamond tufted Naugahyde.
Looking back on it the upholstery wasn’t even that well done, but it left a lasting impression on me. I wanted a full diamond tufted interior ever since. When my career suddenly came to an end I needed something to do, so I taught myself how to diamond tuft, and did a bunch of my interior
The biggest disappointment was not being able to do full door panels. I couldn’t figure out a way to deal with the profile of the upper panel, so I settled for upholstering just the lower portion.
That all changed today by stumbling on the handy work of another forum member – 1966chevy. He resolved the problem of the upper section by building out the sides:
So just when I thought I was done with the truck, now I have to tear out the existing panels and start over again! I’m not sure if they’ll be needed, but I did a frantic search looking for the window crank and inside door handle extensions that were available back in the 70’s, and actually found an NOS set on Ebay:
As soon as the yard projects are wrapped up before winter I’ll be plunging into the new door panel project. A special thanks to 1966chevy for the inspiration. Once again this forum has come to the rescue!