I Restored the Custom Ford That Got Me Into Cars

In 1954, I saw a beautiful 1940 Ford convertible at a local hamburger joint called Capitan Kids in the Bronx. It was dark metallic blue with a bright white top, a custom red interior, and a sectioned hood that covered a supercharged Cadillac engine. I fell in love immediately. The Ford was owned by Bert Melody, a renowned hot rodder and customizer who had a shop in Yonkers, New York. I was only 13 at the time, but I knew that I wanted to have a car like that.

When I was 18, I started building a 1940 Ford for myself. I put in a 1954 Cadillac engine with special work on the heads, cam, pistons, rocker arms, etc., customized the interior, de-chromed the exterior, and added white Naugahyde running boards. Once it was ready for paint, I went to Melody’s shop and asked for help. He liked what I had done so far and agreed to help me paint my Ford the same color as his. Bert showed me how to mix his special blue metallic color and even gave me a can to take home for touchups. I finished the car in 1961. It was featured in a magazine called How To Hop-Up Your Engine the same year.

I was proud of the work I did, and I was hoping to do more custom work, but life happened. I married, had kids, and moved into an apartment without a garage. Personal car projects were put on hold, and I regretfully sold my Ford to make ends meet.

However, my brother opened up his own machine shop in the Bronx called B&L Automotive. He performed all types of welding along with balancing, port/polish cylinders, planning cylinder heads, and metal fabrication. Through word of mouth, it developed a reputation for work on high-performance cars, particularly those involved in racing. My brother had worked on several slingshot dragsters and funny cars on the East Coast in the 1960s and 1970s. My brother would focus on fabrication and engine rebuilds and I would paint the bodies. Soon the shop became a one-stop shop for some race teams.

Fast-forward thirty years later, I wanted to get back into hot-rodding. Tragically, Melody, who had been my original inspiration, had died in a ski boating accident, but his 1940 Ford was still around and the then-owner wanted to sell it. It was a dream come true. The price was right, but there was a catch: It was completely stripped. The only saving grace was that the major parts were still there, albeit in unlabeled boxes. Instead of leaving the mess there, I bought it, loaded all the parts on a trailer, and headed out with a new project.  

It took some time, but I eventually pieced the Ford back together. I either re-chromed or sourced many of the unique parts that were used on the original, like the 1952 Dodge taillights, 1951 Pontiac rear bumper, and 1946 Chevy front bumper. I put in a Cadillac 350 with a B&M blower to keep the spirit of the original, but that setup would get too hot. I eventually swapped it out for a Chevy ZZ4 350 with Demon carbs. The interior and top were redone to match the originals. The last piece of the puzzle was the paint job. I still had that can of touch-up paint Bert gave me 30 years ago, and I used it to match the color with modern paint.

Now I’m 85, and I’m thankful I own the car I fell in love with when I was only 13. Once a week, I take the car for a drive and go to the local cruise-ins. Rarely, someone will stop by and say, “Hey, that looks like Melody’s car. Is it?” That question always makes me happy.