Project Car Update: Cool Hand Customs 1940 Dodge Pickup

In this episode of Project Car Update, we’re visiting our old friends at Cool Hand Customs. The Wisconsin-based team of EJ and Amy Fitzgerald has been building hot rods, customs, and motorcycles for years, but really made the scene with the 1955 Dodge pickup they debuted at the 2018 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. That project mated a pile of Dodge parts with the complete suspension setup out of a C4 Corvette. The result was a sweet little Hot Rod Orange autocross bomber that EJ put through its paces at the Optima Challenge event held after the show. Learn more about the Dodge at these links:
QA1 YouTube Video
RacingJunk.com Story

EJ and Amy are dipping into the Dodge bin for their latest build, a 1940 pickup. Amy acquired the truck years ago, and when a friend offered her a 440 big block out of an old motor home, the project’s pieces fell into place. So did the name—Project 40-440.

EJ is quite the metal bender, so he designed and fabricated a custom frame for the Dodge. EJ and Amy elected to stay all-Mopar by using a QA1 torsion bar front suspension kit for an E-body Challenger. Using a torsion-bar front clip from a 1970s-era Dodge Aspen or Plymouth Volare was a bit of thing for car builders back in the day, but Cool Hand’s is the first truck project we’ve seen with an aftermarket torsion bar system.

Out back is a Mopar 8 3/4 rear axle with 3.55 gears and a Trutrac differential. It’s suspended by a RideTech four-link with QA1 coil-overs. Brakes are Classic Performance front discs and an SSBC rear disc conversion. Steering is via a Unisteer rack and pinion attached to a Classic Performance steering column.

The old motorhome 440 got a short block rebuild with a Federal Mogul engine kit and an Eagle forged crankshaft. Trick Flow supplied one of its PowerPort® big block Mopar top end kits, crowned with am 850 cfm Holley Ultra Double Pumper carburetor. The 440 is backed by a B&M Torqueflite 727 with a 3,000 RPM stall converter.

Once EJ and Amy have finished massaging the Dodge’s sheetmetal back to life, they’ll paint it satin white with green and black accents. Then it’s off to the SEMA Show where 40-440 will be on display at the E3 Spark Plugs booth. The build will be covered from soup to nuts in upcoming articles on Power Automedia’s Rod Authority website.