Another 1940 Chevy convertible

General Motors built 11,820 Chevrolet convertibles for the 1940 model year. All these cars were built at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan. Here is the story of two of them, likely both sold new in Ontario.

John Magill of Midland, Ontario, was 19 in 1954 and living in the west end of Toronto when he bought a 1940 Chevrolet convertible with no engine, no headlights, no dashboard, no steering wheel, and no top.

He snapped it up for $25.00 and began working on it. He installed a six cylinder GMC “Jimmy” engine hopped up for more horsepower. He also installed a new convertible top and went to a Pontiac dealership and purchased a brand new 1955 Pontiac turquoise steering wheel for his old Chevy.

With the extra horsepower, he and two friends went to see the stock car races at the CNE grounds. On the way home, they were at a red light when a motorcycle cop challenged them to a drag race.

When the light turned green, the cop took off and John and his two friends all ended up in the back seat! John had forgotten to bolt it down. The cop circled back and couldn’t stop laughing!

When John went back to school in 1956, he sold the ’40 Chevy convertible and never saw it again. But he never forgot about the fun he had when he owned it.

John Magill’s freshly restored ’40 Chevy convertible.

Now fast forward to 2017. John and his wife Mary are living in Midland, Ontario, and John heard about a ’40 Chevy convertible for sale near Omemee, Ontario. It wasn’t the one he owned over 60 years earlier and this one needed a lot of work, but hey! We can only be nineteen twice in a life!

He bought it, or rather what was left of it, and brought it home. He then joined the National Chevrolet Owners Club and made contact with a member living in Arizona who was an expert on the 1940 Chevy convertible.

With that person’s help and a lot of new body panels purchased, the old car began to take shape once again.

It is now fully restored and John is thrilled whenever he goes for a drive!

I’m always looking for stories. Email billtsherk@sympatico.ca.