"Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" ~ "Rodders don't let your customs grow up to be movie stars". The bittersweet ending is that yes, the coupe is alive and well in Merced, California owned by Danny M. and evidentally it's camera shy since the last photos of it found were those on movie related shots around 1980. If you find photos of this coupe, please feel free to email them to diana@customcoupe.com if you want to add to what's already posted here.

I did talk with Tom. H. who had put in a standard back seat & a Buick V8 engine in it in the late 70's. (Standard backseat meaning the seat doesn't flip anymore to access the trunk, you actually have to remove the seat to access the trunk now.) He did say that the Flathead V8 that was in the coupe before that is still at Rich's Auto Body and it still runs great. He said he tried to buy the coupe back from Danny M. but was told no. He also said that when he had it primered (before it was painted it's yellow color) he put on a custom license plate that read out loud said: "You ugly too" (like as in U UGLY 2) because he said people would tell him the car looked ugly in primer. Shame really I think, of course, I am biased, that license plate would never match the coupe.

Update! As it turns out, my daddy's car ended up being the one in the 1980 movie "Hollywood Knights" This is a HUGE thanks to the diehard custom people who are so nice & helpful & clever & who post at The H.A.M.B. at Jalopy Journal. Special thanks and smiles to these guys for helping on the quest to find a this specific 1940 coupe!!!

Sincere heartfelt thanks and appreciation and great big hugs to all of the perfectly wonderful people at the H.A.M.B. and that I met online through H.A.M.B. whom without, I'd still be spending hours searching for Daddy's old coupe.

If I made something be the best it could possibly be... and then had to sell it... but in doing so resulted in inspiring lots of other people make lots of other cars be the best they could possibly be... I'd be pretty darn happy. Daddy never would have known that what he was such a huge part of had such an impact on so many people if I never found out what happened to the coupe, thanks to the people that I met here (and those people that found me because of the forum there) so I really truly thank all of you for helping.


Diana Peters
Larry Brooks' daughter
coupe@customcoupe.com