Seventy-five-inch wheelbase. Forty-three years with one California owner.
This is a 1940 American Bantam Model 65 coupe, built by the American Bantam Car Company in Butler, Pennsylvania — the same small company that designed and built the first Jeep prototype that same year. The data plate carries car serial 65426, and the California title matches it: year 40, make Bantam, body CP.
The owner has had it since 1983. He can't drive anymore, and we're selling it for him and his family. His California pink slip was issued in August 1983. The original Bantam "Authorized Service" sticker is still on the door pillar, dated 8-22-83 at 54,273 miles. The odometer reads 55,144 today — under 900 miles in 43 years. This car has been kept, not used.
It presents as a finished car, not a project. Cream body, tan fenders and pinstripe, chrome bumpers and hood ornament, Bantam hubcaps, wide whitewalls. Inside are the woodgrain dash and window garnish moldings, the original oval gauges, a Bantam push-button radio, and pleated tan upholstery on the bench and door panels. Behind the seat is a lift-lid storage compartment.
Only about 6,000 Bantams of all types were ever built. Coupes were Bantam's best seller when new, but few survived. The club roster published by Bantam historian Bill Spear counted only 77 coupes from all years.
Spec Sheet
- 1940 American Bantam Model 65 coupe
- Car serial 65426 — American Bantam Car Co. data plate, Butler, PA
- Bantam 4-cylinder L-head engine
- 3-speed manual, floor shift
- Odometer shows 55,144 (exempt from odometer disclosure due to age)
- Cream body, tan fenders, pinstripe
- Woodgrain dash and garnish moldings, original oval gauges
- Bantam push-button radio
- Pleated tan bench seat and door panels, headliner
- Lift-lid storage compartment behind the seat
- Wide whitewall tires, Bantam hubcaps, chrome hood ornament
- 1940 California plates on the car
- California title in the owner's name
Condition
The paint is an older repaint and still presents well — glossy, straight panels, doors and hood fit properly. The front seat, door panels, dash and headliner are in very good order. The underside photos were shot from the ground: frame, axles and leaf springs are black and dry, with storage dust and cobwebs. We see no rot anywhere in those photos, but the car has not been on a lift — come look for yourself.
The Honest Part
The upholstered panel around the rear window and behind the seat has heavy brown spotting from years of storage. It's photographed close up. That panel needs redoing. The left front tire was also flat when the photos were taken, and the tires are older — put a new set in the budget.
What Conveys
- California pink slip, issued to the owner in 1983
- Original Bantam dealer service sticker on the door pillar
- 1940 California plates
What We've Seen Ourselves
We've watched it start, idle and drive down the street under its own power, and there is video of both. We have not driven it — it's a very small car, so the driving impressions will be yours. We've been through it with a camera, underside included, and every photo here is current. Expect what a 1940 economy car is: light, simple and unhurried. It's at home on surface streets, at cruise nights and in parades, not on the freeway.
Location and Viewing
Poway, California (San Diego County). Viewing by appointment — bring a flashlight and a creeper. Transportation costs and arrangements are the buyer's responsibility.
Terms
Flat Broke Speed is handling this sale on behalf of the owner and his family. The car is owned by a private party and the California title is in the owner's name. Feel free to contact us with any questions and we will get them answered.
Sold as-is, where-is, with no warranties expressed or implied.
