Hi, What are the differences between ´40 (and older years, if applicable) Ford opera coupe and standard coupe (and/or deluxe/business coupe)? Thanks, Telbert
The 2-dr. Business Coupe (aka "opera coupe") had the jump seats and came in both Standard and Deluxe trims. The 2-dr. Five-Window Coupe had a package tray behind the front seat in lieu of the jump seats, and also came in both Standard and Deluxe trims. There were various differences in Standard and Deluxe trims, such hood, front grill, dash, instrument cluster, number of tail lights, hub caps, upholstery fabric, etc. Both types of Standard coupe could have the 60hp or 85hp engine, but the Deluxe was only available with the 85hp engine. I'm sure others will chime in.
P.S. My avatar shows a Standard front end, although the chrome headlight doors are from a Deluxe. The Standard headlight doors were painted body color.
Do a search for '40 Ford std./deluxe/opera coupe/ business coupe. There's some good info there in at least one previous thread. The search function is your friend, FNG.
not much in this case But the bodies? Were they the same? For example, no longer cabin section for opera coupe or such ?
Same body different accommodations. I believe either could be purchased in Standard or Deluxe trim. Standard and Deluxe were just trim packages. In later years there were business coupes and club coupes. One, I believe the club had longer doors. But in the time frame you are looking at the opera coupe had little seats or a seat sidways in the back and the business coupe had a package tray. The idea being that the over road sale guy could keep his sales stuff behine the seat for easy access. There was one company [I think GM] that for a couple of years didn't have an opening deck lid on the business coupe. Everything went into the back from behind the seat. But that has absolutely nothing to do with your post I just wanted to say that.
porknbeaner, Go up and re-read 4dFord/SC's post. He is correct-there was no "opera" coupe. In 1940, the business coupe had the rear flip down (not opera) rear seats behind a conventional split-back front seat; the 5-window coupe had the shelf behind the special front seat with the swing-out solid back. Both came in standard or deluxe. Bob
Would this just be 5 window or a business coupe?I've been told its just a business coupe but most of them were standards
I have a copy of the 1940 Ford cars sales broschyr and it says: "Deluxe coupe;two luggage compartments-one reached from inside car,the other through rear deck" "Deluxe business coupe;auxiliary folding seats in the rear compartment"
According to Bob Drake the floor pans are different. If you look at their ad, the pan they sell is for the Deluxe Coupe. It has to be modified to be used in the Business Coupe if you want to keep it in Business Coupe configuration.
This was taken from Bob Drakes winter catalog... There is virtually no difference between the business coupe and the Opera coupe. Ford made two different styles of its Standard and Deluxe coupe versions in 1940. They were both 5 window coupes the difference was on the inside in the middle and trunk floor areas. What Ford called the 5-Window Coupe (Models 77A & &&b) came with a package tray just below the rear window, suspended over an open luggage area behind the seat. Over the years, this model gained the nickname "Business Coupe". Ford called the second style of coupe its Business Coupe (Models 67A & 67B). This is the model that had fold-down opera seats and was eventually referred to as the "Opera Coupe." This has been a point of confusion for years because technically an Opera Coupe is a Business Coupe.
Thanks hotrod40coupe, It seems like every time this question comes up (and it seems to come up often) you are the one who steps up to clarify things. Sounds like Henry kinda added to the confusion by putting the "Opera Seats" in the "Business Coupe" model. Adding to the confusion is the fact that Ford apparently never referred to the model as an opera coupe in it's literature. All my life ( and I'm almost 60) I was under the misconception that they were in fact two seperate models. ...DON.
I may see it totally wrong, but is there a possibility, that the Deluxe Club Coupebody is a bit different than other coupes of the same year? I mean, this´38 listed in ebay at the moment looks to my (not so experienced) eyes as it has somehow longer cabin section/ shorter tail (it may be a photographical distortion OTOH...) :
Here is one more example. In this case, there are pictures of 2 38 ford coupes , one (the Argentina car) having shorter tail (or longer cabin ?). Can somebody comment, what was going on? Were the coupes (being all 5 window by 1938) produced with different bodies?
Yep. I think the lower one (blue?) would be called a club coupe. Different bodies in I believe '37-'38, but by '40 only a single Coupe body for the different models.
The Club Coupe was produced in 1937 and 1938 and had a full rear seat, therefore the need to have an extended roof and shorter trunk. In my opinion one of the better looking and certainly more useful Ford coupes as it had room in the back to actually carry passengers comfortably. I believe Ford revived this idea again in 1941 which extended through the 1948 Ford lineup. Some of the coupes of this vintage had back seats and some didn't. The name club coupe was not used, but I'm not certain what was the official designations for the two different styles.
the '37 and '38 ford club coupes had longer roof lines and shorter deck lids. i still get people scratching their heads when they see the longer roof line on my car.
Correct, I found a 38 Ford Coupe in a junkyard in Glassgow Kentucky and had to study it a while to figure out why it looked so odd. Finally realized the roof was longer than a regular coupe and the deck looked shorter. It was a Club Coupe. Funny that such a minor change in prorportion made a such a difference.
In 37 & 38 Ford USA listed the Club coupe as deluxe only, both were true 5 passenger cars, the doors are the same length as the Tudor, business coupes had the standard 4 door Sedan door, I believe the decklid is common to both coupes and that the panel between the roof and decklid is shorter on the Club coupe than the Business coupe.For 39 and 40 both in standard and Deluxe format the body is the same, the 39 Standard is unique as it will accept the 38 front sheet metal while the Deluxe and 40 coupes are common. in Australia we only made the 37 & 38 Club coupes, we also carried these bodies in both coupe and roadster/convertible through 39 and 40. attached is a couple of images, one in pdf format, of my 38 club coupe
Be cautious with the opinions in this thread so far about the distinction between "standard"(Ford V8) and Deluxe, or Business Coupe(Opera) and Five Window Coupe(package tray). 1940 Ford Factory model nomenclature runs against what had been used for years by the auto industry and the public. That confusion continues to be passed along as fact. Good Luck: Fred A
Here are my 41 Ford deluxe Business Coupe with rear seat added and my 41 Mercury 8 that came with a back seat. My 40 5 window coupe has the closer body to the business coupe but the 41 was a wider body. The 41 Mercury had a longer front end.
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