I will also add, I bought my 46 club coupe as a family hot rod as well. 41-48 Fords are pretty popular, although mainly as customs. I have always thought they have great style and all the shiny gingerbread of a late 40's American car. The steering wheels and dash's are one of my favorites. Yet these cars are still cheap enough to afford. They can't all be 32 and 40 Fords. The 41-48 club coupes offer a coupe body style, but the full bench rear seat makes it family friendly. Spend a few hours looking through some little pages and I think you will be surprised how many 41-48 Ford coupes and sedans used to be "cool".
"In fact, this whole car makes me smile and I can’t figure out why that is. I mean, on paper nothing in the fat fendered Ford world sounds less appealing to me than a ’46 Club Coupe. A convertible? Yeah man. A sedan? Maybe. A Coupe? Doubt it. But a Club Coupe? Hell no." Ain't that the gospel truth! Then you see a 46/48' like this one and you find yourself searching all the classifieds...
"Maybe it’s the little details like the ’40 Packard taillights or the ’49 Chevrolet license plate guard. Or, maybe it’s the perfect stance… I just can’t put my finger on it..." Not knowing any of the parties involved, all I can go by is the car, and I can put my finger on the stance and the WWs that are the perfect width and the '55-'56 Lancer caps. And the louvers – the louvers help too! So with a car this uniquely cool I'll bet the folks that made it that way are just as cool.
I like it and what really gets my attention is the abbreviated trim on the side of the hood,This should have been done before any of them left the assembly line. I also like the excess trim on the front of the hood deleted,the way the car sits and the cool old hubcaps,the car is so understated that it would not be noticed by the causal observer. Damn you Ryan,Now I want one! HRP
My dream car, since I could remember was a between wars Ford coupe, but the sticker shock killed that dream good and dead. Fast forward in life got married, and then got our first house, and I decided (the wife got sick of me begging)I would like to try my hand at a hot rod. After checking the classifieds at what I could afford the 41-48 Ford was looking like it could be a pretty sweet ride without having to put my future offspring into debt.
I am also a tudor type of guy, But I saw a '46 Ford Sedan Coupe, ( Ford named it, I didn't ) that I really liked and am trying to buy it from my friend's widow, It sets extremely low, and whitewalls ( my personal favorite .) I started on the " SEDAN COUPE" hunt, after seeing Fat Jack's orange one, the one that flew at the Fremont drag strip. His kid, I think "John" had one there, Very similar to the one above, except it was a '46, (not a late '47-'48) thanks for all the great pictures, started my day !!! p.s. google Fat Jack wrecks at Fremont , nice coverage.. of a bad situation
I was fortunate enough to study it at the Grand National Roadster Show this last winter. Mr. Branch nailed it!
currently in the process of bringing my 47 back to life, seeing this car with that stance and its story.. good stuff.
Looks kinda like a pair of your favorite shoes......yeah,you know the ones! Plus it's low and louvered, has four bar spinners and scavenger tips, and is used for it's intended purpose. Doesn't get much better. Thanks
It's a sweet ride......and I've been a passenger and it rides as good as it looks......perfect cruiser
For a variety of reasons we humans seem to tend toward trying to make it seem like there is "one thing" that makes or breaks whatever it is we're discussing at the moment. You hear it in the frequently used expression "...the thing is....", or one of it's variants. It's like we're deluged with info throughout the day and just long to keep things simple. While we each might see "a thing" on this car that we appreciate the most, it's the sum of all the "little things" done well that make it work as a whole. Call it balance, call it the vibe, call it any other expression of that sort. Whatever, for most of us, when it's right....................................................it's right! Good job Tom.
I had a similar '46 coupe in college in Dallas in the 70s, with frenched headlights and an aluminum tubing grille. It had the same stance. However, its was achieved via a broken front spring, so that the only front suspension was the rubber stops. Nevertheless, I drove many thousands of highway miles with it, commuted for several years, and even used it to deliver pizza.
nothing like a 47 sedan..... I am a little biased, seeing that I own one real patina by millersgarage posted Jun 25, 2009 at 9:42 PM Kalamazoo NSRA North 2008, in the downpour that lasted all weekend by millersgarage posted Jun 25, 2009 at 9:42 PM
They have such a boxy, goofy roof on them (sorry). Has anyone tried throwing the old one away and doing a Sam Barris-esque hardtop chop to one of these cars?
As Norwell and other brothers hailed "the stance". It has it goin on, love these fat fendered rigs, had a 42 and a 46 tu-door and loved them both. The interior is so just right. Car makes me smile!
Okay -- for years and years I've wondered how many 41-48 coupes there were. Sport Coupes, Sedan Coupes, Business Coupes -- are they all the same body? Is it just the seating that is different. Someone please show me.
I really like the coupes, both short-door and long-door versions. Sedans are just OK...coupes are great!
There are two- short door (or business coupe), and long door (club coupe aka sedan coupe). Short door has a shorter more flowing roof, and use the same door length as 4 door sedan. Long door have a longer roof and use the samebasic door size as a Tudor sedan (or convertible in length)
And had all that stuff been done to a Tudor? This entry would have been, "See, told ya...". If a Club Coupe can look kool this is it. Usually it takes something like this to grab my attention (from a google image search): To the question above, chops, either one is easy to screw up due to the qtr glass. Maybe the bigger club cpe glass area would help. Probably worth a look.
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