Goodness gracious me. A pre-war Ford that hasn’t been chopped and beaten to within an inch of its life, then resprayed in the brightest hues of orange and red with flames coming out of the back. Just a good, honest car that was likely bought by someone who needed reliable transport to haul his jar samples across the country and that has managed to make it to this day, when you’re instantaneously reading something written on a laptop in Central America.
The 1941 fords were a completely new design to replace the one that had been released in 1937. It kept some of the styling cues of the 1940 models but they represented the new way forward. The 1942 models brought along an updated front end design that would replace the Zephyr-esque grille as seen on this model. Apart from the work oriented Business coupe there were two-and four door sedans, a station wagon and a convertible available.
Also of note is this, the Ford coupe utility . Available only in Australia of course. Ford were the first ones to sell a “ute” in Australia, creating a market that has lasted all the way to the present, with the last Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores leaving Australian production lines very soon. The basic 1941 design ceased production in 1942 because of the war and surfaced again in 1946, holding the fort until the new and radically improved 1949 models were ready for production.
Back to this particular model. Good news is that it has been restored, although the specific details of who did it and when remain unsolved. While a straight-six, the first available on a Ford since 1906, was available; this Super deluxe model sports a 3.6L Flathead V8 mated to a three-on-the-tree. Both the six and this V8 were rated at 90HP. The listing says that everything on it works. On something of this age, there’s precious little to go wrong and you should be able to keep it running despite its age thanks to the aftermarket.
Here’s a picture of the business end, literally. Now I’m seriously wondering what was the last business coupe in production. Nowadays you’d likely be marketed into a Chevrolet Tahoe or similar to become a traveling salesman. Pricing is set at $25,900 O.B.O, product samples not included
I’m not exactly sure when Ford quit making “Business coupes” but I do know they made them in 1958. Rear seat was deleted, and a flat shelf-like panel was put in its place. I had a black sedan business coupe ’58 years ago.
Some quick Google-fu suggests the ’54s were the last Fords to be offered both as a coupe and a 2-door sedan.
I think the last year for true business coupes — a body style made specifically for that purpose with a smaller passenger compartment and a larger trunk — was probably in the early ’50s. Some manufacturers then replaced them with “utility sedans”, which were more-or-less regular two-door pillared bodies with no back seats. Those lasted into the later part of the ’50s.
“You know something Val?” Says one hot rodder to another.
“What?”
“I bet we could make a lot of money sneaking our buddies into the drive-in with this thing…”
“Yeah, we could charge them a dime apiece or something”
“Or something indeed…like beer!”
Of course back then you could buy cars like this for little more than beer money. Is 25K a decent price for this? It’s beautiful!
If I ever have the money, I’d like to buy and “save” some of these older surviving cars just to keep them original. It is sometimes sad to see some very old, pristine and complete cars being chopped up and modified after making it this far in running condition. But I guess some people modify old cars to make them more modern, driveable and comfortable as well. This one is sort of neat the way it is if you can appreciate the classic design.
Bestill my beating heart!
Common as dirt back when I was young. Now, in my dotage, haven’t seen one in years. This article makes the world a better place. Thanks.
Look at how short the doors look!
I KNEW something didn’t look quite “right” 🙂 ! Makes for some rather odd proportions.
Although I find the grille and front end less than attractive, I love the rest of the car. I find it refreshing to see an original pre-WWII car that hasn’t been hot rodded, chopped to death, and otherwise modified to the point where it’s no longer recognised as a car of the 1940s.
You don’t even see these in vintage movies all that much, usually it’s the 39 and 40 or at most a 41 station wagon.
My folks had a 50 Plymouth business coupe when I was a kid. Just the one bench seat and a tiny space behind for 2 small kids to squeeze into. But that trunk, big enough for 3 teenagers, at least.
Nice to see one not hot rodded.I remember making a model of a 57 Chevy business coupe as a kid in the late 60s,never seen any business coupe in the metal
My dad bought a brand new ’55 Chevy business coupe a couple of years before he married my mom. He got rid of it before I was born in ’63 so I never experienced it.
Wouldn’t the last production business coupe(even if it was not called that) be the 1970’s Chevette Scooter without the optional rear seat? I remember somewhere seeing historical 1970’s GM ads proclaiming the base model Chevette as a cheap way for businesses to deliver stuff? The base Chevette did not even offer a rear seat standard.
Maybe the last modern day “business coupe” was a Chevy HHR with a panel van option. (yes it had 4 doors but the back doors had no windows or outside door handles and no rear seat)
Maybe the Vega panel wagon?
Interesting, the artwork in the “Big New Car” advertisement omits what looks like a hole for a crank used to manually start the engine (no, I don’t think it is “hidden behind the license plate:”).
The 1942 Ford had it, too.
I like this, funny how Ed & I seem to have the same taste in cars.
Although I prefer the 1940 and the 1946-48 grille. The 1941 is sort of an awkward middle step.
At $25k this would have to be spectacularly restored, and the market for cars like this is in decline. Only old guys (I guess that includes me) would want this stock. Anyone under 40 would be more interested in rat rodding it.
“I guess that includes me…”
Ummmm…
(c:
Wait, I’m almost 40. Does that mean that I won’t look at this and think that it would look better channeled and sectioned after my birthday? 🙂
A quick edit….
The passenger compartment looks so short compared to the size of the car. But, I suppose for its intended use, it was all about trunk space, plus a handy shelf/storage well in place of the back seat.
Nice to see one in “as original” condition.
I have never really understood what a Business Coupe was – even though I have often seen that designation. So I gather it was a 2 door coupe style vehicle with a large boot and that manufacturers offered other coupes (“leisure coupes!?) which perhaps had a smaller boot and maybe ore passenger space? Sensible enough I suppose, given that a salesman would normally travel by himself and would have had stock or at least samples to haul. I wonder if travelling sales people still exist and if so what do they drive.
I once saw an old Cadillac in a. Useful described as a “doctors coupe”. I wonder what special features that car boasted?
I saw a beautiful Art Deco Packard golfers coupe in a magazine,it had small door behind the passenger door to fit in a golf bag.I’m guessing the Doctor’s coupe had something similar for a medical equipment bag
A business coupe was simply a car for salesmen who traveled to sell wares. It was a car with an emphasis of carrying stuff so there was a large trunk and no backseat so more wares could be put back there. That space might have a carpeted board taking the place of the seat so that stuff being put on it would be level or might have a bunch of shelves.
By this definition, technically, I converted my 1971 Vega notchback into a business coupe. I removed the back seat, cut the bulkhead panel away, and installed the folding seat out of a Kammback. Some fabricated panels finished the sides, and viola! I had a coupe with a huge trunk area when needed!
I rather like the chunky styling, very clean and down to the point. A car that was designed for a travelling salesman, hence the name. Nice to see that it hasn`t been hot rodded, a beautiful survivor.
Look at the size of that trunk. I could put a hole heap of… er… jar samples in there.
I dont think those utes were ever sold to the public, just built for the army as there was no civilian production after early 1940 or so.
There were all sorts of cars produced in 1941. Pearl Harbor was Dec 41 and we were making civilian cars till after that. My BIL had a 41 ford pickup. Not as popular as the 40s and I do not know why.
IIRC, the U.S. auto industry stopped producing vehicles for civilian use on February 1, 1942. This truncated the 1942 model year, making 1942 models notably scarcer than other model years in this era.
I think John may have been talking about Australia, though, not the U.S.
Yes I was referring to Australia, sorry for the omission. Australia declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939.
I’ll take it!! And I would leave it stock. Though it would be tempting to stick in a more modern (but still carbureted) drivetrain to make it more reliable in today’s traffic, as long as it didn’t detract from the appearance.
Traveling Salesmen even annoy undergrad Computer Science students:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travelling_salesman_problem
The problem apparently long predated the Business Coupe. There are also Dining Philosophers.
Oh, that thing, it wasn’t as annoying as they make it out to be once you got all your parameters straight.
Very appealing.
Although these were before my time, I can’t imagine what everyone thought when this followed the stunning 40 Ford. This is just awkward. Like the 58 Fairlane or the 73 Torino.
The 42 and later models bulked and squared up, which helped, and made the car much more attractive. The 41 is one of the few prewar Fords that I have no enthusiasm for.
That 41 ute is a military model civillian sales stopped in 39 with the out break of WW2 only the US stayed out for another 2 years.
What a beauty ! .
Nice to see it’s still going strong .
-Nate
Refreshing. Nice to see one they way it was intended to look, not some over done Chevy small block powered 50’s hot-rod cliché. And particularly not a ‘rat-rod’!
A rat rod would have been a cop magnet in 60s/70s UK.
More Hot Rod hate from the curbside curmudgeons!! Just kidding—I understand the acceptable bias toward unmodified cars here since it is the mission of this site to highlight automotive history, not the tradition of modified cars. It also seems like common ground that none of us likes to see poor quality work on a car whether its a restoration or modification. In the defense of nicely done customs and hot rods, the ’41 Ford was an awkward car in both overall body proportion as well as front-end styling and so, IMO, makes a great candidate for tasteful restyling. Not that this nice original deserves that, but these are neither rare nor valuable and so a rough original (which is what the vast majority of custom cars start with) is no great loss if tastefully modified.
I had an opportunity to ride in a business coupe once. Don’t know what OEM it was, but I sat on the floor with one of my older cousins on the way to the Kirkwood, MO train station because one of the cousins was going to a boy scout camp or something. One cousin was driving, a buddy sat in front and I sat on the cardboard-covered floor in back. My cousin who was taking the train trip was next to me, sitting on his suitcase.
I was only about 7 or so, and it was a fun ride with those older guys teasing me to death me all the way. Loved the attention and riding in that car!
As I prod my memory, I think that business coupe was an early-1950s Chevy.
The comment about the shortness of the door intrigued me, so I dug up this photo of a 2-door sedan, and it does look as though the coupe door is shorter. From looking at 4-door sedan photos I think that the same door served as the front door on the 4-door cars.
It looks as though the coupes through 1948 all had the same short door. Here’s a ’46.
But wait…here’s a 1948 coupe – that door looks like the 2-door sedan door to me. So now I’m thinking that the change happened in 1947, since there are so few differences between the 47 and 48 cars.