'46-'48 Coupe differences

[Snappy347]

Starting a build on a '48 Coupe. Missing a few parts (mainly body trim) and am trying to find the parts. Recently I attended a large swap meet in Denver, CO. There a fellow had some fender moulding. I bought what he had. The trim on the car I have is rounded and smooth, the moulding I bought was not. My question is what the differences between these model years are? Any help out there? Thanks in advance-

[1942deluxe]

Sounds like maybe 1942 Super Deluxe and 1946 fender trim?

[George/Maine]

This car is a 1947 and over the years only a purest would know this is wrong.
The biggest thing is a 1946 nose the trim on the front is wrong notice were the back trim is on fender.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by Snappy347

Starting a build on a '48 Coupe. Missing a few parts (mainly body trim) and am trying to find the parts. Recently I attended a large swap meet in Denver, CO. There a fellow had some fender moulding. I bought what he had. The trim on the car I have is rounded and smooth, the moulding I bought was not. My question is what the differences between these model years are? Any help out there? Thanks in advance-

Buy the Early Ford V-8 Club's 41-48book and it will explain all the differences. You can order it online at; www.earlyfordv8.org.

[RalphM]

I have heard that some early 47's had some leftover 46 features, e.g. Park lights. Im working on one now that has some early features.

[supereal]

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I second Tom's good advice regarding the 41-48 book. It covers more that you probably want to know, but it a treasure of info. Ford made lots of "running changes, so it is not unusual to find a mixture of parts, including trim. Even the shape of the trim changed. The main distinguishing difference between 47 and 48 is the ignition switch. The 47's and a few early 48's had the flipper switch with the column lock, while the 48's used just a key switch. 48 was a short production year of about 6 months. Henry Ford's policy was to use up all parts on the factory floor, regardless of year, as a thrift measure.

[Drbrown]

I saw photos of a '47 for sale and swore it was a '46. It had the 1946 trunk trim bar and 1946 rectangular front parking lights. The seller explained that Ford used some of the left-over '46 parts on the early '47s. My '47 was built about August of that year .... a so-called Late '47 .... all trim smooth/rounded, round front parking lights, hood ornament with blue-plastic insert. I think the rear bumper gravel pan was changed from a one piece to a three-piece component (or visa-versa). The Ford V8 book alludes to this issue.

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Originally Posted by Drbrown

I saw photos of a '47 for sale and swore it was a '46. It had the 1946 trunk trim bar and 1946 rectangular front parking lights. The seller explained that Ford used some of the left-over '46 parts on the early '47s. My '47 was built about August of that year .... a so-called Late '47 .... all trim smooth/rounded, round front parking lights, hood ornament with blue-plastic insert. I think the rear bumper gravel pan was changed from a one piece to a three-piece component (or visa-versa). The Ford V8 book alludes to this issue.

The 3 piece pan on yours would have been lowered on the body compared to the 46/early 47 single piece pan. I think the bumper irons were different to accommodate this. Someone will correct me if I am wrong.

GB

[mercman from oz]

The above pictures show the differences in the Chrome Strips that are fitted to the Hoods of Australian 1946, 1947 and 1948 Fords, plus the 1946 Mercury. In Australia, the smooth style Strip did not appear until 1948, when these cars got the Round Parking Lights for the first time. I have seen some of these smooth Strips with slight creases at the leading edge. If you look at the second picture, you will see the 1946 and 1947 Australian Strips are shown. You will notice that while the profiles of these two strips are the same, the leading edge is different. The 1947 Fords sold in Australia got this revised Strip, as well as rounded corners on the Trunk Lid. Was this revised Strip issued on American Fords?

[mercman from oz]

This car is actually a 1948 Ford Super Deluxe, but somewhere along the way, the front clip from a 1946 or 1947 Ford has been substituted. If you look closely, you will see that the Chrome Fender Strips on the front sit "above" the crease on the 1946 Fords, while the smooth Strips used for the 1948 model sit below the crease. This car has the correct 48 Strips on the rear fenders, while on the front, the earlier 46 Strips are fitted. For our American Ford Barners, Ford Australia never lowered the Bumpers on the 48 Fords produced here, nor did they change to the new style Bumper Guards. Another item that they never changed was the twin strips on the Trunk Lid that were a carryover from the 1946 Fords. Notice the rounded bottom corner of the Trunk Lid, that was introduced on all 1947 and 1948 Fords and Mercurys produced in Australia.

[waterboychuck]

Mercman, you have an interesting car. You mentioned the 46 front clip on the car but I also see the bottom of the fender trim that is 48. Does the rear bumper have the Ford script with the oval? My 46 coupe is an early one and has the tool tray in the trunk

[TJ]

Originally Posted by Graeme / New Zealand

The 3 piece pan on yours would have been lowered on the body compared to the 46/early 47 single piece pan. I think the bumper irons were different to accommodate this. Someone will correct me if I am wrong.

GB

The difference in the gravel pan and the bumper irons was due to the early '46 having a tool tray which was a carryover from 1941.

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

The above pictures show the differences in the Chrome Strips that are fitted to the Hoods of Australian 1946, 1947 and 1948 Fords, plus the 1946 Mercury. In Australia, the smooth style Strip did not appear until 1948, when these cars got the Round Parking Lights for the first time. I have seen some of these smooth Strips with slight creases at the leading edge. If you look at the second picture, you will see the 1946 and 1947 Australian Strips are shown. You will notice that while the profiles of these two strips are the same, the leading edge is different. The 1947 Fords sold in Australia got this revised Strip, as well as rounded corners on the Trunk Lid. Was this revised Strip issued on American Fords?

I have the smooth hood strip with the slight creases at the leading edge on my 48. This is not correct for the car. It is early round park light model hood chrome. It is also flatter than the later 47 / 48 in profile. The whole body belt was flatter in profile for the earlier 47 round park light model.