I need a seat for MY pet project, 1940 Deluxe Business Coupe. Of course, it has to have a split back for access to the fold down jump seats in the back. I've been told that a Mercury seat may be the same size or possibly a different year. My painter/bodyman GURU wants to make sure of the fit (the floor bolts have probably been changed since a newer style seat had been installed) before he takes the body back off the frame to be painted. If anyone knows where I may be able to locate a Ford seat or if another make may fit I would be very grateful! Thanks Terre <!-- / message -->
Isn't business coupe and deluxe an oxy-moron? I'd look at a 2 door seat from any ford through about '55
I searched for a seat for a 40 biz we just did a month or two ago. I found about 10 seats in two days... I believe Dick Spadero may still have one. Search his name...he is on here.
A buisness coupe could be a standard or DeLuxe. And any seat newer than 40 would be way too wide. An earlier seat from a coupe or a 2 door sedan will work 38 to 40. The 35 to 37 are too narrow.
Roadstar is right, business coupe could be a standard or deluxe, but if it has the fold down rear jump seats, it must be an opera coupe, unless someone added them somewhere along the line.....Don.
A 1940 Ford Coupe with jump seats was actually called a Business Coupe by Ford in 1940 only. What we think of as a Business Coupe (no back seat) was just called a Coupe by Ford in that year. For 1941, they went back to the "normal" names for Business and Opera Coupes, which was the same as for '39 and earlier too. The only reason I know this is because when I ordered trunk cardboards from LeBarron-Bonney for my '40 Coupe (which I called an Opera Coupe), they told me this. If anyone would know this kind of trivia, LeBaron-Bonney would, so I didn't argue. Like the others said, a split bench from a '38-'40 Coupe or Tudor will fit with the stock bolt holes in the floor. If you really want to get picky, the Tudor seats have a foot rest thing for the back seat passengers' feet, while the original split Coupe seats don't, but that doesn't matter for hot rods. '40 Mercs have bigger seats.
Good info 40LUV. Thats funny because when I got My 40 coupe the Guy was raving how hard 40 opera seats were so hard to get. And how lucky I was to get it. FEDER
Don't know how "correct" you need to be, but only '40 Ford seats are '40 Ford seats. The '39 and earlier may fit and bolt in, but they are different. If you are doing custom upholstery it probably won't matter. Some day '40 seats are gonna be like the tri-five Chevy seats. They all got thrown out years ago to be replaced by buckets, and now everybody wants them back. Those old seats sure are comfy, but they are also very bouncy.
In my 39 standard the seat back had a hinge and you pulled it up . Only had storage behind you under a tray.
To all that have answered my question THANKS! I've heard my car called- opera, business, and deluxe coupe.It has the fold down seats but I thought that the backrests were mounted to the side. I must be wrong though. The footrest on the back of the front seat means that the backrest were mounted to the back of the car. And thanks for the tip to contact Dick. I don't get the chance to go online as often as I would like so I'm glad everyone is patient with my slow response. Terre