Technical Interior size of a 40 ford sedan vs 41 to 48

Going to build a new long distance driver soon and always wanted a 40 Ford but need plenty of interior room,a 40 2 door sedan sometimes brings too much money so I got looking at the 41 and newer 2 door sedans and found that decent ones can be had more reasonable then a 40 so how much bigger are the interiors. I want to be comfortable on thousand mile road trips and have plenty of room so a 2 door sedan is what I am going to look for.

 

Get a 40 --move the front seat back 2-3 inches still lots of room-can't beat a 40!!

 

I had a forty Ford 2 door sedan; I found it comfortable in the front seat, tons of room in the back seat but a very small trunk. I would still have the forty but I had a chance to trade for a 32 roadster, so I traded. The car that I drive now is a 48 Chevy coupe, more than enough room in the front seat, back seat was made for small adults or children but the trunk is nice and big. I can only imagine that the 48 Fords would be about the same as the Chevy. These cars are definitely long haul comfortable cruisers. I am a Ford guy but I must admit; this 48 Chevy has been the easiest car to street rod that I have found. How did I end up with a Chevy, my wife liked it and now she loves it. I hope this helps a little.

 

I am open to look at any 41 to 48 car to build,I just do not have a 40 Ford budget so the cheaper the better. I do need one with a big trunk and if a coupe has the bigger trunk then I might go with one,also thinking about hinging the rear backrest like a wagon seat to haul larger items like bumpers.

 

I carry pop up tent in trunk of my 46 coupe plus luggage

 

Having owned a '40 Tudor Sedan and a '48 Tudor Sedan and different points in my life, the '48 beats the '40 in terms of room. The newer car had a wider front seat and more foot room in the back seat. As for the trunk, the '48 might be a tiny bit larger, but if you are brave, and get rid of the spare tire, you can free up quite a bit of room. One neat feature in the '48 quarter windows - they open 2 different ways; turn the crank one direction and the window moves aft about 3 inches. Turn the crank the other way and the window goes down! Not all the way down but about 4 or 5 inches. This being said, the '40 is a more desirable car to most folks, but it will also be more expensive than the '48. And yes, that is my old '48 in my avatar.

 

Almost everybody wants a 40 Ford of any body style, me included, but the 46-48 is much more reasonably priced. I prefer the 47-48 with the round parking lights under the headlights, they just look more in place than the 46 which had the lights up by the hood. Almost traded for a 47 a couple of years ago, if it had of been as good a car as it was advertised it would be in my stable right now.

 

This may be of some help to picture the difference;

Glide's website states that a 40 seat frame (just the frame, no upholstery) measures 46-1/2 inches while a 41-48 measures at 51 inches.

The 40 Ford is about 4 inches narrower than the 41-48 Fords.


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I could build a 4 door but since its just me I would prefer a 2 door,now if a rust free 4 door comes along at a price I cant pass up then everything changes.

 

40's are much better looking and have better resale . I have 47 coupe that I cant give away, if it was a 40 coupe it would have been gone long ago. I would say build a 41-48 if your going to keep it and a 40 if you want to drive it for a few years and sell.

 

Whats the 47 coupe look like you cant give away.

 

I've had my 47 club coupe for almost 25 years. Good room in the back seat, for kids nad even adults. The trunk has LOTS of room. Friend won a rebuilt Turbo 350 at a show once, and we brought it home in the trunk of my car, dipstick still installed.

 

Older build that needs some tlc.

 

If you are not committed to a Ford you might consider some larger cars like Pontiac, Oldsmobile, DeSoto, Chrysler or Buick. They often go cheaper than a 40 Ford. But they have problems of their own such as, hard to get parts. So it pays to buy the best most complete one you can find.

41 - 48 Chevrolet might be the best choice in terms of cost, room and parts availability. They have the advantage of IFS as standard equipment, have a nice style, and can be upgraded to a 54 - 62 six cylinder without changing the drive train. Of course if you want to change the trans and rear axle you can use anything you like.

 

Having had two 1940 Ford sedans I can assure you there is plenty of room in these fat fendered cars.

I'm 6'4" tall and mover the seat back a couple of inches and long distance driving was a pleasure, sitting in the back seat was as comfortable as sitting n the couch in the living room.

We traveled almost 3000 miles with our twin girls in the back seat and the truck had a lot of stuff packed in it,we also had a Mullins trailer (with 3 females you end up taking a lot of extra cloths,shoes,hair dryers and war paint) HRP

 

Would love to have a 40 Ford but do not have the budget for one and will consider others including Studebaker,Hudson and Nash. I just want a big roomy road car that I can put whatever V8 in I want and run the wheels off of it.

 

I could like that but the flames would have to go.

 

When you build a Chevy, you will have to love it as you can't recover most of the money that you build the car with.

 

4 door does have lots and lots of room and you dont build one expecting to recoup the money you spent when you try to sell it

 

I've been watching that car in the classifieds for months, TONS of easy potential. Paint, long bar lancers, WWW's nerfs, a little more rake, and three deuces and bobs yer uncle. Too bad I already have more freakin' project cars that I can count...

 

If you bought it you could get rid of the flames, plus it already has a small block in it.

It has a ton of potential, all the hard work is done, just needs to be blown apart and done right. I built the car when I was 20 years old in 1988 and it was the shit back then.

 

I totally agree, it has a TON of potential. But then theres my present project list...
'39 Ford convertible
'65 Falcon Futura
'65 Falcon Futura
'23 T-bucket
'26 T Tudor
'67 Falcon
'66 Chevy II
'26 T coupester
'73 Ducati GT750
And I'm 56 yrs old...Nuff said??
But just cause your married doesn't mean you cant look, right?

 

Right on George, I guess my potential post was meant for the o.p. I had alot of fun in the old 47 but my project list is almost as extensive as yours and the 47 needs to go.

 

I really have been looking at your ad for several months and thinking about what I would like to do with it, I think it really does have a lot of potential, but if I bring even one more car home, I won't finish ANY of them, because my wife will kill me. And it's a long door too, I like them way better that the short door coupes! I have a 6x2 Weiand drag star for an Olds I probably won't use on my '39, since I'm just day-dreaming anyway, I can see it in Titian red with a 371 and a hydro...

 

Its a bit more then I want to spend on a project right now,I have my own drivetrain that I will use in whatever I buy so a roller is more my speed.

 

Jeff- I too thought I couldn't afford a 40, but I kept looking. Mine is not super nice, but it wasn't garbage either. Hold out for what you want. I do like the 46-48s they are bigger inside.

On my front seat I ended up just keeping the stock seat location but put a 1" spacer under the front to recline it an inch. Fairly comfortable, I'm 6'0" tall.




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And one more thing: I currently have a pair of 820 15 fire stones in the trunk of my sedan, trunk closed just fine.


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I have found a 40 2 door sedan some what locally for a little over 4000 so I need to look at it but have been finding really nice early 50s Packards for less then 3500 so I might go way outside the box on this project. Its all about the best bang for the buck so what I really want might not happen and could end up with a much nicer car that might not be so popular,I am going to keep a watch for a 41 to 48 Ford or Merc but if I can find something much cheaper I am getting it. There are not any old cars I do not like.

 

If you're not particular than there are a lot of late 40's cars that are nice that are in the $5k range.


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