40 Ford Coup back seat question

[TonyM]

Steve Fritz

You might want to buy this book.


Has tons of information concerning the 1940 Ford.

Worth every cent.

[TonyM]

Originally Posted by Kube

No such thing as a 1940 Ford opera coupe.

Yep, but try telling people this.

For some reason they just don't want to believe it.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by TonyM

Yep, but try telling people this.

For some reason they just don't want to believe it.

And that is exactly why I post my quote below.

[Ken/Alabama]

Originally Posted by etedj

if you read the two descriptions previously, you will see the real truth. 1940, two coups...opera and business, that's it(not to separate the standard and deluxe). they each have a slightly different floor pan at the rear of the passenger compartment, it's the location of the step up. The opera coupe step up is about 6" farther to the rear. Also, the opera has two vertical supports under the rear window, one with the spare tire mounted. The business only has one vertical support under the rear window, with the spare mounted

The so called “opera” coupe is the business coupe. Ford referred to the two coupes simply as a Coupe and business Coupe. I’ve never seen any Ford literature that makes reference to an Opera coupe.

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by deuce_roadster

Info from the Ford and Mercury 1940 Body Parts List printed July 1940

2 models of Ford coupes 67 Business Coupes and 77 5 window coupes A or B after 67 or 77 denotes A Standard or B Deluxe

Models 67A and 67B had small fold down from the side rear seats, a split front seat and NO package tray.

Models 77A and 77B had no rear seats, a solid front seat backrest and a large package tray.

I believe the word "opera" introduced confusion as in the parts list those fold down seats were called "opera" seats which ONLY appear in the model 67 Business coupes A or B.

So lets just call them what Ford did. 67A or B Buiness coupe, or 77A or B 5-window coupe. That is all there was in the Ford line of coupes for 1940 at least in the US.

As mentioned, switching a model 67 to a 77 or 77 to a 67 involves a few nontrivial changes.

Now I need to go clean my model 67A Cloud Mist Gray Business coupe!

HMMMM while trying to post #37 it disappeared and I thoght it was lost so I posted again,
sorry for the duplicate info.

And to add further confusion, apparently marketing didn't agree with engineering regarding terminology. The sales brochure refers to the non-business coupe simply as "Coupe", not 5-window. Both Business Coupe and Coupe were available as DeLuxe or V-8 (note the term "Standard" is not used). Finally, the fold-down rear seats in the Business Coupe are referred to as "auxiliary seats", not opera/jump/whatever seats.

[deuce_roadster]

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If you go to my MISC album, the first 5 photos are pages I uploaded today.
1st image Cover of official Ford publication listing official part numbers and names.
2nd image 67 and 77 models listed for Ford line
3rd image, for those thinking Ford never used "Standard" or "5-window" for 40s
4th image , has listings for "opera" seats note which models

For those that question the nomenclature, this is what dealers ordered when needing parts.

[19Fordy]

THANKS, deuce roadster, for posting that info. about "opera seats" in your MISC album links below.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/album...ictureid=45661
and
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/album.php?albumid=5067

That may explain how the term "opera coupe" came into being as dealers (and car owners) probably came to adopt the term "opera coupe" when referring to coupes that came with those little rear "opera seats" despite the fact that the Ford never officially designated any of their coupe models as opera coupes.

It was simply easier for folks to use the term "opera coupe" instead of saying "coupe with opera seats."

[Newc]

Non- members of the Early V8 Club are constantly showing up with questions answered by the Club publications. " Oh, I'm not a Joiner"- type of fellows. causes me to LOSE my composure. Newc

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by deuce_roadster

For those that question the nomenclature, this is what dealers ordered when needing parts.

And what I posted is the brochure nomenclature for dealers selling cars. Presumably both it and the parts terminology were "official Ford publications". I'm not questioning either one, just pointing out the inconsistencies which lead to confusion.

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by TonyM

Yep, but try telling people this.

For some reason they just don't want to believe it.

The book is fantastic, a quality reference source.

Glenn

[Terry,OH]

The only place I can find reference to "Opera" is the 40 Body parts book Ford referred to the small rear seat an Opera.