1946 Ford Convertible

The 1946 Ford like other automobiles produced right after the end of World War Two were essentially designs from 1941 and what limited 1942 cars were produced.

If you look at a 1941 Ford coupe or sedan you’ll for the most part be looking at a 1946 Ford. It took the automotive designers a few years to get new design plans in motion. It’s interesting to note that Ford did still produce some 1942 sedans during the war to be used as military staff cars.

Another interesting fact is that dealers did have automobiles in stock when the war came which were designated to be sold to “essential users“. The cars typically were then registered at the time of sale therefore technically you would have 1943, 44 and 45 models registered but to the automaker these were 1942 Fords.

Ford Motor Company was the first American automaker to begin production after the war’s end. The 1946 Ford Convertible Coupe shown in this article is an excellent example. The first 1946 Ford rolled off the assembly line as early as June 1945. One of the changes on the rare 1946 Ford is the horizontal grille layout. The hood was also widened somewhat with a center strip and the new larger engine was a 239 cubic inch V-8 delivering 100 horsepower which before the war beginning in 1939 had been put into Mercurys.

As you can imagine, there was a considerable amount of pent up demand for civilian automobiles immediately after the war. Civilian car and truck production was halted in February 1942 shortly after the U.S. entered the war. The first 1946 Fords to hit the dealership floors in late 1945 were snapped up very fast. The war was over and the economy was booming. It was reported that some 300,000 orders were taken on the very first day that civilian cars could again be sold.

For 1946 Ford offered two models. These were the Deluxe and Super Deluxe. The Special model was dropped for 1946.

The 1946 Fords were base priced at around $1,100 or a bit more for a six cylinder version and it was said that a buyer might have been inclined to pay another few hundred dollars under the table to get one quick from a dealer. The convertible model had a base price tag of around $1,400.

Steel was in short supply immediately at the end of the war and Ford, starting production so early, also introduced a “Sportsman Convertible” model which utilized wood side pauax-9VP)a7/figure>