Thanks to reader Doug T. for sending us this great pair of barn find Fords for sale on craigslist in McMinnville, Oregon. These two fine looking club coupes, one a 1947 and the other a 1948, are in rough, but restorable condition, and the seller provides enough good photos and descriptions that will help buyers decide which one to consider purchasing.
Or maybe someone will take them both, and build the pair?
The first three years after World War II, Ford cars were slightly modernized versions of their prewar antecedents. There were small changes made each year, but 46-47-48 Fords are very similar cars, and very well suited to restoration, street rodding or rat rodding, depending on your taste.
There is a really good article about 1941-1948 Fords on Hemmings.com.
As for the two cars for sale here, the seller says they are both barn finds. The 1947 shown does have an engine and complete running gear, however the engine does not turn over.
The interiors of both these cars will need complete replacements. And they each will need new glass. Fortunately, there are a lot of parts available for these cars, and the bodies of both appear to be very restorable.
The 1948 example, shown on right in these pictures, with a hood, has neither an engine nor a transmission.
The seller says he has another flathead Ford engine, or a 1961 Olds 394 with tri-power, a bell housing and motor mounts if someone is interested in building a sixties style rod. He does not say, but readers must assume these will come at additional cost.
The seller states that the ’48 is in very good condition except for surface rust. “Very good” in car descriptions is always highly subjective, but this car does look fairly complete and restorable. The front and rear bumpers and grilles are present on both cars. The ’47 is evidently not as solid, but is complete enough to be either restored or rodded.
The asking prices are $3000 for the ’48 and $2000 for the ’47. Both prices are said to be negotiable (and the seller invites consideration of interesting trades.) The seller has a clear Montana title for the ’48, but no title for the ’47, which could be a problem for some buyers.
I’ve long wanted to build a 1947 or ’48 Ford coupe much like the ones shown here. It’s a huge amount of work, but so rewarding and fun to drive when the work is done. I hope both of these fine-looking cars find good homes, and that they’ll be back on the road providing pleasure for their new owners sooner than later.
I have a ’47 ……not a club coupe……not a big fan of the coupe or sedan stylin…though from the firewall forward they are similar to the wagon. Lots of support for these…….maybe a high school auto shop would take these on …be great to teach kids the basics….
I have some prewar coupes, Dodge, Plymouth and a Pontiac, so do searches from time to time on local CL (I submitted this find) These are interesting but not my style but were cool enough I thought might be of interest. Looks like good resto-mod material.
As I have posted on other topics, here in Oregon we had several severe storms, pathetic by Michigan or Wisconsin standards but total mayhem for us locals. Hopefully it send a few recent transplants packing (Go BACK to CALI!!) but the point here is there were THOUSANDS of damaged vehicles as a result of the snow and Ice. Some PRIME donor vehicles will be filtering thru the Auctions and vehicle sales over the coming months. Morph this cool old iron with some modern power trains and or chassis and you can have a real winner on your hands. Even heated leather seats to keep your buns warm all winter and modern AC to keep cool in the summer.
The one looks like it already survived (well sorta) a major storm, unless it was modified to see around corners. I would love to have both, they look solid if rough. I’d street rod one and OE restore the other, great find, keep em coming guys!
Both definitely worthy of restoration; maybe tweak the flatheads a bit, or change them up to a Mercury 255 with 3 carbs. For me they perform just fine with a stock 59 AB. They’ll keep up with modern traffic and are quite reliable. I’ve got a ’42 sedan that’s in about the same shape as these (body wise). It was the signpost for the local race track where I was the resident photographer for five years. I told them that it shouldn’t be out there; rather it should be taken to someone who will restore it and make it new again. Well, one day it showed up in my back yard….
No title in Oregon is really not an issue, get the last registered owner to fill out lost title paperwork and it takes about 8 weeks. There’s a procedure for if you can’t get that information as well, although in my experience as long as you know the car is legit and the paperwork is filled out; it’s not like they have a signature to compare it to…
Grant is correct, Titles are not a problem but some DMV employees are more helpful than others. One suggestion is make sure you state clearly its a former Oregon car (Whether you know for sure or not) as some DMV staff will send you off with instructions to apply to all the other states to make sure. The title is merely lost. Hint hint. #2, All titles are on file for only 7 years on the computers after that it IS possible to do a hand search for old paperwork. And they can and will do that but it takes time. #3) If you CAN track down previous owners, its simple to go to them and get it signed off.
By law, the DMV is actually required to issue a title unless there is a preponderance of evidence there is fraud.
And lastly, Any out of state title or LOST title WILL require a DMV Vin # inspection, simple but be sure you have your ducks in a row when you do. A Bill of Sale (Notarized) and a VIN inspection on DMV paperwork is all that is required to obtain title here.