The Dodges of the era that our feature car is from were essentially “no-frills” cars, and this 1947 Dodge Business Coupe is a perfect example. Only available as an option on the Dodge Deluxe Coupe, when new they sold for a rock-bottom price of $1,347. Today they are worth a bit more than that, and the seller is asking $8,000 OBO for this very original example. You will find this Coupe listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Denver, Colorado, it is offered for sale with a clean title.
The owner describes this Dodge as a survivor, and that it’s completely original. The body is not perfect, but it appears to be free of any major rust issues. It has a few dings and scratches, but if this is the original paint, then that is to be expected when a car is 71-years-old. Some people may be tempted to undertake a restoration, and that would be their choice. I would probably leave it exactly as it is.
The interior looks to be in nice condition, and close to original. In the Business Coupe, the floors had rubber mats, and the seat upholstery was not cloth. It was as basic as it could be, right down to the fact that it got single-speed windshield wipers, while the Custom received 2-speeds. Looking around the interior reveals no problems there, and the seller states that he was getting ready to store it away for the Winter, but has chosen to put the car on the market.
Under the hood you will find the 230ci flat-head 6-cylinder engine. This is backed by a 3-speed manual transmission. This one has a fully operational fluid-drive, which was a semi-automatic device that allowed for such features as hill-hold, and also allowed the car to take off from a standstill in third gear. Mechanically the car is in good condition. Shots of the underside of the car don’t indicate any major leaks or problems.
This Dodge Business Coupe is a wonderful old car, and it reflects the sort of diversity that is beginning to disappear from cars today. It is good, basic transport with no frills or luxuries. Finding a new car on the market today with similar attributes would be difficult. This one is an honest example, and if you are a first-timer looking at getting into their first classic car, then buying one that you can drive and enjoy now seems like a fine idea.
Perhaps the inspiration for Harry Chapin’s “We learned about love in the back of a Dodge . . . “
Don’t business coupes delete backseats?
Very cool old Dodge. Original and road worthy.
That is true. Business coupes had no back seat. My first car in the summer of 1964 was a 1951 Dodge Wayfarer, 6 cylinder with a column shift 3 speed fluid drive. Paid 40 bucks for it, drove it for a year and sold it for 65 bucks.
Well my 1948 had no back seat, but at 6 foot tall, I had room to spare in the trunk. Two people? No problem, but the floor was bumpy, so you better have a mattress back there.
Mine had mohair upholstery, so was it optioned out? :)
See Jeff’s link below for my comment last year.
Looks like a solid car at a fair price. Not a giveaway, for sure, but fair.
Strikes me as a ‘tweener. Back end says rod me like a Zephyr. Front end is kind of heavy looking for that.
Overall a well preserved honest car.
This same car was featured here back in Aug 2017. The owner then was asking $12k, which seems high, but the new $8k price seems fairly reasonable. These look like new (at least different) photos, but if so, nothing cosmetic appears to have been done to it since. Even the engine appears to have wear/dirt in the same spots.
https://barnfinds.com/original-1947-dodge-business-coupe/
It’s called “chasing the market”.
Perfect car for Sir Mix-a-lot……..
230 ci engine is not original but that is no big deal. It is rare to find any Chrysler product of that vintage with the original engine. The business coupe had no back seat and a huge trunk. One machine tool company outfitted the trunk with small lathes and such for the salesman to take to potential customers. These are great cars with a lot of parts still available and a loyal group of owners more than willing to share information. $8K is a fair price.
The 230 CID engine absolutely IS correct for this ’47. Whether it’s the original engine or not? Seller seems to think so, and it seems likely.
This example, even from photos, is worth every bit of $8000. Hope this finds a loving buyer/driver.
This is a really nice car! Wished I could but I can’t! I would definitely leave the interior alone, but I would have to address the the exterior! Great looking car! I can’t get over how long that trunk is! I think that I would buy one of these instead of a Tudor, and I love the Tudor!
I have always dreamed of collecting the MoPar business coupes, starting in the late 30’s with that extremely long trunk, ending with the hard top; models in the 70’s. One of each series would be nice. They look so weird, or absurd to me, but their ute counterparts down under, and the Ranchero and El Camino, with the open long bed look cool, to me anyway.