Beautiful Broadcloth Seats/239ci V8 3-Speed Manual/Wide Whites & Moon Caps

Description for Ford Deluxe 1946

1946 Ford Deluxe 2 Door Sedan

With its wind-swept design and classic good looks, Ford's DeLuxe series has always been a rare and highly desirable line of cars. The pent-up market created an unprecedented demand for new cars. Ford's advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson, created a brilliant teaser campaign: "There's a Ford in your future." Until July, it showed only parts of the "new" Ford in a crystal ball; then there was a publicity blitz culminating in "V-8 Day" on October 26, 1945. More than a million Americans flocked into showrooms for the public introduction, and nearly half a million promptly placed their orders.

Big slab sided stee, plenty of chrome trimmings and adornments, a snazzy metal front glass visor and rounded exterior mounted fenders framing wide whites with attached moon caps and I can hear the "Prisoner of Love" being belted out by Perry Como as we drive our way through the mid 1940's in this 1946 Ford Deluxe 2 door.

Exterior
Bathed in Maroon all panels are straight, and gaps show nicely minded. They are covered in Maroon paint, that is showing some chips where gaps get just a bit too close, and on top areas of fenders and the roof some imperfections show up. Outside trim was nearly identical to the 1942 except for the new horizontal grille consisting of three stainless steel bars below a massive, chrome-plated pair of Ford "wings". The grille sported red striping within ridges in the metal. The deck lid, meanwhile, carried two horizontal strips of stainless below the license plate, and color selections were greatly improved over those of 1941-1942. Bumpers and badging is in excellent condition. Spears of chrome are noted on each fender at the belt line just for a little extra bling. Wide whites wrap FORD logo full moon chrome hubcaps with ribbed deep dish trim rings. A stainless steel trim bar is noted at the rockers. And in front of the rear fender is a protective black rubber panel. A rounded design rear of this car works in some early aerodynamics and provides a spacious trunk.

Interior
An overstuffed split bench seats covered in vertical ribbed tan broadcloth looking much like the Zoot Suit of the day. In back is another bench much like your grandparent's couch with its overstuffed look, the Zoot Suit vertical ribbed broadcloth and some fancy side armrests built into the sides of the back portion of the car. The dash is covered in metallic light gold/tan paint, and sports plenty of chrome ribs, bezels and panels to attract the eye. A line up of black faced gauges with red indicators is steering wheel left, and they end up meeting a large circular speedometer with bright red numbers. Moving across the dash, we see an original radio with some tone and scale adjustment indicators (an early EQ?!) with a large chrome grilled speaker housing above. Moving across toward the passenger we note a large clock, and glove box, bordered by a large chromed winged strip, with vertical red stripes. Beautifully preserved dark taupe colored carpet floods the floors. We also note brown bakelite knobs on all the handles, as well as the chrome horn ringed bakelite brown steering wheel which has a taped over a crack in it.

Drivetrain
The 1946 Ford had the 59 A V8 block that had been used in the Mercury from 1939; it displaced the same 239.4 cubic inches and developed an even 100 horsepower at 3,800 rpm. Meanwhile, the rear axle ratio went from 3.78:1 to 3.54:1. A 3-speed manual transmission is attached to the rear of the engine, and still shifts smoothly and effortlessly. Here all surfaces are unrestored and showing some slight wear and chips off the finishes.

Undercarriage
An overall nice patina with some road dirt, and surface rust can be seen underneath. X frame and floorpans are nice and solid, and in the rockers we also see some surface rust on the seams. Transverse leaf springs for all the suspension, and drum brakes are on all 4 corners too. Dual Cherrybomb exhausts are now installed, and the mufflers are showing surface rust.

Drive-Ability
Upon entering I'm struck with the nicely of the seats and design of the art deco styled dash. Once I get over all the chrome, I fire it up and off to the test track where it ran smoothly, stopped decently for drum brakes, and handled nicely like a large car would. All functions were in working order save for the radio.

Let's call this car a survivor, with an earlier restoration now showing some age, chrome is still good, and it has not been "rodded" and retains its original charm right out of post war 1946. Great 40's design, which was wildly popular, sales aided by the pent up non spending the war brought on, and now was being freed up. Niiiiiice!

VIN DECODE
99A910406
99A-Deluxe V8
910406-Sequential Unit Number

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.