how many were made

[47clubcoup]

I have a 47 club coup #5eh-77-9139 dose this mean that it was the 139 coup that came off the line or the 9139 one ? This number was on the wall of the car. The one on my frame is7hI70030... The car vin is1170030 on the title. On the eng behind the carb the tag has 03-13-47 so im thinking its an origenal eng. I understand the 77 means its a club coup.the 5eh means its a 47? Iv got a 36-47 chassis parts catalogue so im not shure where you guys are getting the info from . maby im just not understanding what im looking at. Also...was the lincoln and the continental coups both put on the same frames?

[peecher]

The date on the manifold is the casting date of the manifold and approximates the date of the engine. The 5EH prefix was used on parts designed and produced for post war H series cars. Serial numbers for '47 cars started at 7H 152840 and ran to 7H 174289. The body number is a little puzzling? Seems that during the '47 model year they were still using the post war 5EH prefix for the body number. The number 9139 would make sense if that was the sequence number of the 77 ( club coupe) bodies built from their introduction in 1940?

Seems they changed the way they were numbering these cars as my '48 club coupe has a body number that begins 876H with a seqence number of 11,515. It appears that the last numbers of the body plate may indicate the sequence number off the production line of that particular body style at least for the H series club coupes? Maybe someone has a better explaination?

[47clubcoup]

If the 47s ran from 152840 to 174289 then my 7h 175126 serial number means iv got a 48 ? the only other number i have is i think the body number #779139 which is the same as the body number. Another question iv noticed why is it some 47s have door handles and mine has buttons. I guess im going to half to get the build sheet to find out more about my car. now i need my wife's help.:eek:

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

In the first couple of Post WWII years Ford was apparently more focused on getting something out the door and into the hands of buyers because of demand and their own looming financial problems. Resulted in a lot of strange combination of vehicles happening because of those facts. I had a '47 Ford Deluxe Coupe of apparently early model year production. It was part '46 and part '47. Wasn't a really big deal in that case as only the fenders and trim were involved. Otherwise the cars would have been the same regardless of year produced. Beside, as 14 year old kid getting his first car in 1955 I didn't even care. Actually didn't even know at the time. Wish I still had that car!

Jim

[47clubcoup]

It seems like you are right, as i have not ran into any one who can come up with a number and a answer.Well iv got a nice car, all i have to do is get its wiring road safe and get the insides redone and the front end fixed and .... well that should just about do it . then i can use it a couple times a week to go to work, so i can pay for the repairs.ha ha

[ralphnof49]

My 1947 club coupe has a VIN on the frame 7H173805 and a body number of 5EH7710158. I understood that VIN numbers for 1947 start with 7 and 1948 VIN numbers start with 8. The first 47 should be 7 H 152840 and the fiirst 48 should be 8H174290. Your VIN number 7H170030 is clearly in the 1947 series. You mentioned another VIN number 7H175126 in your second message- is that a correct number? My recollection is that about 4000 Club Coupes were built in 1947. The number of total 1947 cars would be 21450 if all the VIN numbers were used.

[peecher]

The 1947 Model year was a little strange. The 1946 model cars were carried over into 1947, unchanged and were officially "1947" from November, 1946. In the spring of 1947 they were "freshened". They changed several exterior trim items, paint colors, and interior trim. The hub caps, hood side trim ( lincoln), hood ornament were changed and the push buttoms for the doors ( lincoln) were replaced with the '41 style pull type handles. Interiors were changed offering 3 different colors for the dash and window moldings along with woodgran trim. The changes were carried over into the 1948 models. The freshened 1947 cars became official 1948 models in November of 1947.

All this information is from the March-April 1997 issue of "The Way of The Zephyr".

Cars were in such demand after the war that many "variances" occured during manufacture in a rush to get them made. My own '48 club coupe has a "kicker spring" set up ( for a push button) for the driver's door while the passenger side does not. I think many little strange things happened during the period after the war. I believe that Ford was really concentrating more on bringing out the all new 1949 cars.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

I suspect if one started looking at abnormalities among 1946 and 1947 models of any make they could find a few. After four years of no new automobiles, coupled with the additional demand for automobiles by those returning home from the war, the car makers were most interested in getting just anything that would run out the door.

I recall my own father "ordering" a new Buick in early 1946. People "ordered" cars because there were no new cars in the dealerships. That "order" took a year to be filled and when it arrived in 1947 it was of 1947 model year production. While there was little or no difference significance in the appearance of a '46 or '47 Buick I'd be willing to bet if one could look at that car today they'd probably find 1946 parts or trim someplace. Probably even some stuff for 1942 models warehoused until after the war.

Jim