The 1941 Ford is a 2-door coupe / 2-door convertible / 2-door coupé utility (Australia only) / 2-door sedan delivery / 2-door pickup truck / 2-door sedan / 4-door sedan / 4-door station wagon from Ford, built from 1941 to 1948, in a decade split by war, when civilian production stopped and restarted. Under the bonnet: 226 .
How it came about
The Ford car was thoroughly updated in 1941, in preparation for a time of unpredictability surrounding World War II. The 1941 design would continue in an aborted 1942 model year and would be restarted in 1946 and produced until 1948 when the more modern 1949 Fords were ready. During the initial year of this car, it evolved considerably. The front fenders came in three pieces, the theory being that small damages could be replaced easily. During the year, it evolved into two pieces with the lower front and back sections being joined. The hood risers changed, the early ones being the same as 1940 Fords, changing during the year to the better later version. The 1941 Convertible had no rear side windows, the only side windows being in the doors; in 1942, quarter windows were added so the rear occupants could see out.
Five different coil/distributor arrangements were used during 1941, causing confusion for mechanics. Other variations were: two different positions for the generator, and three for the cooling fan — front of the crankshaft, front of the generator (rare) and on a bracket. This is thought to be the first Ford to offer a replaceable cartridge oil filter as an option. The two interior heaters were a "Southwind" gasoline burner, which had the advantage of keeping one warm in winter at drive-in movies (provided a small electric fuel pump was used), and a more ordinary hot-water type. Both had window defrosters. Electric windshield wipers were available in addition to the vacuum-powered wipers. Three different convertible power top mechanisms (vacuum, electric scre
The hardware
Power comes from 226 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It shifts through a 3-speed sliding-mesh manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 114 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the 1937 Ford; its successor was the 1949 Ford / Ford F-Series first generation (pickup trucks); assembly was at Main plant. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Lincoln Continental, the Volkswagen Beetle, the GAZ GAZ-64 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Ford stablemates include the Ford 021C and the Ford Escort.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the 1941 Ford — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.