Introductions

[boones]

Thought it might be nice to have a spot for new members to post an introduction about themselves or their woodie.

My name is Ken but online I go by Boones. Currently I own a '48 Dodge B1 Woodie which I acquired in 2006 where it was removed from his storage in a barn in NE Penn. I was told it had sat there since the late 1960. All the original wood is still there. I have been into woodies since I was young boy growing up in So Cal where I started collecting woodie toys (which I still do today) Started off with a '53 Tin woodie wagon but sold that for my current one. I have been a member of the NWC since the mid to late 1990's.

Here is a picture of my project the day I brought it home back in 2006, one day it will see the road though I am thinking hard about selling it as i found a different woodie project that has caught my interest (if interested in mine send me a note)

[Joe Cocuzza]

So you're a "Newbie"...huh???
I am a "Lifetime" member of the NWC (#70) and I have been since 1981.
I have owned many woodies through the years and I am currently trying to finish the one I have now.
It has been 13 years since I started "freshening up" my 47 Town and Country Sedan.
At times I was short on cash (most of the time) but had the time and enthusiasm.
Other times I was short on time but had the cash.
Right now I need a good swift kick as I am short on the enthusiasm part.
Just cannot seem to get back into it.

Joe

[Jeff Yeagle]

Ken, Great Idea!

My name is Jeff Yeagle and I currently own the "Recycled 1940 Ford Woodie"


as well as a 1948 Olds Woodie



in addition I have a pile of parts that when assembled might "look like" a 1936 ford wagon, and
I am searching (in earnest) for parts to someday assemble something that resembles a sportsman..

[boones]

Chris, that is a really good looking Chevrolet woodie. (I am a chevy guy first and love that body style..)

[pancho]

My name is Chris , and also a NWC Member and I own this 1947 Chevrolet Woodie ( sorry for delete the first post )

[pancho]

Chris, that is a really good looking Chevrolet woodie. (I am a chevy guy first and love that body style..)

Thank you Ken

[woodie53buick]

I'm Phil Stofanak from Nazareth, PA. I've been messing around with woodies and the NWC since 1975, when I bought my 1947 Pontiac Woodie, known to one and all as The Chief of the Sixes. I spent time on the board of directors of the NWC, as well as serving as president from 1985 to 1991. I am currently the president and secretary of the Woodies Nor'Eastern Chapter. In addition to my Pontiac, I am in the middle of restoring a 1953 Buick Super Estate Wagon. The lack of money has that project on the back burner right now, as I'm to the point where all I need to complete it is paint and interior, along with a nice big pile of money. In the meantime, I am re-wooding a 1947 Oldsmobile wagon that I've had since 1983, with the idea of selling it when the wood is done to complete the Buick. I also have in my garage another 1947 O
ldsmobile woodie, this one a six-door conversion. I am producing wood pieces for this as I make them for the other one. Along with the Oldsmobiles, I have a 1946 Ford 1-ton truck woodie with a Campbell Body, needing restoration.

[Rob McDonald]

This is so cool! Thanks to the gods of AACA for setting up a Forum for NWC. I was a member of the club way back when and remember Phil taking the reins when founder Will O'Neill died.

I've never owned a woodie wagon and maybe never will but I do love reading about them and seeing the work other folks do on them. Of course, they are beautiful out there, gleaming in the sunshine when they're all finished, but I'm fascinated with how they're built and what it takes to restore them.

Once my pal, who goes by MikesWoodieWorld, finds this site, we'll be seeing lots of what it's like to live in heaven. You'll see...




Just another ol' pile of timber, waiting to be rescued.

[MikesWoodieWorld]

Many thanks, Rob, for the glowing introduction.
And for the heads up that there is now a WOODIE FORUM!!!

I am a member of the NWC, since 1979 and was signed up by Will O'Neal personally!!
I presently own a 1942 Olds, 1947 Buick, (2) 1948 Pontiacs, and one of each year 1950-53 Buicks, all Woodies, all projects in varying stages.
I have a couple of threads in the BCA section about some of my Woodies, with many pictures of them.
The following links will take you to them:
1952 Roadmaster Estate Wagon project.



Hey, this is something close to Buicks...Pontiacs

As you will see, the BCA folks are a lively group.
Lets see if we can make this forum as lively, perhaps it will "kick" Joe back into working on his T&C!!

I fired up the red 1948 Pontiac "pickup" Woodie yesterday, with the help of my good friend Frank, and he drove it around my back yard. I have a leg that is acting up, so I could only watch!!
He is coming back this Monday, and I'll try to get some pics of him driving it around.
Cheers, Mike

[Joe Cocuzza]

Mike,
I hope that SOMETHING will kick me and get me back to working on my T & C. I am so close to having it ready to go but, along with the low enthusiasm on my part, there always seems to be something else that needs to be done first. I work a lot of hours, thankfully, and I have a long commute to work. I do a 2nd job 2-3 days a week and to top things off I work the overnight shift - 6 days a week.
I have even tried the "at least do one thing to the car every day - no matter how small" approach but that soon gets pushed aside, too.
The biggest reason for my frustration right now is that since I got the car back last September from the painter I have done a lot of things. Reinstalled the interior, put most of the chrome back on, and a bunch of other stuff. But then I dove, enthusiastically mind you, into the brake system. I had rebuilt all of the wheel cylinders earlier but the master cylinder went south. Rebuilt that and one of the threads got stripped. I must have removed that m/c 6 or 7 times before I was able to "save" the threads. So I started bleeding the brakes and all of the wheel cylinders leaked. I pulled them all out and rehoned them - still leaked. I finally went with new ones. Then bleeding them took me almost a month. Had little time to do it so it was a day-to-day thing.
I had a new exhaust system - went to put it on - wrong muffler/tailpipe. Ordered a new tailpipe - wrong muffler. Had to order another muffler. Time wasted - at least a month.
I have been trying recently to put the rear fender splash apron on the car. I had to have this made as the original one was destroyed. It has been 3 months of hanging it/removing it/tweaking it/hanging it/removing it/tweaking it.... you get the picture. And because it is painted I need to be extremely careful with it as I am doing this alone.
So the continuous attempts to do anything to the car that ultimately wind up a waste of time and effort is what has really put me off. I love this car and I have wanted to get it out of the garage since I brought it home.

Hey Phil S. how are you????

Joe

[MikesWoodieWorld]

Hey Joe, this seems like every other story, can't do this, problem here, or there!!
You are not alone, I go through this daily, but we are working on Woodies...very different, very unique!
Can you imagine Japan all of a sudden deciding to make a new 2013 Woodie? Or GM? Or any automakers?
A resounding NO, from their auditors, accountants, whatever!
We are working on something that was built, and will never be built again.
So very precious!
Hopefully this link to Woodie will help to motivate you...if you weren't so far away I would come over and give you a kick!!
HMMM!! Anybody here close enough to do it for me?? lol
Yeah, he will probably hide his dugout!! LOL
Hey Joe, joking aside, you are not alone, trust me on that, seriously!
We all go through it at one time or many, but the Woodies win, and it is good.
Cheers, Mike

[Rob McDonald]

JOE, well I'm inspired. You had your Chrysler painted just over a year ago and you've already reinstalled the interior and much of the bling. I don't even want to say how many years ago my Buick was painted - the interval can be measured in decades, actually - but neither the interior nor the chrome has made its way back onto the car.

The grief with brakes that you're experiencing is not unique to woodies - any old car will frustrate us that way sometimes. Clearly, you need a pal nearby to help you with bleeding the hydraulics and handling precious painted sheet metal. This is the place to put out a call for helping hands.

Where do you live and what model of Town & Country do you have? A Windsor sedan, I hope - I love those things!

[MikesWoodieWorld]

Hey Ken, or Boone, let me know which you prefer.
Thanks for the insight of starting this "Introduction" thread, great idea.

I see you mentioned that you were interested in a different Woodie (not identified!!), and were thinking of dumping your treasure to that end!!.

So, two things come to my mind:

(1) Don't give up your existing one unless it is critical to do so, really critical.
I have been blessed with owning a number of scarce Woodies (1941 Chevy, 1940 Pontiac, 1941 Pontiac, to name a few) and sold them only to get my next project Woodie.
Some of them I immediately regretted, and some others it hit me later, big time!!
If you can possibly hang onto your present Woodie, perhaps your first one, do so.
Woodies are hard to come by, but so very easy to sell!!!

(2)So, what is the latest Woodie you fell head over heels over???

And it better be good...what am I saying, all Woodies are good!! LOL
Cheers, Mike

[MikesWoodieWorld]

Rob,
Your car was painted...just how many decades ago...and no bling or interior??
Oh my!!
Joe isn't the only one who needs a kick start!!
Rob needs a major one, out of his leather easy chair and into the garage!!
And Rob is trying to encourage Joe!! LOL
OK, guys Rob is in Portland now, (yeah, south of the border!!) checking out a apparently non-existent 53 Buick Woodie, which he would probably never even start, even if it existed!! LOL
I hope your ears are burning right now, Rob!! LOL
All in fun, Mike

[Joe Cocuzza]

Rob,
Yes my T & C is a Sedan.
I have a friend that lives nearby and he keeps offering to help me but I keep putting him off. Why????
I don't exactly know the answer to that one.
I am getting a little fired up by reading the encouraging words here. That's not to say I will certainly get to doing something on my car, but there is the possibility.
Joe

[Buick Bruce]

Hey Ken, or Boone, let me know which you prefer.
Thanks for the insight of starting this "Introduction" thread, great idea.

. . . I have been blessed with owning a number of scarce Woodies (1941 Chevy, 1940 Pontiac, 1941 Pontiac, to name a few) and sold them only to get my next project Woodie.
Some of them I immediately regretted, and some others it hit me later, big time!!
If you can possibly hang onto your present Woodie, perhaps your first one, do so.
Woodies are hard to come by, but so very easy to sell!!!

...what am I saying, all Woodies are good!! LOL
Cheers, Mike

Mike, thanks for letting me know about this new addition to the AACA Forum. I've been using it many years for Buick related info.

I've always had an interest in Buicks - my extended family has owned many of them as far back as I can remember. I teamed up with a high school buddy to buy a 31 Buick, but the first Buick I ever owned on my own was a 57 Caballero. I Sold it (yes, big time later regrets) after I got my 53 Super woodie while going to college. I did a mechanical restoration on this one and drove it a lot (honeymoon in 79 and Bethlehem PA Buick National in 82). I sold this one (yup, more regrets) when I got my 53 Roadmaster woodie.

The Super ended up in a very good home: Simpsons Garden Town Nursery
Scroll down in this site to see some pictures. Although the nursery business is closed, Lee & Cathy still host many car hobby events on the grounds.

So a couple years ago, I came to the realization that I had more car projects than I'd ever have time to work on. The 48 Roadmaster Sedanet had to go; the 65 Gran Sport (factory 4-speed vert) ((sigh)) had to go. I wanted to work my way back to the two cars I've had the longest - a 40 Buick Special 4-dr vert and the 53 Roadmaster woodie.

I did get the woodie unburied from it's corner almost two years ago and got it set up with room enough to work on. I'm so glad I didn't touch it for the last 25+ years, cause now I want to keep it as original/ unrestored as possible rather than do the major restoration that I had always planned on.

But alas, old Buicks never stop wandering into my back yard. I admit I'll never have the willpower to pass up too-good-to-true deals. The most recent story goes like this: I replied to a 53 Buick steering wheel for sale on Craigslist. I went to check it out and met a guy with a 53 Super sedan that was intended to be the parts car for the 53 woodie body parked behind it. UNBELIEVABLE !! He knew it was rare, but then I told him I also had one. He was not in a position to work on the cars, and our conversation worked toward the fact that he was willing to trade the woodie body for parts & labor to get the sedan running well. I stewed on this for many weeks. The woodie body had come out of a restoration shop and was half way painted. The sheetmetal was fabulous, but the car was apart with so many hard-to-get woodie parts not there. And it had been stored outside long enough to develop a lot of wood damage. But I recognized the car as one that was owned by a local Buick Club member back in the 80's, and it was a Roadmaster.
Nearly two months have gone by and I get a call. The guy is moving with a couple days left to be out, and what about the 53 Buicks? I borrowed a friend's trailer and spent many hours in the dark moving the cars to my back yard. I agreed to store them until a deal was finalized. And now, over a year later, it has been finalized! The guy was in need of dependable transportation - how about the 94 Park Ave that I have in back that I recently decided to sell. And how about the 90 Reatta vert that I have in the garage that's apart awaiting a paint job that I also recently decided to sell. He knew about and liked the Reatta, so was happy with that deal.

So after a couple weekends of shuffling 'stuff' in the garage, here's what it looks like:
107 1454 - YouTube

And I know, Mike, you are anxious to see my newest addition now that I consider it official. Here's the best I can do for now:
107 1449 - YouTube

[Joe Cocuzza]

I actually did some work on my T & C today - not much - but better than nothing.
I spent 2 hours polishing all of the interior door panel screws and washers, along with the window/door handles.
Then I installed the driver side door panel and "hung" the passenger side one with a few screws.
Because they are wood (mahogany) it makes it so much simpler to install them.
The next couple days are going to be hectic so maybe over the weekend????????............
Joe

[MikesWoodieWorld]

Congratulations, Joe, so glad to hear it!!
There are many areas of Woodies that can be a real challenge, but door panels are so much more easier than other cars.
If I run into a problem with one of my Woodies, I just leave it and move on to something else...
There is always something else to do!!
Then come back to the initial problem later, which usually is not such a big deal usually.

[Joe Cocuzza]

Mike,
Thanks for the encouraging words.
I was able to complete the installation of the passenger side door panel.
I have the front door arm rests pulled out of storage now and I am trying to "fit" the zip-up NOS covers I bought for them. Not because they need to be covered but just because I want to protect them. You see, my T & C has the 100% original, from the factory upholstery in it right down to the carpets, and I want to preserve it as best as I can. The seats have the original, impossible to replace, white saran inserts, too. I have put NOS, period correct, seat covers over the seats so that they are preserved. The good thing about them was that they had the original seat covers on them from new. Kept them in fine shape. I spoke to another guy that owns a T & C sedan (can't remember who right now) that told me that his car has the same interior - white vinyl/saran - and he told me it was not a common combo. I have seen so many T & C's with the upholstery redone, but so few with their original factory upholstery. It is difficult to preserve an upholstery for 60 plus years. I have been asked why I am not doing the interior over. Why would I replace something that is irreplaceable in the first place just for the sake of making it "new"? And secondly, it doesn't need to be redone. As far as I am concerned keeping it original means so much more, and made sense, than replacing it just "because" I freshened up other areas of the car......
I am supposed to have my friend come over Sunday and we are going to give that rear splash guard another go - see if I can get that to fit properly.
Joe

[MikesWoodieWorld]

That is really some progress, Joe, and it looks like you are on the right track.
I share your passion for original parts whenever possible, even if not perfect.
I remember years ago, visiting an acquaintance that it turned out had a T&C sedan in his back yard, horribly deteriorated.
It was his family's, and just got parked under a tree many years before. I never found out just why it was parked.
It was of the 50's era, not sure of the actual year.
Apparently mice had had a field day with the leather borders of the seats, and had removed it all, with threads left hanging, and the inserts were there, looking as new as the day they were made!!
Even the cotton underlay was undisturbed!!
So sad to see!!
I am sure that one has bitten the dust, since it was perhaps 30 years ago, or more that I encountered it, in the days I was just gaining an interest of Woodies, but I often give it a thought.
That is what helps me to be motivated to try to save another one!!
I hope it goes well on Sunday with your friend's help.

Mike

[plymouthwoody]

Hi:
Just finished my woodie this spring. Its a 1949 Plymouth, and I did all the wood myself. After seven years of work it sure is a nice to finally get out and drive it. Took it to four car shows this summer and won awards in three of them. You can see details of the build here...
http://plymouthwoodys.com/restore.php

Heres the car as it looks now. Still a few odds and ends to finish up, but everything works like new right down to the clock and the cigar lighter.

[pancho]

Looks great , nice plymouth , gratulation

[tfee]

Nice to see a place for woodies on the AACA! Though I'm not a member of the NWC I do own a Ford Depot Hack and am currently working on building a 1930 Packard Estate Wagon. My original plan was to build a 734 speedster sedan out of my 733 but the project seems to be moving towards a wood body instead. My original sedan body is toast having been modified badly sometime in the distant past. Packard progress can be found here:

Packard Motor Car Information - Todds 1930 733 7P Sedan [Packard Forums - Project Blogs]

The depot hack is finished and I drive it around on occasion but it's a scary ride and with the exhaust dump at my feet I always end up smelling like a muffler when I get out. It sure gets some funny looks though.

[Rob McDonald]

JOE, good for you, getting to do some satisfying work on your car. That upholstery sounds very special - pictures please! I've seen original saran upholstery just once, among a collection of '40s Chryslers owned by Tim Burton, on a ranch near Claresholm, Alberta. That was at least 30 years ago. He had some amazing T&Cs, including a very low mileage original '42 barrelback, painted an odd, pinkish-orange. Much nicer than it sounds.

Anyway, the saran in one of Tim's T&C sedans was medium blue, as I recall. For the curious, "saran" was a very simply woven mat (you can hardly call it a fabric) of flat plastic lacing, used only by Chrysler in the 1940's and mostly in convertibles. To me, it looked exactly like the multi-coloured string that Boy Scouts worldwide have collectively braided into miles of zipper pulls. I'm having a hard time imagining it in white, though, with white vinyl seat edging.

As our friend Mike (who art in Woodie Heaven) has discovered, I'm all about long stories and jabbering about cars, not so much about getting out and getting under them. I did restore my Buick to about the 80% mark but the project stalled when I got married in 1991. Now my kids are almost grown and wifey doesn't need me for much anymore, so I'm urging myself to spend this winter in the garage, to finally finish the danged thing. It's a '57 Roadmaster, as my signature shows, without a stick of wood in it.

So what am I doing in this Forum? I think I'd like to end up with one woodie in my Golden Years. My recent trip to Portland was an exploratory mission. The '53 Super Estate Wagon that I tried to see never materialized - strange story. A '48 Packard Station Sedan that was available at the Portland Swap Meet last April was eventually sold. My adventure was therefore in vain - except I had a great holiday anyway!

I'm not actually ready to buy another old car - gotta get that Buick done first. I'm just sniffing around now and learning about what it takes to own and restore a wood-bodied car these days. Seems it's easier than it would have been 20 years ago but vastly more expensive. Talk is cheap, though, and here we are.

[Joe Cocuzza]

Rob,
Thanks for the encouraging words.
I have enclosed some pics (they aren't the best) of the T & C including the interior. Unfortunately (not from my perspective) I covered the saran seats with NOS seat covers to help preserve them. So the only visible part(s) of the interior is the front seat back and the rear arm rests.

Joe