46 woodie

If you are going to HERSHEY please stop by the National Woodie Club welcome tent, we will be located at site C2E-36-38.

If you are going to HERSHEY please stop by the National Woodie Club welcome tent and say hello, it will be located on site C2E-36&38.

I agree with you Tom, it's been almost 10 day's since his posting with no reply or even a thank you for the replies. It could be that the new owner thought the vehicle in question was worth more that it really is. It might be that he has sold it already. Maybe he has decided to keep the car or perhaps he is just too busy. but a simple "thank you for your suggestions" would be nice. This seems to be par for the course though. I have seen several questions posed on this and other sites and never get an answer how the poster made out with his issue. I don't ask many questions, but I always thank all the people that offer answers or suggestions.

Wow, 40 years ago? You won't believe how much HERSHEY has evolved in 40 years. Giant Center, all blacktop, no airport and many smaller changes!

Iowagon, I wouldn't worry about the gaps in the wood. Wood is organic and shrinks over time and may actually close up a little as the car acclimates to it's new environment. As for the varnish, look for the varnish with the highest UV protection. A light sanding with 220 might really clean up the wood. You're right, I would also keep the car as a survivor and just a rubout with compound and a good waxing will really clean up the paint on your car. Good luck with it and please join the National Woodie Club, and keep up with the pictures!

I remember reading about these tops years ago and they had many problems and didn't sell many. The first issue was that they were very expensive. They were very heavy and required a minimum of two people to install or remove them. The biggest issue however was that the car turned into an oven, as the sun roasted the occupants. In some cases the plastic trim parts actually warped from the heat. I agree with you Dave, if you look at the rear bumper you can see the Ford logo only available on the '42-'46 DeLuxe and Super DeLuxe, indicating that it is a 1946.

We just had a similar conversation on another web site about someone replacing the stock oil pan on a small block Chevy with an aftermarket oil pan. He added 8 quarts and the dipstick just saw a tip of the oil and the engine originally took 5 quarts. Someone with Chevrolet knowledge pointed out that there was something like two dozen different dipsticks used on various Chevrolet engines. I would recommend purchasing the correct dipstick for your engine from a Chevrolet dealer and that should cure your issue. Why guess at something so important as oil level?

It will be a tough sell in the present condition. The car is basically a "basket case", so you don't even know if all the parts are with the car. What condition was the engine like when it was removed, flatheads are very expensive to rebuild. Many station wagon parts are not reproduced and can be very hard to locate. I can also see some body rot in the corner of the door in the bottom picture, what shape are the floor pans and rocker boxes like? A total re-wood will set you back 25K plus. Where are you located, perhaps you can get someone from the N.W.C. that owns a '49 to inspect the car and evaluate it. As Tom points out, take the first reasonable offer and call it a day.

A few years ago the A.A.C.A. Museum had the Thunderbird on display. I guess stainless steel was hard on the dies, as the body lines weren't as crisp as regular steel.

Hello Bill, don't worry about it and drive your Woodie. I have over 50,000 miles on my 1946 Ford station wagon and can't remember how many times I have been caught in rain. We drove our Woodie to Wavecrest in 2010 and were on the road for 32 days. Coming home we drove in rain from western PA to Long Island and were amazed how quiet the car became from the wood expanding, in fact we couldn't open the rear passenger door for a week because it expanded so much. Over time you probably will need a re-varnish, but please don't let that stop you from having fun with your car. We went to the Woodie show in Ogunquit Maine a few weeks ago and got caught in rain twice, life is too short to worry about rain! Where are you located and have you joined the National Woodie Club and your local chapter? How about a few pictures!

Shootey, you re in for the show of your life. We drove our 1946 Ford Station Wagon to Wavecrest from Long Island NY to CA in 2010 and won the longest distance award. I have also been to Woodies on the Wharf, but Wavecrest is the biggest. The Year I went there were over 300 Woodies. See if you can hook up with someone and go on the Sunday tour, we found the Southern California woodie people very friendly. Have a great time!

This Sunday from 9:00 AM till 2:00 PM will be "Woodies on the Green" to be held at the A.D. Makepeace Co., 158 Tihonet Rd. in Wareham Mass. Should be about 20 Woodies in attendance.

I would also recommend Lares. They just rebuilt a Saginaw power steering box for me and it came out great. I might have been able to do it myself, but they have all the tools and parts to do it right. Once they rebuild it, it's leak tested and pressure tested and painted black. The last thing I needed is to try to do it myself and put it back in the car and have a problem. They advertise in the A.A.C.A. magazine every month.

What ever you decide to use, just don't "over pad it" and try to make it look original. It really takes away from the roof when an upholstery shop uses a padding that is too thick. Another thing that really stands out on 1941-1948 Ford Station Wagons, is when the upholsterer doesn't take the time to round out and form the rear corners. I have seen them folded over on a 45 degree angle and boy does it stand out!

Joe, both C&G and Mac's have them in their on line catalog's.

Ed Clarke who called himself a "Woodieologist" had all sorts of Woodie specific hardware, mostly V-8 Ford but some things could be used on other makes. When Ed passed away several people have tried to find out what happened to his inventory to no avail. I purchased dozens of '40-'48 Ford tailgate anti rattle balls from Ed for the tailgate hangers I once reproduced.

Joe, your photo is a little fuzzy but I think what you are looking for can be purchased from McMaster-Carr. They are called Screw Mount Nuts and come in assorted sizes. I'm guessing your's are 3/8"-16, part no 90611A450. Sorry Joe these aren't what you are looking for, I didn't read all the post.

Tommy, I looked at the National Woodie Club Membership Directory and there is only one member listed from Whitestone Queens and his name is also Thomas, so I guess your dad is a member. We would love to have you as a member of the Yankee Chapter of the NWC and to have you attend one of the New England Woodie shows that I mentioned in my original post. Keep us posted on what you decide to do with your top.

Shootey, the article is in the June of 2022 issue of the Woodie Times. It's great to hear that Restoration Specialties now has 65" Black Cobra Grain. It must be a new addition to their inventory, as only 60" is listed in the RS catalog I have. They did mail me a sample of the 80" wide Smooth Grain Black material #SMG80, but it is really thin and I don't think I would use it. It's a generic material not used on Ford tops, but could be used on other makes. As far as the M-2600-G Brown Artificial Leather material, someone with a '41 Ford with the correct top material needs to answer that question.

Tommy, I see by your location that you are located in Whitestone Queens. Are you a member of the National Woodie Club and the northeast Yankee Chapter? If not we would welcome you to become a member and attend the northeast Woodie shows held in Mystic CT, Ogunquit ME and Wareham MA. I forgot to mention in my original post that there was even an article about the search for the elusive 66" top material in the Woodie Times our monthly magazine.

Tommy, the correct top material for your car is what Ford called, M-2600-G Brown artificial leather. Finding the correct material is a different story. We just had a top material discussion last weekend at the Woodies in the Cove Woodie Show and it is a discussion at every Woodie show I attend. Ever since LeBaron-Bonney closed shop the 66" wide material material is un-available anywhere, believe me, myself and several other Woodie Club members have searched to no avail. If you have the time you can research this website and others, as this subject has been discussed many times.

We just got back from the "Woodies in the Cove" Woodie show in Wells Maine and had a great time. Many thanks to the Ogunquit and Wells police departments for escorting the Woodie parade thru the bumper to bumper tourist traffic thru Perkins Cove. We couldn't do it without them, thank's again!

We would love to have you Joe. After the show, the local Police escort all the Woodies down Rt.1 from Wells to Perkins Cove and stop all cross traffic to keep all the Woodies together. The tourists and locals love it!

Sorry Billy, it's going to take a nicer coin than the Duesenberg Dollar to surpass the Ultra High Relief, 1907 Double Eagle, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens as the most beautiful coin ever minted. I think it's now valued somewhere around $2,250,000! That Duesenberg coin will never be worth more than one dollar!

This Saturday, August 17th, will be "Woodies in the Cove", Woodie car show to be held in Wells Maine, on Route 1, Post Rd. next to the McDonalds from 8:30 AM until 2:00 PM with the Woodie parade to follow. Should be about 30 to 40 Woodies and sponsored by the Yankee Chapter of the National Woodie Club.