46 woodie

What do the floors look like, from what I can see, the wheel wells don't look too bad. Very ambitious project at least. What does the owner want for it? If it is reasonable you might want to purchase it and just put it away until you get time. From the pictures it looks like a total rewood but the good part is that you have decent wood for patterns. Engine, trans, front end sheet metal? I think you would be surprised how much better the car would look like once you got it out and cleaned it off a bit.

I wonder if the National Woodie Club is going to push back the "Drive Your Woodie Day" from May until sometime in August so that those of us in the northeast will be able to get our Woodies from under the snow. Snowed again last night and still snowing today!! Someone has really pissed off the snow gods.

I wonder if the National Woodie Club is going to push back the "National Drive Your Woodie Day" till August so they all the guy's in the northeast will be able to get their cars out from the snow. More snow last night and today. Someone has really pissed off the snow gods!!!

The lines on the '34 are much nicer than on the '37, it looks like the grill is too high in relation to the cowl. Speaking of rare, a SPOHN!!! How many of these baby's were made, only a couple of dozen right!

The Terraplane Woodie is very rare if not extinct. I have never seen one at any of the Woodie events I have attended. The car has beautiful lines. Believe it or not the Bronx in NY, was once the most beautiful place in the entire city. My how things change! Mike if you saw one in the '80s it might be still around, that would be some find, keep looking!!

Welome to the NWC. Enjoy the "Woodie", it looks great, but most of all enjoy your Dad. What a great story!

Mike, that's going to be a tough find. Are you a member of the National Woodie Club? From time to time I see one advertised, but condition is an issue. What does btt and bump mean?

I would check my numbers if I was you. I doubt very much that a 1949 "Woodie" was made in Sept 1947. What happened to all the 1948 Fords?

Your '51 is a little different than Jeff's '40 and my '46. We both have wood slats and thin material on the roof, so you can imagine how hot the interior can get. Because of your metal roof, you can use DynaMat insulation and hide it under your headliner material. With the proper AC set up and insulation you should have no problem keeping your car cool.

Vintage Air makes a great product. When I was building my '46 Woodie, I talked to the VA people when I went to the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville KY. The only reason I did not put AC in my Woodie is because the '46 has virtually no insulation in the huge roof area, only wood slats and top material. Because of this they recommended the largest unit they make. If I decided to use the AC unit they recommended, I would have had to weld up the cowl vent. I didn't want to do that so I just use the cowl vent and vent windows. They work surprisingly well at speed.

John, I don't know if you are a member of the National Woodie Club or the Early Ford V-8 Club of America but if you don't I would join. The V-8 Club offers a '49 to '51 Ford book, I know Ford and Mercury are similar so it might be useful. The NWC has an advisor for '49 to '51 Ford/Merc so that might be useful. The "Woodie Times" is the magazine of the NWC and you can write in for advice and questions. This forum is also very useful and has many knowledgable people on it. Welcome to "Woodie" world and keep asking questions!

I don't know if there is an answer to your question. According to the National Woodie Clubs 2014 Membership Directory, there are about 60-65 listed. How many that have been destroyed or hidden in barns can never be known.

Check out a company called Treehouse Woods. They sell all the reproduction interior metal parts for '40 Ford "Woodies". It's the small interior parts and door and window mechanisms that are going to be hard to find. Good luck with your project and keep us posted.

I don't know if you are a member of the National Woodie Club, but the advisor for 1949/51 Ford wagons is Rick McCloskey, rick@rickmack.com. If you aren't a member you should join the club.

You can try a company called PestSupply, 1-855-553-7378. There are different types of Powder Post Beetles, so give them a call to give you the best treatment. You really need to stop the infestation because if not they will ruin every piece of good lumber you have. The holes you see are holes made by the Beetles when they exit the lumber to lay their eggs. You have a problem my friend and you need to address it.

I would love to attend but I will probably be shoveling snow. You guy's have no idea how lucky you are! My wife's 8 year old cousin came to visit us from San Diego one year, and we were showing her some pictures of our winters and she said, "how do you people walk around in those heavy jackets and boots". Welcome to our world kid!!!

I have seen several Woodies that were finished using automotive clear coat. Most of these were on "hot rod" Woodies. I personally don't like clear coat on Woodies, to me it looks too "plastic". I like varnish when it comes down to Woodies because it just seems to add a rich, warm texture to the wood. Modern varnish is greatly improved over the product that Ford sprayed on their Woodies. The biggest factor is the addition of UV inhibitors. Tom, if your shop is dusty I would do every thing I could to improve that situation, dust is a killer of any varnish job.

Some of the other suggestions were, never buy varnish in a larger amount than a quart. He said by time you got halfway thru the gallon the varnish will turn onto a gel. When you are ready to use the varnish spoon it out of the quart can thru a paint strainer,into a clean cup. never dip the brush into the qt., also never shake the can, only stir it. Shaking will cause air bubbles. When you store the qt. can, turn it upside down to seal it off completely from the air. Air is the enemy of varnish. Always do your sanding away from the area you are going to do the varnishing. Blow your piece to be varnished off and then go over it with a tack cloth. You will be surprised how much you will get off your piece after you have blown it off with compressed air. Construct a "clean room", I used plastic sheeting stapled to my basement ceiling and walls. When you enter the clean room blow yourself off outside first. Have a small electric heater in the clean room and have a thermometer to let you know the temperature. Varnish loves 72 degrees. Once you have applied your final coat resist the temptation to touch up your work, you will only do more damage. After you are done, shut the heater and leave your clean room and don't enter till the next day. I know a lot of this is common sense, but every tip helps.

Tom thank's for your input but I agree with Mike, I drove myself crazy when it came down to start the varnish process on my wagon. I purchased several books that did nothing but further complicated the issue. As with anything there are always going to be conflicting suggestions. One book I read said the only way to get a "perfect" varnish finish was to use specialized "varnish Brushes" that cost about $100 bucks each. I stopped reading all the books and listened to a guy that restores furniture and he gave me several suggestions. He told me to use foam brushes that cost $.99 and my varnish job came out great. He gave me several other suggestions that I will give if anyone is interested.

Very cool Joe. I especially like the roof racks. Body looks pretty straight from the pictures. 18 hours without a pit stop? Wow my 68 year old kidneys would have failed me after an hour! Good luck with your new car.

Any National Woodie Club members going to Hershey, the NWC site is on the Chocolate Field, CL 1-2.

The 4th annual Yarmouth Port, MA, "Woodies on the Green" will be held on Saturday, September, 20th, from 10 am till 3 pm. Held on the Yarmouth Port Village Green, Rte. 6A and Strawberry Lane on beautiful Cape Cod. This is a nice woodie show that had 30 woodies last year. See the ad in the "Goin & Showin" section of the "Woodie Times".

Nickster, if you are talking about the pieces that hold down the rear door, bottom seal and also the rubber mat goes up to, I don't think anyone is reproducing them. I looked, and what I wound up doing is cutting down a pair of 4 door sedan pieces that I purchased from Bob Drake.

I would also try the "Woodie Times", but if you don't mind, I don't think $400 for four door latches is a lot. I would think you are going to pay a lot more for original latches, IF you can find them. Pleasantville Mfg. Co. reproduces Model A Station Wagon bodies so they might be able to help you. Good luck!

Unless they changed their materials, the LeBaron Bonney top kit for station wagons does not use foam padding. The first thing that goes down is the Cotton Drill Inner Liner, this is the material you see when you look up thru the roof slats. Next goes the Header Wadding Pad, only on the header, and last the T-65 Vinyl Topping. LeBaron recommends heating the rear corners but I found that the T-65 roof material goes on best on real hot days. I let it sit for about an hour and the heat allows it to pull tight.