Tom Boehm

I suspected that these cars may just be leaky. I'm going to put a weatherstrip on all four sides of the tailgate/liftgate but I'm not going to worry about possible leaking.

Thank you for the nice complement from a pro. Only another woodworker would notice those things. Thinking ahead to when I drive the car, how do you prevent rain from leaking through the piano hinges on the liftgate and tailgate? I was thinking of putting a rubber weatherstrip between the leaves of the hinge that would be squeezed in the closed position. Everybody looks at me like "you're going to drive this in the rain?" Also what about the sides of the tailgate and liftgate? That is why I kept the gap tight so it would help out whatever weather strip I come up with for the sides. The original tailgate and liftgate had a clever overlapping lip design to prevent rain from coming through the horizontal seam between them. I replicated that. The original doors were designed with weatherstripping in mind. I will replicate that.

New tailgate pictures.

Hello John, there is a story on the history of Cantrell written by Walt Gosden in the April 2020 #187 issue of Hemmings Classic Car magazine. ( the same Walt G who posted on this thread). Also, are the pictures you posted of your Chevrolet woodie current? It looks like the original wood can be saved and refinished. That is tremendous. There is no such thing as an easy restoration but yours appears "easier". Your Ford and Nova look nice also. Palm trees? are you in florida or california or somewhere in between?

Thank you! Will have tailgate pictures soon.

Great advertisement posted by Graham Man. It complicates the definition of "suburban" however. Chevrolet produced a truck based vehicle with a wood framed body covered with a metal skin they called the Suburban model. It seems Cantrell called their all wood station wagon body placed on Chevrolet car chassis a suburban also. I conclude the term "suburban" was a generic term in the 1930's referring to a light enclosed utility vehicle, like "suv" is today.

Here are some links to info on Campbell and Cantrell. On the Campbell info there is a picture of a 1936 Chevy woodie and a paragraph about 1936 Chevy woodies. Mid-State Body Co., Campbell-Built, Campbell-Midstate Body Company, Robert Campbell, Woodie, War Wagons, Woody - Coachbult.com J.T. Cantrell, J.T. Cantrell & Brother, Suburban, Woody, Woodie, J.T. Cantrell & Company, Huntington, Joseph Theodore Cantrell - CoachBuilt.com

Rocketraider, Woodie body builders such as Cantrell or Campbell continued to build wood bodies for Chevrolet truck chassis into the mid 1950's even though Chevrolet was selling car based woodie station wagons at the same time. John Kiernan, Yours is a car based woodie station wagon. Not a Suburban. Early Suburbans had sheet metal covering the inner wood structure. Remember to post picture or info about the body builder label.

I am talking about my 1940 Lasalle woodie. Custom bodied in 1940. I have the original back window wood frame but the glass and any possible setting material was gone. I got some rubber U channel from Restoration Specialties. I have already designed and glued up the frame but I have not finished fine fitting it yet.

The early Chevrolet Suburban had a wood framework under the sheetmetal like all cars prior to the all steel body of the mid 1930's.

Hello John, Your car is almost certainly a custom bodied vehicle since Chevrolet did not sell station wagons until 1939. Is it a car chassis or a truck chassis? An outside body builder such as Cantrell or Campbell built the wood body on the Chevrolet chassis. This was a common thing to do back then but custom built survivors are very rare now. Like the previous posters suggested, join the National Woodie Club and post some pictures here. On this forum there is a National Woodie Club category at the bottom of the forum home page. Unfortunately, it does not get much traffic but there are a few knowledgeable people on it. I am restoring a custom bodied car like yours. Mine is a 1940 Lasalle woodie station wagon. The wood body was custom built on the Lasalle chassis in 1940 by the Meteor Motor Car Co. Of Piqua Ohio. I am aware of only one other Lasalle woodie built by Meteor. Depending on how complete your car is, you may have to do some research to do an accurate restoration. Is there a decal or nameplate of the body builder anywhere on the car? Before the car manufacturers started selling their own station wagons, the bigger woodie builders had standard wood body designs they advertised to install on common car brand chassis that the buyer would supply to them. Ford was the first car manufacturer to offer a station wagon in 1929 on the Model A. Most of the rest followed in the late 1930's.

I had Joey Jesser at www.jessersclassickeys.com replace the locks and key them the same for 4 prewar door handles. 3 of the originals were gone from the car and I put together a set from swap meets etc.

Look at Restoration Specialties for window channels and lots of other things. Look at Steele rubber for everything rubber. Steele has parts categorized by make and a generic section. Same for Restoration Specialties. They probably do not have an extensive "International" section. I believe the parts you need are available but will be in the generic category. I am amazed I found all the rubber and window channel I need for my 1940 Lasalle woodie but it was not in a "lasalle woodie" category because there is none. There is a Metro Molded Rubber out there also. What is the matter with your window regulators and door latches? Also.........P I C T U R E S ! ! !

On the original wood, the slot is wider than glass. I found an appropriate sized U shaped rubber strip in Restoration Specialties Catalog. Since my original post I have determined Ford woodies used a U shaped rubber strip here. Thanks for the response.

Yes, Graham Brothers built trucks for Dodge before they went on their own and built cars with the Graham name. I have seen vintage print ads on the internet for Cantrell/Dodge vehicles. Are you going to restore/replace the wood or drive it as is?

I am building the rear window/liftgate frame for my woodie. Is it necessary to put a U shaped rubber channel in the rabbet that accepts the glass? How is it on other woodies out there?

That actually looks good for sitting under a tarp outside for 31 years. Without the pictures I would have assumed it to be much worse. Deciduous trees in the background = humidity. Do you know who the body builder was? Any history on it?

The top one is from a 1940 Lasalle. The center should be red and the letters black. 1939 were the same but the center was black and the letters were white. The bottom one is from a 1937 and 1938 Lasalle. The center should be red and the letters chrome.

Yes, I leaned on the guy a bit to persuade him to restore it. As you can tell I have strong thoughts about street rods. However, I have to remind myself that a street rod is not illegal or immoral. I like the camaraderie in the old car hobby with people who work with their hands, street rodders included. There is far more in common than not.

Why did you buy it then?

Hello Tom, I encourage you to restore rather than street rod this truck. It appears to be a complete and intact example of a fairly rare woodie. You have a lot more to work with to begin with than I did. If interstate driving is a must, you can get an aftermarket overdrive unit. Mine is 100% stock and that is a situation I may have to deal with when it is finished. The rear axle ratio on mine is 4.31 : 1. Cantrell is another possibility as to the builder of your woodie. I am originally from St. Louis. My dad and I heard about this Lasalle woodie at a swap meet in St.Louis in 1985. It was in a barn in Illinois nearby. The seller was not actively trying to sell it. Long story short, I did not buy it until 1997. After much research, it is one of two 1940 Lasalle woodies I know of. Both custom built by Meteor Motor Car Company of Piqua Ohio. The body design on my Lasalle is very square. The only "third dimension" area is above the windshield and that turned out to be not as hard as I thought it would be.

Hello Tim, Did you start with the person you bought it from? Who did that person buy it from? You could go backwards that way. I did that with my 1940 Lasalle. I did not find the original owner but I did find out a lot of interesting information about it along the way. I traced it back to about 1950. Be persistent and leave no stone unturned.

Nice truck! There is a lot there to work with for an accurate restoration. See my post on my 1940 Lasalle woodie in this section. That was smart to have the seller treat for powderpost beetles. Make sure the infestation is dead before you bring new wood into your shop. Ask me how I know this. There are 17 International woodies in the roster of the National Woodie Club. You should join to do some networking if you are not already a member. Are you going to make the new wood body yourself? Feel free to contact me, I have been through the learning curve already. Do you know what company built the original wood body?

Post in the "parts for sale" section of the Cadillac and Lasalle Club's website forum.

That transmission goes with a Cadillac flathead V8 1938-1948. 1937 and before were floor shifts. It is nearly identical to the transmission in my 1940 Lasalle.