Tom Boehm

Great idea for a thread. I hate any sanding. It is necessary and makes all the difference in a quality job. I also hate cleaning the spray gun after painting. On the other hand, parts cleaning, the final coat of paint, and sandblasting are all instant gratification.

1940 Lasalle Woodie Ist picture 1997 2nd picture 2019 Notice the skid marks in the first picture. My neighbor had to drag it off the flatbed with his tractor. I am reusing as much as possible. The wood and the middle and rear floors were replaced. In general everything else will be original.

Hello Bob, I am the guy with the lasalle woodie refered to in a previous post. First, I doubt there are any drawings or directions available for a 1941 chevrolet woodie. Is the wood you have reuseable? Or do you have to reproduce it? I would suggest looking on the internet for pictures of 41 chevy woodies so you can get an idea of what pieces go where. Also I suggest you join the National Woodie Club so you can get access to their roster. The roster is categorized according to type of car. So all the owners of 41 chevy woodies are listed together. Contact other owners to get questions answered and pictures. I would recommend traveling to see some in person. I did that with my Lasalle. Also the NWC has a library housed at the AACA library in Hershey. That would be a great place to look for any info that does exist. What state are you in? There are 8 1941 Chevrolet woodies in the NWC. Wood station wagon bodies were supplied to Chevrolet by 2 outside companies in 1941, Cantrell and Ionia. There are slight differences between the two. Do you know which you have? Cantrell bodies have the horizontal door rib on the lower third of the door. Ionia Bodies have the horizontal door rib on the top third of the door. There are differences in the beltline wood also.

I am restoring the tailgate hardware now. I was lucky that most of the custom made/hand made body hardware was with the car. However it was all very rust pitted. I skimmed each piece with bondo and sanded it smooth. The piano hinges for the tailgate and back doors were rusted solid. I blasted them and soaked them in Evapo Rust for a month to get them loose.

Very nice! Looks like a fresh restoration. What kind of wood is on framing/panels? Is there any stain on the wood or is it just varnish? What brand of varnish did you use? I am restoring a 1940 Lasalle woodie. I have pictures on another thread in this NWC section.

I need 2 just like the picture. The base is 1 inch x 2 3/8 inch. The wide end of the wedge is 5/8 inch wide.

It is a 1941-1948 Pontiac.

https://oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/tag/woody/ A post war chevy woodie on a truck chassis is a good starting point. It may not be easy to pin down exactly what vehicle this came from because Campbell built the same basic body on many different truck chassis with many wheelbases.

I used to have a big black snake in my barn/workshop before I enclosed it for HVAC. It ate the mice for sure but then "redeposited" them on my tools. It also left skins behind. That's how I know it was at least 5 feet long. I put traps out about once a year now.

Only the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser model in 1958 had the chrome ornaments by the cowl. This is not a T.C. Also I think the hood ornament has a shadow under it which distorts the appearance a little bit. My vote is for a 1958 Mercury.

I thought the same as 5219 above. I don't think that is Henry Ford.

I think this is a 1936 Buick. Check out the chrome hood side panel decoration, the steering wheel, the rear suicide door, and the shape of the windows. used 1936 Buick Special 8 | Lakeland, FL For Sale in Lakeland, FL 21667 | Primo Classics International LLC

Not a Lasalle, grill opening too wide and the hood side panel chrome decoration wrong.

Thank you! My short term goals are to restore and paint the 4 piano hinges and the tailgate hardware and then build the tailgate. I probably won't have new pictures until spring.

i suspect the ones with the keyhole shaped holes in the back are GM. The runningboards on my Lasalle have the same holes for bolts.

This patent picture of a 1940 Plymouth is the closest I have found. Mary Ellen's 1940 Plymouth is very close. The horizontal beltline piece goes through the rear post instead of ending at it as in the subject photo. Could the car in the subject photo be early production 1940 Plymouth? Maybe they made running changes in the production year. I like woodies and this question is a real challenge.

I looked at a lot of woodie truck pictures also. Truck based woodies have taller quarter panels than the vehicle in the picture.

Yes the car is a woodie station wagon and it is most probably made 1939-1942 era. I looked in 7 woodie books that I have and could not identify the make. It is closest to a '40/'41 Plymouth or a 1941 Oldsmobile woodie. I could not match up all the details for a positive ID. The car has large rectangular rear fenders instead of the more common teardrop shape of the period. Also the shape of the glass is unusual as is the straight rain gutter. This could be a custom bodied car.

The belt line molding and the thin chrome around the windows indicate to me that the third car is a 1939 or 1940 GM B body car. This body was used on certain models of Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Lasalle in 1939 and 1940. That is all that can be said for certain about the third car given how little of it shows. Those cars had suicide doors and I only see one door handle so my guess is it is a two door sedan. Coupes had a slanted b pillar.

Hello Mr. Puleo, I have been following your thread anonymously for years. I am fascinated by your efforts to make this Mitchell engine run again. But I have a question about the big picture here. Where are you in this restoration? What parts do you still have to make to run this engine? Are you going going to restore the entire car so it is driveable? What have you completed and what do you still have to do on the car itself? ( other than the engine). Do you have a goal of when the whole project will be finished? Thanks, Tom Boehm

Hello Mercer09, What are your plans for this car? Are you going to rebuild the wood yourself? Are you going to keep it or refurbish for resale? I went back and looked at the pictures in the for sale section.

On my woodie station wagon I use Elmers Wood Glue Max. It is "waterproof". Some wood glues are only "water resistant". There is a difference. When I have to glue a complicated assembly with many pieces I use Titebond II Extend Wood Glue. It is also "weatherproof" but it has a longer open time. It also dries lighter so the glue line is less noticeable. The Elmers is available everywhere but the Titebond II Extend I got at Woodcraft. I used AAbatron wood consolidant epoxy on rotten wood only to hold it together so I could remove it without falling apart. I am reproducing the entire body. I don't have a strong opinion on using soak in epoxy to save original wood. Remember that these cars will be pampered in a garage away from daily exposure to weather. It probably will suffice to save original wood when used properly.

When I disassembled the middle floor of my 1940 Lasalle Woodie I found horseshoe nails and pieces of coal. After researching the history of the car it seems a previous owner in the 40's and 50's was a farrier (horseshoer) from St. Louis. Among his "customers" were the Budweiser Clydesdales.

I sent you a personal message. I am interested in buying. Tom Boehm 1940 Lasalle woodie.

Hello Trimacar, The fabric backing is actually canvas. Can that be stretched also? If it has to be seamed, how is it done? By stitching? or by heat sealing? How does the seam become waterproof? Your comment about SMS's instock availability concerns me. I have heard that many times about them. Is there some way to verify if they actually have the material in stock? This material is exactly what was on the car. Thanks, Tom