1946 to 1948 Estate Wagons

[Guest BJM]

Most of us love the much admired and respected 1949 to 1953 Buick Woodies formally known as Estate Wagons.

I see these years often on for sale sites and in publications but I can't think of one time I have seen a 1946 to 1948 Estate Wagon woodie at a National or in common reads.

My Standard Catalog (not always accurate) lists 786 Ionia bodied estate wagons only as a Super in 1946.

1947 expands to include the Roadmaster. Again, oddly - 786 Super Estate wagons are made in 1947 and 300 Roadmaster estate wagons are made in 1947.

1948 Super woodies production jumps to 1955 while Roadmasters account for 344.

It's not as if woodie production took off in 1949, yet we see relatively "many" 49 to 53 Estate Wagons in popular print. Has anyone seen a 46-48 Estate wagon ata show? Can anyone check the Roster for listed Estate Wagon numbers from 46-48?

Does a member frequenting the forum own one? This is a bit of a stewardship issue that Pete Phillips and I agree is a reason for 400 point judging (with competance) because these cars are like dionsaurs, we may only have bones some day....

Edited January 16, 2010 by BJM (see edit history)

[Centurion]

I believe that BCA member Sid Munger posts occasionally on these forums. He's the owner of a beautiful '47 Estate Wagon -- a Super, I think -- and he displayed the car at the National Meet near Seattle in 2007.

[Guest BJM]

Brian,

Wow. Lucky you!. I "assume" you took a boatload of photos.

I'll look for them when I check in later.

At partial issue her eis the change in body styles. Harley Earl , IMO, probably cared less about Estate wagons, he styled to a certain asthetic to be shared among all bodies.

So for 42-48 we see that Earl Airfoil styling with the swept back front fender into the rear that was lost with good reason on the advanced version of 49-53.

This is really troubling me because I can not picture in my minds eye the 46-48 Woodies. I know Buick made wood bodied estate wagons pre-war and those pop up from time to time but are "assumed" very rare.

46-48 they made about 3500? so it may be a case of so few left, yet so relevant.

[Centurion]

Sorry, BJM, but the only view of that '47 in Seattle is seen in the right background of Roberta's photo of a '49 Riviera. By the way, the Danbury Mint's 1:24-diecast replica of the '47 Roadmaster Estate Wagon is stunningly beautiful.

[Restorer32]

The '46-'48 Buick Estate Wagons were bodied by Hercules, not Iona. We are well along with reproducing an entire set of wood for a '48 we are currently restoring. Considerably more wood than the '49 primarily because the '46-'48 has a fabric covered wood slat roof unlike the steel roofed later Estate Wagons. The original wood is ash with mahogany insert panels. The Hercules parts catalog makes an interesting read as it enumerates and illustrates which parts were supplied by Buick and which by Hercules. The bodies are identical, whether fitted to a Super or Roadmaster chassis. I agree, you don't see many '46-48 Estate Wagons, possibly due to their complicated and expensive to reproduce all wood bodies. I love the lines. If you look at the side view of a '48 Buick and squint a bit you see the basic fender lines of an XK 120-150 Jaguar, another love of mine.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Jake, You see them occasionally. They are rarer.

[48Super]

The August 1996 issue of Cars & Parts magazine has an excellent 6 page article about a 1947 Super Estate Wagon including color pictures and a detailed listing of the vehicle features and specifications. A nice color picture of the car is also shown on the cover of the magazine. You can see this issue on ebay at:

Cars & Parts Magazine August 1996 '58 Packard '47 Buick - eBay (item 360182057439 end time Jan-18-10 09:47:30 PST)

[Pete Phillips]

If you can find a November 2006 issue of the Buick Bugle, that whole issue was devoted to the Buick woody station wagons of the 1940s. The reason so few 1940-48 wagons have survived is because everything from above the top of the fenders, and rearward of the cowl, is made of wood.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Sherman, Texas

1949 Super Estate Wagon

[Buick Bruce]

I think the main reason for the scarcity of pre-1949 wagons is indeed the fabric roof. They don't survive the elements as well as a metal roof, and by the early 50's they were "old fashion" and no longer stylish or desirable.

I guess I don't realize how lucky I am living within a half hour of Encinitas CA - home of the biggest annual Woody show in the US (maybe the world). Of the few car shows I attend, the Wavecrest Woodie show in Sept is always a must. Sid's 1947 Super is a regular at this show, and there's always other Buick woodies too.

[jscheib]

I was searching the Albany NY show site and found that a restoration shop in Albany area had restored one and the have a few phots at

Quality Body and Fender | Quality Body and Fender.net

I have no idea who they did it for and where it is now, but you can see a few photos at their site.

John

[Guest BJM]

Thank you to all that have responded and especially provided a photo persepective.

Of primary note, as my original posts pointed out - was how Hercules dealt with the Airfoil styling aspect of this period of Buick.

These are great looking woodies aren't they? Hercules used the Airfoil styling aspect as a "base" for a body style that essentially went back to the teens (depot hacks) .

So you get a modernist styling interpretation of the 42-48 Buick combined with the old mannerisms of woodie styling. In a post war environment that in no way needed to include these cars, we are lucky any were built ...or survived.

Buick could have just built Specials from 46-48 and done alright.

I don't think ANY 46 Supers survived (that's a challenge to find one)

[serb]

Here is one owned by a member of the Lake Erie Region Chapter of the AACA. His name is Mark schleicher.

This is the story from the LER website which can be accessed through the AACA website.

Mark Schleicher's 1948 Buick Super Estate Wagon

The first harbinger of spring for antique car buffs in Western New York is the annual Maple Sugar Festival in rural Franklinville. In April, 1991, I woke my 1950 Ford woodie from its winter hibernation and headed for the festival. As I was getting ready to leave the car show, a gentleman named Vern introduced himself as a retired dairy farmer and former mayor of Franklinville. He admired my woodie and announced that he had one of them-thar wooden station wagons in his barn.

It wasn't long before I was standing in a rickety old barn at Vern's homestead. Hidden behind a maze of broken doors, rolls of barbed wire, wheels, stake truck sides, and two iron cauldrons, was a light green 1948 Buick Super Estate Wagon covered with 36 years of dirt. It appeared to be very solid. Best of all, the wood was excellent. At first, I assumed the tires were flat. Upon further examination, I realized that they all still held air but the concrete beneath them had collapsed.

Vern explained that he and his parents had bought the woodie new from the Vincent and Wilday Buick Agency in Olean, NY. His father didn't drive and his mother always had another car. In addition, they had farm trucks. They stored the Buick in the barn every winter. In Spring of 1956, they never bothered to re-register it. The woodie had sat there ever since. It still had 1955 plates on it. The odometer read 34,151 miles.

The Buick passed my inspection and I convinced Vern that I was just the guy to restore his woodie to its original splendor. A deal was stuck. My first order of business was to clean up my new-found treasure. After washing the exterior, I proceeded to remove about three bushels of mouse nests. I suspect that I left a large portion of the Cattaraugus County rodent population homeless. The back was full of April 1956 newspapers. A headline proclaimed, "U.N. Seeks Mideast Accord". Funny how some things never change.

Once under the hood, I changed the oil, filed the points, connected a battery, and poured some gas down the carburetor. Like Rip Van Winkle awaking from his long nap in the hills of rural New York State, the old Buick coughed a few times and sprang to life.

Over the course of the next seven years, the woodie has been completely restored and commands a great deal of attention at local shows and club tours. It is a great driving car. I brought the Buick back to the Maple Sugar Festival in 2000 to show Vern the finished product. The big moment came for the woodie at the 2001 Buick Nationals in Buffalo where it won the Gold with a National Senior Award.

Edited January 18, 2010 by serb (see edit history)

[oldwood]

I thought I would chime in about REAL ie 1940-48 woody cars. The GM woody's of these years are very hard to find. I don't own a Buick woody of these years but I do own a '47 and a '48 Oldsmobile woody. There are only 15-16 of each of these years known to still exist. So I imagine the Buick is just as rare. Don't shoot the messenger as I do own a '50 Buick Sedanete.

[Guest BJM]

I thought I would chime in about REAL ie 1940-48 woody cars. The GM woody's of these years are very hard to find. I don't own a Buick woody of these years but I do own a '47 and a '48 Oldsmobile woody. There are only 15-16 of each of these years known to still exist. So I imagine the Buick is just as rare. Don't shoot the messenger as I do own a '50 Buick Sedanete.

Oldwood,

That's interesting too. Do you have a photo? I am not sure Oldsmobiles shared the "Airfoil" styling - which is basically the swept back front fenders ending at the rear fender.

Is your body by Hercules or Ionia?

[Guest BJM]

Here is one owned by a member of the Lake Erie Region Chapter of the AACA. His name is Mark schleicher.

serb,

Thanks - great story. Simply an awesome car. I think if I ever get a woody I want deep contrast between my paint choice and the wood. That pastel blue/green is beautiful.

[oldwood]

My '47 Olds is a Hercules build and my '48 is body by Fisher. The '47 Hercules body has more wood than the '48. There will be a '48 sold at the BJ auction this Saturday 1/23/10. BJ has a picture of this '48 olds on there web site. The grill of the '46,'47,'48 Oldsmobile is massive similiar to the '50 Buick.