OLDTINPUSHER Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 1951? dodge woodie wagon. wish it was in a little better shape. Gonna shrink wrap in plastic to transport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Could be 1949 through 1951. I think it's a '49 given the reveal just below the windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silverghost Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 I've done some pretty tough auto resorations over the years~ Also a fair number of tough antique mahogany wooden speedboat restorations & rebuilds~~~Boy~ what a ambitious woodie restoration project you have picked-up ! You have much more ambition and guts than I do today ! Post some more photos as you begin your restoration ~ I wish you the very best of luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89tc Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Wow, that's interesting, whats the story with it? My guess is that the owner parked it there 40 years ago, and from the close proximity to the road, has been asked many times over the years if he wanted to sell it, but didn't want to. It's probably known around town as "the old woody" too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 There was a story this year in Hemmings or our own Antique automobile about a guy who has two of these in California. He restored them both. If you can find it, you should contact him. I think a woodie of any kind, in any condition should be restored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDTINPUSHER Posted December 8, 2010 Author Share Posted December 8, 2010 NOT PARKED NEAR A ROAD. PARKED BEHIND A HOUSE, DOWN A DIRT LANE. BEEN OUTSIDE IN THE FIELD FOR 10 PLUS YEARS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 NOT PARKED NEAR A ROAD. PARKED BEHIND A HOUSE, DOWN A DIRT LANE. BEEN OUTSIDE IN THE FIELD FOR 10 PLUS YEARS.Accent on the "plus"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89tc Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Ya, more like ten PLUS 30 years.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrspeedyt Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 until it is restored.... it makes good 'yard art' ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDTINPUSHER Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 WELL IT MADE IT HOME IN ONE PIECE OR SO. I'VE LISTED IT FOR SALE IN THE 4 SALE COLUMN. I COULD NOT LET IT BE CRUSHED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silverghost Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 And here we all thought YOU were going to restore this tough project ! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89tc Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Well I'm hoping that it will be saved... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDTINPUSHER Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 I HAVE ENOUGH TROUBLE WITH METAL, NEVER COULD HAMMER A NAIL STRAIGHT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Timthemailman Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 I think you just made some restoration guys cringe "never could hammer a nail strait.".Isn't that stuff tounge & groove and tapped into place, being cut to exact size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89tc Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 That's something I was wondering about, HOW did they put those things together in the factory? And why? Wouldn't it have just been so much easier to craft sheetmetal panels for the roof/sides and doors instead of having expert woodcrafters hand cut/fit each individual piece at the factory? I would think that they were real works of art that someone put ALOT of time into as they came out of the factory. Just amazing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rohn Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 it was in easier than building dies for the limited production these cars saw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Timthemailman Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I thought the "woodie" all came about do to the shortage of metal during WW2 and just after. Did I miss something? I looked pretty close to one once. As the son & grandson of carpenters I looked for nails or screws and it all looked tonge & groove to me. Even the headliner was of wood. Gotta be a woodie expert around here somewhere. Hope he sets us all straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Cocuzza Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I do not consider myself an expert on Woodies, but I have owned many in my lifetime and I have alot of experience with them. I have a 47 Town and Country sedan now.Woodies did NOT come about because of metal shortages during WW2. They were around long before that and were actually more or less beginning to be phased out AFTER the war. They were/are masterpieces on wheels and it took so much hand assembly at the factory and maintaining them, for many owners, was too much of a nuisance, which resulted in low sales. That is why they were replaced by the all metal wagons.The wood joints were held together by finger-joints (tongue and groove if you want to call it that) and glue. There was limited use of screws and nails, too. Why they were constructed this way from the woodworkers was probably the best way to do it as they were in business doing that type of work for many, many years. The question about why the companies did not just use metal as a form...My only reply is that during their heyday the woody was a symbol of luxury and status as well as being a useful vehicle to many. They were made in very limited numbers, also serving as nice window dressing in dealerships, and there was a sense of pride, in my opinion, that would drive the companies to manufacture a car that most knew would not make a lot of profit. There were also words such as QUALITY, CRAFTSMANSHIP, etc that have been lost through the years as profit margins rule the day. Mass production, cheaper materials and quality, but in the end, higher prices.The beauty of Woodies is that they will NEVER be made again. We all heard that argument when America stopped manufacturing convertibles in the 70's. We all know that didn't last. But making a car out of wood today or in the future does not fit into the scheme of things and the cost would be astronomical.All that said, we need to preserve as many of these cars as possible.Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 If it was anything like the furniture industry, a modern woodie would be made out of pressboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Cocuzza Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Dave,Nice thought, but.......I don't think they would even use pressboard, as that is actually, almost, nearly, considered "really" wood. I mean, it does have the word "board" in it which could be misconstrued to mean that there would (wood) be real wood used in making it.They would probably use a resin or cheap plastic (NOT FIBERGLASS - LOOK AT THE PRICES OF VETTES) and say it is a Woodie and try to market it as such. CANNOT AND WILL NOT HAPPEN - I HOPE!!!!!Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stexch Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 No discussion of woodies would be complete without paying homage to the excellent vinyl "wood-like" stickers on the Ford and Chrysler wagons of the '60's & '70's. You could even get this treatment on your K-car convertible! Just hope you never had to remove it.On a more serious note, metal dashes painted to look like wood in the '40's &'50's had a very nice appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silverghost Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 (edited) Maybe we can talk Norm Abram of PBS's New Yankee Workshop into taking this woodworking, cabinetmaking project on for next years entire season of new shows~ I too would like to see this woody saved~I do have my doubts as to it really ever being done~ It would be a real "Labor Of Love" ; and not for the faint of heart ! Edited December 14, 2010 by Silverghost (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Brad, we must think alike. I have long wished Norm would do a woodie for us. I think he's one guy who could do it. Team up with somebody to do the rest of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hddennis Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 A while back an older woodworker and I were discussing woodies and when I asked wouldn't it have been simpler to go with metal and he brought up a point I never thought of. He said that today a woodworker is considered a highly skilled craftsman who has studied his craft. In the late 19th and early 20th century almost everyone worked with wood in one form or another and it wasn't nearly as hard to find people capable of turning out this type work as it was a much more familiar medium to work in during the earlier days of automobile construction.Howard Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I have dragged home many relics like this one. I find, instead of shrink wrap, a large piece of shade cloth, covered with a cargo net works best to hold all together. The air passes right through, and there is no flapping!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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