For Sale:1948 Dodge Woodie Wagon B-Series Cantrell Body - $12,500 - Keene, NH - Ambitious Project - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale:1948 Dodge Woodie Wagon B-Series Cantrell Body - $12,500 - Keene, NH - Ambitious Project

1948 Dodge Woodie Wagon B-Series - cars & trucks - by owner -... (craigslist.org)
Seller's Description:

1948 Dodge Woodie Wagon B-Series 1/2 Ton Truck with 4 door Cantrell body, very rare - only a handful of survivors. This truck yard drives and needs a total restoration. Possible trade for other Mopars. We are asking $12,500.00 or reasonable offer.
Contact: If interested please call, (603) three-5-five-7-seven-1-six.
Copy and paste in your email:  beba01122ec13e04b2e2f6421aace158@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1948 Dodge Woodie Wagon B-Series Cantrell Body - Ambitious Project.

[plymouthcranbrook]

Never seen one of those before

[B Jake Moran]

Nor do I want to.  $12,500 or reasonable offer?  About $1,000.  Wood would cost $50,000.  Interior ? $12,000.  Chrome - $3,000.  Engine and drive train rebuild ? $10,000 +.  

[Twisted Shifter]

[supercub]

Looks like a neat wagon in the advertisement, but to redo the woodwork, I would rather build a lapstrake boat, and have more fun with it. Would make a great farm vehicle/ farm stand runner if it could be had for one or thousand, practically speaking.

[Walt G]

Cantrell had a long association with Dodge, since the early 1920s. Cantrell was located on the north shore of long Island about half way out the length . They also built bodies for Packard and at least 2 or 3 for Franklin ( on special order) one of the Franklin/Cantrell wagons was restored and is owned by a friend of mine  that I have known for nearly 60 years. I authored an article on Cantrell some time back and many years ago there was a photo feature in the AACA magazine on Cantrell bodied cars. I knew some of the people that worked for that company 50 years ago when they were in their 70s. The factory burned down several times because it was located next to a main rail road line and the trains that time were powered by coal, sparks from the smoke stack of the train engine would set the wood on fire in the yard of the factory !  Factory had to be located there because chassis were delivered in quantity by rail. Here is a period photo of the Cantrell factory.

Yeah I know I have to much stuff on coach work , but that is what happens if you have been collecting since your teen years - when most kids were buying comic books in the 1960s I was looking for old sales literature/magazines/photographs ....still am !

Edited May 26, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history)

[B Jake Moran]

Thank you for that Walt that was very interesting it would be great to go back and read that article you did.  

[Walt G]

One more Cantrell photo from the former employees family.

the two Cantrell brothers J.T. and Albert B. at the factory in the late 1930s/early 1940s.

 

[Porsche 68]

Got to love the woodys!

[Twisted Shifter]

More Cantrell info if you are interested:

https://www.dodgepowerwagon.com/woodie/cantrell-woodie.php

 

 

Cast-off bodies in Cantrell's yard:

 

 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Twisted Shifter (see edit history)

[Walt G]

That cast off body photo is from my collection and was used in a print publication some time ago - interesting story why they were there. Cantrell issued a few sales pieces, mostly single sheet like the one shown here for the late 1940s Dodge, but also a 4 page item for some Chrysler products and Packard issued a folder for the bodies that Cantrell built for them. Most of Cantrell advertising was in the society magazines of that pre war era : The Spur, Country Life as that is the audience they would be selling the cars to. There was a car dealership selling Franklins, DeSoto, Chryslers just a mile south of the Cantrell factory. Cantrell kept masonite panels in the shape of body panels for assorted makes of cars , so if they got an order they would take that shape and trace it onto the wood sheets to then carve out to shape.

To much information , to many stories here I can tell with all that can be documented by period photographs, images and information. Unfortunately no room for this available in the AACA magazine.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history)

[NewOldWood]

36 minutes ago, Walt G said:

.

To much information , to many stories here I can tell with all that can be documented by period photographs, images and information. Unfortunately no room for this available in the AACA magazine.

 

The National Woodie Club is always looking for woodie related content for the Woodie Times (the club newsletter). I recently built a wood body on a 1950 Power Wagon, the body on the truck was suposed to have been built by Campbell but Cantrell also built some of the original bodies, there was some discussion about that in the thread. If you were looking for a home for a Cantrell story I'll bet Roddy (Woodie Times editor) would love to hear from you.

 

[Mark Huston]

Cantrell built wagon bodies for Studebaker.  Here are early 1950s Studebaker Cantrell wagon that are on the Studebaker truck chassis.