Prices for complete wood kid 1942-1948

[Alecwhankins]

Has anyone got a quote for a complete wood kit recently? I am not in the market, just wondering what they are going for these days.

[46 woodie]

Well, whatever it costs it's only going to get more expensive if we keep losing the people that supply Station Wagon parts. Last June we lost Tom Kline of the Kline Family Workshop. Tom and his brother Mike were true craftsman and supplied the wood parts for my '46 Ford Wagon. The parts fit like they came from Ford with pre drilled bolt holes that aligned perfectly with the metal brackets. Tom and the Kline Family Workshop will be missed!

[Alecwhankins]

That’s one of my concerns, it seems like a lot of the craftsmen are retiring… etc. And I wonder who is carrying the torch. At the same time woodworking is such a popular hobby, so many people own cnc machines, and the car hobby is as hot as ever… it’s a wonder there isn’t more competition. 

[NewOldWood]

These are sills for a 41 Cadillac that I made and the original sill that I had to make them from. Computers just do what they are told, they don't compensate for rotten, missing, or warped wood. Even if the equipment to do that exists, it is going to be impractically expensive. Even in the case of custom wood bodies there are problems with working with an unstable medium such as wood that CNC operators would likely not have encountered. Building car bodies is a unique combination of art and accuracy. I have a friend who can freehand carve beautiful lifelike figures out of wood but who cannot make two pieces fit precisely together. I learned to do this type of work by doing it and as far as I know that's the only way to learn it. I have been doing it for a lot of years and so far have have found no one to pass the trade on to.

[Alecwhankins]

@NewOldWood you do incredible work, I love seeing all of your photos. I am restoring a 1947 Mercury and I am open to any and all wisdom you would like to bestow! I am missing a few pieces but my biggest hurdle (I think) will be making all the old pieces I have match and look uniform when varnished.  

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Alec, how much woodwork repair does your car need and are you considering doing it yourself? 

[Alecwhankins]

@Tom Boehm It's very complete-- I am missing the passenger "C" pillar, the driver's "D" pillar, some pieces of the roof, and I will need to make some repairs to the old wood I have. I intend to do all of the work myself. Luckily all of the pieces I am missing, I have the "reverse" piece on the other side I can use as a template. As you can see in the photos, the wood was stripped and is now dirty and has some water stains (excepting the the roof wood, I don't think it was wet for any extended period--the stains seem to be surface level.)

Edited January 31, 2023 by Alecwhankins (see edit history)

[46 woodie]

Alan, I admire your enthusiasm, but your station wagon is very needy and I think you need to rethink your "it's very complete" statement.  You "might" be able to save some of the door structural pieces but all the doors need to come apart and be addressed. As far as the roof is concerned both front and rear headers and the main structural driver and passenger side beams need to be replaced. Rotted wood will not re-generate itself and you have nothing to nail and screw to. Both require a lot of labor to install and fit correctly. I would suggest contacting the woodworking shops that advertise in the Woodie Times such as Ron Heiden and Mike Nichols and others for prices. I talked to Mike last month and although he went thru a tragic fire in his shop he plans to get back up and running soon. Do you have all the interior roof metal parts and window riser mechanisms and door handles? Your car is a desirable one and should be restored correctly. Are you a member of the National Woodie Club?

[Alecwhankins]

@46 woodie Yes I am a member of the National & San Diego clubs and I live less than 5 miles from Ron Heiden's shop. I have been too sheepish to talk to him because I intend to do the work myself and don't want to waste his time or anything. 

 

I fully intend to repair the rotted/damaged wood and understand that essentially everything will have to be taken apart, repaired/replaced and reassembled again. The roof is definitely the problem child of the bunch but, amazingly, the damage appears to be isolated to the outer laminated pieces; the wood looks fresh from the inside. The doors are a mixed bag, some pieces will be harder to repair than others but the good definitely outweighs the bad.

 

I think I have all of the "woodie specific" parts, i.e. the structural bracketry, hinges, door/tailgate handles, window/wing mechanisms, rear window locks etc.. EXCEPT the bolts and screws. I have the blind nuts, but no bolts or interior panel screws/washers. That being said, some of my parts are rusty and/or bent... particularly the expensive/shiny pieces like the rear bumper. 

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Alec, do you have woodworking experience? I am reproducing the wood body on my 1940 Lasalle 100%. Before I got the car I had some woodworking experience but I did not have nearly all the skills necessary to do a woodie. I made stuff with an 8" table saw and a router. To do the Lasalle I acquired a bigger table saw, a planer, a jointer, and a band saw. I took classes at Woodcraft to learn how to use them. I watched Norm Abram on the New Yankee Workshop on PBS for years till it wasn't on anymore. I'm not finished yet but I am very happy with the results. I have a high standard in mind and I will figure out a way to achieve it. 

[Alecwhankins]

@Tom Boehm very cool. That is a big project and must be quite challenging given the rarity! 
 

I’m just a hobbyist, I’ve never done anything approaching the complexity of this. I do have all those tools though. I also watch New Yankee workshop— I think all or most of the episodes are on YouTube now. I also bought stacks of woodie and general woodworking books. I think I have an ok handle on it, I just need to get cracking. 
 

I’m actually toying with the idea of doing 3D scans of all the woodie parts while I have it apart and converting them into CAD drawings for posterity. I’ve never don’t that before either but how hard could it be? (famous last words…) 

[46 woodie]

Alec, as far as looking for the screws, you can get away with common 5/16" flat head screws in most of the locations. A few years ago a gentleman named Ed Clarke had most of the hardware you need, but Ed passed away and his inventory seems to have disappeared. What you will need are the special screws used on the door hinges. They are flat head, but with a very small head. I did a lot of business with Ed and purchased dozens of rubber, anti-rattle balls for the tailgate irons that I reproduce. I also reproduce the tailgate counterbalance spring if you need one. I miss Ed and wish I knew what happened to his inventory.

[46 woodie]

Alec, I have only met Ron Heiden once, but from what I have heard, he is a good guy. If you are only 5 miles from Ron, I would take a trip to his shop and tell him what your exact plans are and if he can help and supply your wood parts. Show him your pictures and see what he recommends, what's the worst thing that can happen? 

[NewOldWood]

On 1/30/2023 at 7:21 PM, Alecwhankins said:

@NewOldWood you do incredible work, I love seeing all of your photos. I am restoring a 1947 Mercury and I am open to any and all wisdom you would like to bestow! I am missing a few pieces but my biggest hurdle (I think) will be making all the old pieces I have match and look uniform when varnished.  

I would say your biggest hurdle is going to be the roof header. If you can successfully copy that it will be all down hill from there. Do you have a way to cut finger joints? You're going to need that for the header and the roof side rail repairs, and possibly elsewhere. I have a duplicating machine that I use for the more complex parts, like the header. These parts can be copied by hand but it is much more difficult, not what I would call an entry level project. I'm not trying to discourage you, in fact I generally try to encourage people to do their own work. I honestly believe that the reason most people think they can't do this kind of work is that they have never tried. A certain amount of natural aptitude is going to be required, but if you've got that along with a strong enough desire to see the project through.....who knows. Keep in ming that at one time Heiden, Nichols, Kline, and myself knew nothing about building wood cars. We all figured it out, it obviously can be done. I would also be happy to answer any questions you might have along the way. Just look my ad up and give me a call any time.

[46 woodie]

NOW, it looks to me that the front header needs to move forward about a 1/2". Whats puzzling is the tenon is about an inch and a half back, towards the rear already. I don't think that the side rails could have shrunk that much, something is amiss.