For summer and beyond, here’s a stylish option primed to haul those bathing suits, surfboards, and picnic baskets – a 1954 Mercury Monterey woody wagon on craigslist. The asking price is $34,000 and the new owner can drive it home from Castle Rock, Colorado. Henry Ford was the first to generate a production run of wood wagons, inspired by Durant Motors’ 1923 Star, the first woody on the market. Ford believed in vertical integration – the idea that a manufacturer should own and do nearly everything required to transform its widget from raw materials to final product – so he purchased hundreds of acres of timberland in upper Michigan to supply his factories with birch, maple, and sweetgum. Boards were made into siding, trim, headliners, and roofs, while the leftovers were packaged into charcoal briquettes and sold under the “Kingsford” brand name. The first wagons were utilitarian but by the early 1930s, the woody had gathered an upper-crust clientele – they’re the folks who had staff to strip and re-varnish all that wood once a year. By the 1950s, manufacturers had figured out that buyers would go for faux wood trim – fiberglass with decal inserts on this Monterey. The new look was much cheaper to build and to buy, and much easier to care for. The “faux” fad had legs – we were buying “Squires”, “Estates” and Pintos and Town & Country’s well into the 1980s. In fact, I found a vehicle made from 2002-2004 with faux woodgrain sides – anyone know what it was?

Ford wasn’t the only maker pursuing the woody market, but despite the proliferation of models, production numbers remained limited. Aside from the extra care a woody required, they were expensive and heavy enough to sap performance. The advent of Ford’s 256 cu. in. Y-block V8 was helpful, boasting an output of 161 hp- up substantially from the flathead V8 at about 125. This example is equipped with a Merc-O-Matic three-speed automatic from Borg Warner. The motor and transmission were rebuilt in the last few years, and the radiator, exhaust system, and many other components were replaced. A disc brake upgrade was performed – a beneficial swap from the original drums given the unruly traffic we all live with these days. The seller has receipts for the work performed. The odometer stands at 64k miles, stated as original, and the wagon “runs perfect”.

The two-tone interior is in nice condition, with minor fading, wear, and mismatched colors on the upper dash. The cargo area is especially spiffy. The seller suggests restoring this wagon or driving it as-is; I don’t think any feature is bad enough to warrant a restoration. I love the funky gauges, and the aircraft controls above the steering wheel for the ventilation system.

The underside shows off the new-ish exhaust and otherwise testifies to a reasonable level of care throughout this wagon’s life. If this woody seems familiar, we wrote it up in January, when it was languishing on eBay at a starting bid of $20k with no takers. Just as woodies were a niche market when new, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea today either. Thanks to T.J. for spotting this one for us again!