Chevrolet produced 3.8 million Cavalier-branded automobiles between 1982 and 1993. But none of them had a body made of wood. This one-of-a-kind oddball is based on a 1985 edition of the Cavalier, of which nearly 384,000 were assembled. We don’t know the history of this vehicle or why this conversion was made, though the tag on the rear deck saying “Lake Buggy” suggests it could have been built for a resort. Located in Homer Glen, Illinois, this termite attraction is available through a dealer for $6,995 here on Facebook Marketplace. “Wood” you be interested in this set of wheels? (Sorry, but the seller uses a lot of these puns!).
The Cavalier was the successor to the Chevy Monza, so it deployed front-wheel-drive and transverse-mounted engines, as was the growing industry trend in Detroit. The Cavalier that served as the donor for this weird wagon wore blue paint and had a 2.0-liter inline-4 with an automatic transmission. All of this seems to have been retained, as anything metal for the outside of the car and the passenger compartment is now made of wood (hopefully pre-treated for the future effects of Mother Nature).
We’re assuming this vehicle is roadworthy, but we can’t help but wonder about its integrity if you had the misfortune of getting hit by a semi. This Chevy is the ultimate definition of a “woodie”, and a small forest must have been used to provide all of the materials for this unusual ride. When the transformation was completed (it still begs the question, why?), the car was retitled as “1985 Assembled” and given a unique VIN assigned by the state where all of this work took place.
Even the interior of this thing is all wood, so hopefully you won’t pick up any splinters from sitting in seats that can’t possibly be comfortable. If you contact the dealer here on www.Survivor-Cars.com perhaps they can give you more background information. But it begs the question, what would you do with this car if you bought it? Firetruck? NO. Cars & Coffee? Probably not. Resort shuttle? Maybe. Kudos to T.J. for one of the wildest tips we’ve ever seen!
Wild post Dixon ⛱️ 🪵
🎸 🏄♂️ ” Early in the mornin’ we’ll be startin’ out…Some honeys will be comin’ along…We’re loadin’ up our Woody with our boards inside…And headin’ out singin’ our song “
I’d say some sales person is looking for another job after taking this one in on a trade. See, thing is, this represents an incredible amount of work. Everyday after coming home from the lumber yard( cough) they did a little more, for years perhaps. Problem is, nobody cares, and seldom are these “creations” attracted to anyone else. Not to say some wood creations are cool, American Pickers found a home made hot rod out of wood, that was really cool. This is downright embarrassing. Some sicko will buy it to set on fire and get out the marshmallows.
Instant woody killer…
Maybe it’s a “lake buggy” because it floats? Maybe that’s the genius behind this build? Worth a try!
I’m looking at that interior. Do those seats have an adjustable lumbar support? Are the drivers side and passengers side air bags made of wood as well?
All kidding aside. A lot of work went into it, and who knows? It just might find a new home.
You mean lumber support, right?
I like yours better!!!!
Lumbar or lumber🤣🤣🤣
Not one of a kind, I’ve seen several cars made of wood but still cool 👍
Time to stock up on Lemon Pledge.
Makes me pine for the old days, I wood think it be more poplar with this crowd of knot heads, wooden take much to spruce it up, these things always kindle interest and some sap will buy it, think of all the folks milling around at cars and coffee just to say they saw it, wonder if that 2.0 can bark the tires, enough bad puns time to log out, don’t like my humor? kiss my ash!
As a fellow writer, that was damn good. And you didn’t even use AI, right.
Around here, AI means Artificial Insemination, we’re a couple of dumb ol’ farmers!
Brilliant!
The end of an era, the final “woody”
So sad to think that some trees died for this!
Lumber-ghini or Fir-rari
BRILLIANT!!!
I expected to see a stock-ish interior. The amount of work to create this has to have been huge.
no ‘sheet metal’ skills? A’la these results is my thinking.
Naughty pine is hard to fine these days.
i wonder if he got an A in shop class ?
I’m thinking weird maybe the understatement of the year here.
I appreciate the work involved. Not the outcome.
You’ll need your Terminix guy to service it
Would I have to get it inspected by a pest control service like you do prior to buying a house? Can I get a pest control bond on it after or a monthly service?
Who knows what goes on behind closed garage doors when the builder is under the influence of mind-altering substances?
I presume that a carpenter had a car with salvage title in a state where you can’t register a branded car. He was being resourceful and used wood for the heck of it. I think it’s rather smart.
“ we can’t help but wonder about its integrity if you had the misfortune of getting hit by a semi.”
– what would happen if a comet hits the earth, makes you wonder?
“ But it begs the question, what would you do with this car if you bought it?”
– what would I do with a car if I bought it…. Hmmm???
If I were the editor I’d send this write up back, reading it makes you wonder if a 5 year old wrote it.
Obtw is the writer royal? What’s with the “we”? Speak for yourself because I don’t have any of these thought issues the writer is describing in this article.
ASVAB waiver
With respect…
~us
I wonder if anyone ever got knotty in the back seat.
I guess that I’m in the minority. I can’t of any treevial things to say about this lumber wagon. If you got hit by an 18 wheeler you wood just have to sweep up the tooth picks. And Jim Randall, you are the champion of treevial sayings!
Wood you? I woodn’t.
this is tsking “re-body” to a whole new level…
At least they didn’t ruin anything of value
The most difficult part of owning this might just be finding an auto insurance policy that offers a termite coverage rider.
In all seriousness, looks dangerous to drive. How does it handle? That steering wheel alone is dangerous. I bet it is not road legal. The first cop who saw you on the road is going to pull you over and do an inspection that I assume you would quickly fail. Too expensive for a dedicated parade car. Such a waste. I hope the car that gave its life here, was in poor shape.
The sheer danger of it is the attraction.
Unique? Definitely! A really, really lot of work to create? For certain. Would I want it? Not unless I was wealthy and eccentric. I’m not wealthy but I will not confirm or deny the eccentric part. Unless you originally built it at someone’s request for it I believe they might have a difficult time finding a buyer. Especially at basically 7000 dollars. A stock but not beat up, fully functional Cavalier would be a far easier sale. It seems more like a vehicle someone would build for themselves. If there was a labor charge and materials charge I’m fairly sure those 2 things would total over 7000. Another case of probably the parts and labor are well worth the asking price but the finished product is worth less. I do give a great deal of credit to the builder for the quality of their work though.
Rolling emergency? It already has the warning lights! I think a security vehicle for a campground/lake resort. The owner had nothing to do during the winter except to raze an old cabin. An he did have all his wood working tools. The town where this resides is about 35 miles from where I grew up. (Lots of trees there!) AND winters can be excessively cold. BUT! That is a “ritzy” town. I’m betting his HOA didn’t approve of that vehicle “setting roots” on THEIR streets! HOAs and sense of humor are 2 mutually exclusive terms.