Full disclosure: I’m an unapologetic purist and cringe a little when I see Chevrolet power in a Ford vehicle. Having said that, this woody may have changed my mind (at least a little bit). Admittedly, the LS series of Chevy engines are amazing performers and have proven their worth over the past two decades. This 1946 Ford Woody Wagon has LS power and features a ton of modern touches. Found here on eBay with an asking price of $46,900, the car is being offered by Worldwide Vintage Autos. Check out more of this amazing cruiser below!
This car is said to be a genuine 1946 Woody Wagon and has been in California since new! The paint is original and has been clear coated to protect it. Amazingly the wood is said to be original and all of the chrome and bright work is “present and in good condition.” The rear windows also include vintage surf stickers and roof rack to complete the look.
As mentioned above, the engine is a fuel injected 6.2 liter LS3 that is bolted to an automatic transmission. According to chevrolet.com, the LS3 features 10.7:1 compression and is rated at 430 horsepower with 425 lb./ft. of torque. That should be more than enough to motivate this wagon. It also features power disc brakes and power steering, which round out a great modern drivetrain.
The interior has been reupholstered but retains the original style seat coverings on the bench seats. The dash is said to be original and feature the original gauges. The ad doesn’t say if the old gauges have been calibrated to function properly with the new drivetrain, but it does say there is an aftermarket tachometer along with a separate gauge cluster under the dash.
Overall, this is a really cool car! It should be reliable and will take you anywhere you want to go. Whether cruising to the beach or on a cross-country trip, it looks like a blast. Where would you drive this car first?
First of all I have no objection to up grading the drive line and brakes. I do how ever think that if your doing a Ford you go to the Ford parts bin, same applies for any upgraded car no matter the brand. Its better if its upgrades are brand loyal. I’m not big on patina so I think it should have been properly prepared and then repainted. To just shoot clear on it would not be a good end game as it will likely start to peel off in short order. I can’t for the life of me understand why people like seeing an old car like this with a run down appearance. JMO.
The outside can only be original once. I think it looks cool as is. You can find lots of perfect woodies for 100K but this one is like the good old days. And older people like myself like the memories this car invokes. 😊
I’d tour Yellowstone after loading the backend with loaves of bread and bottles of Alka Seltzer…….JK. When I was a freshman in ’68, I remember a senior having some sort of woody wagon. I see no mention of AC, though. Still, with the coolness factored in, one may not even need it
It doesn’t matter which box the engine came out of if you’re building specials.
Would you object to the fitment of a BMW engine in the same way?
@Derek. YES!
Why? It’s just a box with wheels.
I always wanted to do just that, as a to the “American iron only” hot rodders of my youth. :)
I would drive it into my shop..,and get that bowtie outta there!
“patina” is an old indian word meaning “needs paint”I guess
it isn’t rotting away somewhere,so that’s a plus,but I feel price
is quite high,and work quality..maybe not so much.
Very cool/scarce wagon,but I feel it should have a flathead,
or other blue oval engine,there are plenty of great ones to choose from.
I feel that way about most vehicles….keep it in the family…!..
Although I have a major aversion toward installing a Chevy into anything but a Chevy, I have to admit that they are adaptable, relatively cheap to repair and ultra reliable. That being said, I have to say that a woodie like this is not a good thing to install an engine that will propell you up to freeway speeds. Intolerable wind noise/whistles, squeaks and rattles go hand in hand with a woodie. The stock flatty would take this anywere you want to go and bring you back. Original paint in that shape? If it was mine, I’d sand it down and respray it. Other than that it looks like it would do just fine at my place….
I like the motor but would lose the whitewalls in about 5 minutes…
Sacrilege!!
Body shop!
Note: The clear coat did not “protect” the original paint, it destroyed it. That’s not patina, that’s shiny rust.
Our primary mode of transportation in the early 50’s……As a 6 year old I fell out of the driver’s side passenger door on the way to a drive-in theater and lived to tell about it. I fell on my head so no damage!
On a more serious note, wouldn’t the chassis,suspension and tires require “beefing up” to run this type of engine? For that matter, why not a Coyote V8? While I’m not anal about mash-ups..I’ve seen plenty of Chevy V8’s in 914’s and 911’s., a car such as this should have Power by Ford.
I saw a car very like this one at SEMA last year, with a Coyote engine in it – I’d hate to have to work under the hood, because the Coyote is HUGE. I think a small block Ford would probably be a better choice, with a Sniper or FAST self- learning throttle body. With aluminum heads, the SBF would also be pretty light, and in the same price range as a new LS, especially when you consider the added wiring needed for a Coyote or LS swap. I’m just glad to see this baby back on the road instead of rotting away somewhere.
A Ford 5.4 mod motor would have been fitting .
Two things I vehemently dislike about this: 1) Another boring LS swap, in the wrong make no less. 2) Some tool thought it was a grand idea to apply clear coat over patina (fancy way of saying rust these days). What better way to show off your ride desperately needs a paint job than by making it shiny.
Clear paint over rust, no thanks. If you must clear coat it, at least do it in MATT, not gloss, but better still leave it alone.
I believe it is for sale so anyone could buy it and do it their way. Pay up and take your chances fellas.
Clear coated original paint looks as stupid as that Challenger does.
Only thing worse than a Chevy in a ford is a Chevy in a mopar.
That’s sacrilege.
Any self respecting MOPAR would either regurgitate the engine, or commit harikari.
Tell that to the big block chevelles and camaros that I left in the dust with my small block mopar. The engine still survives in my street rod. It didn’t self disintegrate.
all the HEMI super stockers Wish they had a Grump Small Block eh
To each his own people. . Crummidy, if someone wants to put, a bow tie in it so what. People you need to get off your high horses. If you don’t like it then buy it and change it.
Some people are naturally purists. Don’t knock us here on Barnfinds. Stay on Facebook or Twitter if you want to be like that.
Ba HumBug.
To contribute to the mayhem let me say I would of installed a 5.0 Ford and let it go at that. Maybe not as sexy but contiguous with the car. And I’m on the side of those who say why clear coat over patina? But I’m not a patina guy: I’d paint the car and if the wood needs help do that, too. And right about the whitewalls; not on this car.
Well said.
There’s a lot of whining going on here, so I’ll put my oar in the water too. Personally, the biggest thing I see to kill enthusiasm for this particular car is the MII front suspension swap was installed an inch or more farther back than it should have been. Well, I hate that particular style of smoothie wheel too, they just look cheesy with that additional rib around the cap. Hmmmmm, am I becoming a “purist”? :)
I cringe when I hear how, that it is just wrong to put a Chevrolet engine in a Ford and visa a versa. I just get tired of it, I have a 53 Ford P/U with a 351 Windsor and a 34 Ford Coupe with a 350 Chevrolet. Their like my kids, I love them both for different reasons, doesn’t make one better than the other just different. The coupe has had 5 different engines, since I have owned it (55 yrs.) 4 Fords, 3 flatheads, 1 SBF, and now a SBC, I have enjoyed them all for different reasons, and I own the car and its my choice, PERIOD! If you don’t like build your own car, and put whatever you want in it
As for this Woody I love it, I have owned several 46 to 48 Fords, but never a wagon or a convertible . This Car is actually A 1947, it was probably purchased at the end of the year and built with 47 trim, but some states would title them in the year they were purchased or Ford could of also been responsible, but it is very common to se a 47 with a 46 title.
I also think this car could be a very good buy, it is also an indicator that early Ford prices are going down. I will also defend Patina, I have had several Patina Cars and what I like is driving them and not being concerned about them all the time you are driving them, just like SBC they have a purpose.
Yep Joe, it’s got the ’47/8 park lights under the head lights, but it’s also got the ’42/6 lights above the grille. The key for me was the fender side trim above the bulge ala ’46 rather than on the bulge at the top ala ’47.
The reasons people use small block GM engines and LS engines are simple. The engines are compact and fit well in many older engine bays. GM provides support to the car hobby by offering complete kits for instalation. One can buy an engine with a matched transmission, accessory brackets, wiring harness, and computer all as a kit. They even sell matched emissions controls where needed.
As for the Coyote, it’s a great platform! I own two of them and love them. The engine is really wide, and does not fit easily into many older engine bays. The engines are more difficult to tune compared to a GM engine.
That being said, I probably would have built a Windsor block 351 for this car.
That could lead to steering problems down the road IMHA. That’s a mechanical problem that the person that installed it didn’t address when he mounted the suspension. I here that is one problem when trying to install a Ford in an older body. The engine is longer than a Chevy or MOPAR.
As far as the patina goes, if he spent the time to smooth it out before clear coating, why didn’t he just put a coat of paint on it? Money???
What’s up with that driver’s front fender? Patina is one thing, but that wing looks like it got caught on something and dented well past the wheel arch. Ah, what the hell, spray gloss clearcoat over that too! I’m really not down on the surf woody vibe but the stickers are over the top and no A/C with upgraded weatherproofing would have to be evident before I’d jump on this one.
I didn’t even finish the story after I saw the STUPID clear coat over the patina. I see that word one more time, and I’m out of here.
Patina, patina, patina!
I guess you guys from out of calif, don’t realize what a paint job costs in California. This car would be absolute minimum $5000.00 for a decent paint job.I don’t know if Colorado is much better.
WOW! What fun it is to squabble over an image on a screen! I get the Chevy/Ford thing.to a certain point… back in my heyday the desirable factor in putting a Chevy in another brand car was simply a matter of affordability. Then Chevy smallblocks we’re much cheaper to get parts for. I bought a 39 Ford (BUILT IN THE EARLY 70’s) with a 327/ 4-speed. I kept the hood closed. Now days, its a different story. The cost is escilated for the technoligy. As far as the woody is concerned… The car is on the road… good! The engine will produce WAY more power than that old frame can handle long term… not so good. That engine will produce WAY more torque than that wood body can handle long term… not good. Bottom line: To each his own! Now for the hypocrit in me: Fake patina: HATE it. GLOSS clear over real patina: despise it. Matt clear over real patina: tolerable as a temperary sealer until a good paint job can be afforded. The word: (patina) Ugh! I’m SO sick of that over used, lemming popular, trendy, substute for rust term… Oh… sorry… got caught up in the squabble…
The word patina is so overused!
This car has patina. The car is original and the paint has minor wear from it’s 32 years. From 10 feet the car looks great.
I cannot understand why not use a Ford power train. There are many good Ford engine and transmissions that would move that car along smartly.
Blah, blah, blah. Back to your La-Z-Boys, whiners…
If I were about to buy an old vehicle and saw clear-coated “patina”, I would walk away. Why go to the expense of showing me that the old girl has been left out in the elements? Paint her! ( As for the cost of a paint job in California, with this old girl, they saw you coming.) A flathead 8 would serve this girl proudly and get her back on the road. Upgrade the brakes, steering and fuel delivery. Then get her back out there where she belongs.
He should have done a chevy Woodie. Could have used a Coyote.
Another bastardized old Ford. I’m so impressed.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a “purist”. I don’t mind changes made to a vintage car if it can be done without ruining the exterior or interior of a car. That being said, I can’t say that I appreciate what’s been done with this Ford woodie wagon. While I wouldn’t mind a V8 engine under the hood, I don’t like the Chevy V8 engine. Nor would I tolerate a floor mounted control for the transmission, nor would I tolerate the aftermarket gauges underneath the dash. It already has gauges in front of the driver, next to the speedometer. I’d give it a small Ford V8 engine, or a V6 engine, and a column mounted control for automatic transmission.
Uncle Bob, You are right the fender trim and hood trim is 46. I jumped because they painted the park lights black. Why would you want two sets of park lights. On a woody not to much else to check except wind wings should crank out, if it is 46. If 47or 48, aluminum floor panels. My educated guess now is its a 46, with the side trim and hood, my bad, I over reacted . Side bar, I like it, and think it could be a good buy!
Ok, I’ll bite on this topic. Personally, I have no qualms about what engine is going in what make….it’s someone else’s car…not mine…they can do as they wish. If it was me personally doing the swap, I’d have gone with a Coyote engine. But that’s just me. Though it seems a little odd to me, I don’t mind a Ford engine in a Chevy and vice versa. However, for some reason, the thought of a Ford or Chevy engine in a Mopar makes my left eye twitch.
One more for the MOPAR guys.
Ugh! What a creepy thing to do to an “original” paint finish. Now, of course, it is no longer original. Either paint it or leave it alone!
Don’t understand why people think that GLOSS lacquer & not a MATT type? Just ruins the whole Patina look