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I love old Woody wagons and cars offered without a reserve, so this ’41 Ford Woody is a match made in heaven. Oh sure it is going to need everything, including all new wood panels, but if you can snag it for the right price it would make for an incredibly challenging yet fun project! I also enjoy doing carpentry work, so perhaps this car appeals to the Do-It-Yourselfer in me more than the realistic and practical side. I’ve never attempted to restore a wood panel wagon, but I have heard they are extremely challenging, so be sure you go into this project knowing what’s in store. If you are up for the challenge, you can find it here on eBay in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania.
If I had the shop it needs for the work it needs, I’d take it on, wood work-n-all. The wood work would be close to mill work, shaping the back porting of the wood to match the body would be the challenge, but creating a mold, not so much. Frame up restoration, weekend project, good one to come by.
Missed the edit timing, time. At first glance and a second, it will require someone with a strong aptitude for detail in reconstruction of the wood frame and someone very patient with their own workmanship, but the wagon looks to have good bones.
I was at an auction at a junkyard that was closing in northern ca. There was one in the auction but due to termites there was not a single piece of wood left. All the metal was in good shape just surface rust. It sold for 50.00. Later I thought about it and some where I found a place that had the patterns for the wood parts of the body. I do not remember but it’s probably there some where on the net. At the auction I bought a 1963 ford fair lane 500 for 50.00 perfect except rodents had destroyed the interior no rust paint perfect ran perfect.
Found another with a perfect interior in same junk yard cost me 150.00 for interior.
It wouldn’t be a bad project to take on, if you’ve got lots of time and some reasonably good woodworking skills. Finding patterns for the wood wouldn’t be all that hard because there are a lot of groups that embrace the Woodie. To have someone fabricate the wood, I’d bet the bill would be over $20K. I’d be tempted to buy some more woodworking tools and tackle the job myself. I know of an investment banker who restored a ’33 Waco biplane and did every shred of the woodwork himself; if he can do all the wood on that and have it pass inspection then I can do the wood in a station wagon body.
It looks like there’s been some substitutions in the chassis. That definitely is NOT the stock rear axle and somewhere along the line there has been a change to parallel leaf springs instead of the old traditional cross spring. There will be some chassis work involved as well. I’d guess $30-$40K if you’re a purist and are doing the work yourself. I wouldn’t want to make a guess as to what it would cost if you had someone do it for you.
Cool,
I have owned 4 woodies and I like them.
My cousin still has one and we roared down the road in it earlier this week when he came by for a visit.
I saw one of these on CL in Nashville not long ago for $1600, seemed like a good deal, not very good pics, and not there anymore, woodies go for big bucks but probably cost more to restore.
Well….you can get any number of Woodie Body builders like Ron Heiden in Encinitas California to build you a body from scratch. I’d say 10-15 K. I may be low. Then you need all of the bits from door hardware to everything else, glass, the rest of the engine etc. Something tells me this will end up as a sheet metal donor to another 41. Thats the only way it makes sense to me.
Not my cup of tea or within my ambition/skillset…
But, Welcome to fantasy island…
It would be a cool project for a restorer/fabricator with vision to create an aerodyne art deco-ish boat tail design that incorporates a Riviera or c2 corvette back glass functional hatch, all out of wood (of course).
Done as if it were a prototype 1-up car…to be unveiled at “The Detroit Autorama Ridler Award”
Here’s an interesting bit on the “Ridler Award”…enjoy
https://autorama.com/awards/ridler-award/
No doubt quite ambitious and out there…well within the scope of, lets say a little shop like Leno’s…
Nuff said,
Nova