In the 1940s, the wood-bodied station wagon (aka woodie or woody) was popular. And increasingly expensive to build and maintain. So, after World War II, the genre began disappearing in favor of a full metal body. The last one built by Chevrolet was in 1951, so this 1952 Styleline Deluxe is one of the first “tin woodies” offered by the GM division. Loaded with patina and in excellent running order, this Chevy is available in Aroda, Virginia, and here on eBay for $14,500 OBO. A bundle has been spent on recent work.
The term “station wagon” was coined in the 1920s as a type of vehicle used to transfer people and their luggage from train stations to lodges. It would become a popular reference for all six-, eight-, and nine-passenger wagons that would become widely used by big families. Then along came the SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) and the station wagon was no more. For many years, their bodies were a combination of steel and wood, alluding to the rich and famous. But so much hand labor was involved – plus other factors – that car builders began moving away from that design and by 1950 they were all but gone.
Chevrolet gave up on the design in 1951, so the 1952 models were the first to use all steel, hence the term “tin woodie”. It seems like most of the automobiles built in those days had the word “deluxe” somewhere in the name, and Chevy was no exception. They produced nearly 13,000 Styleline Deluxe 8-passenger wagons in 1952 and this is one of them. We don’t know its history, but we do know that a tremendous amount of work, mostly mechanical, has been done to get the beast seen here back on the road.
This one is powered by a rebuilt 235 cubic inch inline-6 engine, paired with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission (still in its infancy as the PG was introduced in 1950). The latter has also been rebuilt and has the addition of a cooler. The seller provides a list of work done that is as long as your arm, so it almost becomes a matter of what WAS NOT replaced. The electrical system has been converted to 12-volt. Of course, the fuel delivery system has been gone through from stem to stern.
Rust has been held to a minimum and – if you’re into it – the wagon and its chrome bits have an ample amount of patina that you might want to leave alone. The interior is another matter, and it will need an extreme makeover, but then you’d have a wagon ready for regular cruising. Even the floor pans are new. The tires and brakes have been replaced, so you shouldn’t have to worry about rolling and stopping.
You’ll need to replace some seals on the doors and windows and a new headliner (in the box) is part of the deal. A set of fender skirts is also provided, but I’m not sure that they’d help with the look. There is no heater, so have plenty of blankets on hand for Winter rides! If you’ve been looking for one of these woodie-style wagons that’s not a basket case, could this be the one?
A Chevy motor in a Chevy, or a Ford, makes everything better.
Why would you even go there?
Go to your room! 👉🏻
Second go around on EBay
First listing had a starting bid of $7500 and to no ones surprise didn’t get 1 bid.
Way overpriced….try $2500.
BTW the first Chevy ‘Tin Woodie’wagon was in 1949 and the last Chevy full wood wagon was also in 1949.
Chevy built both models that year until mid year when the full wood wagon was discontinued.
$2,500???…..when? in 1980 something!
I would fix all the suspension running gears rebuild the engine new tires an wheels an drive it as is..but price is way too high.come down earth..
Read the article the brakes engine and transmission has already been rebuilt
The last all wood Chevy wagon I saw
Was a ’48 DeLuxe model I got running
for its little old lady owner after it conked out on her at the Kroger store
one Saturday morning while I was with my Mom. I recall seeing a lot of
these tin Woodies as a kid growing up in the ’60s. Most of them were used by handymen or house painters. I’ve
always liked these and I still keep wishing I could buy one. On this one,
I’d paint the trim around the windows
tan and add di noc trim to the indentations in the tailgate. The body would be that dark bottle green paint
that was popular on these cars back then. These were very attractive cars
for what they were and I really like it.
So true. In 1956 my parents needed some rooms painted in our brand new suburban home before it was finished and we could then move in. They hired this painter who drove this old Woody wagon that even then looked in rough shape. And the mess with his paint equipment added to this derelict look on the highway. He told us that he has been pulled over by the Chicago police so many times because the condition of his wagon makes him appear to be a vagrant. I think the lead paint fumes along with probable fumes from his engine effected his brain. He was always talking some kind of freezing method to achieve immortality and get defrosted some time in the distant future. The back of the wagon probably contained a stash of sci-fi magazines or at least empty bottles of booze.
Living on the North Side, I can believe it … after school and ten years of shoveling snow in the Windy City, I can say I never even think of visiting the snow out here … he didn’t have E-2 painted on the side of his wagon, did he …
My birth year so would like to own it and do minor restoration, and move us both to mild climate.
@ Doug, Same here as far as birth year. I love these wagons. Wife is not a fan of wagons. I still would purchase it regardless if money would allow it.
Same here, but ’51 … my bucket list is a ’51 Ford or Lincoln Zephyr … I tell my wife I don’t pick her shoes or kitchen appliances so she gets no say in what car I buy … she can’t drive a stick anyway … I wish you well …
My birth year also and I like wagons but I have too many projects already.
This looks like a good resto project. It may run and drive well enough, but I would imagine anyone who buys this would want to repaint the car, reupholster the interior, etc. It shouldn’t matter how rare the car is, nothing in this condition is worth more than $10k. I’d be willing to pay between $1k and $5k. That should leave enough to insure it, to buy parts for the car, etc.
The days of a $1,000 vintage car are long gone.
If you look at the ebay ad and all the parts that have been added and the new parts included in the deal and the work that’s already been done (rebuilt engine & transmission & new floor pans & more) this car would be a great project. There is enough new parts included to keep a person busy for weeks or months. The price is reasonable for what you get, it’s almost 2k miles away from me but I’d like to have it as a project.
I love it. I love it so. The only reason I say that is because we owned a ’51, but in dark green. I haven’t seen that cyclops stop light in years. The mini step to the third seat in the back. The pushbutton starter. All there, but I’m not nostalgic enough to spend the asking $ for a car that looks like it’s been submerged in a river for a few months.
My Dad bought a 1950 or 51 wagon just like this one. Strangely enough, it was upside down at the time! He had it righted and being a body shop owner, was able to pop out the roof and fix any other body damage. It was a good running car and was the 6-passenger style inside. He later sold it to a close friend who drove it for another 10 years.
In 1968 my dad helped me buy a 1952 Chevy 4 door at the local Rambler dealer. during the test drive we stopped in at the transmission shop and discovered that the [owerGlide does not self-shift: you have to move it from 1 to D if you need the low gear. We also desicovered, much later, the the PO did not do much maintenance like valve adjustment so a badly burned valve was the result. Pulled head and took it to a machine shop and then all that was left was those drum brakes. And the fiber cam drive gear that self-shredded. And the U-joint in the torque tube that fell apart and then welded itself to the torque tube. But I would still grab this if it were closer and my parking wasn’t already full.