The all-new 1949 Mercury Station Wagon was no rehash of older pre-war models. Ford and Mercury released the 2-door model with real wood panels but kept the Detroit-built steel bodies. The bodies were sent to the Iron Mountain, Michigan, plant, where they completed the wood panels and painting. The panels were laminated mahogany with maple framing. They also used a new laminating technique that significantly reduced wood use and improved durability. This is an interesting specimen from 1949, and it is available here on Facebook Marketplace in Ludington, Michigan, for a marked-down price of $8,000. The seller also says it is available to view, and you can make an offer! Thank you, Zappenduster, for this oldy but a woody!
The motor appears to be the original Flathead 239 cubic-inch V8. It was rebuilt in the early 1990s and hasn’t been run since 1995. Apparently, it has virtually no miles since the rebuild. When it went into long-term storage, the cylinders were oiled with Marvel Mystery Oil. Originally, this Flathead produced 95 horsepower. If original, the transmission should be a 3-speed manual.
The interior looks well-worn and will take a lot of work to restore to its original state, but I think it’s worth it. These wagons had a 3-2-3 seating configuration, and the original sales brochure assures us that it will fit eight “big” passengers. If you remove the rear seats and put the tailgate down, you have a storage platform 9 feet long, plenty of room for most standard surfboards! Strangely enough, Mercury boasted that the new unique 2-door design added even greater safety for children. I guess we were jumping out of the four-door wagons before this? Also interesting is the extra-wide doors, which made getting in and out of the back section a breeze.
The seller claims it is mostly complete, missing only the jack and the spare tire cover key. It needs a new floor, rockers, and doglegs, plus a full wood set. A quick internet search turned up several shops, including Rick Mack Enterprises in Washington and The Wood N Cars in California that sell full replacement wood paneling. Based on conceptcarz.com valuation figures for a 1949 Mercury Series 9CM station wagon, I see the lowest sale price was $8,162 and the highest was $198,000. Only 8,044 woodies were built in 1949. I don’t think it’s a gamble to say this one’s starting condition could lead to a very nice restoration for the money. I’ve never restored a 1949 Woody, so I know that is speculation on my part, but if any Woody experts want to chime in, I would appreciate it. Could it be a great surf wagon or a real showstopper in mahogany?
nice find but one comment–Merc’s had a 4″ throw, Ford retained the 3.75″ throw, making the Merc’s displacement 255 cu in and Ford’s 239 cu in. A hot-rod customization for the early (46-48) 239 cu in. was to replace the stock crank and rods with the 49-53 Merc’s. Then overbore another 1/8″. Just think a 1946 Ford with the same engine displacement (265 cu in) as a 1955-56 Chevy. Of course there might be a slight performance difference but the flathead sounded better.
Wonderful.