In the 1930s and 1940s, wood-bodied station wagons were all the rage. But a lot of hand labor and custom wood materials were needed, so they became too expensive to produce over time. 1948 was the last year of the wood-bodies for Chevrolet, replaced by “tin woodies” with faux wood panels that looked like the real thing. The seller has a 1951 Styleline Deluxe, which appears to have been tucked away in a barn for a long time. Located in St. Joseph, Missouri, this non-running project is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,000.
For the first few years after World War II, most domestically produced cars were warmed-over products from before the war. So, the 1946 to 1948 Chevies were largely reworked leftovers. When Chevrolet rolled out the 1949 models, dealers finally had something new to crow about. That’s when the decision was made to drop the expensive and maintenance-prone wood-bodied station wagons for steel-bodied wagons that carried the aura forward. Chevrolet built more than 23,500 of these new-fangled wagons in ’51.
There is zero history offered on this Chevy, but the photos show a wagon that was forgotten about long ago. The pics provided are all exterior shots, and the body may be mostly okay. No interior images were snapped, so we don’t know the condition of the passenger space or if small woodland creatures may have had the upper hand. We assume a “Stovebolt” 216 cubic inch inline-6 is under the hood along with a “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission.
According to the seller, this vehicle is either a great project car or a good one for parts. If there was a title, it’s long gone, and the wagon doesn’t run (but will it?). If you’ve been in the market for one of these “tin woodies”, would you give this one a chance? Once again, “Zappenduster” dusts off the tips for us!
As far down as this wagon has sunk into that dirt, I have to wonder if there is any frame and floor pans left? And it’s been there quite awhile!