In its heyday, the wood-bodied station wagon (aka “woodie” or “woody”) was something of a status symbol. The body was made of real wood, which meant a lot of handwork was required, which also made them expensive. Chevrolet’s last true woodie was built in 1951; after that, they began hanging “fabricated” wood paneling on the sides of the machines. This 1952 Chevy Styleline is one such wagon, but it’s devoid of an engine or transmission, providing a clean sheet for a buyer. Located in Adrian, Michigan, this Chevy is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500.
Ford got into the “woodie” game in the late 1920s, while it took Chevrolet another decade to get there. They were often placed into service as estate cars or true “station wagons” until they became cost-prohibitive to build. The 1950s ushered in steel-bodied wagons, including the Chevy Styleline Deluxe which saw production of less than 13,000 units in ’52. That would include the seller’s green woodie that once had a 216 cubic inch inline-6 and a “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission.
We’re told this wagon is set up for a V8 engine, but that has to be a more recent adjustment as Chevy didn’t bring back the V8 motor until 1955. The frame and floorboards are good on this car, but the sheet metal and “woodwork” will probably need their fair share of attention. The interior looks to be original and is pretty well used up. You could opt to go down the restomod path with this Chevy as dropping in a recycled I-6 doesn’t sound too exciting and it wouldn’t be numbers matching anyway.
The listing for this vehicle is more than three months old, so either the wagon isn’t drawing much interest, or the seller has moved it along and has forgotten to take down the ad. This could be a fun project, as long as the budget is fairly open-ended. And don’t forget to add a roof rack for the surfboards! Thanks for the tip down Memory Lane, “Ted”.
What a nice blank slate to build something really cool
and spend a butt load or money.
Better than spending it in a bar, or on diamonds. Although, it is a diamond in the rough!
Chevrolet’s last wagon with wood was in 1948. And, this one has a powerglide shifter, not a three on the tree.
I noticed that the description was way off on this car too. Tin-woodies only by 1952.
According to most sites, “woodie” is a car, “woody” is a person. Woodies were actually more than wood trimmed cars, as mentioned, they were the 1st station wagons. Similar to trucks, the chassis was shipped to an outside company for the woodwork. Jeep was the 1st all steel wagon, after the war, wood or facsimile thereof, became an add on gee-gaw to steel wagons. It was all done in house. They kind of morphed into the “Town and Country”, and were offered through the 80s. It’s certainly solid enough for any project, who knows where it will go from here.
Add states set up for V8, but no V8 motor mounts are seen…? Is that a ‘55 Chevy grille? Still an interesting project with great potential. Seller also has two other sedans listed as well.
I thought the same thing, that this car has a grille from a ’55 Chevy, the original is a simpler grille.
The original is a lot better looking in this car too.
It had an automatic transmission in this. (Hydramatic?)
One (wide) brake pedal, and drive select indicators at the base of the column lever.
Iron case Powerglide.
Guys, I think this wagon”s a ’51. The ’52s had different gravel shields on the rear doors instead of the half moon shaped units on this car. And
contrary to popular belief, this wagon
could be built a reasonable cost. You
could go with either a 235 or a 250
straight 6 with a PG tranny. Or, you
could go with a 3800 V-6 engine mated to a 700R4 tranny if you’re wanting something more reliable than
the first two engines. All three of these mills are good choices, but it’ll
all depend on which of these you can
find first at your friendly neighborhood junkyard. Sure, you’re
gonna have to rebuild everything but
you might come out money ahead in
the long run. The brakes could be a
conventional disc front/drum rear
setup provided you can find the stuff
you need in that same wrecking yard
or find a running ’90s era S-10 or Blazer so that pilfer what you need and junk the rest. Upholstery for this
car should be a piece of cake for any
good local upholsterer. Just tell ’em
A what you want and turn ’em loose
to do their magic. And yes, you can
still find carpet and padding for your
project hiding in plain sight at any carpet store. Oh, and let’s not forget
the rewire with a universal wiring harness that you can find at almost
any auto parts store. Looks like you’ve got a pretty good body to work
with here and yeah, even today you can do most of the bodywork you’self
with reasonably good results without
breaking the bank. This car would make a great series like they did in all
those hot rod magazines we all read
as kids. They would take you step by
step from rusty hulk to finished product. So how bout it BF staffers,
a series on this car would be a real
boon to those that have a car like this.
So it was in the early days of our beloved hobby before high prices for
builds that’ll make your eyes water.
And remember folks, it doesn’t have to perfect– just safe to drive and enjoy. STREET IS NEAT!!