This 1935 Ford Woody is in need of a complete restoration. It is not going to be a quick or easy job, but I’d be willing to bet that someone out there will be willing to take it on. You will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Leominster, Massachusetts, the title on this Ford is listed as missing. The seller has set a price of $16,000, but the seller may be negotiable on this price. This car was located by Barn Finder Peter R, so thanks must go to him for bringing this old Ford to our attention.
The seller is a person of few words and even fewer pictures. We don’t have a huge amount to go on here. It appears that the steel panels on this Woody are largely present, and from what we can see they also appear to be in pretty fair condition. All of the glass appears to be missing, along with some of the external chrome and trim. There is no word on the condition of the frame, but it is to be hoped that it is solid.
Virtually all of the interior trim is missing, and anything that remains looks to have been left to the mercy of the weather. So it will be a case of starting from scratch with this one. The seller lists the engine in the description panel as a V8. If it is the original engine, then it should be the 221ci flat-head engine backed by a manual transmission. This is all an assumption, as we don’t have any indication of the state of the engine or the rest of the drive-train. Sometimes less can be more, but in this case less is definitely less. The car is on wheels, so hopefully it at least rolls easily.
There is no doubt that the 1935 Ford Woody is a desirable car that can command some pretty respectable prices. Rather than look at what is currently available, I looked for vehicles that have recently sold, as this will give me a pretty accurate gauge on potential values. I have found a number of restored examples that have sold recently, and prices have varied from around $58,000 to around the $67,000 mark. This car has a long way to go to command those sorts of prices, but if the frame and mechanical components are present and solid, then there is no reason why this old Ford couldn’t achieve it eventually.
If your going to have to build a body from scratch then it may as well be a wooden roadster body. The way it sits right now it’s just a pile of parts. So I see it as a blank canvas. Some would want to restore others would want to custom in various forms I’d build a roadster most likely a boat tail because I like there lines, out of wood of course with a fiberglass coating inside and out using weave fabric which is nearly invisible in the epoxy resin. The fact is to restore to original for most people will put this car at a higher cost then there is value. This needs an owner with a host of skills building for himself no matter what route he takes.
16,000 ? Me thinks there are a few to many zeros . Be real slow rolling this as parts will be falling off as you go.
I’m kind of curious as to why the drivers side doors are in remarkably great shape and yet everything else is garbage?
Hmmm, $16,000, you will be upside down in this at probably all stages. Just matter of degree.
If you have skills, tools, parts source, helpers, garage, lift, time, liquid bandaid and a lucky clovers leaf you could consider tackling this.
Granted could be dream boat when done, if this body style is your preference.
Probably not a lot of them on the road and this one will be reasonable unique as is surfs down coast hwy.
I love woodys but I only have maybe 30 more years to live and that may not be enough.
:)
Hmmm, $16,000, this seems a bit too high for the average guy who is willing to bring something like this back to its glory days.
If you have skills, tools, parts source, helpers, garage, lift, time, liquid bandaid and a lucky clovers leaf you could consider tackling this.
Granted could be dream boat when done, if this body style is your preference.
Probably not a lot of them on the road and this one will be reasonable unique as is surfs down coast hwy.
I love woodys but I only have maybe 30 more years to live and that may not be enough.
:)
Why can’t people learn how to post only once. Is it really so hard.
$16,000.00???? Maybe if I had some serious brain damage.
For someone that loves to work with wood, this “wood” be a great project. Done right it is maybe an $80k vehicle which is better that what a lot of people’s woodworking projects bring.
Anyone paying $16K for that bag of bones is smoking the same weed as the guy that is selling it. Restored versions are in the $60K range. I can’t imagine there is any way a professional restoration shop would take on this project for less than $100K. Of course it’s possible to spend less than $60K in parts to restore this one if one has the capability, but time is money so it would have to be a labor of love to take on this project.
Hey Orville………drag that damn chassis out, prop the fenders on the tires and wedge those doors on it, lean the radiator on that metal doohickey between the front wheels……….and lets go fishing………
Sellers like this one and the one I pictured have gone completely mad.
Termites? I am surprised nobody else said it.
Looks like a collection of parts that are connected to nothing.
You guys are a tad hard on the seller, he does say “….price can be talked about…”. But those that know how expensive a pro built body for these can be are correct about the ease of going upside down, even if the price were close to zero. A key thing about these is if the necessary hardware, mostly brackets, that hold the body panels together are still there. another sad project unless the right, and capable, buyer comes along.
Myself, I tend to look at a project and decide how much trouble it would be to do the restoration. Now, this being a Ford Woodie, there are lots of patterns and even wood kits out there for restoring the body. As well, there is a lot of stuff available to rebuild the chassis/powertrain. What I would be the most concerned about is finding the trim pieces for the body and sheetmetal; those could pose a major challenge. This is where I would take the purchase price into consideration. For me the restoration could climb well over the $35K mark, and that’s if I do the work myself. So, add in the purchase price and I start to wonder if I should continue looking. Otherwise, I love the ’35 Fords, and I love wood-bodied station wagons, so if I was looking for a challenging project, I still might take a closer look at this.
The 35 Ford woodie is probably the rarest of the Ford woodies. That doesn’t neccesarily make it the most valuable,but I think iy could be the most expensive to restore. Parts for this car will few and far between.