Car Shows, Wavecrest Woodie Reunion

Rare Woodie Wagons at Wavecrest Woodie Show

When this 1938 Packard 1600 Station Wagon was special ordered in 1938 it was sent to Cantrell for wood fitment. Cantrell also did the color coordinated faux leather roof. The 122" wheelbase car has an actual overall length of 196 5/16". It was brought to the Wavecrest Woodie Show by Art and Linda Wesselman.

While most of the woodie wagons that gathered here in Encinitas, California for the Wavecrest Woodie Homecoming were Fords and Chrysler makes, there was a sprinkling of many rare woodie wagons made by other auto manufacturers of the 1930’s through 1950’s. Here are some you may have never seen before.

1938 Packard 1600 Station Wagon with wood by Cantrell — 1938 Packard 1600 Station Wagon with wood body by Cantrell. Look at what an excellent job Cantrell did on the wood headliner.

1947 Pontiac Streamliner Woodie Wagon — A truly beatiful 1947 Pontiac Streamliner Woodie Wagon was on display at the Wavecrest show. It is one of only 12 registered with the National Woodie Club. There are no records to know how many were built although we know that Pontiac built woodie wagons from 1937 untill 1948. Pontiac Sedans were sent to the Ionia Furniture Company in Ypsilanti, Michigan where all the wooden parts and interiors were installed. Pontiac woodies are very rare.

1948 Pontiac Woodie Wagon — A 1948 Pontiac Woodie Wagon was brought to the show by Dieter and Patricia Balogh of Woodland Hills, California.

1947 Oldsmobile Woodie Wagon — A 1947 Oldsmobile Woodie Wagon made its appearance at the Wavecrest Show today. It is one of only 492 produced at the Hercules Body Company in Evansville, Indiana. It weighed 3,800 pounds.

Morris Minor 1000 Traveler Woodie Wagons — Two Morris Minor 1000 Traveler Woodie wagons were parked next to each other in the display on Saturday. The English made Travelers were among just a few foreign woodies at the show.

CHEVROLET WOODIES

Chevrolet production woodies were few and far between here at the Wavecrest Woodie Show. These production wood bodied Chevy’s are very rare.

1940 Chevy Woodie Wagon — Mike McLaughlin of San Clemente, California brought his 1940 Chevy Woodie Wagon to the show.

1955 Chevy Suburban Woodie — A 1955 Chevy 3100 Woodie Suburban was brought to the show by Jim Roberts of El Cajon, CA

CHRYSLER, DODGE AND PLYMOUTH WOODIES

Mopar models supplied a rich history of wood bodied vehicles. After World War II woodies became very popular again among suburban car buyers. They were used as depot hacks, school buses and people movers by resorts and hotels throughout the country.

1948 Chrysler Town & Country Woodie Convertible — One of the top cars at the show is from the Nick Alexander Collection. This 1948 Chrysler Town & Country Convertible is one of the few wood-bodied convertibles offered by an American automotive manufacturer.

1949 Chrysler Royal Woodie Wagon — Jim Austin of San Diego, CA brought his 1949 Chrysler Royal Woodie Wagon. Everyone who saw this car commented on the heavy duty radiator and hood springs typical of the solid engineering these cars exhibited.

1949 Desoto Woodie Wagon — A 1949 Desoto Woodie Station Wagon was employed by the Ocean Side Hotel in San Diego, CA to pick up passengers at the train station. It is still owned by the hotel. Only 600 of this model were ever built.

1949 Dodge School Bus — A 1949 Dodge Woodie School Bus is symbolic of the rugged nature of most woodies.

1950 Plymouth Super Deluxe Suburban Woodie Wagon — An Encinitas, CA collector brought this 1950 Plymouth Super Deluxe Suburban Woodie Wagon.

1950 Chrysler Newport Woodie Hardtop — 1950 was the only year that Chrysler made this unique wood bodied Newport Woodie Hardtop. They say only seven of these cars were produced. It is the last of the wood bodied cars. The car weighed over 5,000 pounds. It was the first Chrysler with four-wheel disc brakes.

1947 Chrysler Town & Country Woodie Convertible — Rudie and Donna Pock from Claremont, CA brought their 1947 Chrysler Town and Country Woodie Convertible to the Wavecrest show. It is one of six woodie convertibles on display.

CLASSIC MERCURY WOODIE WAGONS

There were more Mercury woodies at the show than I expected to see. Some of them I’d never seen before.

1947 Mercury Marmon-Herrington 4X4 Woodie — Here is possibly the rarest of all wood-bodied production cars. It is a 1947 Mercury Marmon-Herrington 4X4 Woodie Wagon. There were only five such cars every ordered. This all-wheel-drive vehicle was further customized for camping and was featured in Motor Trend magazine in 1952.

1954 Mercury Monterey Woodie Wagon — Tom and Linda Nored of Eugene, Oregon brought their 1954 Mercury Monterey Woodie Wagon.

1948 Mercury Woodie Wagon — Paul Keohane brought his 1948 Mercury Woodie Wagon. It has Mustang II front suspension and a ZZ4 engine.

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Comments

D Hoelscher says
December 30, 2013 at 9:41 am
Where were the Packard Woodies?
Reply
Dale Watson says
January 27, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Does anyone know where the 1947 Oldsmobile 6 door station wagon is ? It was purchased new by Norman Woolworth and used at his summer place in Maine.
Reply

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Wavecrest Woodie Show says:
September 19, 2014 at 12:12 pm
[…] Click here to view some of the fantastic wood-bodied classics we saw here last year. Also, you may want to review our coverage of the Woodie Cruise to Oceanside. Click here to view the video. […]
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