Vehicle Description
History of the 1942 Ford Super Deluxe Woodie:
Ford Motor Company had been in the wood-bodied station wagon
business since the Model A was introduced in 1928. Not only
involved in the complete production of the wooden framework, in the
early 1920's Henry Ford had purchased hundreds of thousands of
acres of hardwood forest in Northern Michigan, which became known
as Iron Mountain. This sawmill was providing the wood necessary for
building millions of Model T's, along with the crates they were
being shipped in all over the country. Ford would turn the Murray
Corporation to finalize the assembly of the Ford Station Wagons,
who would do so from 1928-1939. To make things more interesting.
Ford actually had a company based in Louisville, KY named Mengel
Body prepare the wood planks for Murray to use in the build the
bodies. Mengel was already the leader in wood production components
for a number of American automobile manufactures and had the
craftsmanship to produce top quality parts for easier an
assembly!
Unfortunately, during production, this process lead to inefficiency
between the three plants and some turbulence between Ford and
Murray began in 1939 which would inspire Ford to move the complete
production of the planks and final assembly all in-house in 1940.
They decided that the very source of the wood would make for the
perfect place to prepare for ultimate assembly, which would be at
the Iron Mountain plant itself. Given this extraordinary
opportunity, the employees of Iron Mountain were eager to prove
their worth. With soaring enthusiasm, they not only achieved
production anticipations, executives at Ford found the efficiency
and quality at Iron Mountain to be far surpassing expectations! It
was actually quoted from the Ford News newsletter that "No other
automobile model required in its manufacturing the amount of
experienced hand labor expended in the finishing of every hardwood
Ford V8 Station Wagon. Here one finds hand craftsmanship raised to
the highest level of efficiency." Unfortunately, the craftsmanship
of restoring such a splendid vehicle has become a lost art today.
So while just finding a surviving Woodie on the market is a
challenge in itself as most have required some professional
restoration along the way.
Details about this 1942 Ford Super Deluxe Woodie Station Wagon For
Sale:
We are very happy to offer a rare and highly well-kept 1942 Ford
Super Deluxe Woodie Station Wagon that is beautifully finished in
Moselle Maroon over Dark Red interior upholstery! This example was
stored for some 35 years in a basement garage, until gifted to the
owner's nephew in September 2002 as hopes of ever restoring the
vehicle were slipping away. Feeling inspired, its new owner would
finally move the classic from one garage to another in 2004 and
immediately began to study the restoration cost involved in getting
started. After gathering enough historical data over several years,
the original owner's nephew would finally commence a complete
restoration in 2013, which could not be done without the help of
Schulze's Classic Car Restoration, LLC based in Silex, MO. The
sympathetic restoration began with the intention of retaining as
much originality and original wood framework as possible. All of
the factory components were still fully intact at this time, so the
restoration consisted of only original equipment including all
sheet metal. Throughout the restoration process, excellent
attention was given to photo documenting this stunning Station
Wagon!
Power comes from its original 221ci Flathead V8 and 3-speed
column-shifted manual transmission, producing a factory rated 90
horsepower. Features include full dash instrumentation, Ford AM
radio, dash clock, Stewart Warner South Wind heater/defrost system,
front bumper guards, rear-mounted spare tire with Ford-scripted
vinyl cover, safety glass, Firestone Deluxe Champion 6.00-16 wide
whitewall tires, among other comforts. It would be difficult to
cover the extensive amount of careful labor hours given to this
special Woodie from 2013-2016 which resulted in total restoration
cost of over $125,000! The engine was professionally overhauled by
Flathead specialist Travis Wood of Precision Engine Rebuilder who
are located in Wentzville, MO. This included boiling and
magnafluxing the block and heads, resurfacing the heads, resized
rods that were re-bushed and honed to fit, grinding crankshaft
.010-.010, new crank gear, replacing the rear main seal oil
slingers, new pistons and rings, pin bushings, main bearings, rod
bearings, cam bearings, cam gear, new valves, exhaust valve seats,
rebuilt connecting rods, and fresh gasket set. All new water pumps,
boiled and repaired radiator, new radiator hoses, fuel pump,
rebuilt starter and generator, and fan belt complete the
outstanding running capacity!
The body was carefully removed from the chassis to allow for a
complete restoration of the suspension with rebuilt Houdaille
shocks; all-new braking system with fresh hoses, shoes, and
cylinders; a new exhaust system; and all new wiring from front to
back. All exterior chrome was re-plated by Gateway Plating, new
body welting installed on a freshly painted steel body, and fully
restored maple and birch hardwood body that were professionally
stained to very impressive color tones! This classic woodie for
sale also showcases new Super Deluxe emblems, lenses for the turn
signals, parking lamps, and taillights which brings an impressive
finished result to the rarest of Ford Station Wagons! With the
United States entering into World War II, production came to an
early halt and therefore no Fords were built after February 10th,
1942. This particular example represents one of only 5,483 Super
Deluxe Woodies built, and likely one of only a small percentage
that remains beautifully intact today! Recent sales of such
opportunities include the example from the Dingman Collection
reaching a $176,000 sale result at the RM Auction in 2012. It is
our professional opinion that this 4-owner example, which currently
shows only 47,743 miles on the odometer, is priced aggressively for
the passionate Ford enthusiasts looking to expand their car
collection!
The St, Louis Car Museum team proudly offers classic and collector
car sales, storage, detailing, and financing services to
enthusiasts around the world! We also work closely with a number of
trusted transportation and shipping companies for our client's
convenience. If you would like to set up a time to view this
classic Ford for sale in person, please contact one of our
representatives at (800)957-5707 or by messaging us, today!