1924 Cantrell Bodied Dodge Woody
It is believed that the original owner of this Dodge was a Mr. King and he was of all things,an undertaker in Gardner, MA. It could easily be surmised as to why an undertaker would need such a Cantrell bodied Dodge...
In the early sixties, it is felt that the "hack", as these car/trucks were also known, was sold on to a Mr. White from Moodus, CT who had it through until 1986. Some included paperwork shows that Mr. White did some work to the car and kept it maintained. In 86, it went shortly to the Kostross family and within a year, it went to B. Bienas, also in eastern CT. Even more paperwork shows that the Bienas' were into having fun with the Cantrell/Dodge, it was taken to shows, well maintained and driven, around town in parades, etc. After only 6 months of ownership, the current owner contacted the Bienas family, requesting to purchase to the Dodge depot hack. He continued to to stay in touch with them and several times, offered to buy the Dodge. Finally, in 2013, with Mr Bienas having passed, his family sold it to the current owner. The current owner is a bit of a collector but he likes to enjoy and drive his cars, this one no different, so he maintains them to always be ready to fire up and go for a ride.
The 212 cu in, 35 HP 4 cylinder is thought to be the original engine as the number is very close to the body number, and back then, the engine and body were built often at different times and then mated up later in production. This one was sent off to Cantrell to get the special wooden body, known then as the Cantrell Suburban. These were all hand-built at the Cantrell plant on Wall St, in New York City (in 1925 they would move their facility to Huntington Station, NY). Despite their ability to produce a lot of cars (a lot for the day), the guesstimate is that they would only produce around 100+/- Dodge Suburbans per year (and similar numbers for other makes such as Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, Essex, Hudson, Rolls Royce, Cadillac, etc.) For 1924, this particular depot wagon, is really one of only a couple hundred. The 4 cyl engine is attached to a 3 speed manual transmission which routes all that power and torque to a standard Dodge 116 Series rear end with cable/lever operated band brakes.
The engine fires up as it should and runs very smooth. The car shifts and drives well for a nearly 100 year old vehicle. The 4.75 x 20 tires will need to be replaced but these still hold air and ride well.
The paint is solid and clean s up and shines well however, as a vehicle that has been used for commercial business, she is showing her age with chips and scratches here and there.
Great runner, driver and one that you're not going to see another one at the local cars and coffee, the asking price on this now rare, work horse antique is $11,000.
Any questions, to schedule a time to see her in person or to make an offer, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for the interest.
