Vehicle Description
1941 Ford Super Deluxe Woody Station Wagon
In their day, wooden bodied station wagons were work horses.
Considered unattractive and strictly utilitarian, they were
produced in low numbers. Then after a half century of production,
they were gone, discontinued, largely because they were so
difficult to manufacture and maintain. Yet today, they can sell for
more than a house and are considered classic beauties. Sometime in
the late 19th century, a forgotten mechanic fastened a primitive
engine to a horse drawn wagon creating the first horseless wagon.
The details have been lost to history but from that humble
beginning, a style of automobile was born, one that still exercises
influence upon us over 100 years later. Eventually auto
manufacturers began producing their own versions. Ford introduced
the first production woodie in 1929. Throughout the 30's most other
manufacturers joined in, usually with very limited success. Some
lesser known car makers only produced a prototype or two. The
largest car company at the time, Chevrolet, waited until 1939
before they introduced their first woodie. By then the vehicles had
become known as "station wagons", a variation of the earlier name
"depot hack", but was still a reference to train stations. Woodies
were never a profitable item for car makers. They were extremely
labor intensive to produce; literally hand assembled. Ford bought a
track of forest known as Iron Mountain in Michigan as a source for
lumber, other makers simply purchased the lumber, or more often,
had outside vendors manufacture the wood bodies.
For consignment, a 1941 Super Deluxe woody wagonlooking the part
with its rounded lines accented by thin chrome trimmings and two
rows of it! A 221ci flathead V8 and beautiful wood for the
passenger's compartment, but all still retaining that pre-war Ford
charm. A fine example gracing our South hallway or maybe even the
main showroom. These cars tend to move all over the Hallowed Halls
of the Classic Auto Mall.
Exterior
Draped in deep dark black, this round front ended Ford produced
Super Deluxe has most of all its original trimmings and is looking
simply fab. In Super Deluxe style, the barrel shaped vertical
ribbed V grille with its two flanking side panels looks shiny and
unmarred. Rounded lines with bulbous fenders, now with just a very
small running board, we are moving into the modern era of the next
car look as to the overall design genre. A hinged on the back hood
with some curved edges, and a bulbous badged front section let us
know we are firmly in Ford country, but starting with the dual pane
windshield we move into another world altogether. We see a central
passenger compartment which utilizes a mix of blonde oak boarding
and panels to make up the square doors and rear side panels. A full
length black textured vinyl roof covers this wooden compartment and
rounds over the roof edges creating the perfect topper. More black
steel is taking shape for the rounded rear fenders and crystal
clear sliding glass on the rear doors and 3rd row seating area
gives your passengers a wonderful view of the countryside as you
motor along. Moving to the back we note the clamshell style wooden
rear gate with its black spare tire cover and round chrome bezel
tail lights. A near perfect chrome bumper with upright guards sits
below all of this and 16-inch black steel wheels with red
pinstripes and chrome Ford logo moon caps and deeply treaded wide
whites round out the package.
Interior
Taking some liberties to show off the fine finishes of the
interior, the mahogany painted metal dash is showing with gold
metal background for a horizontally aligned instrument cluster with
sweet antique cream gauges within a horizontal bar of pure ivory
bakelite lusciousness. The knobs and pulls are all lined up at the
bottom of this dash and have that wonderful aged white to tan
bakelite feel and appear as almost chess pieces. On the dash top
center is a bakelite shrouded AM radio with more beautifully aged
ivory coloring. Below that wide horizontal strip of chrome is a
ribbed chromed speaker covering. The 3 rows of chairs are now
covered in nice medium saddle vinyl and there are solid benches for
all three rows. See...and you thought 3rd row seating was a fairly
new idea... The door panels match the body with blonde oak paneling
and have chromed handle accenting for the cranks and actuators. A
large round brown bakelite steering wheel with a black leather
wrapped rim fronts this dash. Meanwhile, ribbed and very clean
black vinyl matting floods the floors. The inside of the passengers
compartment is pure art with its arched wooden bows and lathe
strips.
Drivetrain
Flipping the hinged hood, we see in the restored engine bay, a
221ci flathead V8 which our decoder states is correct for this car.
The mill is fed air and fossils via a 2-barrel carburetor lurking
underneath the black oil bath air cleaner assembly. A 3-speed
manual transmission on back which sends power to a 3.78 geared rear
axle.
Undercarriage
An X frame with no rust firmly supports like new floor pans, body
hangers, and the running boards all in a nicely applied black. This
is definitely an all-solid undercarriage environment with very few
flaws to note, with even the single exhaust system and Smithy's
muffler looking nearly new. Transverse leaf springs provide the
ride front and rear are factory correct and work with drum brakes
on all 4 corners.
Drive-Ability
She started right up, and on the test track had solid acceleration
and bias free braking. The steering was smooth and shifting was the
same. All other functions were working as they should save for the
radio not turning on and the brake lights not illuminating when the
pedal was pressed, otherwise I had a splendid ride around our test
track simply breathing in all the wood craftsmanship.
In keeping most of its original charm, we see an overall very good
condition automobile with that fab grille! Much of the original
trimmings and steel panels have been retained and the paint is
excellent, still shiny after all those years showing just a few
small battle scars. It is time to do another bucket list thing in
retirement, so advantage YOU! Come and get it!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
