Vehicle Description
To be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sotheby's Santa Monica event, June
24, 2017.
Estimate:
$50,000 - $65,000 US
296 cu. in. small-block Chevrolet V-8 engine
Three-speed manual transmission
Fiberglass body with removable hardtop
The history of the low production Woodill Woodfire is chronicled in
an October 2005 Collectible Automobile magazine article (Fanning A
Flame: Woody Woodill and the Wildfire by Michael Lamm) and further
studied in the 1954 Custom Cars Trend Book 109. The Lamm article
directs enthusiasts of this early interpretation of the primarily
home-built fiberglass body kit car to the Antique Automobile Club
of America. It was available in the days of the famous
Kaiser-Darrin and the GM Chevrolet Corvette. With few records of
the day available, the author was able to conclude that somewhere
from 90 to 300 being built.
Like many car enthusiasts in early postwar America, Mr. Woodill is
said to have wanted a Jaguar, but having been talked out of it, he
decided it would be fun to build a car of his own. To do so, he
would tap into the new technology for the period in the form of
handmade fiberglass bodies. At the time Mr. Woodill was a Willys
dealer in Southern California and he would try to tie his ideas in
with his Willys dealer status. Serious research was executed by
Fred Roth regarding the Glasspar body connection and Wildfire
history and origins. In a 1999 letter to Michael Lamm, Mr. Roth
concluded that after 25-years of independent investigation, Woodill
had built the first two prototypes for the purpose of convincing
Willys Motors of Toledo, OH to make this the marque's official
sports car, as Nash had done with the Nash-Healey and Chevrolet was
about to do with the Corvette.
Expectations were high, but thwarted when Kaizer-Frazer Corporation
stepped in and bought out Willys "lock, stock, and Jeep." Kaiser
had set in motion their relationship with Howard "Dutch" Darrin for
the Kaiser-Darrin and according to Mr. Woodill, the Wildfire lost
out despite the interest. Woodill thought the timing was right for
his contingency plan of offering the car in kit form. He recognized
that enthusiasts of this period were not only interested in sports
cars but in applying their knowledge and resources to build such
cars themselves.
Woody wouldn't be the first in the fiberglass kit car line-up, but
he was near the beginnings with Glasspar (who built and provided
the modified for Wildfire bodies), La Dawri, Bangert, and more. Of
them all, it is reported that the Wildfire was the most
successful.
Woodill Motor Company was located in Downey, CA. The Woodill
Woodfire made its first public appearance at the Pan Pacific
Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles on November 10, 1952. Both
attendees and press were reported to be impressed.
It is said that nearly any engine could be used and the Wildfire
kit sold in two parts; frame and body. The frame kit cost $228 and
the body kit alone was $995. Woody launched a campaign to try and
interest dealers in handling Widfires on a franchise basis, but
lack of interest caused the plan to fail. Working as a
self-promoting press agent and promoter, Woodill got the car
noticed, and part of the public conversation. Johnny Dark, Written
On the Wind, and Knock On Wood were three high-profile movies that
featured Wildfires and more turned up on television shows. Life,
Time, Pic, and most dedicated car magazines also took note of the
Woodill.
According to Mr. Woodill, in the two-and-a-half years from 1953 to
1956, Woodill Motor Company sold roughly 300 kits, plus seven
built-up cars. Bill Tritt of Glasspar related that he'd supplied
Woody with around 90 bodies, hence the 90 to 300 Wildfire
production count. Either way, this is a rare offering.
The body number on this car is 9945, and the powerplant is a
small-block 296 cubic inch displacement Chevrolet V-8 that is
paired with a three-speed manual transmission. The optional
removable hardtop also comes with the Wildfire, as do knock-off
wire wheels.
Despite Woodill's dedicated campaign and selling enough to make Mr.
Woodill happy, the kit car boom didn't materialize as he'd
expected. He went on to live a very full life with many businesses
and successes along the way before passing away in 1989 at 73 years
old.
The work put in by Bill Tritt of Glasspar and Woody Woodill was at
the root for the form of many kit cars that followed. They all
shared the same merits of being flashy, sporty, eye-catching, fast,
light weight and had the commonality of the owner's "sweat equity,"
and pride of workmanship. There was much more to the final form of
these cars than the money invested.
Addendum:
Please note this vehicle is being sold title in transit.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/.
