This 1940 Ford Woodie 4×4 is a Mean Green (Expensive) Machine!
It’s not often that you run into an original Ford Woodie while strolling around a park or anywhere for that matter, but this Indianapolis area museum/historic park put on quite a show recently, and this lovely Woodie took center stage.
If you know your Woodies (no pun intended), then you know that Ford didn’t actually build any 4×4 models, in fact, Ford didn’t build any 4×4 or 4-wheel drive vehicles until about 1960 or so, when the first Ford F-100 rolled off the assembly line with a factory 4×4 drivetrain.
So how did this 1940 Woodie get this way? Glad you asked, because it’s actually a really cool story, and even cooler for me as an Indianapolis resident. A factory by the name of Marmon-Herrington was Ford’s go-to company for special projects, and 4×4 drivetrains and other suspension jobs were all considered specialty work back then, so various vehicles were sent down to Indianapolis from Detroit to be outfitted by Marmon-Herrington. In fact, this Woodie displayed at the Conner Prairie ‘Festival of Machines’ included an era-appropriate map of the factory, as well as a brick from the building itself. How cool is that!
While the complete name of this vehicle is actually the Ford Marmon-Herrington Super Deluxe 4×4 Station Wagon, I’ll stick with Ford Woodie 4×4. Another big, big surprise about this particular mean, green and expensive machine, is its price. While I don’t have a precise estimate for this particular green beauty, similar Marmon-Herrington 4x4s have sold for anywhere between $150,000 and $500,000.
Seriously, just look at this thing, it’s stunning. The green, the wood, the thin steering wheel, the tires, the little details that transport you to a different world. I don’t know who the owner is, but you rock, Sir!
Enjoy the shots!
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Photos via: [@DrivesWGirls]
