I meant to post these a while ago, as I went to this in June, but haven't gotten around to it till now. Woodies on the Wharf is an annual summer event in Santa Cruz, and has lots of cool cars and trucks from the '20's to the 50's on display. Here's some pictures, there's a few more in my gallery:









I couldn't get a much better shot of this very cool International. It was surrounded pretty much the entire time I was there.









Sure it's not a ford but these old deco trucks are NICE.



Check out the prices on these:

100K obo


Bargain! 12K


Some non-woody trucks parked nearby:





And on the way out I saw this guy. He's a regular on the Wharf lately. Some folks might find him weird, but after all, it is Santa Cruz...

 

Thanks for posting the pictures. I have a soft spot for woodies.

I restored my 38 in the early 80's, never should have sold it. It was stock except for hydraulic brakes using a 39 pedal assembly. It also had a working Columbia overdrive. In additon to the restoration of the steel, I had to make about 60% of the structural wood. It is the one car that I kept track of the hours that I spent restoring it, 1700 hours! It was a great runner.

 

Have you tried those little blue pills?.......LOL

 

That's a nice looking '38 Bill, sounds like you put a lot of effort into it. There weren't a whole lot of cars from the 30's at the show - mostly 40's and 50's fords. And I bet they're pretty rare up in Maine too.

As you might imagine, woodies have a cult following around here. The weekend of the show is pretty wild with all the old guys tooling around downtown in their woody wagons. Lots of different makers and styles, although I didn't find any Marmon Herringtons. I was really hoping to get to see one up close.

 

WOW, I loved the 55 or 56 blue Mercury. May favorite!

 

It's a 1955 Merc. 1956's have 3 little nubs in the grille, different hood emblem and a different front bumper without the '55's "Dagmar" bumper guards.

The name was taken from Dagmar, a 1950's TV personality that wore tight sweaters that showcased her large pointy ....

1952 Cadillac's were the first to have them, used 'em thru 1958.

 

i have to agree with kevin the merc is my fave . first car was a 55 fairlane so i got a spot in my heart for that body !!!! didn't help grandma had and drove the 56 mainline 2 door she had since 57 or 58 , till i was 18 . it had a definite influence on me .

 

Here's a picture of the only other post 1952 ford/merc that I saw at the show. The sign in front of it says it is a 1954. They were pretty uncommon at the show. At least 1/2 of the woodies there were 49-52 ford or mercury wagons.



Ample "Dagmars", no?

 

All 1949/51 Ford/Mercury Station Wagons are two doors, 1952/54's are four doors / Post #8: To the far left of the 1954 Merc is a 1948 Chevrolet, followed by the '29 Model A.

I've owned the following woodies (were once called 'termite wagons' by woodie nuts):

1952 Buick / 1956 Cadillac (custom built for actor Burt Lancaster) / 1947 & 1948 Chrysler Town and Country (ragtops) / 1947 Ford (3) / 1947 Ford Sportsman / 1942 Mercury / 1950 Oldsmobile (2) / 1949 Packard / 1947 Pontiac.

The most I paid for any was $1000.00 for the 1948 Chrysler...which should tell y'all I bought 'em way back when. Bought the Cadillac at the LA Auto Auction for 300 bucks, driving it 40 miles home was an adventure.

The steering/suspension was totally worn out. It had a mind of its own...wandered back/forth across all 4 westbound lanes of the 60 & 10 freeways like a drunk.

 

There is a great woodie show in Encinitas California every year. I think this year is Sep. 17.

This woodie was built by my freind and mentor Darrel Shea. Darrel has built more Model As and Bonus Built trucks to show condition than most folks will ever see.

I'm a lucky guy to have him as a friend. His car / truck wisdom of old Fords is unmatched.

 

That's a pretty sweet collection.

 

My favorite woodie

 

IHC aka Cornbinder, looks like a Cantrell body. Some woodies had bodies supplied by outside body makers. The 1946/47 Chevrolet pictured above is another example.

Coachcraft LTD. in West Hollywood CA built quite a few custom woodies including a '39 Studebaker for actor Preston Foster.

Coachcraft also designed a roof rack for station wagons. Chrysler bought 100's, used them on 1941/48 Town & Country sedans.

A member of this forum has 46/48 Mercury 4WD-Marmon-Herrington conversion. Has a Coachcraft roof rack on it.

 

Nice one Ross. Looks like a 48 or so Travelall... did International offer those, or were they aftermarket conversions? And who did the 4wd conversion?

[edit] Looks like ND already answered the first question by the time I got this posted.

 

Chrysler did not offer a woodie station wagon. The closest they came was on 1941 Town & Country sedans, a different body style than 1942/48's. Had a fastback style roof, the clamshell rear doors opened to the right/left.

This is a 1946/48 Chrysler Town and Country sedan, there was a 2 door ragtop also offered....which are prolly worth more than any woodie except super rare 1946 Mercury Sportman's.

Went to a Kruse auction in 1975 (held in Santa Monica in conjunction with Automotive Classics). An all original '48 T&C ragtop w/40K on the clock went for 60 GRAND! The opening bid was 40 grand.

The guy that owned it had just bought it from the original "little old man from Pasadena" owner for 4 grand! Any hope I had of buying it...died quickly.

1946/48 Chrysler/DeSoto/Plymouth/Imperials are identical, no one can tell one year from another. The 1946 Dodge had a different hood emblem than 1947/48's.

btw: That's a mid 1950's Cornbinder, the grille was different on earlier models. It was prolly used as a 'stage' originally.