150 A's and B's

[1931 flamingo]

A lot of the cruises I go to I may be the only "old" car there or the only one not hot rodded, and I do get a lot of attention. Love it.
Paul in CT

[sawzall]

I have the wood for a 150 A and a stock chassis that I intend to mate it to. unfortunately my car will have no pedigree, so I plan to tour with it ALOT..

I am currently looking for a 150 A roof.. for patterns or use..

thanks

[ctlikon0712]

Pat, here you go, sorry it took so long. This is what mine looks like, my father recovered the roof in the early 60's.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

thanks for the posting. The rear is covered with hidem, which is what is usually seen. I understand from the original description I read in Woody Wagons that it was something different, but I have never seen a photo and the description left a lot to the imagination. After all these years, the odds of the roof having been replaced are pretty high, and hidem is what is used to replace whatever was there first.

OTOH, the wood on your car looks pretty solid. Cleaning off the old varnish should leave behind some nice original pieces with great patina. I would use as much original wood as possible, and stain any new pieces to match. I know a guy in San Francisco who did that and the car looks really nice.

[Boston Bruce]

Here's my 1930 150B.

[ctlikon0712]

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Thanks Pat, I haven’t made up my mind what to do yet with the wood. Some appears to be solid and other parts have been "filled" with plastic wood putty some years ago and other parts have dried or rotted since. I'm not a wood worker, so am not sure how well a stained piece would blend with an 80 year weathered refinished piece. There is a 40's woody shop within 30 miles called "Tree House Woods" and Eric Johnson the owner seems very nice and offered to help. This car is like a family heirloom, and I would like to keep as much of its original soul as possible. I plan on showing the car in local shows so am tossing the idea back and forth, wood replacement or restoration. I guess I need someone who knows more to look at it and give me some advice. Thanks again Pat
Craig

[dropacent]

Ben's Martin-Parry bodied Ford is a pretty rare animal. It was common in model T days to just buy a chassis and then add a body supplied by one of the many body builders of the day, such as Hoover, Martin-Parry, York, and others. (martin-parry became chevrolet body division somewhere around 1930) There are very, very few survivors of these on model T chassis, although hundreds have been reproduced to make use of a bare chassis. Surviving examples of custom station wagon bodies on model A chassis seem to be even harder to find. .................................................. ................................ We have "Trudy, the old chugger" living with us here in northern Ohio. That is the name that she came with. a NOS sheetmetal restoration in 1960, and the owner back then was wise enough to just revarnish the body. Most of the original varnish is still intact. The 50 year old paint job is still very serviceable. We spent the winter fixing some small things such as adding the right wiper motor, floor mat, adding the right tailight(s) and original tailgate chains to replace the dog chain . She has a complete tool kit and manuals . Having owned wood cars for many years, the 80 year old body is in incredible condition and almost unbelievable . The original top material is intact , although somewhere in time rain gutters were added. Trudy is also one of the first 5 production wagons of december 1928. She came with a large box of archival material, and it is believed she originally did duty as a livery vehicle on Nantucket Island. She has a bombay bell on the right front floorboard. As you can see from the picture, the top panel on the front door is a bit ligher, where the name of the livery service or hotel was removed. Green vinyl covers the seats and is likely the only thing left to change at some point, to the original style blue-gray vinyl. From what i have read, 2 prototypes were built in early 1928, one of which still survives at Edsel Fords home in Michigan. Once Henry gave the go ahead to production, 5 were assembled in December of 1928 at the Murray Body plant, in Detroit ( which still stands ) and were used to display at the Ford shows across the country. All 5 of the first production vehicles have survived, which is pretty amazing, too. Trudy drives like a dream, and we hope to have her at the old car festival in Dearborn this fall. <img src=http://neo.rr.com/morsher/woodymodelA.jpg>

[Elcastor]

That is a real beauty, Dropacent! Thanks for the info and picture!

[Roadster62]

When I was around 8 years old I got a ride in a 1928 Ford Station Wagon that belonged to the estate my grandfather worked on. It had a metal not wood body, does anyone know what company made steel station wagon bodies back in the day?

[ctlikon0712]

Did the steel body have 4 doors, window's, and a tailgate like the woody? Ive never seen anything like that.

[ctlikon0712]

I have a question, recently at the MARC show in St. Augustine Florida, I mentioned to one of the Judges there that my late 31 Wagon has a radiator shell that has black inserts top and bottom. Some wagons I’ve seen had black on bottom and body color on top (Manila Brown) while others were all body color. He told me that all black is wrong and incorrect. Another gentleman who overheard us interjected and said that it could be because some wagons were considered an industrial vehicle like a truck. Our wagon was purchased by my grandfather in 39 from a company not an individual. My father told me that ours is correct and has always been all black. I have the new restoration guidelines and they seem ambiguous at best. What do you guy's think, or know about this?

[pat in Santa Cruz]

most people agree the top was body color (manilla in this case). There is some controversy regarding the whether the bottom panel was black or body color or either one.

[heneste]

I too have also been told by some folk that both inserts (top and bottom) should be matching the body colour while others mention that it should only be matching the body colour on top. So, I'm not sure what would be period correct. Could there also be a possibility that Ford just used what was in stock at the time on the assembly line as I've heard some body styles have carry over parts from earlier years or models?

[ctlikon0712]

Bill, I just wanted to say that you have a very nice 29 SW, looking forward to helping each other out. Go Moon Port Chapter!

[ctlikon0712]

I have a "Woody's" book that covers all makes and models and it lists a body maker in New Jersey called "Wildanger" there is a photo of a 1930 Model A Wildanger wagon that has steel sides covered with wooden slats.... i guess is the best term for them. Is anyone aware of one of these?

[Roadster62]

I was too young to remember, the only detail I do remember was moving the slide bolt to lock the door from the inside. If it was original or an add on from the hardware store, we'll never know.

Originally Posted by ctlikon0712

Did the steel body have 4 doors, window's, and a tailgate like the woody? Ive never seen anything like that.

[ctlikon0712]

I might make the Wildanger question a separate thread under its own title for more visibility.

[ctlikon0712]

Pat, I just checked ut your pics on Flickr! Very nice.
Wish I had noticed that link earlier.
Thanks

[pat in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by ctlikon0712

I have a "Woody's" book that covers all makes and models and it lists a body maker in New Jersey called "Wildanger" there is a photo of a 1930 Model A Wildanger wagon that has steel sides covered with wooden slats.... i guess is the best term for them. Is anyone aware of one of these?

this car was for sale in San Jose, Calif last year for a few months. I do not know if it sold.

[Steve Ciccalone]

A couple photos of my unrestored June '30 150-B. Had an electric wiper and the new dash panel. I also have a restored January 1931 wagon. It was Pete Brewer's car and Best of Show at the 1975 MARC National. Cover car and story in the Sept/Oct 1975 MAN.