Who has or has images of the GM "Tin Woodies" of the mid '50's ? Any and all, Pontiac, etc. Surfer style, restomod, sitting& rotting....
Hello, We had time to run some errands and came across this cool looking Pontiac Woody. The unusual blue Pontiac Station Wagon was sighted in a field of black and grey cars, let alone the dark grey skies. In So Cal, we have seen plenty of Ford woody wagons, station wagons with no wood and some with the vinyl inserts as per the 50s style. So, where does this minimal “wood” version of the classic 52 Pontiac Station Wagon fit in? Woodies, some would (pun intended) get their pants all pulled up in a fit… not enough wood or real wood. Others would say 50s Fords with sticker wood are considered woodies, so, why not this Pontiac version? One other slang name is “Tin Woody…” Jnaki In the information gathering stage, I found out that it has an all new Chevy drive train including a 383 motor. So, the power goes with the looks. The S&S chrome spoked rims give it some attitude, along with the “coolness” of being an actual So Cal surfing station wagon. Despite the odd confusion and “protection-ism” of any definition of a Woody, what does and doesn’t get considered a woody station wagon? For my wife, in identifying this blue Pontiac station wagon, it was her sighting of the station wagon parked on a side street. “Look at the blue old station wagon on the curb…” This station wagon was nicely done. But, like all coastal hot rods or just cars, the salt air presents itself daily and does its work. Preservation is always a challenging game and the work is always in motion… There are some very classic, historic stickers from a long time ago… San Onofre Surf Club, original Killer Dana Surf Shop, Hobie Surfboards and Katin Clothing Co. Along with some newish companies that cater to surfers and hot rod/car enthusiasts, Artifex Brewing Company, Prime Fabrication powder coating wheels +++, etc.
This is all I have to Offer, neat piece 1949 Fisher body Station wagon manual | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
Jnaki, while "tin woodies" aren't true "Woodies", they are accepted and welcomed in the National Woodie Club and there are about three dozen listed in the registry. Almost every Woodie show I attend there is a tin woodie in attendance. The best part of a tin is that you have a steel roof and you don't need to varnish it every few years.
Hey WW46, Yes, the name “tin woodies” is a name given to these old station wagons in more recent times. Our introduction to the old Ford Station Wagons was with our elementary school field trip to the old Long Beach Ford Factory located under the Long Beach/Terminal Island Green Bridge (Schuyler Bridge). We were all surprised at our whole class, plus a few others from the same grade level that got to tour the local factory. The main interest was the assembly line walking/touching tour. When we got to the line up of station wagons like our Long Beach neighbor's station wagon, it was a fun thing to associate the red station wagon and the ones all lined up in a row on the tour. When we lived in the Westside of Long Beach, our next door neighbor had a red/white color station wagon for their large family. The dad wanted a 1957 Ford Ranchero, as he told us. But, it would have been his own car, as his family was large and would not all fit in the small cab. The 5 door wagon fit his family needs perfectly. The Red Ford Station Wagon at the beginning Jnaki The one thing I remember most and I am sure the teachers did not like that I was talking to an assembly line worker who was installing the wood grained decal stuff on the sides of a normal station wagon. We all thought at the time that it was real wood. But, the worker gave me a small foot long strip of the “stuff” and I was amazed. Well, then since I had one and everyone saw it, they all wanted one little strip, too. So, the guy had to stop the work and cut out many strips for everyone in line. Luckily, the other two classes had moved on to the next station and the assembly line worker only cut them out for our class. Now, we all beamed at the “wood” siding for the station wagons. Note: When we got home, I went over to the neighbor’s house and showed the two sisters the siding for their car. They were in disbelief, as they, too thought it was real wood. The one thing we noted then and now was that no one we knew or saw at the beach in the early days, had a real wood station wagon. It was just not the station wagon for the young families of our neighborhood. It was an early design for a good looking station wagon “woody”, even if it is now called a “tin woodie.” In the next door neighbor's driveway...
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