I'd like to build a woody like the ones in the pictures albeit low budget.Besides the frame,cowl,motor, ****** and wood, What else do I need? . If you have built one(Or started to) can you post pix please. Will you please tell me what kind of wood,fasteners etc that you used?
Woodies that last have original factory cast steel reinforcement braces and brackets at key locations which can be duplicated in ***embled plate form for a now build. Depending on maker, doors may be ***embled with pegs and glue. Some have non- rollup windows in back doors, fixed or sliding windows in quarters. Wood should be ash for structure, your choice for outside filler panels and inside door panels. They are complicated and wonderful things. Plan on spending some time and MONEY with wood working tools.
heres a pic of a fellow HAMB member, i do not recall his name, i think it looks doable and pretty cool.
Rear end, head lights, tail lights, wheels tires, wire, gl*** various sundry nuts and bolts. The list goes on forever. A cowl and an drive train is a good place to start. Have you ever built a car from the ground up? if you have then you are well on your way. Next trick is to teach yourself to be a cabinet maker. A guy when I was a kid brought a woddie to the ol man that had been hit. he wanted the flatty overhauled and the ****** while it was down. the Ol man pulled the engine and ****** out of it and then sent it off to a furnature repair man he knew for the body work.
for the one mentioned by budd try online at www.myrideisme.com/Blog/homebuilt-woodie-to-sweet-to-be-a-rat/ there have been articles in Street Rodder and others, do search online for more ideas
I've got one on the go, a 41 Ford. The whole body is maple, and it's ****** heavy and a very hard wood. I planned on doing it myself, but got a mate who ash frames Bentleys to do it in the end. The original joints were pegged, but we just used modern glues. Results in fewer ****ons on the outside. Also used a plasticoat top layer instead of varnish for less work in the future. (mind you it's not on the road yet, so can't vouch for longevity yet) Good luck! Ed
I built the woodie body on this Buick a few years back for a customer......It was also made from 4 dr into a two door and I chopped it 3"... The "wood" is all metal with woodgrain painted on it...
Artist Mike Chiavetta built one using a Model A cowl. The build was featured in Tex Smith's Hot Rod Mechanix, if I recall correctly. I'll see if I can locate my copy and post the publication date if you want to locate a copy for yourself. Chiavetta donated the plans to the National Woodie Club for fundraising. You can check with them to see if the plans are still available.
May '94 issue of Hot Rod Mechanix... Chivetta's car was actually based off of a mid twenties Dodge cowl though. Pretty much the same thing. It does have a Model "A" frame and fenders though. The real trick would be to find an article that Street Rodder did in '88 or '89 about putting window and door latches into woody bodies that used Chivetta's drawings for the backdrop to the article. I don't have time today to find that mag for you in my collection though. Actually, Chivetta has been a contributor to Street Rodder since the late seventies, and his car has shown up in that mag several times over the last twenty years or so, mostly in tech articles. I still see it every year at LARS out in prefered parking too.
With all of the trees that fell 2wks back, there was a shirt load of oak trees that fell on the ground and as I walked around and saw all of this cool wood, I thought that perhaps I should save some of this,but I didn't=. There are plans available through the National Woody Club. A membership may need to be required,but you'd be able to get the info sought. Hardware is also available through an eastcoast company that advertises in a model A mag. Check with the Model A Club-The Restorer Magazine.
From what I've seen, to buy the right wood to start with is going to wipe out any ideas of doing it on a low budget. It might be cheaper to simulate it with woodgrain on metal, and if you want the bracing do it in a decorative rather than structural manner.
Depending on how you approach your build and your skill level, it is all work. There are a couple of previous threads dealing with woodies. A stock or very close to stock should be a easy build. A Phantom woodie or wood body can be a real snake pit. Two types of woodies, all wood as factory or metal framed with wood panels hung on metal Basic wood working tools needed table saw, router and jig saw. Lots of room to lay wood out before glueing and safe storage. Check out my album. PM if I can help. Good Luck DT
Made in the 50`s using a pickup cowl. Also,it had one of the first engines built by Bill (Grumpy) Jenkins, its on page 13 of his book...Grumpy`s Toys
I'd say join the National Woodie Club, get the plans to build a Model A Woodie and then adapt them to whatever ch***is/cowl you have. Even if you build a phantom woodie, the plans will give you a starting place. My Dad and I built ours with ash framing. http://public.fotki.com/29woodie/1929_chevrolet_wood/ Good luck and have fun! -dave
Here is the link to a post I had last year. It's a woody a friend of mine built from scratch. Kinda "street roddy" on the inside, but a great looking car. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=522710&highlight=woody
I use to have a "Woodie" all the time ,But time caught up with me and now they are a page from the past !!!!!!LOL
You used to be able to buy woody kits. Ready made parts to build up a Model A or Model T woody. There was also a kit to make a body for any brand of frame. The side pieces were extra long so they could be trimmed to make a body for any wheelbase frame. Don't know where to buy one but if they are still available a web search should turn up something.
you can still buy Model A woodie kits from a company in NY. they run about 5k for the wood and another 5k for all the factory still brackets. they are replicas of ford Model A.. I have been considering one for a few yrs now and may eventually turn my 31PU into one.
NO 37Kid, I did this a while back and although I worked on it steady for Eight weeks, it was only do***ented on 35 MM film [before I used digital cameras]... It was labor intensive, even in metal rather than wood. car was A REAL woody =all rotted out= in a previous life. It came to me with all the wood gone and only a roof with a peice of angle iron holding it up at the rear/I had to make the side window and front door tops and openings plus tail gate and lift gate from scratch using only the stock rear gl*** as a reference.... Car Was Painted by Roger Ward Ottawa Ks Was then wood grained by master woodgrainer Ron Steward of Independence missouri car was featured in Custom Rodder
I found exactly what I need..Anyone have an extra 3 grand layin around? As for the woodworking skills..When I was 13 or 14 years old,my Mother and I built an outhouse that stood for years. I've always played with wood and after I got too sick to be a Cop,I became a carpenter,a job that allowed me to work when I was able.
I tried to resurrect a '29 woody and failed, but do have some photos. The ch***is in your photo is what you need to start. Everything else is built off that platform. You will need to put a wood header above the windshield to set the heighth and vertical wood door jambs to hang the doors as the stock cowl is curved but the woody doors are straight. Piano hinges are available. The references to the Woody club within the Model A club is good advise. The company in New York that sells the woody kits has a Maple syrup grove so as the trees stop producing, they become raw material for the kits. When I was considering it, the kit was around $5K and the hardware kit was around $1200. IF you are interested, PM me and I will dig up the old photos of my attempt.
I used to know where there was an A woody that went through a fire that I could pull patterns from. maybe the fellas hasn't completely destroyed it yet, he was going to tune it into a fire truck for obvious reasons. Ya want me to look the fella up and see if i can still pull patterns for ya? 3K, hell I need a dingle ball hone that will get a 4.125 cylinder and can't afford it. But I like ya the next 3K that lands in my lap I'll send to ya.
I found the perfect base for a 32 woody. It's a European style former 32 Tudor (the one with suicide doors) It had been rebuild as a farmers pickup in the 40's or 50's Bonus is it's really solid and really cheap.
Here's a link to some good woodie build photos although not Model A http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/Martin/vehicles
The Jalopy Journal
