I was telling a buddy about getting a POS cowl from 4T64RD at Turkey and he said "build a woodie". I got to thinking about it more and did some looking on the HAMB and havent run accross much if any about them or the depot hacks. Has anyone built a woodie with just the cowl part? I remember Hercules Body Co. out of Tampa did a kit years ago and heard they quit making them. Does any one have pics or dimension drawings? Or are woodies considered gay and non-traditional Beach Boy stuff?
I know this is kinda an extreme example, but this was built by Don Audel of Spokane. It was a real jaw dropper on so many levels...
. At first glance I thouhgt this one was a stocker until I noticed how the door curves under. A nice home grown woodie.
Check out these two sites - www.nationalwoodieclub.com and www.oldwoodies.com They will keep you busy for a while searching the links. There was a site called Woodie Works in Ohio, but their web site seems to be down. They built and had drawings of phantom woodies. The National Woodie Club use to have plans for building a woodie from just a cowl, fenders, etc. They were drawn by a man name Mike, don't remember his last name sorry, who did build one from a Dodge cowl and Model A fenders and frame (He wrote about it in an old Hot Rod Mechanix). I have a '29 or '30 Chevy 1 1/2 ton cowl and front fenders that I want to build one from. Let us know what you decide. Tom
I think for most it is just too much work. I mean you can't just take a hammer to wood and try to get your shape.
Here is a 51Buick I chopped and made the wood panels from metal then they were painted to look like wood-but wont warp in the humidity! sorry resizing hurt the pic quality!
[ QUOTE ] . At first glance I thouhgt this one was a stocker until I noticed how the door curves under. A nice home grown woodie. [/ QUOTE ] i sware thats the same one i seen rolling through my town earlier this year on the back of a big car hauler. i guess it sold!
Thanks for the reponses guys, I had in mind something like the green one of that Tommy posted but a LOT lower, I haven't seen one done low before. Are the frames a standard Model A frame or are they longer? Choprods - you a fabrication GOD, that car has soooooo much skill showing. So humidity is the killer of these?
Choprods is not A fabrication God, He is THE Fabrication God! Kenny, did'nt you have an article in Tex Smith's book on choppin tops??? He never ceases to amaze me with his talents. Tommy Mc
There was a chopped and channeled 30-31 woodie hot rod from the 50s. Hank's Speed shop in Berwyn Pa. had it back in the 50s. It's bounced around the east coast since then. It was one of those cars that lit my fire that I can never put out. There are pictures somewhere on the net of it drag racing back in the 50s. Real woodies have cast brackets to attach the uprights to the top of the frame. It seems to me a channeled body would be easier to attach the wood to the side of the frame if that is the style you want. The Hercules bodys were a steel framework covered with wood. For me the ultimate woodie was the beige one that Coddington built back in the middle(?) 80s. A deuce of course with a truck style sunvisor that softened the brick w/shield look of the deuce. I saw it at Oklahoma city nats and at the Columbus nats. THE perfect woodie hot rod for my taste. Get out pencil and paper and start drawing up the look. from there you can work out the details.
Do like tommy said and start drawing it out. An easy way is to find a pic of a car you want to build. (A?) Find a picture of a regular bodied one that is otherwise like you want. (stance, etc) If you have photoshop simply erase everything behind the cowl, but if you're "old school" take scissors and cut the picture at the cowl. set it on a white peice of paper and photocopy it. Make a bunch of copies and just start drawing in the wood part. Back in my vw days I always wanted to build a bug woody, and I did a bunch of designs this way. Quick, and the proportions are always right. I still have the old popular mechanice vw woody plans with full size patterns somewhere.....
Woodies not cool?. How can you not love a longroof Dixie, it is very doable, I would recommend joining the National Woodie club. for $5 you can buy plans for building a sudo Model A body. take a look at my link below, I have a few hundred woodies on there (its my passion) as there are all types from early to old... If I ever come across a decent priced Model A truck cowl I plan to buy and build one for me. thought about even building one and swapping my Sedan body over.. Here are a few
this early ford woodie is truely one mans love of wood. he cut down the wood used to make this car about 25yrs before he started the car. he knew one day he wanted to build a Woodie.. nothing like starting w/the wood.....
Slightly off topic and this is a way old post, but I live in Berwyn, PA and was wondering where Hank's speed shop was located? If anyone knows I'd like to check it out (if the building still exists). Cheers, Will
If no one here can answer your question, "gt40tt" on the Boss 302 Exchange board (at www.boss302.com) used to work there. He could answer it for you. Pic's taken at Hank's Speed Shop:
That was over 45 years ago. It was on the north side of 30 going west out of Berwyn towards Paoli. I think it might have been an old gas station. I have not been back in 20 years but there was no recognizable signs of it the last time I was there. I'm sure I would not recognize it today. I do want to go back and ride around some day. It was a pretty active hot rod town back in the late 50s/early 60s. My cousin had a 46 business coupe with a nail head Buick. His buddy bought a chopped 40 convertible from California with a Hemi and a bunch of 97s on top. I remember the woodie in the parking lot. I remember a chopped and channeled Model A coupe running a flathead with Desoto hemi valve covers at the Fireman's fair at the school. Some of my earliest hot rod memories came from Berwyn.
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