Ever Scratch Built a Woodie??

Anybody here ever scratch built a woodie body? I was thinking baout what it would take to find something cool from the cowl forward and then build a woodie body for it.

Anybody done or seen it done? How tough was it (I have some woodworking experience - table, cabinets, etc.) and what should I watch out for? Was hte experience worth it?

Thanks for the input. And yes, I'm ready for the myriad of jokes referencing the male anatomy, so go ahead. A good schwantz joke is welcome once in a while.

 

See Evel's post bout his ruff day at MFS....

 

I did a story for Street Rod Builder a couple years ago, showing how Hercules in Tampa, Florida completely scratch builds '33-'34 Ford Woodies. They start with rough lumber and flat sheetmetal, and when they're done it's a complete body.
I'll look for the story, but can't make any promises--all my back issues are in the basement, and they're a mess.
Maybe someone here will read this and remember the story?
-Brad

 

the national woodie club (I think thats the name of it) has plans that they sell to build a model a woodie.

 

If you join the club, you can purchase plans for $5. they are for a model A cowl. I am thinking of doing one to put inplace of my Sedan body....

 

A friend of mine's business...


http://www.woodieworks.net/ww/index.html


Mutt

 

The design,and choice of materials,are critical.

Too many of them look like home made packing crates,
instead of a hand made wooden body.

 

I read a book about it, does that count? What is the site for the woody club, anyone know it off hand?

 

Send a pm to Sawzall.

It's a tough project. Anything less than perfection in the design department and it will look like shit, like that '36 faux woodie that was built a few years ago and popped up here a couple times so we could make fun of it... and it deserved it.

 

A buddy of mine built this from scratch. It's just a dummy to sit outside his shop. Sits on a stock 46-48 Ford frame.

 

Man thats funky.

 

the site is http://nationalwoodieclub.com also try oldwoodies.com

 

Haven't yet, but I'm gathering parts. I got the cowl (30-31) and I took some pics of ones I liked at Columbus. I have drawn out some plans since I got home. And I scored a couple of palets from the Sante Fe RR with their logo stamped on them. It will be a slow project cause I'm fixin to start somthing else that I want done first.... but I'll get there.

Plus I got the GRUMPY seal of approval, so theres that....=)

I'll be watching how you do!

 

Hercules website

 

Thanks for the input gentlemen (not the thing to say in the shower prison), now I've got some places to start to gather info.

 

POSIE did it.



not quite traditional but it does have skirts.

 

Hey Stud, tell your buddy that kicks serious ass.

 

Yeah, well he does have a touch more experience and budget on me, but thanks for the "inspiration"... too bad that car's so ugly. Yeah I said it UGLY!!

 

The Hercules woodys are fine pieces of workmanship. He has an open house the Thursday before the Nationals down here in Tampa.
Next door neighbor bought the last 29 that Cecil built. He has since sold it and Cecil started building 34's and says he is going to build a 37 for the next generation of woodys.
If you ever get a chance, stop by his shop and check out the work that they turn out of there.

 

I hate that thing. ^^^^^^


CKD Issue #5 has a wagon with wood trim which looked pretty simple and effective. Making a woodie would be a real task. I saw a TV show- I think it was monster garage where one of the workers thats what he did for a living was restore wood for woodies.

 

It does illustrate though that you could build a woodie and use a steel top in it. I think if I built one say for a Model A I'd use a metal top and build a metal structure to support it under the wood. You could even do sheetmetal in place of plywood on the sides, like my '50 woodie had. Probably cheating, but it would be different at any rate.

Just don't use a late model windshield laid-back like that... doesn't look right...

 

i agree with the metal top idea. i always loved woodies but would like the benefits of a metal roof. i like the more curved rear of the later models. like maybe if posie took his windsheild and used it as a rear window and had a tailgate. my opinion only. but being a carpenter im sure youd know more about what goes into making curves like that. steaming it i believe.

for the record... not one of my favorite cars etiher.

 

The current issue of Hemmings Classic Car is centered on woodies. It has an article by HAMBer "Foul" illustrating the use of finger joints in fabricating parts for the later woodies with complex bends & curves. Check it out, it really shows how involved you'd need to get when building something beyond a Model T depot hack body.

 

I thought it was neat. I like his aircleaner he made. The iron cross in front is actually the hole for air to come in, it even has filters in it. The tiki carving on the door is hard to see in the picture, but it's pretty cool. He is a pinstriper too, so he went nuts on it. The firewall is dedicated to Ed Roth.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check out a copy of it tonight. I'd like to end up with something more than a depot hack and some good insight on jointery, curvatures, and planning is what I need to know.

As for the steel top idea a few posts ago - now what kind of a trimmer would I be if I didn't make the canvas top? Besides, I love the look of the wainscoting type beadwork in the headliners of woodies.

Uhuhuuhuuuhhhuuhhuuuhhuuu - You said 'jointery' - Uhhuhhuuuhhhuhhhhuuuhh...

 

This one is built from a sedan. A guy in my former club just finished it.

 

The wife and I built one from scratch last night.

Scratch a little here, a little there, and presto WOODY!

 

I like the Hercules bodies in the 4 door version and someday would like to buy a body from them to build a 33/34. I have seen ads for a place in PA, that has a booth at Hershey, selling Model A bodies for $4500. I would love to see what that gets you. If they were decent I would consider selling my sedan body and adding a few dollars to get the wood.

I have wondered what the place in FL (noted above) charges their 2 door model A bodies. When it comes to Woodies, I firmly believe it must have 4 doors to look right, very few 2 doors have ever received my seal of approval. The blue one he build looks cool, but the door look short compared to the rest of the body.

 

LOL

thats wrong in SO many ways

 

I'm a little surprised boys. It took 27 posts for a schwantz joke to rear its ugly head, so to speak.

Say Gordon, what did she scratch you with - 40 or 80 grit?