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Barn Find Unfinished 50's Hot Rod

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Dave_D, Jul 3, 2009.

  1. Dave_D
    Joined: Jan 24, 2005
    Posts: 191

    Dave_D
    Member
    from NY

    I came across an ad on my local Craigslist yesterday for a "23 ford hot rod project" There were two small pictures in the ad, and I could tell it was no 23 ford, it looked more like a 28-29 roadster. I answered the ad and went to see the car. It turns out the car was only about 5 miles from my house, sitting in a barn on an old dairy farm that I have driven past probably hundreds of times. The man that I talked to said that his dad had started building the car a long time ago, but he apparently lost interest and the car had been sitting in the barn for over 40 years. He also said that his dad had bought a new frame for it when he started building it, and that it still had the manufacturers tag on it. I wasn't aware of any aftermarket frame manufacturers in the 50's, so I was curious to see what I would find. I looked at the car and found out it was a 28-29 roadster pick-up. It was on an aftermarket frame, with a tag that read "Wildfire". My dad was with me and he recognized the name as a late 40's - early 50's sports car manufacturer. A deal was made and we went back today and picked up the car. I'm going to try to post some pictures, hopefully this works.

    Here's the barn where the car sat for the last 40+ years:
    [​IMG]

    This is what I first saw when I walked in:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    We started moving junk out of the way, took the body off the frame, and started rolling it out:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Loaded it on the trailer and headed for the long 5-mile journey home:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Got it home and off the trailer and snapped a couple more pictures:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Here some shots of the frame with the bosy off:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    And one of the frame tag:
    [​IMG]

    So there it is, the question now is what do I do with it? I did some googleing, and found a couple websites that talk about the Woodill Wildfire sports car.

    http://www.woodillwildfire.com/

    This site shows a picture from the Woodill factory in the 50's, and you can see a frame leaning against the wall that appears identical to mine.

    http://fiberglasssportscars.com/Wildfire_Wildfire/Woodill_Wildfire.htm

    And this site is about the Glasspar G2 sports car, which is apparently where Woodill got their frames from, and there’s another picture a frame like mine on this page

    http://fiberglasssportscars.com/Wildfire_Wildfire/Woodill_Wildfire.htm

    I guess I’m looking for opinions on what I should do with the car. The woodill frame is very wide, especially at the front, and the body doesn't fit it that well. I do have a Model A frame here that I could use instead. Or I could cut this frame and modify it to make it work with this body. Does anyone know if this Woodill frame would have any value to vintage sports car enthusiasts? This post has gotten a little more long winded that I had planned, so thanks if you're still reading this far!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2014
  2. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    Awesome find! Use the A frame you have, sell the wildfire off. It's a cool piece, just not for this car. Congrats!
     
  3. sodbuster
    Joined: Oct 15, 2001
    Posts: 5,040

    sodbuster
    Member
    from Kansas

    Neat find, and I can smell that barn.........any more "treasures" in there? At least the guy had the "smarts" to put concrete blocks under the rear axle to keep it in the air.

    Chris Nelson
    Kansas
     
  4. thayer
    Joined: May 29, 2005
    Posts: 58

    thayer
    Member
    from P-Hoe_Nix

    awesome story and great find!
     

  5. casper
    Joined: Apr 27, 2005
    Posts: 976

    casper
    Member

    That is awesome! I have never heard of the frame manufacture. It looks like the radiator and shell would have to be really short to line up right. Maybe you could change the front crossmember and bring the frame rails back down to make it look better, but again I do not know if you would be changing something that is valueable in stock form. Whatever you do, congratulations on a really cool score!
     
  6. Plowboy
    Joined: Nov 8, 2002
    Posts: 4,278

    Plowboy
    Member

    Look, it is the first Bleed Sweep frame!
     
  7. Tuck
    Joined: May 14, 2001
    Posts: 5,780

    Tuck
    Tech Editor
    from MINNESOTA
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    sell that chassis to someone who can save a wildfire-

    and use a model a frame or build your own.
    DONT USE THAT FRAME its ugly as all get-out... no matter how much you cut it up.
     
  8. Nice find, the body looks really clean!
     
  9. D-fens
    Joined: Aug 30, 2007
    Posts: 368

    D-fens
    Member
    from Huntsville

    Tough to say without knowing the whole story, but buddy's project may have stalled when he realized the frame and body didn't quite work together.

    I say keep the body and get a frame that fits it better. Try listing the Woodill frame for sale on one of the enthusiast sites and see what happens.
     
  10. AHotRod
    Joined: Jul 27, 2001
    Posts: 12,216

    AHotRod
    Member

    Nice Score !
     
  11. I would mess with mocking it up on that frame w/o cutting anything to see if you can get it to work for what you'd power it with, and to see if you can come up with something you like. It'd be different, and it might end up being cool. In the meanwhile, you'll probably find answers to the frame value question.

    Thanks,
    Kurt
     
  12. Babyearl
    Joined: May 23, 2008
    Posts: 610

    Babyearl
    Member

    I concure with this prognosis.:D
     
  13. Carter
    Joined: Mar 18, 2006
    Posts: 1,522

    Carter
    Member

    What he said

    l l l l l l
    V V V V V V


     
  14. NealinCA
    Joined: Dec 12, 2001
    Posts: 3,143

    NealinCA
    Member

    That's the Original Woodill Sweep (TM)...which just goes to show you that everything was invented in California.:rolleyes:

    Neal
     
  15. Pat Pryor
    Joined: May 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,911

    Pat Pryor
    Member

    good find, dont use that frame tho. that angle on the front end is too steep and in the wrong direction
     
  16. LIL.TIMMYUser Name
    Joined: Jan 30, 2009
    Posts: 741

    LIL.TIMMYUser Name
    Member

    that frames gotta go!!!!!! talk about "ugly as a bag of smashed ass-holes" nice looking body and bed though. should make a neat little rod.
     
  17. captainjunk#2
    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,420

    captainjunk#2
    Member

    cool score will make a nice car , sell that ugly arse frame to some wildfire restorer , and build a cool z d frame
     
  18. What should go is that saying. :rolleyes:
     
  19. Asphalt Outlaw Hero
    Joined: Dec 9, 2006
    Posts: 963

    Asphalt Outlaw Hero
    Member
    from Dixie

    Score another frame.I'd put the Wildfire Frame on Epay.
    Cool deal.
     
  20. hvychvy
    Joined: Jul 21, 2005
    Posts: 1,874

    hvychvy
    Member

    Cool find,keep us updated.
     
  21. donut29
    Joined: Mar 6, 2006
    Posts: 1,518

    donut29
    Member
    from canton MI

    Looks like a great start to a cool RPU

    put the frame up for sale and get a 32 frame
     
  22. hotrod40coupe
    Joined: Apr 8, 2007
    Posts: 2,561

    hotrod40coupe
    Member

    That frame is too ugly for words. The rest...Good score.
     
  23. ddpecka348
    Joined: Dec 27, 2007
    Posts: 360

    ddpecka348
    Member

  24. mr.smith
    Joined: Jul 1, 2008
    Posts: 203

    mr.smith
    Member

    great ride nd great find!
     
  25. I wonder where the original body went? Did you check the rest of the barn for it?
    I can remember one showing up at north Jersey's Island Dragway in '61 with a SBC running as a modified sports.
     
  26. GARY?
    Joined: Aug 15, 2005
    Posts: 1,631

    GARY?
    Member

    that's what I was thinking.

    Cool find.
     
  27. 60'shotrod
    Joined: Nov 18, 2007
    Posts: 2,914

    60'shotrod
    Member

    Body YES, Frame NO! Nice find though!

    Nick.
     
  28. Me three.
     
  29. HomemadeHardtop57
    Joined: Nov 15, 2007
    Posts: 4,328

    HomemadeHardtop57
    Member

    very cool..and so close to your house..great find
     
  30. Dave_D
    Joined: Jan 24, 2005
    Posts: 191

    Dave_D
    Member
    from NY

    Thanks for the replies, everyone. Looks like everyone here is thinking the same thing I was, ditch the wildfire frame and build a proper hot rod frame. I guess I’m off to see if I can find any nostalgia sports car forums to see if this frame is worth anything.
     

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