Hot Rods Homebuilt Woodies? Anyone Done It?

We had a thread going awhile back were a few guys had built woodies themselves with whatever cowl and fenders they had laying around.

Unfortunately the Photobucket BS has killed most of our good pic threads so let’s start a new one.

Anyone done anything like this or have any suggestions how to start a project like this?

Seems to me like the flat panel delivery style vehicles would be the easiest to recreate.

Here’s a few pics of my favorites to get us started.

Thanks in advance.

-Ron

 

Check out the posts by GB Sissons over on the Ford Barn and the FTE. He posted a detailed account of his jail bar woodie.

 

27 chevy touring car turned woodie.

 

Built my '36 woodie using a tudor sedan body that had a caved-in roof. Just cut everything off except the cowl and floor pan and built it from there. Been on the road a little over a year now.

 

Phantom 34 Chevy woodie

Coach built 1942 series 70 Oldsmobile, woodies were only produced in smaller 60 series


Local 48 GM [Holden], only produced in sedan and coupe utility. No station wagons, only prototypes or coach built

 

My 34 chassis came with this home made woodie body on it. Cowl was a late 20s Buick, 33 chevy radiator shell and the wood [cheap 1/4" plywood] was bolted to a 3/4" square tubing framework. It was only tac welded and all came apart with a hammer. Had fairly nice lines for a box..

 

I’d like to see more pics of this one. Got any more?

 

This is going to be a great thread! Looking forward to lots of photos. Bob

 

Hi Ron-
Glad you liked my woodie. Here are some more pics of it plus one of the body I started with.

 

I have always wanted todo this. I am no wood worker though. Please keep this post going with more photos or maybe progress photos.

 

The National Woodie Club offers plans to build a Model A Station Wagon. Any Woodie with flat sides, up until about 1938, will be a lot easier to build than one with compound curves. A table saw, chop saw, biscuit cutter, router and a few hand tools and you can get started. Being involved with Woodies for about 30 years I found that your choice of wood is critical. If you use maple, ash, or some other hard wood will make your car stand out from one constructed with pine and plywood. A word of caution however. To build a car as beautiful as cbillelder has, will take time and tremendous skill. Also, hardwood such as maple is very expensive.

 

Beautiful work! Keep them coming.

 

Has kits http://www.woodncarr.net/index.html

 

This car was built from 1 1/4 round tubing and the covered with split and coped bamboo. Customer said he wanted a bamboo woody.

 

I like that^^^^ Wood look neat with a thatched roof!

 

Love these woodies the ‘36 woodie on the Tudor sedan body is a beauty.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

This '29 really looks nice, no sidemount and no steel panel in the drivers door to clear the sidemount spare. Bob

 

More home made tiki then just woody by someone? cool.

 

A friend of mine built a 32 woodie starting with a rough 32 pickup, he used the frame and the cowl section, he made it a 2 door and made the body from cabinet grade birch.

He later sold it to a guy in Florida that added a gas powered popcorn popper in the back and from what I was told the guy recouped his investment for what he paid for the woodie & retrofiring the popcorn equipment in one car show season.

The smell would attract you and I thought 5 bucks for a small bag was insane and people wouldn't but it, man was I wrong, at Goodguys in Charlotte, North Carolina I broke down and bought a bag, then another & another.

Before the weekend was over I spent 20 bucks and I'm not the only one gorging on popcorn.
That guy worked his butt off and had a line from the time he got there until he quit for the day.
HRP

 

There is a '32 Pickup around here with Woodie style doors, really looks nice. Bob

 

I've always wanted to build a woody, being a trim carpenter by trade would(pun intended) make it a bit easier for me than the average joe. My pops has a cowl from a 28/9 model A pickup that would be the perfect canidate.

 

With your builds I believe you could really build a nice woodie, go for it. HRP

 

Fantastic! This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen here in awhile.

 

Thanks man, I had better get my other projects done before I even think about a woody!

 

I really like this one.

 

Take your time and bend the wood, or bandsaw the curves. In my opinion Woodies made from all straight wood look amateurish.

 

Model A's were all straight panels. I wouldnt say they are amateurish. I think you can build a woody with straight panels but a guy needs a shaper to put some detail in the structural rails.

 

Most excellent save. Well done. Snowman

 

swedish woody

 

Who remembers. This one