History Wood Ya Like To Drag?

I posted this on our FB "Fordy Friends" site. Maybe one of the group members there can identify the wild and wooly, woody wagon!

 

Seems like the body wouldn't last long doing that, every wood joint would be destroyed in short order

 

Apologies to those that like it, but I never found Jeff Courtie’s Olds that great looking. It's definitely cool, but it just looks too frumpy.

This '40 on the other hand looks totally Bitchen!

I hope more turns up on it.

 

Seems too me I've seen pictures of this one in a drag race to back in the late 50's early 60's maybe.

 

Found them!

 

Obviously there was a 'race'. But I suspect the photo is from the tire warm-up and not the actual 'start'. (Too much smoke from the 'Vette and from the stance, the woody appears to be backing up.)
It sure seems like a mismatch, though, and it would be interesting to learn any details on what as well as why and how it happened.

 

I agree with 41woodie. Why the heck would you choose this body style to build a race car? Not only would every joint be trashed by body flex, but the station wagon was the heaviest of all Ford bodies in 1939.

 

Check out this one I found online in trying to come up with something on the '40. There wasn't any additional info on it, but most definitely looks to be at Indy.

 

A little OT here, but in every photo I've ever seen of "Irwindale", there is this single story structure with the Irwindale sign on it, and no actual "tower"; was there a tower at Irwindale? Modern day Fontana drag strip does't seem to have a tower either. I think the Woodies and Wagons were probably someone's street car that evolved into their race car. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

A competition car that wasn't competitive? And, it's ugly, too. Why?

 

Ok, I brought some 'wood' for this to start a fire. Race? Not even close in what I'm seeing. Where's the insane amount of fresh rubber on the other side? Where's the other driver's gear (helmet, long sleves, etc.)? Who were Kirby's friends and what did they have that was notable? So here's the fire starter, what are the odds that this was test session for a new car(s)? Clearly the Vette is as new and fresh looking as can be. Where's the massive crowd and all the other cars waiting? At first glance it may look like the woody has left some rubber but look closer. The tire is off to the side of that, and in fact the whole car is pretty far to the right in his lane. So what really is happening here should be the story. I'll bet Kirby had a friend with a bitchin woody and he was there for the feature shoot and testing of this new car, may have helped build the Vette, and he played chase car for the pass if there even was a full run. I'm sure "test and tune" sessions existed in the heydays of drag racing way back then and that's what this was. If I burned up a grand story created please understand I didn't do it out of spite. I'm a fan Joey, dig a lot of your stuff, but my answer to this "quiz" is his buddy's bitchin wagon dragged him back to the pits after this was done. If that makes me a buzzkill this time, oh well, I can take it. Kool shot, even kooler F/C.

 

I've collected old car mags for a while, don't recall many '39-'40 Woody rods until early seventies IN magazines. Shame the true iron ignored by the available publications even then!