Longroof thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/alllllll-the-longroofs-lets-see-em-boys.2240/
Hello, When we moved to this 2nd Westside of Long Beach home in 1953, we did not know it was going to be a forever home for our mom. We grew up from elementary school until college, then both brothers getting married, and finally, trying to get our mom to move to a new condo near us in the OC. She actually bought one, and watched it being built from the ground up. It was about 5 minutes from our old house in 1997. She was finally happy that she was going to live in a new condo close to us and that she could drive over, most anytime. Obviously, for us, it was a miracle, as we had kept asking for the previous 14 years for her to move closer to us. But, in 1953, when we moved into the 2nd Westside home near the speed shops of Joe Mailliard, Speed Engineering, and Mickey Thompson(later) as well as Clay Smith Cams, that is where we grew up. The family next door had an older station wagon a 52 Ford Station Wagon. But, as the years rolled by, by 1956, they purchased another red/white combination station wagon for their 4 people family similar in looks I had taken the film of my brother and his teenage friends getting into the 1951 Oldsmobile sedan and then going off to the cruising scenes in Bixby Knolls. But, for the life of me, the Oldsmobile sedan always took precedence over anything else in the film, well, except for our mom, waving good bye to the teens. 1957 Lime Green Olds/Moon Discs Ford Wagon at the beginning... But, recently, doing a digital frame by frame movie editing, I finally saw the Red 56 Ford Station Wagon of our next door neighbor. By the end of the year, 1957, they had moved to a new tract home in Lakewood, CA. Jnaki The Lakewood neighborhood tract homes were the latest development in a huge, barren location near the Douglas Aircraft Manufacturing Plant and the Long Beach Airport. It was very popular, since it was a new home development, not one like ours built in 1946. The lure of new homes in a new location with the job close at hand is nothing to scoff at during this time period. A family friend also moved to the same development back then, too.
Hello, Despite the intermittent downpour of water, then a few hours of no rain, then another squall hitting the beach areas just before New Year’s Eve, we had time to run some errands prior to the holiday. The unusual blue Pontiac station wagon was sighted in a field of black and grey cars, let alone the dark grey skies. In So Cal, we have seen plenty of Ford woody wagons, station wagons with no wood and some with the vinyl inserts as per the 50s style. So, where does this minimal “wood” version of the classic 52 Pontiac Station Wagon fit in? Woodies, some would (pun intended) get their pants all pulled up in a fit… not enough wood or real wood. Others would say 50s Fords with sticker wood are considered woodies, so, why not this Pontiac version? One other slang name is “Tin Woody…” Jnaki In the information gathering stage, I found out that it has an all new Chevy drive train including a 383 motor. So, the power goes with the looks. Despite the odd confusion and “protection-ism” of any definition of a Woody, what does and doesn’t get considered a woody station wagon? For my wife, in identifying this blue Pontiac station wagon, it was her sighting of the station wagon parked on a side street. “Look at the blue old station wagon on the curb…” From the old days of unexpected running nose water drips, “Psst… he is one of us…” HA!
Pretty easy to make an 49-51 Olds wagon, if you can find the parts. Chev or Pontiac wagon body, Olds front clip, dash and tail lights. Some assembly required.
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