Event Coverage >>100 pics, world's largest woodie collection

Yep, look at old photos and a lot of cars had blackwalls and were pretty plain daily drivers. Whitewalls are fine but look how good most of these beauties look without them and without all the "revisionist" eye-candy and other distractions. To me these cars catch my eye because of their plainness--and of course their wonderful condition.

 

I always liked the Maroon 46-7-8 Ford woodies. that wood be my favorite.

thanks for posting

 

Just got back to San Diego after viewing the collection today. Great photos, but you just had to be there! Just an educated guess, but is Nick's father Ben Alexander?

 

Very cool, thanks for the photos and info. Hope he keeps his favorites and enjoys retirement. What a great collection.

 

Damn, what a collection! What do you do after you've done it all???

I can count on one hand how many woodies I've seen in my life, in person.

Thanks Doug!

 

Thanks Doug, for taking the time to photograph the collection. Your hard work is appreciated. Stunning automobiles.

 

wow...just wow....Thanks!

 

Great shots of some awesome cars! Thanks for sharing those.

Since I know nothing about the owner I'm curious how long it took him to amass this impressive collection.

 

Thanks for the great pictures, Doug.

 

Unfortunately, it will take far less time to disassemble the collection than it did to acquire it.

 

Doug
Great post. Thanks for taking the time to take and post the pictures. What an incredible collection
I was rooting around on another site looking for more pics and found these of some of his spare wood

 

I try to step up and buy a catalog for the great collection auctions. When the time comes plese let us know.

 

Doug (Mazooma1) ... great thread ... thanks for taking the time to post all these pics!

Here's the Press Release for the auction:

Nick Alexander Woodie Collection

RM Auctions is pleased to announce an additional sale date dedicated to the private ‘Nick Alexander Collection’ of Ford and Mercury ‘woodie’ station wagons to its annual ‘Sports & Classics of Monterey’ auction event August 13-15, 2009

BLENHEIM, Ontario (April 02, 2009) – One of the most historically significant collections of pre- and post-war wood-bodied station wagons ever assembled will be offered at RM Auctions’ Sports & Classics of Monterey event August 13-15, 2009, at the Portola Plaza Hotel, Monterey, California.

The offering of the distinguished Nick Alexander Collection will see RM Auctions extend its annual, highly-anticipated Sports & Classics of Monterey event to three days this year, with all the auction action kicking off on Thursday, August 13 with the sale of the private collection all to be offered without reserve, followed by a magnificent selection of other important and significant collector cars on August 14 and August 15.

“Known worldwide as one of the most significant woodie collections ever assembled, RM Auctions is truly delighted to represent this outstanding group of cars at the Monterey event,” said Ian Kelleher, President, RM Auctions. “With all 52 examples being offered without reserve, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event that will raise the bar of auction offerings on the Monterey Peninsula this August.”

All of the 52 Ford and Mercury wood-bodied station wagons from this esteemed Nick Alexander Collection have either undergone an extensive and historically accurate restoration, or have been carefully preserved to maintain their remarkable original condition. Several of the collection’s highlight cars are multiple award-winners with examples from each decade of the celebrated American woodie era from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s.

Each of the cars are presented in their original factory configuration void of any aftermarket accessories or unnecessary accoutrements, a testament to the skilled restoration team. Each car is highlighted with specific emphasis on the preservation of its original configuration and accordingly, those that have underwent restoration were done so to their original factory configuration, something seldom seen in today’s restoration world.

Several of the significant examples offered at this event include the following:

1932 Ford Station Wagon - Fully restored and spectacularly presented, this is one of only 351 V8 woodies built in 1932. After being recovered in the 1960s by a California school teacher it remained in storage for many years before it was acquired by a noted Arizona Ford collector, from whom Mr. Alexander purchased the car and conducted a full show-quality restoration. Following completion the car received the prestigious Dearborn Award at Pismo Beach from the Early Ford V8 Club (2001).

1946 Mercury Sportsman - Exceptionally rare, this Mercury Sportsman is one of only 205 examples built for one single year, compared to its more prolific Ford counterparts. Purchased new by a steel executive in Ohio it was owned by a prominent woodie enthusiast before being acquired by Mr. Alexander. It benefits from a very high quality restoration and was honored with the prestigious Dearborn Award in 2004 (994 points). With just a handful of these Mercury Sportsmans remaining in existence, this handsome example certainly represents a very rare opportunity for the discerning collector.

1948 Ford Sportsman - Gifted new to a San Diego school teacher by her husband on Christmas Day 1947, this lovely Maize Yellow Sportsman carries the highest body number known to marque specialists. It is believed to be the last Ford Sportsman built, one of just 28 in the 1948 model year. After single ownership for many years it was eventually acquired by the Alexander Collection and remains in excellent condition throughout.

A portion of the proceeds from the Nick Alexander Collection will benefit the Midland School in Santa Ynez Valley, California, a coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school for grades 9-12. Set on a 2,860-acre working ranch, the school emphasizes the values of self-reliance, simplicity, responsibility to community and the environment, and love for the outdoors.

Now in its 24th year, RM's Sports & Classics of Monterey event was the first and original auction held during the now famous Pebble Beach weekend. Over the past two decades the sale has been witness to some of the rarest and most highly sought after collector cars on the market, carving a reputation as the 'heart' of Monterey's famed annual classic car weekend and one of the world's largest auction events of its kind.

Admission to the auction is by catalog only, which admits both the catalog holder and a guest. The full-color collectable catalog is available for $100 U.S. (plus shipping), by calling 519-352-4575. Event times and schedule can be found at www.rmauctions.com

 

Doug, thanks for the great photo spread on these. It is one hell of an impressive collection to say the least. I have never seen it in person and now likely won't get the chance. So, thanks for taking the time to share this with the rest of us. Very much appreciated!

 

WOW!Unbelievable collection.Add say 52 cars to go to auction,any idea how many total in his collection?

 

These pics. should be in the ''cool pics. topic.




Wander

 

How rare is that '42 Mercury woodie? I can't even guess what that car is worth, or what it will bring if it is included in the auction. I think the outcome of this auction will be interesting and will in no way reflect the state of the current economy. To me, these examples of an America that has long passed us by are, in some ways like works of fine art, eventhough they were mass produced. I, for one, will be surfing for the auction results. Thank you again, Mazooma1, for bringing all this to us.

 

Thanks for sharing the pics with those who could not attend.Not only are the cars amazing,but the parts.Like,the frames,rears,the wood kit,that is some collection.

I love looking at car collections,but looking at the other shit,thats interesting.

Thanks again!

 

oh... WOW!

I'd be happy with any one of them, even the ol' deuce, 34 or 35 will do me, rather than one of them fancy newer ones....

I wish!

Cheers, Glen.

 

Amazing!

The historical photos show just how labor intensive it was to build those bodies. Can you imagine what something like that would cost with today's UAW wages?

Excellent thread, thanks for posting it.

 

Thanks Doug for all the great pictures! It's a photo document of a great collection that unfortunately many of us will never see. Thanks to Nick Alexander for preserving all these cars, hopefully they'll all find good homes. Here's a link to Mazooma's other photos of Nick's BBQ/Swapmeet.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=332504

 

i ran an old homelite like this saw . what a pain they were . ... fantastic pix doug .. thanks .. steve

 

great thread doug,cant imagine some of the cool stories nick could tell about these cars and aquiring them,hell ,the one with halifax mass came from my neck of the woods .maybe now that wouldnt be a big deal,but years ago there was no internet and aquiring this collection was a lot of work.any chance of someone getting an interview with nick?that first pic blew me away.thanks again

 

Freakin' cool, thanks for posting the pix. I'm going to be dreaming about the green

35 for a long while.
.........Jack

 

Wow.

What more can you say....

 

thanks for sharing...

 

Lots of history in one place at one time...

 

I hope someone has taken the time to do a book out of his collection. It is truly wonderful to see them all and I had planned to go and see his collection in 2010 but I guess I am to late. Its also sad to see such a wonderful collection broke up.

With that many woodies being sold at one time I have to wonder what that will do to the pricing at the auction (is there enough buyers compared to the quantity)

 

ttt

 

Thanks for posting. Its quite a sight to see all those cars in one place.
I was surprised to see that all of them had current tags on them too