Not a barn find - 39 Woodie

[Gary-UK]

More of a garage find, Parked 30+ years this is the first time its seen daylight since. Its a Canadian built RHD 39 Deluxe woodie, a rare car in England when new, more so now. As far as I can tell only the floor mats, bumper overiders and glove box clock are missing. I picked it up on Tuesday and thought some of you on here might enjoy seeing it.

[Fe26]

What a fantastic find. And in such original condition, enjoy your time behind the wheel.

[Gary-UK]

I thought it was a 91A-79B ?

[Vic Piano]

That is very cool!

[klicker]

Very nice!

[Will Kimble]

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Wowzers!

[Lawson Cox]

Nice find. Very rare, it even has the steering wheel on the passenger's side. LOL

[19Fordy]

Originally Posted by Gary-UK

I thought it was a 91A-79B ?

You are correct. I was looking at 1940. Now it's even more rare as only 6155 of them were made in 1939 according to The V-8 Album.

[jimTN]

It appears to have the sand wheels, wider than standard for larger tires.

[1937pickup]

Do you ship? I'll take it in a heart beat.

[Rebel Sympathy]

GOOD GAWD 'O MIGHTY!!!!! What a sweet, sweet V-8 Ford!!! Be a good "Daddy" and take original care of her.

MIke

[G.M.]

Fe26 It's worth doing a FIRST class restoration on a car like that. Over here fully restored it would sell for in the $150,000 range. I sold one about 8 years ago to Skip Barber who ran race driving schools at some of the major tracks. That one is still on my web site. www.fordclollector.com G.M.

[Rebel Sympathy]

Well....... maybe not quite $150,000 anymore..... More like $90,000.

Mike

[FHFD]

Very nice..you are now officially the envy of most of us on here.

[39wdy]

Hi, My absolute favorite Ford from any era. I had to sell mine back in the early 1990's to pay college tuition for my son. I started immediately gathering parts from all over New England to build another one. I have the entire car in pieces stored in the attic of my barn with the chassis hanging on the wall of my garage. If I live long enough, I'll put it together and drive it like I did my first one. I am very envious, what a wonderful find. ENJOY! Best wishes, Toby

[Mart]

Love it Gary, care to share any more info on how you came to find it?

What are your plans??

Mart.

[Fe26]

Originally Posted by Lawson Cox

Nice find. Very rare, it even has the steering wheel on the passenger's side. LOL

It ain't no Woody without a surfboard either Lawson. I wonder, do the waves down at the beach break the other way?

[Fe26]

Originally Posted by G.M.

Fe26 It's worth doing a FIRST class restoration on a car like that. Over here fully restored it would sell for in the $150,000 range. I sold one about 8 years ago to Skip Barber who ran race driving schools at some of the major tracks. That one is still on my web site. www.fordclollector.com G.M.

That's the dilemma isn't it? There are restored ones out there, so restoring this one would add to that number. But in doing so this amazingly original car would change. It would no longer be original and we would lose a survivor.

In my opinion the owner would lose more than he gained if the wagon were restored. Right now it's unique, restored, it's just another one of the boys, nice in it's own right, unremarkable and no longer original.

[Gary-UK]

The plan for now is to fix whats needed and retain as much of the original car as possible then use it as it was intended.
Some of the wood is in dire need of replacement before it can be driven, it will end up a combination of new and old wood.
I don't think it has the wider "balloon tyre" wheels, it does have oversize rear tyres fitted though.

Mart it came via a good of friend of mine who knew I was looking for a woodie project.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by Fe26

That's the dilemma isn't it? There are restored ones out there, so restoring this one would add to that number. But in doing so this amazingly original car would change. It would no longer be original and we would lose a survivor.

In my opinion the owner would lose more than he gained if the wagon were restored. Right now it's unique, restored, it's just another one of the boys, nice in it's own right, unremarkable and no longer original.

That's not just corny sentiment. It's quantifyable:
Count the number of admirers an original gets and how many a restored car gets.
Also, crunch the numbers and you'll see that preserving as opposed to restoring makes a clear monetary statement.

[Fe26]

Your task now Gary-UK is to teach your kids to clean the brushed paintwork on the car. Each time they clean it give them Sugar-Soap, and tell them to give it a good scrub. That paint will come off just fine.

[Plumpcars]

Such a great find Gary and love your plans for it.

[Al NJ]

Great wagon!

[Mart]

Bravo Gary.

[TomT/Williamsburg]

What a rare, great find - I like your idea of leaving it alone, fixing only what's needed, and drive it as it was intended. Good luck and keep us posted ....

[sturgis 39]

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I am planning on parking my 89 Olds with one original tire in a shed. The car has about 300,000 miles. The odometer quit working at 216, 000 miles. These cars are not in demand right now. Do you think somebody in forty years will say what a great find?

The "cash for clunkers" program sent a lot of these cars to the crushers. They were high mileage cars that you could pick up for $200 to $300. They run forever and now you can not find them.

[bart78]

Awesome would love one some day. When I was a kid my grandfather had on that was a 39 standard. The barn it was in was in sad shape and a storm knocked part of it down. He pushed the barn and the car in a hole with a tractor and covered it up. And to this day he says that that car would have cost more than it was worth to fix.

[FHFD]

Originally Posted by sturgis 39

I am planning on parking my 89 Olds with one original tire in a shed. The car has about 300,000 miles. The odometer quit working at 216, 000 miles. These cars are not in demand right now. Do you think somebody in forty years will say what a great find?

The "cash for clunkers" program sent a lot of these cars to the crushers. They were high mileage cars that you could pick up for $200 to $300. They run forever and now you can not find them.

That's funny..you were being sarcastic..right?

[Fe26]

Originally Posted by sturgis 39

I am planning on parking my 89 Olds with one original tire in a shed. The car has about 300,000 miles. The odometer quit working at 216, 000 miles. These cars are not in demand right now. Do you think somebody in forty years will say what a great find?

The "cash for clunkers" program sent a lot of these cars to the crushers. They were high mileage cars that you could pick up for $200 to $300. They run forever and now you can not find them.

You left out one very important event that a car must go through to be desirable later on. The racing history! The more beat up it gets the more people will want it, and it's history...

[41ford1]

Gary, You have a beautiful wagon (or is it estate) there. I like your approach. Fix what's needed and use as intended. They are more fun that way as you're not afraid to hurt them. Do a full resto and you won't use it. Both my pickup and sedan delivery look OK from 30' so I am not afraid to use as intended. Both have hauled stuff.
FE26, What exactly is "sugar-soap"? I've never heard that term before.

[itsa52]

Very very nice,, Great car, great find, and a great attitude.

[Fe26]

Originally Posted by 41ford1

Gary, You have a beautiful wagon (or is it estate) there. I like your approach. Fix what's needed and use as intended. They are more fun that way as you're not afraid to hurt them. Do a full resto and you won't use it. Both my pickup and sedan delivery look OK from 30' so I am not afraid to use as intended. Both have hauled stuff.
FE26, What exactly is "sugar-soap"? I've never heard that term before.

I'm not sure what it's actually made of. It comes in a Bar form (and also loose packed I have heard).

Sugar soap

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Sugar soap as typically found in Commonwealth countries is a cleaning material of variable composition sold for use on surfaces affected by greasy or tarry deposits which are not easily removed with routine domestic cleaning materials. When in dry powder form it looks like table sugar thus causing the name.
The solution is alkaline and its uses include cleaning paintwork in preparation for repainting.



Needless to say if you 'overclean' your paintwork you will be down to the next layer. Carefull use of Sugar Soap can get you back to the original paintwork, the trouble is, you often find the reason for the 'new' paint job. However, these days we would all forgive the blemished original paint, if we removed the newer blemished paint, which has now become more of a hindrance than a benefit.

[englishdavid]

Wow, very nice looks pretty good for spending its time in Blighty!
So glad I don't have to worry about the UK rust issues now I'm in Colorado!

[denverslim]

When it comes to originality vs restored, I can tell you that personally, I would much rather see it in the shape it is in (if you can get it to any show) than after you've put a ton of $$$ in it to take it back to spiffy. I just love old "found" cars--in the shape they're found...slim

[sawzall]

Love this car.. and your plans for it..

congrats.. hope to see more photos of it soon!..

[Gumpy]

Gary--

great find ---remember they're only original once,,,,drive it and enjoy it!![/I]

[FL&WVMIKE]

Gary-UK ...................
Put me down for another vote on keeping it original.
My ole unrestored '34, (in Avitar), always draws a crowd. I can park it next to a $100,000.00 car and mine still always gets the attention.
I don't have to worry about someone bumping into it, getting it dirty, etc. Much more fun !
MIKE