Before World War 2, Ford Motor Company had dominated the station wagon market with its glamorous wood-bodied wagons. Ford held onto its woodies a little too long after the war, losing ground to Plymouth and Chevrolet before making a strong comeback. Let’s take a look at the Ford station wagons of 1946 to 1954, and how they evolved from true woodies into the steel-bodied, simulated-woodgrain Country Squire.
In my earlier post, I looked at the wood-bodied station wagon that established Ford’s reputation as America’s “wagonmaster,” through to the 1942 models released just before production ended “for the duration.” Once the war was over, Ford was able to resume station wagon production in December 1945. The 1946 models were little-changed from the last 1942 wagons, and initially used leftover prewar components from before civilian production shut down.
The big change was price. After four years of war and rationing, American were eager for new cars and had money to spend, but raw materials were in short supply. The federal Office of Price Administration (OPA) imposed tight price controls intended to avoid runaway inflation while still allowing manufacturers to cover their increased costs. At the start of 1946, the OPA authorized Ford to charge up to $1,170 for the station wagon, up a modest $52 from 1942. By May, the agency had raised the ceiling price to a hefty $1,422, and a federal excise tax on new cars added almost $100 to that.
Like the 1940–1942 station wagons, Ford’s postwar “woodies” were assembled at Ford’s Iron Mountain plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Complete trimmed bodies, varnished and primered, were then shipped to regular Ford assembly plants to be mated to chassis and painted.
Before the war, Ford had offered less-fancy versions of the station wagon for commercial users who didn’t want to pay extra for chrome trim and extra accessories. With high postwar demand, production now concentrated on the well-trimmed Super De Luxe models, which were comparable to the top-of-the-line Ford passenger cars.
Unlike the passenger cars, the wagons had rubber matting rather than carpeting, but they had deluxe features like a horn ring, a dashboard clock, a dome light, and sun visors. Many had heaters and radios, and survivors often have accessories like spotlights, fog lamps, and external visors.
Woodie wagons didn’t have conventional headliners — the roof was a framework of wooden slats covered with a big sheet of imitation leather. Ford design chief E.T. (Bob) Gregorie admitted that if the roof didn’t receive proper care, owners were liable to “grow a crop of mushrooms up in the roof ribs.”
Ford woodie wagons had four doors and could seat eight, including the driver. Rear doors had wind-up windows (added for 1942), but the genuine leather upholstery used on the prewar Super De Luxe wagon was replaced during the year by cheaper vinyl.
The rear seats could be removed for additional luggage space.
A well-maintained wood-bodied wagon was very attractive, which had helped to make them very popular with the rich and famous. However, upkeep was demanding. Ford recommended its woodies be garaged to protect them from the elements, and all the wood components needed sanding and varnishing at least once a year — twice a year if the roads were salted in the winter. To remove stains, Ford suggested bleaching with oxalic acid and boiling water, then rinsing with diluted vinegar before sanding and applying varnish with a rot inhibitor.
Hollywood stars had people to do all that maintenance, but it was a big chore for middle-class owners, and having it done by a repair shop was expensive. The October 1946 issue of Chilton’s Motor Age, a journal for automotive service technicians, noted gleefully that “refinishing a station wagon is quite a job and should make for lots of well earned money.”
Ford built 16,920 station wagons in 1946, their second-best-ever sales year. The 1946 models initially carried over into 1947 almost unchanged, but around April 1947, Ford introduced a “true” 1947 station wagon model with some minor changes.
The 1947 wagons weren’t very different, but there were a few ways to spot them, like parking lights below the headlights.
By 1947, Ford was beginning to run into a new problem with its wood-bodied models: The Iron Mountain operation had really decimated its supply of high-quality hardwood. Ford owned about half a million acres of forest, but wood-bodied station wagons used huge amounts of wood, and a lot of good trees in Ford’s acreage had gone to wartime production of wooden gliders. Ford had previously preferred birch, maple, and gumwood for its station wagons, but some 1947 and 1948 woodies substituted hickory, which was easier to get.
Ford wagon production totaled 16,104 for 1947 and 8,912 for the short-lived 1948 model. Station wagons were really starting to take off in the U.S. by this time: Factory sales of all station wagons (not just Ford) reached almost 82,000 in 1947 and topped 110,000 in 1948.
Since 1937, a few customers had ordered Ford station wagons with four-wheel-drive conversions by Marmon-Herrington in Indiana. The 4WD wagons cost about twice as much as the already expensive standard wagon, so they weren’t very common, but some were built through 1948. Survivors are highly prized today — the black one pictured above failed to sell in 2020 after bidding reached $265,000.
Marmon-Herrington “All Wheel Drive” conversions included a reinforced chassis and a four-speed Ford truck gearbox. Early (1937–1938) examples couldn’t be used on dry pavement, since their 4WD was permanently engaged, but later versions had on-demand 4WD that could disengage the front axle for highway driving.
The 1949 Ford, which actually arrived in June 1948, was extensively redesigned, with all-new styling on a completely new chassis. The station wagon was also completely redesigned, going from four doors to two, although the doors were now longer to compensate.
I haven’t found any really convincing answer for why Ford went four doors to two. The most common theory is that Ford thought family buyers with small children would find two doors safer than the rear-hinged back doors of the earlier station wagons.
Ford claimed that the two-door body was stronger and stiffer. That was probably true, but I suspect they were really looking to simplify production and reduce assembly costs, which were very high for wood-bodied cars.
Ford also reduced production costs for 1949 by switching from solid wood framing to laminate — thin strips of maple or birch veneer bonded to strips of cheaper woods — with cheaper mahogany plywood paneling. The laminates and plywood were supposedly stronger and more durable than solid wood, but the more important thing was that they cost a lot less, and were much less wasteful than solid wood, where huge amounts of material might be cut and discarded to get a few good sections.
The 1949 wagons now had welded steel bodies with attached wood panels — structurally, they were no longer really woodies, even though part of their outer skin was real wood.
The station wagon was offered only in the pricier Custom De Luxe series, starting at $2,119 with a six and $2,265 with a V-8. The woodgrain on the dashboard and window frames was simulated, but the doors had stained plywood panels.
The wagon now had a conventional headliner with decorative wood strips, which was quieter and less prone to rot than the previous wood slats.
Ford still claimed eight-passenger capacity, with removable middle and rear seats. Most of the upholstery was vinyl, although a portion of the driver’s seat was real leather.
Ford station wagon production for 1949 swelled to 31,420 units, beating the company’s previous record by almost 2 to 1. It might have been even better if Ford had offered an all-steel wagon with steel rather than wood exterior panels.
The first postwar automaker to offer an all-steel wagon had been Willys-Overland, which launched its Jeep station wagon in June 1946. Sales were modest, but the steel body (which was painted to look sort of like wood) had obvious advantages in durability, and it required a lot less maintenance than a woodie.
The bigger threat to Ford was the new all-steel Plymouth De Luxe Suburban, which arrived in May 1949. Plymouth still had a wood-paneled Suburban in the Special De Luxe line, but the all-steel version was much cheaper. It was also more practical in other ways, since its rear seat could be folded down for extra luggage space rather than having to be removed completely. Plymouth sold almost 20,000 of these wagons in 1949.
Because of the threat of the all-steel Plymouth, Ford ended up with two different 1950 models. The first, introduced in November 1949, was much like the ’49, but with a facelift and various quality improvements. The light green wagon pictured above is an early 1950 model that was originally owned by actor Jon “Hurricane” Hall.
I think the right taillight on the Hall car is a retrofit — the early 1950 wagons originally came with only one taillight on the left side, a cost-saving move.
Ford’s second-series 1950 wagons arrived about six months after the first series. They were now called “Country Squire.”
The 1950 Ford Country Squire didn’t yet have any special exterior identification, so the easiest ways to distinguish one from from the early 1950 station wagon were the deletion of the triangular rear quarter windows and the use of a body-color tailgate with no wood trim.
Ford originally intended for the Country Squire to be almost all-steel, retaining the wood laminate framing, but trading plywood exterior paneling for steel panels with paper-transfer woodgrain. However, the Korean War threw a wrench in that plan: Steel was again in short supply, while wood was not. So, SOME 1950 Country Squires had woodgrain steel paneling, but others still had plywood.
The Country Squire had a more easily removable third-row seat and a new “Stowaway” folding middle seat.
With the rear seat out and the middle seat folded, the Country Squire had a continuous carpeted load floor extending all the way to the end of the tailgate.
Ford built a total of 23,559 wagons for 1950: 11,751 of the early series, plus 11,808 Country Squires. This was no longer enough to retain their lead in the field — both the Plymouth Suburban and the new all-steel Chevrolet Styleline De Luxe station wagon now outsold the Ford.
By 1951, Ford was at a crossroads. True wood-bodied wagons no longer made any economic sense, and fewer buyers were willing to accept the maintenance requirements of exterior wood. The public still liked the woodie look, but many people were content with simulated woodgrain if it meant no sanding and varnishing.
For 1951, the Country Squire was still assembled at Iron Mountain, but it would be for the last time. Ford no longer had any strong need for the costly Upper Peninsula operation: It had been years since Ford had used much wood in the bodies of any of its products other than the station wagon, and even the Country Squire had less and less actual wood. Ford finally shut down the Iron Mountain facility on December 5, 1951, and sold the plant to Kingsford so more of the forests of Northern Michigan could be made into charcoal.
The 1951 Country Squire still had stained plywood door panels, with simulated woodgrain on the dash and window frames.
Outside, the “wood” paneling was now steel with paper-transfer woodgrain, as Ford had wanted to do with the 1950 Country Squire. The exterior framing on the body sides was still real wood laminate.
Ford built 29,617 station wagons for 1951, which was only good for a shaky second place in this growing field.
For 1952, Ford redesigned its station wagons, transferred wagon assembly to Ionia Manufacturing, and did what they probably should have done in 1949: split the wagon line into plain and wood-trimmed versions.
In 1952, Ford again offered four-door station wagons, for the first time since 1948, but there was also an entry-level two-door Ranch Wagon with no woodgrain. It was about $300 cheaper than the Country Squire, and was very popular.
The 1952 Country Squire, which now had four doors, still used real maple or birch framing, but the paneling remained simulated woodgrain.
Buyer interest in the Country Squire dropped off, although that was probably due in part to strict Korean War restrictions on new car loans. Ford built only 5,426 Country Squires for 1952. However, they also built 11,927 Country Sedan wagons and 32,566 two-door Ranch Wagons, bringing the grand total to 49,919 — the most station wagons Ford had ever sold in one year.
At the beginning of the 1953 model year, the Country Squire still had real birch or maple framing around its woodgrain panels, but during the year, the wood was replaced with maple-finished plastic moldings. With the end of Korean War credit restrictions, 1953 Ford station wagon sales swelled to 115,720. Only 11,001 of those were Country Squires.
It wasn’t until the ’60s that the popularity the woodgrain Country Squire really took off. For the rest of the 1950s, the Country Squire accounted for a little under 10 percent of all Ford station wagon sales. However, Ford was doing so well with the Ranch Wagon and Country Sedan that I don’t think anybody in Dearborn was too worried. By 1955, annual Ford station wagon sales were well over 200,000 units. The 1957–1958 recession temporarily reduced them to a mere 185,036, but even that was still about twice as many station wagons as Ford had during its ENTIRE prewar run of woodie wagons.
Even without any real wood, the Country Squire sold okay, and since it was much cheaper to build than the old wood-bodied wagons, I’m sure it was very profitable. The simulated-wood Country Squire still had enough residual glamour that it was often found in some surprisingly upscale neighborhoods. Like the Thunderbird, its image transcended its plebeian Ford badge.
Nonetheless, finding all these pictures demonstrated how much collectors still love the older woodie wagons. Pictures of even the rarest wood-bodied models were remarkably easy to find, while the survival rate of the 1952–1954 models seems to be very low.
A wood-bodied car has many practical shortcomings; a neglected one can be a real fright, and trying to rescue a basket case could easily end up costing more than it’s likely to be worth. However, like heirloom-quality furniture, people still covet real woodies, even if it takes a lot more sweat and elbow grease to keep them in the condition they deserve.
Related Reading
1953 Ford Ranch Wagon – A Survivor From The 2-Door Wagon’s Peak Era (by Rich Baron)
Cohort Find of the Day: 1954 Ford Mainline Ranch Wagon (and Mystery Car) (by Paul N)
Curbside Classic: 1957 Ford Del Rio Ranch Wagon – The Pickup Of Its Time (by Paul N)
Did some research on Mengel Body company you mentioned in your earlier article. As I have lived in Louisville most of my life and found that it was a large company with many local locations as well as an international company in wood processing. At one time they made dash boards for high end German and British cars. Had never heard of the company which was a victim of the times.
“and sold the plant to Kingsford so more of the forests of Northern Michigan could be made into charcoal.”
I have long been under the impression that Kingsford Charcoal was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. I recall reading that the charcoal briquette itself was invented by Henry, or someone close to him, as a means of monetizing all of the waste wood and sawdust that was created as a result of car and truck manufacturing. But it’s a vague old memory, and I’m not sure if it was reality or an urban myth.
Yes, Henry started it to utilize the sawdust and scraps from his timber operations. The name came from Edward Kingsford, a real estate agent and timber cruiser who helped him locate the suitable tracts of timber and then ran the plant, called Ford Charcoal. It was sold to an investment group in 1951 and named Kingsford.
BTW, we have a large Kingsford plant here in Springfield, across the river from Eugene. It uses mountains of wood and sawdust and chips that are not suitable for other uses in our huge forest products industry here.
I sort of jumped ahead of this story in a comment to part 1 of Aaron’s Ford woody story, but the idea that Henry Ford and Thomas Edison introduced the world to charcoal briquets (the spelling of this word also seems to have transformed over time) is fascinating to me.
The online Henry Ford Museum has a nice description and photographs of the artifacts. As one might expect from a company such as Ford, they went all in on not only the fuel source, but the portable (transportable in your new Ford) grills as well. All likely new to Americans in the 1930s and 40s.
It seems like “How Ford Motor Company Created the Charcoal Briquet” would be a good post topic, if you were so inclined.
Country Squires from the ’50s and very early ’60s were quite rare on the ground back in the day. It was the heyday of the young families and they wanted wagons, but lower priced ones, like the Ranch Wagon. Ford lost its lead in wagon sales because they rather flubbed that transition, and didn’t get it back until the mid ’60s (’66 I think).
The Country Squire really came into its own in the years 1965-1968, as middle class incomes swelled and the CS was of course the equivalent of the popular LTD. Everyone wanted a bit of upscale cache.
Here’s the requisite “woodie + surfboard” shot. Like the one I posted yesterday, it’s from our annual “Woodies on the Wharf” show from 2012. At that show, I also took a closeup of the placard on a maroon ‘46 woodie; not a Ford but described as a Canadian Mercury.
The transition from 51 to 52 is so jarring, even with the fake wood on steel panels it looks like a true woody. The 52-54 just looks like what it is; randomly shaped inserts glued to an all steel wagon body, not much different from woodgrain wagons built from the 60s to early 90s. The charm is just completely gone.
The woody’s role in the evolution of the station wagon is a puzzling one to me, steel bodied sedan deliveries seem like a more economical and practical way to start from to create the station as we know it than make the whole thing out of wood. I mean don’t get me wrong, I think woodies are super cool as a lover of both cars and carpentry, but it’s bizarre to me how the station wagon as bodystyle evolved from them.
Nice ;
I love how Woodie Wagons look but the earlier ‘A’ Model Fords taught me to be *very* wary of wood bodies cars if you plan to use them daily .
A shame as these all look so beautiful .
-Nate