Lot 155: Ford Super Deluxe Station Wagon

Model 89A. 100 bhp, 239.4 cu. in. Flathead V8 engine, three-speed manual transmission, solid front axle and live rear axle with transverse semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 114"

- From the end of wood-bodied station wagon production - Enduring style with upscale cachet - Original wood throughout

By the late 1940s, the station wagon evolved from practical hauler to fashionable suburban accessory. Production was always relatively low, but from 1929 on, Ford carried the station wagon as a regularly catalogued body style.

Ford began bringing station wagon production in-house as early as the 1930s, while other manufacturers continued to utilize outside subcontractors. Ford, which valued complete control over its production process, not only built the station wagon itself but also adhered to Henry Ford's principles by controlling the entire supply chain. Even the maple, ash and basswood lumber was grown, harvested and processed in Ford's own northern Michigan forests and mills.

Following the close of World War II, as work was feverishly progressing on the all-new 1949 Ford models, production of the basic 1942 design continued virtually unchanged through March 1948, when station wagon production halted at Ford's Iron Mountain facility. The facility was slated to build the new hybrid steel-wood bodies for the all-new 1949 Ford and Mercury station wagons, and the Mercury came on line first in April 1948. Accordingly, total Ford Super Deluxe station wagon volume for the 1948-model year was reduced to just 8,912 units, barely half that of 1947 in a season half as long. Thus, the era of the true wood-bodied station wagon ended.

This beautifully restored example from California is reported to have been previously owned by a Hollywood executive. It retains the original wood throughout and is equipped with a working original radio. Capably powered by the venerable Flathead V8 engine mated to a three-speed manual transmission, this great running and driving example will make a very enjoyable addition to any collection.