Lot 07: Ford V8 Woodie Station Wagon & Caravan

The V8 engine was no novelty when Henry Ford introduced the Ford V8 in 1932, but never before had such an engine been produced successfully in large numbers and at so low a price. Styling followed the lines of the superseded Model A, but with an extra 25bhp the newcomer's performance was in an entirely different league. Engine development proceeded at a brisk pace and by 1936 the V8's initial problems had been overcome and maximum power raised to 85bhp. The original 221ci (3,622cc) V8 was joined by a smaller 136ci (2,227cc) 60bhp version from 1936. While the number of body styles available on the long-running Model T chassis had been relatively limited, the arrival of its Model A successor for 1928 had ushered in an era of much greater variety and choice. New body styles for '29 included a Convertible Cabriolet, a Town Sedan and a wood-bodied Station Wagon, the first of the latter being built on April 25th 1929. Nicknamed ýWoodie', the station wagon was not offered during the Ford V8's - and Ford Model B four's - first year of production in 1932, but this ever-popular rural workhorse was back in the line-up for '33. There had been Standard and DeLuxe V8s right from the start, the latter, as usual, being distinguished by a higher level of equipment, but from 1938 Ford gave the costlier DeLuxe a different, more elaborate frontal styling. The work of Eugene Gregorie, the DeLuxe's more modern look had been adopted across the range by 1940. A new, longer wheelbase chassis was Ford's big news for 1941, the top-line models being renamed ýSuper DeLuxe', and it was with this range in mildly restyled form that the company resumed production in 1946. With a transportation-hungry public eager to buy just about anything and everything that Detroit produced, there was little impetus for change in the early post-war years and Ford's first all-new design did not appear until the 1949 range was introduced. With the '49 model Ford adopted wishbone-type independent front suspension and swapped the old transverse springing for longitudinal leaves at the rear, while fresh styling saw the rear fender bulge eliminated in favour of a straight-through line. Available with either the inline six or V8 engine, the ýWoodie' formed part of the range-topping Custom line-up, 31,412 finding customers that year. One of only a handful surviving worldwide, the Ford ýWoodie' offered here is the only 1949 model known to be in either Australia or New Zealand, and is believed to be the sole right-hand drive example in existence. The car was imported into New Zealand in 2001 and treated to a four-year professional restoration, carried out by Heyward's Rods & Restorations in Richmond, using all new components. Since completion in 2005, the car has been featured in all four New Zealand vintage and hot-rod magazines and seen relatively little use. An ideal companion for the '49 Ford on ývintage' camping trips, the caravan is an original 1948 ýkit' teardrop trailer manufactured using war-surplus aluminium and steel bomber components (inspired by B17 ýFlying Fortress' wing aerodynamics) and has been restored using a combination of wood and modern Formica. The pair's first big outing was a four-week honeymoon tour of New Zealand where both performed flawlessly, never failing to be the centre of attention at each new destination. Nevertheless, it was felt that more horsepower was needed, so a new ýcrate' 302ci (5.0-litre) Ford V8 engine was sourced, which has seen 1,000-or-so miles of service since installation in 2007. The quality of workmanship speaks for itself on this car, reflecting its owner's no-expense-spared approach to the creation of a unique example of American automotive ar