Project Car Hell, Woodless Woody Edition: Mercury Or Ford?
Yesterday's V8 914 versus V8 MGB-GT matchup resulted in a narrow victory for Stuttgart over Abingdon-on-Thames, apparently showing that our readers prefer a running car that wants to kill you over a non-running car that wouldn't mind killing you. Since the point of having a Hell Project is that your suffering will- someday, maybe- produce a seriously cool end result, we figure it's time to go for a type of vehicle that's both extremely cool and extremely hellish to fix up: The Woody! You'd be like the 50s version of Jeff Spicoli with a genuine Woody (being Spicoli in the 50s would be a tradeoff versus the late 70s, it occurs to us: you'd have lower-quality reefer, but also less likelihood of catching herpes). But we digress... on with the poll!
This 1951 Mercury Woody Wagon lacks, well, wood. It has an engine, but the seller says he doesn't know if it turns (translation: it's seized). The rear floor and "some of the middle" is solid, which we assume means that the remaining floor metal is actually air. This Merc sat on its left side for 25 years, apparently to facilitate "TRANZ" removal (I've done some difficult transmission swaps, but one that takes 25 years?), so you figure there might be some issues involving body/frame integrity. But come on- you'll be wearing your baggies, and your huarache sandals too, when you get this thing all restored!
But if you're going to throw your vintage surfboards into the Woody and head to the beach, don't you want a genuine 1940s Ford, with that super-snazzy grille? Like f'rinstance this '41 Ford Woody wagon? Cynics might scoff that there's not actually much vehicle here, but we think the journey is just as important as the destination... and you'd have quite a journey recreating damn near the entire body out of wood. The drivetrain is present, though in not-exactly-described condition, and you get an assortment of brackets and ribs as well. Yeah, it's hell. Thanks to reader Jamie for the tip!
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