how many Campbell Woody Wagons were built? How many survive?

[Frank's 49]

I have a 1949 Dodge B1B - 108 Woody, which was built by Campbell Mid-State Body Works, of Waterloo, New York.

It was purchased by my Dad on January 26th, 1949 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.  That's him in the old photo.  I am currently restoring it and am trying to find out how many others are out there.  Mine has a tag reading "Campbell built" and specifying #20600.  I would like to know if anyone knows what the number represents.  

Hope the photos show up.  I am new here and not sure how this works.  

 

Dad in the new Dodge in 1949.

 

What she looks like now.  After a strip-down to the frame. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by ggdad1951

[Frank's 49]

First: Thanks to ggdad1951 for removing a double post.  Now to correct the original:  The color photo is of the car as it sits today.  I took it down to the frame and replaced a lot of the old wood due to decay, and dry-rot.  

The photo of the car in 1949 is the one in my profile.  

[Todd B]

Very cool

[HanksB3B]

Don Coatney....yes I agree. One time I talked with an old couple who met one summer when they used to pick up passengers in their  Pilothouse Woodie from the RR Station, and drive up to a resort in the Adirondack mountains.

 

Mike..Wow I get to meet people that have had something like 60 cars once in Blue Moon but that's about it. My favorite story is one collector I know had a 32 Ford Coupe that he and his wife had when they first dated. They stripped the running boards. primered it and painted flames on it. They sold the car not thinking...and one day his wife said "Honey why did we sell that car, we had so much fun and so many memories". Her husband replied "I'll try to find another one"..and he did. He found a beatifully restored 32 Ford Coupe, bought it online and had it shipped to his...for lack of a better dsscription Personal Auto Museum. While cleaning it up he discovered his old license plate under the seat.

 

Mike I think you should hang around the forum for a bit. If you have to sell it, well you have to sell it. A better idea might be to ship it to Tim's house and join us for the annual BBQ (it's an experience of a life time) this coming April...then see what happens and go from there. You probably don't know Tim yet..but he's sort of the St. Jude of Pilothouse Salvation.

 

Just an idea,

 

Hank 

[Frank's 49]

Hank,

I just got an estimate on rebuilding the engine.  Not as bad as I thought, so it looks like I will go ahead and get it fixed.  I still need to put windows in and get some new tires, but after that it will be 'roadworthy'.   Not Barrett-Jackson ready, but Dad never treated it like a collector car, it was just the family vehicle, and then in 1959, when he finally bought a new Dodge wagon, it became his back and forth to work car.  Any work done on the car was just considered maintenance to keep it on the road, not any sort of restoration/preservation.  Hopefully, it will be ready to go in another few months.  Wish me luck.  

 

Mike 

[HanksB3B]

I do wish you luck and if I can be of help please post pictures and rule No. 1. Take a pic before you take it apart. A frame off has got to set a guy back some these days...and thats not counting the wood ! A big family might help! 

 

Hank  . 

Edited May 29, 2015 by HanksB3B

[Frank's 49]

I took it down to the bare frame.  about 1/2 of the wood was replaced.  All of the roof is new. 

 

 

 

 

the side shot is from about 1999.  It looks pretty good, but unfortunately the roof was all dry rot, and a lot of the other wood was just plain shot.  This was the "good" side, the other side was showing a lot of decay. 

 

 

The photo at the start of this thread was taken a couple of weeks ago, not in 1949.  The 1949 picture is in my profile. 

 

At this point the wood is basically completed.  I still need windows.  I probably should have started with the metal work that still needs doing.  I replaced all the brakes.  The springs themselves are original, but all the hangers, shackels, etc are new.  Right now I am starting to pull the engine for a rebuild.  It runs great at idle, but has lost compression on #6, so won't pull a load at all.  

 

Would I sell it???  Probably for a decent offer, but I figure I can put some more money in it and not be upside down.  But if you know someone who wants it, now is the time, especially if they want to update the running gear, before I go to all the trouble of rebuilding all the old stuff.  The transmission is a 3 speed, floor shift of course, and the rear end is stock, of unknown ratio.  

Edited May 30, 2015 by Frank's 49

[Jeff Balazs]

You would probably have to contact a Woody club or organization to find out about your Campbell. As Hank mentioned there are a lot of Woodies here........but you don't see too many based on the Pilothouse. A shame as the ones I have seen are very cool. There was one in an episode of last seasons Chasing Classic Cars. Wayne pretty much poo-pooed it said it wasn't worth much and moved on rather quickly. I think he didn't know anything about what he was looking at. He is a fan of the Fords. And he is more than just a little jaded.

 

As someone who makes a living as a woodworker I have a pretty good idea of what goes into a quality restoration. I think that a well restored Pilothouse woody would have a minimum value here in SoCal of around 40k.......and could potentially fetch twice that. It really depends on how well all the details are done. Originality in material selection and joinery along with good fit and finish is what most prospective buyers will look for.

 

There was a fellow doing a modern drive train swap on one of these. Just as it was nearing completion he quit posting. I wonder what happened with that?

 

Jeff