Bob Riding Posted June 20, 2021 Report Share Posted June 20, 2021 We are always hearing folks talk about how rare their car, wagon or truck is- this color, that option, only so many made, etc. I would be very interested in knowing exactly (OK approximately) how many of any one year or model have survived and are still on the road (or could be roadworthy soon.) I'm talking about essentially stock vehicles, with safety upgrades where necessary, such as radial tires, dual master cylinders, turn signals, etc. This subject is so broad as to be unmanageable so I've focussed my research on Plymouth station wagons (woodies from 1934-1950), since I own a 1940 Plymouth wagon. I belong to the National Woodie Club, which keeps an annual membership directory - I used the 2019 Directory as my guide. Here's what I found: PRODUCED LISTED IN THE NWC DIRECTORY % LEFT (THAT BELONG TO THE NWC) 1934 35 0 0 1935 119 0 0 1936 309 1 0.003 1937 602 3 0.005 1938 555 2 0.004 1939 1,680 3 0.002 1940 3,126 11 0.004 1941 5,811 22 0.004 1942 1,136 2 0.002 1946-48 12,913 41 0.0003 1949 3,443 43 0.013 1950 2,057 15 0.007 So there are 104 Plymouth woodie wagons left, based on the NWC data. We know there are more that that are out there and restorable, but probably not many more. So the rarest survivors (based on the NWC data) are the P15 wagons. The most surviving wagons are the 1949 woodies, by % and absolute numbers. For reference, Ford, which made alot more wooden station wagons than any other manufacturer, has 309, 1946-48 woodies listed in the NWC Directory, 7.5 times as many survivors as Plymouth for those years. The NWC lists 1,519 Ford woodies for all years, which when adding in Chrysler, Desoto, and Dodge to the Plymouth totals results in a 400% increase in surviving woodies (Ford compared to Chrysler) What is the rarest Plymouth that you know of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom'sB2B Posted June 20, 2021 Report Share Posted June 20, 2021 Anecdotally, I see dozens of Fords, Chevys, Packards, but only a couple plymouths at the local 'Woodies on the ward" in Santa Cruz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratbailey Posted June 20, 2021 Report Share Posted June 20, 2021 Woodies are so cool. I vaguely remember reading some shop literature or owner's manual that it was expected that the owner would re-varnish or shellac it at least once a year...no way that was ever going to happen. Have you ever seen any DIY woodies? I wonder how possible it would be to recreate one in the shop, using a damaged sedan as a base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Riding Posted June 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 1 hour ago, tom'sB2B said: Anecdotally, I see dozens of Fords, Chevys, Packards, but only a couple plymouths at the local 'Woodies on the ward" in Santa Cruz. Yeah, our maiden voyage in 2016 was to WOW. I agree-very few Plymouths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted June 21, 2021 Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 51 minutes ago, ratbailey said: Woodies are so cool. I vaguely remember reading some shop literature or owner's manual that it was expected that the owner would re-varnish or shellac it at least once a year...no way that was ever going to happen. Have you ever seen any DIY woodies? I wonder how possible it would be to recreate one in the shop, using a damaged sedan as a base. We used to have a guy who bought a 46-48 4dr that had that treatment. It wasn't turned into a wagon but had wood doors etc. I've also seen a 50 plymouth steel wagon that was converted to look like a woody. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Riding Posted June 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 I believe he called it Plywoodie. There are quite a few "phantom woodies" out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 21, 2021 Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 some of these cars are nice, some are jokes......many of the Plymouth woodies went the way of most mopars....they continued to run and got beat to death over the years, banged to bits, rusted and abused then as a high mileage unit were scrapped....not like the Ford and GM junk that broke down early....and was too expensive to fix at the time and found new life later with retrofit engines.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted June 21, 2021 Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 About 40 yrs ago Australias vintage car magazine had a feature article on a pair of 1941 Plymouth Woodies owned by, I think a father and son, both cars were a dark green, unrestored and in very nice original condition.......at the time I lived in Sydney the capital of my state, New South Wales.......the cars were supposedly 70 kms up the coast in a town called Maclean. In 1941 the only mopars of any sort that were sold here were 4dr Sedans using the TJ Richards built body shell and at least 2 variations on Utes that appear to have been built for the Oz Army, I have seen Dodge,Plymouth and DeSoto 1941 Utes, all seenm to be the same basic front sheet metal with grille variations and slightly different cabs, some with a square shaped opening to allow a machine gun or similar to be attached and fired from............30 yrs ago I moved from Sydney to Grafton in the Clarence Valley............the kicker is that a town 45 kms from where I live is Maclean........I have asked various people involved in the vintage car scene here and no one remembers seeing any 1941 Plymouth Woodie of any sort let alone two of them so its a mystery where they went............the article in the magazine indicated that both cars came into Oz after being shipped to Singapore or that area and were redirected into Oz when Singapore fell to the Japanese..........I'll try to find the article..........and as for are Plymouths........I had the remains of a 1939 Plymouth factory Roadster Ute.......it was found by a mate in the 1970's, he wanted the front sheetmetal and other bits, and gave me the "body" shell as pictured........I kept it for a number of years but sold it in the mid 1980's.......whereabouts unknown now................it used what appeared to be mid 30's roadster/tourer windscreen posts and frame with a stock 1939 Plymouth dash and instrument cluster..........the front on pic of the complete car was taken by my mate and the body pic by me and is the only one I have..........and the other pic is my TJ Richards built 1940 Oz Dodge Coupe, pic taken the day I sold it .........note the use by Richards of sedan front doors and the "golf club" door in the Oz passenger side.......... the blue car rear pic is of a 1940 Oz Plymouth Coupe, using the same body shell as the Dodge version.............this car is now a turquoise blue/green in colour with a rumble seat which it DID NOT ever have ex factory......although the trunk lid used in these 1940 Oz Coupes is the exact same lid used from 1935/36 Oz coupes up to the 1939 and 40 Oz Mopar Coupes with internal stamping to suit both rumble and trunk lids.............geeze I rave on........lol...........Andy Douglas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom'sB2B Posted June 21, 2021 Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Bob Riding said: Yeah, our maiden voyage in 2016 was to WOW. I agree-very few Plymouths. I know this year has been postponed. Maybe see you in 2022? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Riding Posted June 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 1 hour ago, tom'sB2B said: I know this year has been postponed. Maybe see you in 2022? I am planning on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlady75 Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 Add another Plymouth woodie to the 1948 woodies, Bob. My parents bought a 1948 Plymouth woodie station wagon in 1950. It was a family car for their seven kids. It is not in the same shape that it was 73 yrs ago. Need lots of work on the wood because it has been out in the weather too long. It has been in Southern Calif all these years. It will be needing a new home because it is part of our family estate. Are there many Plymouth woodie owners in Southern Calif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Riding Posted September 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 12 hours ago, carlady75 said: Add another Plymouth woodie to the 1948 woodies, Bob. My parents bought a 1948 Plymouth woodie station wagon in 1950. It was a family car for their seven kids. It is not in the same shape that it was 73 yrs ago. Need lots of work on the wood because it has been out in the weather too long. It has been in Southern Calif all these years. It will be needing a new home because it is part of our family estate. Are there many Plymouth woodie owners in Southern Calif. Congrats and welcome to the club! I believe the bulk of woodie owners are in the southern part of the state, but that's just my hunch. You should join the NWC (National Woodie Club. NWC The President is Wayne Yada from our Central Valley Woodie Club Central Valley Woodie Club We are active and support the hobby very well. Plymouths, Dodges, Desotos and Chrysler wagons are well represented. We also have alot of fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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