1942 Ford Super DeLuxe Station Wagon

Chassis no. 18-6840075
Engine no. 18-6840075

96 bhp, 221 cu. in. flathead V-8 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”

Ford updated its successful 1941 design for 1942 with a new front end, featuring modern one-piece fenders, a stamped grille, and redesigned turn signals. The dashboard was also reconfigured, with conventional round gauges inspired by General Motors designs. Ford would produce 160,432 of the 1942 models before February 2, 1942, when the building of civilian vehicles came to a halt for the duration of World War II.

This production run included a mere 5,483 of the Super DeLuxe station wagons – making this season’s model the rarest Ford “woodie” produced between 1936 and 1948. Rarity was further ensured by the fact that most of the 1942 models were driven into the ground during the war years, when the materials and care required to maintain a wooden body were in short supply.

The example offered here was acquired in 1973 by John R. Anderson of Westford, Massachusetts, from whom the current owner and his father acquired it in August 1985. Together father and son embarked upon a most carefully researched restoration, with authenticity and correctness their foremost concern. Fortuitously, all of the original wood remained with the wagon, and all could be restored and preserved with the exception of a single piece above the rear window. The original engine, numbered to match the chassis, remains in place, with later 59AB heads. LeBaron Bonney supplied correct upholstery, while the vinyl roof was replaced by a skilled local upholsterer. Such was the attention to detail that while the headliner-mounted straps, for storage of lap robes, were carefully replaced, the new straps were fitted to the restored original mounting clips. The body moldings, door handles, and hubcaps are all the original components for this wagon, fully restored.

Following completion of the restoration the wagon was shown only once, at a 2001 Early Ford V-8 Club of America National Meet, and there received its first Dearborn Award. It has not been shown again since, only conscientiously maintained; the owner reports that he has run the Ford every month and replaced all fluids annually. When not on the road for brief exercise runs, it has been maintained in a heated garage. The owner notes that the heater, lights, and radio still work. Accompanying are the original headliner straps; a pair of stone guards, never fitted to avoid damaging the wood; a radio blanking plate; and an original rear dustbin, configured so it can be mounted to the rear bumper without the necessity of drilling holes.

Without a doubt, this is one of the most superlative 1942 Ford “woodies” extant.