Even though Ford, GM and Chrysler mass produced the ‘woody’ style of car in the post-war period, woodies had been around as a decorative item since the early 1920s - possibly earlier - in the form of the torpedo or boat-tail cars. These featured a tapered rear deck and sides that bore close resemblance to the bow of a highly polished timber skiff and similarly finished power boats. Mahogany was the preferred timber with its magnificent depth of colour and patterns.
Which brings us to our featured car, a 1947 Chrysler Town and Country convertible. This vehicle featured at the 2011 RACV Motorclassica in Melbourne. It is owned by Terry Black of Melbourne who bought it in Florida, USA, earlier in the year. If you mention a woody to many car people their immediate thoughts will be of a woody wagon. This is because the woody wagon came before other car variants and secondly it was the woody wagon that popularised these vehicles - not when they were produced - but later when they became part of surf culture in the US.
Indeed, Jan and Dean reflected this in the lyrics to the hit song of the 1963, Surf City.
I bought a ‘30 Ford wagon,
and we call it a woody,
(Surf City here we come)
You know it’s not very cherry,
It’s and oldie but a goodie,
(Surf City here we come)
Well it aint got a back seat
or a rear window.
Hidden inside these lyrics is a key to understanding the rise and fall of the woody. One car that popularised the woody wagon was the early 1940s Chrysler Town and Country wagon, the first woody to feature an all-steel roof. When the US entered the war in 1942 production of civilian cars was halted and this brought the production run of the Town and Country woody wagon to an abrupt halt with less than 1000 sales. After the war Chrysler proceeded with its pre-war plan to introduce the woody in a full range of cars. That range included our featured convertible, but the woody wagon failed to meet the cut.
The Jan and Dean hit, which rode top of the charts for several weeks both in the US and Australia - two nations with a surfing culture - contains the lyrics, `You know it’s not very cherry.’ This means the car has lost it’s shine. Perhaps the biggest drawback in the 1940s with the woody style was that the timber was high maintenance. And cars that had a lot of mahogany showing, like a woody wagon, required constant upkeep to keep the cherry glowing. If not, the timber would soon look dilapidated and require a full restoration.
This is what happened with a lot of the early 1940s wagons. These were used as family wagons and when the timber lost its sheen the cars became available as cheap transport in used car lots. By then it was the 1950s and the surfing culture was well and truly alive and young men were after large wagons that could hold boards and bodies. Remove the rear seats and the woody wagon fitted the bill perfectly, and the family wagons like the Chrysler Town and Country, enjoyed a renewed life as a surf wagon, recognised in the Brian Wilson (of Beach Boys fame) song given to Jan and Dean, who re-wrote some of the lyrics. Interestingly, in Australia the woody wagons were rare and the surfers created a cult car of another icon, the Volkswagen Kombi.
You cannot write about any woody without acknowledging the ‘station’ wagon. These were vehicles built by coachbuilders using timber. These were true ‘station’ wagons transporting people to and from railway stations, along with their luggage, not just in the US but also in Australia around the time of WW1 and into the 1920‘s and 30s. Unlike the torpedo style cars the station wagon timber was functional, not decorative. So, our featured Chrysler has quite a pedigree.
In late 1944 the US Government allowed development work at Chrysler to proceed on the models the company was planning to introduce in 1942. Work started on a four door sedan, Brougham 2 door sedan, custom club coupe, convertible/coupe and roadster.
The convertible and custom club coupes sit on a New Yorker chassis with a 127 1/2 inch wheelbase. The front mudguards are the same as the Chrysler Standard models. Where the Town and Country vary is in the use of the rich, natural timber. The timber panels on the side and rear of the car are mahogany which is bonded to steel in a frame of heavy solid White Ash. If you think the boot might be heavy to lift, you’re right. But Chrysler fitted a counter-balance to allow for easy lifting. That was not the only trick up their sleeve. The convertible and roadster cloth tops were tailored over strong steel bows. It came standard as a power-operated feature where owners simply turned a knob and pressed a lever.
As mentioned above the convertible came exclusively in New Yorker build, meaning a longer wheelbase than the ‘Windsor’ chassis (121 1/2 inch wheelbase) and a straight-eight L-head engine of 323.5 cubic inches. The Town and Country was a significant as a post-war vehicle. It signalled an end to the austerity measures that gripped the US from 1942 -45 and saw the car industry go into limbo. Here was a happy vehicle that made people smile as it drove past signalling better times were ahead.
Yet, it was also a fad car. One that would have a finite life thanks to the very texture of the body that gave so much pleasure. Sales were strong between 1946 and when the Town and Country ceased production in 1950. But timber being what is when exposed to the elements is not exactly maintenance free. By this time car design was moving rapidly and timber was soon forgotten as a feature for the automobile. High maintenance means a high attrition rate which makes our featured Town and Country woody something special.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine
8 cylinder 135 hp @ 3400 rpm
Bore/stroke: 3 1/4 inch X 4 7/8 inch
Capacity: 323.5 cubic inch
Alloy pistons
Full pressure lubrication
Exhaust valve seat inserts
6.6:1 compression
Ventilated clutch housing
Full length water jackets
15 inch wheels
Hydraulic shock absorbers
Independent front springs
20 gallon fuel tank
Transmission: three speed semi-automatic fluid drive
Brakes: drum
Weight: 1965 kg
PRICE: $2743 |
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