About the Mercury Woody
This Woody is one of the best we have ever driven. It is exceptionally tight and has he feel of being machined out of a solid block and not made of wood! It starts, runs, shifts, and drives like it is brand new. Starting with a very straight original Woody the restoration has taken this car to a new level of perfection. All the wood was restored and refinished by Nick Alexander one of the best in the business. The suspension has been powder coated and totally dialed in with the addition of a front anti roll bar and new shocks. The engine, transmission and rear end have been totally rebuilt. Stopping power has been improved with the installation of new bigger Lincoln brakes. The electric system has been converted to 12 volts. The body fit and finish is spectacular and the new leather interior is beyond words.
In the 1930s and 1940s, few cars had more prestige than the Mercury “woody” station wagon. Nearly always the highest priced model in the Ford line, it carried as much status as a Chris-Craft speedboat.
While Ford led the industry in wooden-body wagon sales, production was always low, due as much to limited production capability as to the small demand. Woodies of all makes were sought after by hotels, resorts, country clubs, stables, and movie studios, and Ford’s woodies were owned almost exclusively by country squires long before its wagons were ever called that.
There was something about the Ford woodies that made them slightly magical. To understand why Ford built woodies in the first place, you must understand the peculiar nature of Henry Ford. He believed that his company should be completely self-sufficient, from mining ore and operating rubber plantations to growing maple, birch, gum, and basswood for Model T floorboards and body frames.
In its quest for self-sufficiency, Ford Motor Company bought vast forest reserves on the rugged Upper Michigan Peninsula some 500 miles northwest of Detroit, and constructed a plant there, at Iron Mountain, in 1920. Ford grew its own trees, cut its own timber, ran its own sawmill, and cut and formed its own wooden body parts.
Popular journalist of the day, McCahill enthusiastically wrote: “The ‘47 Mercurys have more pep than last year’s cars and they are much better at hill climbing. Their top cruising speed is a little less than before, but there’s nothing else around of similar price that can beat them... For every owner swearing at his Ford you’ll find a thousand swearing by it.”
Prices started at $1,448 for the Sedan (Mercury’s name for the two-door sedan), rose to $1,729 for the woody wagon. The 1947 Ford and Mercury engines were identical, developing 100 bhp at 3500 rpm. Improvements included four-ring, cam-ground aluminum pistons; new tri-alloy bearings; and a high-pressure radiator cap that increased coolant pressure for higher-temperature operation.
Other advances included “Self-Centering Brakes” with increased lining area, a rear stabilizer bar, and reduced-frequency transverse springs. The last, called “Slow-Motion” springs by Mercury, promised a “Full-Cushioned Ride.” They rode outside the wheelbase, providing a 129.38-inch “spring base,” thus resulting in what Mercury hyped as a “luxury ride.”
