Equipment
Body color steel wheels with hub caps and trim rings, Silvertown wide whitewalls, Unity spotlight, column shift, three row bench seating, wood floor to ceiling, bird's-eye maple exterior framing, dash clock, radio, enclosed rear-mounted spare.
Condition
#3 Good
Runs and drives well. Flaws not noticeable to passersby. Most common condition.
Gorgeous pearl paint. Very good older chrome and brightwork. Lightly scratched and delaminating front quarter window glass. Masking mistakes on the brown drip rail. Lightly scratched side window glass. The wood, which is bird's-eye maple, is sound overall, especially on the outside, but there are a handful of small cracks and the varnish is getting pretty thin in some spots on the inside and the bird's-eye maple framing is reproduction not original. Original switchgear and handles are tired, and the handle for the spotlight is cracked and coming apart. On a car this big, there's a lot to go wrong. It is an older restoration with some original interior bits and aside from the paint, it's got some issues and would be best used as an attention-grabbing cruiser to take a big crew of friends along in.
Market commentary
As interest wanes in cars from the 1940s and 1950s, Woodie wagon and convertibles are well positioned to emerge unscathed. They are more a reference for a reviving surf culture than for the American Graffiti set, which makes them more relevant today than their counterparts. Even so, this sale was a bit of a bargain, having sold at Bonhams Quail Lodge auction in 2003 for $71,300 in comparable condition. This may be half the estimate but it's all the money for this car.