This post features General Motors brands. GM's first all-metal station wagons began to appear during the 1949 model year on Chevrolets, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobile 76s. These cars used the GM entry-level A-body. Olds dropped station wagons after 1950 when its entire line was based on B and C bodies.
Buick built part-woodie station wagons for its senior Super and Roadmaster lines through the 1953 model year: the 1954 redesign was all-metal.
An example of a General Motors A-body station wagon before GM's post- World War 2 redesigned cars appeared.
Construction is typical of American wagons of that era: note the non-metal roof.
Rear quarter view.
Redesigned '49 Chevy Woodies had a lot less wood than those pictured in previous images.
A tell-tale is the shape of framing above the rear fender.
That wood framing is angular.
But 1949 all-metal Chevy wagons featured curved "framing" that was actually stamped steel covered by wood-imitating decals.
Here is an example from 1950.
This Pontiac puzzles me. The panel above the rear fender is the stamped steel type shown in the Chevrolet images above. But the tailgate area looks like it's mostly wooden.
Interior view of the car above showing woodwork.
By 1951, Pontiac station wagons were clearly all-metal, as can be seen here. The "wood" is actually decal-work.
This postwar redesigned C-body GM station wagon has a metal roof and wood framing in the cargo area.
This is more clearly shown in the rear quarter view photo.
Buicks got redesigned bodies for 1950. However, the station wagon tailgate is quite similar to that of 1949. Wooden sides are shaped to accommodate the new fenderline.
The last of GM Woodie wagons.
4 comments:
Did Chevy change from wood to metal during the 1949 model year? Or were both produced that year?
John -- I don't know for certain -- a Chevy club member might know for sure. For what it's worth, the steel body has a higher model number than the Woodie. Adding to the confusion, ons source's numbers are 49-1061 and 49-1062, the other's are 2109 and 2119. The latter source had 1948 Woodies as 2109 and 1950 steel bodies as 2119. So the steel bodied wagons were regarded as an addition to the line. But this says nothing about timing or overlap.
All kinds of interesting stuff going on with the first generation actual postwar wagon designs. Seems like both Chrysler and GM transitioned from major wood structures (although not as much as previously) to all metal year by year when you would expect consistency in a single basic design and also from brand to brand, which didn't happen either.
The 1949 Pontiac brochure shows both the all steel and the partly wood wagons, conveniently labeled "De Luxe Metal Station Wagon" and "De Luxe Wood Station Wagon (no "Country Squire" type nonsense for Pontiac). The 1950 Pontiac brochure shows just the all steel model, without any fake wood paint, and relabeled "Chieftain All-Steel Station Wagon." Confusingly the rest were all "Chieftain" or "Chieftain Deluxe," but the fastbacks which were "Streamliner De Luxe" and the new two door hardtops which were "De Luxe Catalina." There was no Chieftain De Luxe wagon for the posher buyer.
The other strange GM thing was the 1950-53 Buicks (and Cadillacs) sort of going backwards in style to a lower fender line/prominent hood design that is closer to the prewar style. Only the unsplit windshield makes them obviously the newer model.
1949 in Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile there were a short run of Woodies before thecall Steel "Tin Woodies" came out.
Using Wood as the inside interior panels.
Many were produced with Di Noc decals to look like Wood.
Some were utitarian and just came out 2 tone or single color.
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