Today’s car is a 1936 Ford Woodie and it is owned by Bill Scharfen. I saw this Woodie at Honoring Our Fallen Car Show held at the Lions Automobilia Foundation and Museum. It is located at 2790 E Del Amo Blvd, Rancho Dominguez, CA 90221. It is open on Saturdays and the entrance is on Santa Fe Ave. This is a do not miss collection.
Bill bought the car in 1988 from his neighbor Eddie who lived across the street and had it stored in his garage since the early 1960’s. Bill and his friend were unloading their surf boards from his friends 1940 Ford Woodie after competing in a surf contest in Huntington Beach, CA. Eddie took them over and showed them this woodie. The car was complete and Eddie had done some resin work to protect the wood. It was then powered by an Oldsmobile engine with 3-2bbl carburetors, a LaSalle transmission and a 40 Ford rear end. Eddie ran it through Lyons drag strip back in the day and it scared the hell out of him and he parked in the garage and never drove it again after that. Bill bought the Car in 1988.
The frame was in tough shape so Bill started with a new frame. Bill built a flathead motor with a 39 floor shift Ford transmission with a Columbia two speed rear end. Check out the rare engine bling, a pair of Jim Harrell’s polished aluminum heads, an Earl Evans dual carburetor polished aluminum intake manifold, a pair of chromed Stromberg 97’s 2-bbl carburetors and a pair of Aaron Fenton (Finklestien) exhaust headers. The car is finished in Roquefort Green with Light Tan seats and Dark Green carpeting. The front suspension is a solid axle with a 4 inch drop and a semi-elliptical transverse spring. The rear suspension is a semi-elliptical transverse spring with air shocks. Slowing this beauty down are Hydraulic drum brakes on all 4-corners.
Bill’s dad was a cabinet maker and agreed to take on the project of replacing the wood. They used the original wood from the car as patterns. Bills dad had a total of 600 hours to complete the wood working part of the project. The exterior wood is Maple and they used Mahogany on the interior roof of the car. Nice contrast. The wood was finished by the late Doug Carr of Wood N’ Carr located in Signal Hill, CA. Doug took it all apart, it then put 12 coats of the spar varnish, and then put it back together masterfully. Wood N’ Carr projects have been filling the pages of Hot Rod and other automotive magazines for decades.
The original MSRP for a 1936 Woodie was $670.00. There were 930,778 1936 Fords manufactured of which 7,044 were 4-door Woodie wagons. This is a beautiful Woodie that Bill has completed masterfully in 2001. This car will do well at Woodie and Ford car shows and Cars and Coffee events, or just cruising to the beach. In fact he took best in show at this event. Thanks for riding along. Frank
