NICK’S 1946 LATE MODEL SUPER DELUXE WAGON/WOODY
Nick
grew up in Southern California. Given the proximity to the ocean and
the surf/beachy lifestyle there, it was inevitable that he always wanted
a woody. Once living in Hawaii, he was able to acquire one.
This
is a late production 1946 Ford Super Deluxe station wagon/woody. Nick
bought it in 1992 while living in Maui. He found it in San Carlos, CA
via an advertisement in “Woody” magazine. He flew over to San Carlos,
bought it, then shipped it back to Hawaii. Once the car was in Hawaii,
Nick discovered that the wood at the back end was totally destroyed. He
ended up raising the body up off of the frame, sandblasted the bottom,
and did a bunch of patchwork on the floorboard. All this done in a
carport at his Polynesian pol house in Maui.
Once
the floorboard was done, he set up the frame for suspension and drive
train. The original motor was a flat head V-8. At this same time, Nick
had a 1978 GMC pickup truck that he used for his construction work. He
took the 350 cubic inch, four-bolt main Chevy motor out of the GMC and
put it in the Woody. After that, he traded what was left of the GMC to a
couple of Tongans in exchange for the use of their (Tongans) flatbed
trailer for hauling. “That’s life in Hawaii,” as Nick says. Nick worked
on getting all the mechanical work done in Hawaii from 1992 to 1999.
What did all that entail? The motor was bored .30 over = 383 cubic inch,
375 HP, TRW flat top pistons, Trick Flow heads, double roller rockers,
mild street cam, turbo 350 tranny, and a 9″ Ford rear end. Once all that
was done, in 1999, he then shipped the car back to San Pedro, CA, to
woodworker, Chris Messano, who completed all the woodwork.
Since
Nick wasn’t sure when he would retire back to the mainland, he told
Chris to take his time with the woodwork restoration. Chris had a couple
of ship containers at his shop, so it was no problem for him to store
the Woody in one of them. Chris and his crew would work on the Woody in
between their other jobs. Once the woodwork was completed, Chris sent
the wagon to another shop for the body and paint work. All this took two
years. Nick’s wife chose the color.
All
in all, it took 22 years to be able to drive the “Gnarly Dude” legally,
and drive it, Nick does. He drives it daily and shows it often, as
evidenced every Saturday at our “World Famous” Cars and Coffee Folsom.
It was also a cover car in a 2015 “Costco Connection” magazine.
In
2001, Nick and his wife left Hawaii for Paso Robles, CA, where he had
an olive farm with 1846 trees. They were in the olive business until
2015. He now lives in Shingle Springs. It’s always a treat to see Nick
and the “Gnarly Dude” every Saturday.
Story and photos by Carol Marcopulos
