daveincincy
13 years ago
Saw this in St. Armands Circle (Longboat Key, FL). It's a Ford Sportsman. With some googling, it appears to be a 1946 (possibly a '47 or '48).

Small bit of cut/paste info...
[From wikipedia]
Ford halted its car and truck lines on February 10, 1942 to begin war production, but not before a short run of 1942 cars was built...
...Civilian production resumed in July 1945, with an early start to the 1946 model year filling the public's thirst for new cars. With steel in short supply, Ford produced a distinctive "Sportsman" convertible with wood side panels. The convertible had an electric top instead of manual one.

[From "howstuffworks.com"]
Unlike the Nash, which was a four-door sedan (1,000 produced), the 1946 Ford Sportsman came only as a convertible. Meanwhile, the 1946-1948 Chrysler Town and Country straddled the fence with both a sedan and ragtop, and achieved total production of 12,439 units (two-thirds of them soft tops).

In all three cases, the woodies were designed to lure buyers back to dealer showrooms after World War II by adding a touch of glamour to a very familiar-looking model line. In Ford's case, the result was actually two cars, the Sportsman and a kissin' cousin, the Mercury Sportsman -- of which only 205 were built!

The idea attracted Henry Ford II because it was easy and cheap to execute. The company already had massive northern timber forests and a processing plant at Iron Mountain, Michigan. It had been supplying raw materials for Ford's woody wagons since 1936, and a convertible would be no more costly or difficult to build.

Each Sportsman began as a stock convertible with a section of rear sheetmetal cut away, replaced by a steel "skeleton." To this was fitted the wood framing, made from solid wood blocks and mitred together with handcrafted precision. All 1946 Ford Sportsmans used "A" type framing with full-length horizontal members. Later cars employed "B" and "C" styles with vertical segments. The 1946 rear fenders didn't match the wooden trunk lid's new curvature, but 1941 sedan delivery fenders -- with 1941 taillights -- did.

Otherwise, the Sportsman was much like any other 1946-1948 Ford, except that standard equipment included hydraulic window lifts, leather upholstery, and dual visor vanity mirrors. Despite its high price, $494 more than the $1,488 Super Deluxe ragtop (a 33 percent premium), the Sportsman was a fair success.

The first one was delivered to film actress Ella Raines on Christmas Day 1945, just three months after Henry II took over as company president. Another 1,208 followed for 1946, plus 2,250 in 1947, and 28 for 1948 (reserialed 1947s). All in all, the Sportsman accomplished its mission, and today it's a Ford to remember and cherish, a handsome reminder of a unique period in American automotive history.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1941-1948-ford-super-deluxe6.htm 

FL Ford Sportsman 1946.JPG

Click to View Image142 View(s)

streetrod
13 years ago
WOW!!!!! Beautiful.
bloody spaniard
13 years ago
(😮 what streetrod said)
teedubbya
13 years ago
I had a 72 gran torino wagon with wood paneling
daveincincy
13 years ago

I had a 72 gran torino wagon with wood stickers

teedubbya wrote:



Fixed =d>
Thunder.Gerbil
13 years ago
nice parking job, jackass.
DadZilla3
13 years ago
Awesome ride!

So that ride cost $1982 in 1946, and today's dollars...

If you want to compare the value of a $1,982.00 Commodity in 1946 there are three choices.
In 2012 the relative:
-real price of that commodity is $23,300.00
-labor value of that commodity is $39,200.00(using the unskilled wage) or $47,600.00(using production worker compensation)
-income value of that commodity is $63,000.00

If you want to compare the value of a $1,982.00 Income or Wealth , in 1946 there are three choices.
In 2012 the relative:
-historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is $23,300.00
-economic status value of that income or wealth is $63,000.00
-economic power value of that income or wealth is $140,000.00

http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/ 
jackconrad
13 years ago
Isnt that Ricks car?.
teedubbya
13 years ago
Is that a GTI in fronof it?

Ricka drives a Mr. Bean Car.
errasa
13 years ago
Now THAT is eye candy
teedubbya
13 years ago

Now THAT is eye candy

errasa wrote:



thanks errasa but I don't really swing that way
bloody spaniard
13 years ago
^ LOL! Damn, I've got to stop following you around. Thanks for the laugh anyway, funny looking.

Very nice car, OP. I saw a woodie convertible yesterday that knocked my socks off. Just something about that wood paneling... same thing with boats.
Users browsing this topic