Background

• As General Motors began producing large quantities of station wagons in 1939, it contracted coachbuilding companies Hercules, Cantrell and Ionia to construct wood-bodied station wagons for Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile. All three divisions had eight-passenger station wagons sharing the same platform and basic body components. Hercules constructed the wood paneling from mahogany and framed it in ash. Ionia and Cantrell paneled the wagons in birch. Hercules and Cantrell employed two horizontal ribs for each panel, while Ionia used three. The three companies constructed the roofs with leatherette over Everflex padding. In 1940, Hercules and Ionia won contracts to build station-wagon bodies for Buick.
  
  

Postwar Era

• As production resumed for 1946, only Ionia supplied wood-bodied wagons for Chevrolet, while Hercules built Buick and Oldsmobile bodies. Ionia produced all of Chevrolet's 804 woody station wagons for the 1946 model year and 554 wagons in early 1947. The bulk of Ionia's work, however, was producing 18,791 Pontiac station wagon woodies. Ionia's limited production facilities prevented it from building an estimated 15,000 Chevy woodies needed for the rest of 1947 and for 1948. That job went to GM's Fisher Body division. Under the Ionia contract, GM supplied the coachbuilder with the cowl, A-pillars and floor pan. Ionia attached the body's wood frames, doors, tailgate and roof. Woodworkers then sanded and varnished the body before sending the wagon to other departments for installation of the vehicle's remaining components.
  
  

The Woody Wagons

• When production resumed for the 1946 model year, Chevrolet's first woody was the Chevrolet Fleetmaster Series DK, built on a 116-inch wheelbase. Chevrolet manufactured just 804 four-door, eight-passenger wagons for the hefty price of $1,604 ($17,715 in 2010 dollars). Production increased to 4,912 in 1947, and then leaped to 10,171 for the 1948 model year. The all-steel version in 1949 numbered 6,006 units. The 1946 and 1948 models were virtually identical. The wagon's body was 207.5 inches long and it had a curbside weight of 3,435 lbs. Under the hood was a 90-horsepower 216-cubic-inch in-line six-cylinder engine. Complementing the wood paneling were exterior colors Martial Maroon, Ensign Blue, Fleet Blue, Wing Blue, Volunteer Green, Black, Seafoam Green, Scout Brown and Sport Beige.
  
  

All-Steel Bodies

• Chevrolet ended construction of wood-bodied station wagons in 1948. The 1949 model year featured all-steel bodies. Buick hung on to the woody wagon through 1953, allowing Ionia build 12,791 woody wagons from 1949 to 1953. All-steel bodies were more economical to manufacture and were easier to build on an assembly line. All-steel bodies could handle the body flex of the station wagon just as well, if not better, than the woodies.