When it comes to barn finds, I can't help but get excited whenever I see rare, golden-era muscle cars emerge from long-term storage. And I feel the same about old Studebaker, Kaiser, and Nash models. But barn finds aren't always about production cars. Sometimes hunters unearth custom builds, like this Volkswagen Beetle woodie conversion.
Discovered by Randy of YouTube's "Carchaeology," this heavily-modded "bug" has been sitting for a very long time (perhaps decades) and needs a lot of work to return to the road. And even though it's a rather unusual (or should I say wacky?) creation, it's an interesting take on an old Beetle.
So what's the story behind this conversion? Well, there's no detailed info on how it came to be, but this woodie is far from unique. It's not very common either, but quite a few of them are known to exist today. And that's because plans for these home-built projects were sold through magazines back in the day.
This build is more than just a Beetle with a wooden rear shell. The original owner replaced the factory hood with a V-shaped lid that appears to belong to an early 1940s American car. However, it doesn't seem to match any Ford, Chevy, or Plymouth from the era, so it's most likely a custom job. These hood conversions are also common on home-built woodies as they make the Beetle look closer to early woodie automobiles.
But don't let the impressively tall hood fool you; there's no engine hiding behind the front grille. The conversion left the Beetle fairly stock regarding mechanical bits, and the powerplant is still in the back. Our host says the mill should be factory-correct except for a 12-volt conversion and some minor upgrades, so we're looking at a 1.2-liter boxer engine rated at 34 horsepower and 61 pound-feet (82 Nm) of torque.
The car is in poor shape as it stands, needing some straightening in the roof area and some sanding on the side panels. It also requires a new vinyl top to protect against the elements. Luckily enough, the body is relatively rust-free, and the paint looks like it will come back to life with a polish. And the good news is that our host plans to fix it and get it back on the road. Sure, these Beetles are far from valuable or desirable, but they're an essential part of the American home-built automobile history. And that alone makes them worth saving.
While many of these conversions were built in the 1970s, the woodie body style goes back to the 1930s. That's when all Detroit carmakers rushed to produce wood-bodied automobiles, especially station wagons. It was a modern interpretation of the horse-drawn shooting brake at the time. The Ford Deluxe and the Chevrolet Suburban are perhaps the most recognizable vehicles that got the factory woodie treatment, but the list extends far beyond these nameplates.
Pontiac and Packard also produced wood-bodied wagons in the 1940s. At the same time, Nash rolled out a similar version of the Ambassador in 1946. Chrysler took things up a notch with a two-door convertible version o the Town and Country.
Woodies remained somewhat popular into the 1950s and 1960s, but most automakers replaced actual wood with steel, plastics, and vinyl. Simulated wood grain continued to be offered through the 1990s on vehicles like the Chevrolet Caprice, Mercury Colony Park, Plymouth Voyager, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and the Buick Roadmaster Estate.
But that's enough history for today. Hit the play button below to watch this VW Beetle woodie sitting pretty in a trailer.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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