FEATURE – 1950 Chevrolet utility custom

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: Ben Hosking

RETRO REVIEW. This article originally appeared in JUST CARS No. 251 – January, 2017

Woodies. We’ve all heard of them, most of us have seen one in the flesh (or should that be ‘in the grain’?) and some have even owned one. But of those woodies, nearly all have been station wagons. There’s the odd sedan or coupe here and there, while a woodie convertible like Chrysler’s Town & Country is rarer still. But a woodie ute? Now that’s got to be a one-off.

Justin’s Wood

What you’re looking at here is the creation of Justin Wood; an appropriate surname given the NSW-based car nut is a qualified cabinetmaker and timber craftsman by trade.

Over more than two decades, Justin has applied his woodworking talents to everything from furniture to homewares, children’s toys and even musical instruments.

So what does a cabinetmaker have to do with cars? In Justin’s case, a lot, as for eight years, he built reproduction wooden frames for vintage and veteran automobiles, using the same sort of timber and tools that the original coachbuilders would have back in the day.

That experience with older production cars gave Justin a taste for exploring the possibilities of using timber as an element – both structural and decorative – on custom car builds.

Those possibilities became a reality in the car you see here, but if you’re a past attendee at Meguiar’s MotorEx, you may have seen an earlier example of Justin’s handiwork in the form of John Viles’s ’49 Ford single spinner surf wagon-style panel van. While Garry Ward did the metalwork and mechanicals on that custom, Justin produced all the beautifully-crafted woodwork, including the rear panels and functional doors that graced the low-slung, rodded van.

The Viles van won a couple of trophies in Street Elite Showcase at Meguiar’s MotorEx back in 2013, and it gave Justin the idea to create a similar machine for himself.

Long-lived Chev

“For me, it’s all about wood so when buying a car, my first approach is always to see if it came out as a woodie,” Justin explained.

The car featured, a 1950 Chevrolet with an Australian-made utility body, did have wood in it, but only lining the tray. Justin aimed to change that!

Of course, the 1950-model Chevrolet was available as a woody wagon in the US, but that body style was never offered here.

Like Ford and most other US manufacturers, Chevrolet had abandoned the true wood-bodied wagon by the end of the 1940s for steel-bodied ‘Faux Woodies’ with screw-on timber sections. Buick was the only notable holdout, still producing wagons with structural wood components as late as 1953. But by the late 1950s, even they had succumbed ; the real wood replaced by fibreglass and stick-on vinyl panels.

At the same time as the true woody wagon was on the way out, the Australian Chevrolet ute was on its last legs, too. The introduction of the 48-215 Holden ute in January, 1951, saw demand for the more expensive Chevrolet ute drop off dramatically, to the point where production ceased altogether a couple of years later.

The ute you’re looking at here came into Justin’s possession back in 2013, after long-term ownership by good mate, Joel Marks: “I convinced Joel to get a car one day - and not to tell his missus! - purely because it was such a good deal. After that good win, he offered me this old Chev.”

Joel had owned the Chev for close to thirty years, but it had hot rod history dating back to the 1960s. The previous owner had fitted a 350 V8 out of a ’68 Pontiac (that’s actually 355 cubes), with 30 thou oversized Speed Pro flat top pistons, as well as, beefier con rods and valve springs, truck-rated Alliance valve lifters and a stronger 4-bolt mains – basically, all the top-strength parts available at the time.

Justin said the ute had originally been set up to run with nitrous oxide, with other modifications including double pumper fuelie heads, Cloyes timing chain and gears, race-spec Vandervell bearings, a 350hp-rated cam, Mellings hi-volume oil pump, a Hayes Stinger electronic ignition and a radiator core previously matched up to a Ford 351 Cleveland V8.

Fitted with a T350 auto with Stage 2 shift kit, other mods included a 2.09 diff and 28-spline axle out of an XW Falcon, while the braking combined discs from an XC Falcon with VJ Valiant calipers, master cylinder and booster.

The paint you see on the ute was done back in 1988, believe it or not, using Glasurit 2-pac in an Alfa Romeo off-white shade and hasn’t been resprayed or touched up since.

While running a 10.25:1 compression ratio and undoubtedly potent, the ute was still street legal and road-driven regularly, racking up more than 20,000 kilometres under the previous owners, but had been driven only sparingly in the decade prior to Justin receiving it.

To Chop or Not To Chop

As good as all those performance driveline parts were, they weren’t the things that appealed to Justin. He saw the Chev as the base for a custom woody wagon like the one he had helped create for Viles.

“I drove the car around untouched for a while, gathering thoughts and material.”

As purchased, the ute was still perfect mechanically, but needed a new tailgate, interior and bumpers.

“The challenge was to figure out how to make it a woodie,” Justin explained. “I intended to cut the entire roof off and build my woody from the windshield back.”
This would involve leaving the ute’s tub in place, skinning it with thin plywood, then using solid timber for the doors and the rest of the wagon body structure. There was just one problem, though. . . .

“Three times I approached the Chev with grinder in hand, and failed due to the fact that the car was so clean and had survived so long. I just couldn’t bring myself to cut the old girl up.”

So, rather than the wagon idea, Justin went with something more subtle and respectful: “I decided to pay tribute to its style and turn it into a woodie ute. But I had to take care not to overdo the timber and made sure I respected the body lines she already had. It would have been easy to add too much and turn it into a fat pig,” Justin laughed.

Silky Finish

Inspired by the ute’s existing lines, Justin enhanced them with his wooden additions, which included the tailgate, tilting tonneau cover and sill extensions.

The ribbed effect on the tailgate was inspired by the Chevy Nomad wagon, with that treatment continuing on the tonneau cover, too.

“The thing with cars is re-creating the compound curves in timber that make them so voluptuous,” Justin explained. “On some of the pieces, there are subtle curves throughout, so that meant a fair bit of spoke shaving and planing.”

The timber Justin chose is Southern Silky Oak; a light-coloured timber with a subtle, silky grain (hence the name) that was commonly used in window joinery and furniture production, particularly table tops. While suitably treated to ensure it lasts in this application, Silky Oak is naturally resistant to wood rot anyway, so it’s a good choice for a woody. Complementing this, Justin added inserts in plywood.

“Woodies may not love the weather as much as Steelies,” Justin said, “but as long as they sleep in the garage, they last a long time.”

Low. Subtle. Tactile!

The ute sits a few inches lower than stock, which is 15-inch steel rims that Justin added as well as those timber sill extensions. The wheels are shod with Coker whitewalls and capped with plain dog dish-style hubcaps.

“I've deliberately kept the car clean and simple. It's not a loud presence. . . you could say it's even a little conservative. I was trying to make people look twice at it, rather than be shocked by it.”

When the ute made its debut at Chrome Fest in 2015, the woodwork had all been done, but was still raw, which people couldn’t help but touch.

“People look closely at the timber and wonder is it real. I suppose that’s why they like to feel it,” Justin shrugged.

Following Chrome Fest, all the timber pieces were treated to a limewash finish to complement the paint, topped with 2K clear coat for protection.

Adding a silver-finished sunvisor, silver-painted grille and wheels to the outside, Justin also treated the interior to a custom steering wheel, modern grey velour bucket seats and full carpeting. The instrumentation has had some mods, too, with underslung aftermarket gauges and a tacho residing in the speedo’s slot.

In its fully-finished form, Justin’s woodie ute made its show debut at the 2016 NSW Hot Rod and Custom Expo. Alongside the Chev, Justin also presented his custom Harley with a wooden petrol tank – yes, a WOODEN petrol tank – as a further demonstration of his skills.

While the ute is a showpiece, Justin said it’s not a show car, so the paint was showing its age, the interior could do with detailing and the bumpers need attention, too. So, with other woodie projects in the pipeline, he decided  to let the Chev go.

Wood Will Continue

First advertised with JUST CARS in 2016, this unique woodie ute was sold just prior to issue #251 going to press.

Justin advised that the ute’s new owner had a period wood-panelled caravan, so he saw the timber-trimmed ute as the perfect tow vehicle for a ‘round Australia adventure – retro style!

After completing a pair of full wooden pickup tubs to suit a ’46 Chev and his own ’54 International pickup, Justin’s currently working on a ’32 Ford woody wagon hot rod, but would welcome future automotive woody projects, too (see breakout). 

“I always live my life a little outside the box and I've always been a timber man, so adding wood to cars just seems completely natural to me.”

In completing his custom Chev ute, Justin extended thanks to Dave’s Kustoms and Rods at Ourimbah and Fonzy’s Kustoms in Berkeley Vale, as well as his mate Joel for what was such a good base to work from. A special thanks also went to his girl, Genie: “She puts up with me hanging out in my shed too much, but at least she always knows who the ‘other woman’ is!”

Woodies Shed

Justin’s skills with timber are apparent in the images shown here, and they’re skills he’s willing to offer for classic car owners looking for a similar custom touch for their vehicles.

Of course, Justin can apply the same sort of expertise to genuine woodies as well, be it repair, restoration or modification. He can also build custom furniture.

To find out more, go to: facebook.com/woodiesshed to see samples of Justin’s handiwork. For further information, give Justin a call on 0402 353 528.

2020 UPDATE! - Justin is now also producing hood bows to suit vintage tourers, convertibles and custom cars. Trading under ‘Australian Hood Bows’, Justin can produce high-quality laminated timber hood bows in any length, with 4, 6 or 8-inch curved corners. Call Justin for more details.