Early in 1998, Tom Halfpenny, decided that he wanted to create a custom 1951 Ford Woodie. He had two reasons; 1) that was the last year Ford sided wagons with wood and 2) of all Ford products, the resale value was the highest for Ford Woodies.

Halfpenny's father was a Ford man so Tom grew up with Fords even learning how to drive in a 1948 Ford Tudor. The woodie project was not the first that Halfpenny had completed although the first customized job he had ever attempted. Prior to this project he had restored a 1931 Ford Victoria, 2-door, a 1937 Buick Special 4-door, and a 1967 Dodge Coronet 440 convertible. He was drawn to the "shoebox" styling which began with 1949 Ford models.

"One Sunday morning, Halfpenny and his wife took a little after-breakfast drive near Wisconsin Dells, WI. Connie, his wife, spotted a car museum and they decided to stop for a tour. The owner had a list of cars for sale and on that list was a 1951 Woodie, located in Lake Mills, WI. A phone call from Halfpenny was made and a date arranged to see the car.

Once on the scene, Halfpenny found a car missing most of its wood and displaying some metal rot, not uncommon for a Midwestern vehicle, although everything else was intact. The car had been in storage for 25 years. Prior to that, the car was used for display at a local restaurant. It needed a home. $6,000 later, it had one.

The project from start to finish took 4 1/2 years to complete. The top was chopped 2-3/4 inches and the metal tailgate was swapped for a '50 wood tailgate. Rear sheet metal was reworked to set the license in the lower pan, install a Hagan gas filler door and tunnel '50 Ford taillights vertically.


The hood was filled and headlights frenched. The original flathead was rebuilt to 1953 Merc specifications with dual Holley carbs, headers and Smithy mufflers by Adelmann's Engines. The front was lowered 2-1/2 inches with dropped spindles. The tranny is a stock 3-speed with overdrive and the rear end is from Mercury. Tires are Coker wide whitewall radials. This very un-Country Squire is a long way from the ocean but Halfpenny added a unique wood rack with which to carry his 10-foot, 1965 long board, by Hanson. In Minnesota, it gets noticed!

All of the work put into the car was done locally and by vendors who had worked on other vehicles for Halfpenny. The metal work was done by Car Creations, (Blaine, MN) the wood work by, Wood by Whiskers, (Savage, MN). Bob's Upholstery, (Hastings, MN) did the interior and Vescio's, (Rogers, MN) did the custom paint job in Sunburst Yellow.

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