1947 Buick Super Series 50 Woody Wagon

This was the Mercedes G-Wagen of its day, most often sold in high trim levels to affluent customers

by Dave Kinney

Buick’s biggest and most elegant woody wagons owe their genesis to a cocktail party in Hollywood in 1941. Movie director Norman McLeod and his wife Bunny invited Buick designer Harley Earl over as part of a West Coast sales meeting and Mrs. McLeod complained that the couple didn’t have a Buick because there were no wagons. Earl was the creator of the 1938 “Y Job,” which set the style for GM’s offerings clear through 1953, and he quickly sketched a prototype that eventually became the 1946 Super Series 50 wagon. This car seems to be an intelligent restoration of a very solid car. It was undertaken by Woody expert Bud Hicks in the 1990s, and very little wood paneling was replaced―only a small section at the left rear. It is described as a fine driver with no shakes or rattles, a good gearshift, and efficient brakes.