I always wanted to own a woodie wagon but I never could afford one, I thought.
So I got the idea of using the next best thing — a Volkswagen bug. It had the running boards and outside fenders and look of the vehicles from the ‘40s.
I remembered back they used to make “fit on” kits for VWs back in the mid ’70s so they looked like a Rolls-Royce or ’40 Ford. I found one in an ol’ VW shop and with my imagination started to draw (create) my own version of the classic.
With the help of my son in law we started and after four-plus years, we finished it.
We didn’t take anything away from the bug. We just added a steel frame and wood. Even inside we even lined the headliner, door panels, wooded the original dash, made our own console out of wood and ol’ school roll-and-pleat seats.
We added a 7 inch monitor as a rear view mirror and a 8-ton house air conditioner!
We chromed the motor all over and added colored tubing to accent the original rebuilt engine and added a red cap (you find on a new battery) to cover the alternator connection and used screen door handles on the doors.
The wood is red oak, birch and pine.
— Orson Erickson, Douglas GA
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