On Line Redline Guide-Classic '31 Ford Woody

Casting : Classic '31 Ford Woody

Years of Production:

1970-1971

Country of Origin:

US Only

Casting Variations:

None Known

Interior and Glass:

Three (3) different colored interiors.
* White is common
* Dark is less common
* Champagne is uncommon

Clear Glass on all

Paint Colors and Variations:

US COLORS:	COMMENTS:
blue	common
aqua	common
orange	common
red	common
purple	uncommon
lime	uncommon
rose	uncommon
green	hard to find
creamy pink	hard to find
gold	hard to find
antifreeze	hard to find
light blue	hard to find
magenta	hard to find
olive	very hard to find
yellow	very hard to find
hot pink	very hard to find
brown	rare, pre-production

Other versions of same Casting:

None

Discussion:

The Classic '31 Ford Woody, released in 1969 is one of the four new models of classic cars released as the "Classics" series.

Classic '31 Ford Woody

The Hot Wheels Classic '31 Ford Woody is a 1931 Ford Model A Station Wagon. The name "station wagon" refers to the early use of these vehicles at train stations
to pick up passengers. The cars were also known as "depot hacks", as they were commonly used to transport people and luggage as taxi cabs. Of course, the name "Woody"
is a nickname that was made popular by West Coast surfers, and refers to the wooden body panels that ran from the cowl to the rear of the vehicle. Ford used so much
wood in the construction of car bodies, that the Ford Motor Company owned and operated a saw mill in the western end of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the 1930's.

Hot Wheels Classic '31 Ford Woody in Creamy Pink (Lavender)

The Mattel version of the hot rod Woody wagon is a good representation of the vehicle lucky surfers may have owned in the 1960s. The changes include the hood removal, and
addition of a the V-8 engine. The Mattel designers oddly added open headers exiting at the side, and also large mega-phone exhaust pipes at the rear. The black roof
represents the fabric covered top of Ford's wagon. On the toy, it comes in two styles. The early run cars have a flat black roof, and the later run versions have a
glossy black textured roof. The texture varies from car to car from a fine grain, to a larger texture. The larger texture is called a "fingerprint-textured" or "wrinkle" roof.

Classic '31 Ford Woody, Front and Rear

The headlights are omitted on the Mattel rendition.

A prominent collector of the Classic '31 Ford Woody has studied the casting and has identified a number of minor variations in the casting of the body and base.
These types of variations are generally associated with correcting issues with the die casting and or the assembly of the model, i.e. engineering changes.

Body Casting Revision Letter "B"

Four different body casting revision letters also have been found. The body casting letter is visible on the inside bottom surface of the roof. A,B,D and E castings
have been found. "A" bodies have only been found on unpainted prototypes, and at least one brown Woody. This proves brown Woodies to be early production, or possibly
prototypes. "B" bodies are common to flat black roof cars, and have been found to be very common. No "C" bodies were found in a survey of over 200 Woodies.
"D" and "E" bodiesare common on late run cars, with "D" bodies being more abundant. There is also an "E-2" body which indicates a second die tool was in parallel use.

Classic '31 Ford Woody Base Differences

Four chassis styles have been identified, and will be referred to hereas A,B,C and D. The four chassis types are as follows:

"A" Chassis:Straight side pipes, Round open rear alignment hole, SMALL Trademark "R" symbol after HOT WHEELS

"B" Chassis: Radius added to pipes on base; round, open rear alignment hole, LARGE Trademark "R" symbol after HOT WHEELS; Circle "C" for copyright enlarged.

"C" Chassis: Radius on pipes; Rear alignment hole oblong and closed, LARGE Trademark "R" symbol, chassis casting lengthened at the rear, covering the rear edge
of the body casting. Circle "C" hard to see, unless you compared against earlier castings.)

"D" Chassis: Radius on side pipes; rear alignment hole oblong and closed, large Trademark "R" symbol is replaced with a small "circle "C" after HOT WHEELS; Large Trademark "R"
moved to the end of CLASSIC 31 FORD WOODY; chassis casting long at the rear.

(Note that "A" chassis are rare)

Classic '31 Ford Woody Interior Colors

The interior is found in three colors: white, bronze (or tan, or champagne), and dark brown. From the beginning of production, all three interior colors
were used. At some point during the production run, Mattel appears to have phased out the bronze and dark brown interiors. This is supported by the fact
that only white interiors are found in Woodies that are painted with second generation colors (hot pink, magenta, and true yellow).

Classic '31 Ford Woody Roof Variations

Larry Wood designed the Classic '31 Ford Woody, keeping it as close to the original, adding only the sunroof and hood scoops to the classic design.
All Classic '31 Ford Woody's feature an opening hood, clear windows, white interior and cap-style wheels; the rear wheels being larger then the front.

Classic '31 Ford Woody Group

Brown is by far the most difficult color to find, and there may be only a few dozen or less, including some prototypes. A few colors are available only on
early run cars with a flat roof; these include olive, antifreeze, and creamy pink. Other colors are found on both early and late run versions, including red,
orange, green, rose, blue, aqua, lime, and purple. Magenta, true yellow, and hot pink have only been found with textured roofs, late bodies, and white interiors.
The Woody has not been found in salmon pink. Nice green Woodies are getting harder to find, as the late run greens are prone to fading to an icey aqua color.

One harder to find variation is the transitional car that has both a textured roof, and a bronze or brown interior. Not many collectors care about such minute details
, but since the change to textured roofs and all white interiors would not have been done at the same time, these transitional cars can be found. These have been found in
red, aqua, blue, and purple.

Classic '31 Ford Woody in Blister

Classic '31 Ford Woody in Yellow

Prototypes

The Brown Woody was used in catalog shoots and is considered "pre-production". Severely tone orange Woodies are often mistaken for brown.

Classic '31 Ford Woody Catalog Photo

Classic '31 Ford Woody in Brown, Preproduction Color

Several "Lunch Time" cars are known which are believed to been experiments by employees in the Model Shop. As such, they are not considered true prototypes.

Classic '31 Ford Woody Pick Up, Lunchtime Car
Courtesy of Bruce Pascal

Classic '31 Ford Woody Pick Up, Lunchtime Car
Larry Wood Collection

Reproductions

The '31 Ford Woody was reproduced by Mattel in the "Redline Club" line. These are easily distinguishable from an original redline but still confuses the newbys

RLC Version of the '31 Ford Woody

Credits: Text and photos by Woody Itson and Ted Gray

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