The woodill wildfire was an american sports car built by dodge and willys dealer blanchard. Wildfire is the funniest, saddest, most harrowing, most exuberant novel ive read in years. A childs version of the vehicle called the brushfire was also. These cars were manufactured in downey, califonia in very limited numbers, and could be had complete or in kit form. Before stumbling upon this 1955 woodill wildfire here at the barrettjackson festivities in scottsdale, we werent even aware that such a car existed. Are you trying to find 1953 woodill wildfire values. In late 195354 tony curtis starred in a movie call johnny dark. These fiberglass cars are rare today since only 300 were ever produced. When you look at the early history of fiberglass sports cars in america, the path is far. R woodill, the wildfire was offered between 1952 and 1956 as a package tailored to the owners specifications.
The car shown here 1955 woodill wildfire corvette special. Too bad the guy who bought it lost money, but the value would have been in the original car. So, when barn finds reader richard b sent over a link to this one i knew we had to present it for your consideration. The vibrin plasticbodied woodill wildfire designed for late model willys or 3948 ford chassis, is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful home product sports cars. Lets start off this weeks fourlinks with this model of the caravan crash from the first mad max as done by shoey on the australian automotive model builders forum, detailed down to the artwork on the side of the destroyed caravan. The wildfire also received much publicity in time, life, newsweek, and the car magazines.
What killed woodills dream car was the buyout of willys by kaiserfrazer. Gas monkey garage meet the monkeys sue martin duration. The idea of a willysbased sports car, based on the relatively new and easy practice of laying up fiberglass bodies, intrigued him. Original ownerbuilder 1954 woodill wildfire 283 fuel injection out of 300 fiberglass bodied wildfire s built from 1953 through 1956 approximately 25 survive today. The early 1950s was a fascinating period in the american automobile landscape. In the 1970s larry did a full rebuild of the wildfire making it a performance powerhouse with. Although production was low 3 in 1952 and 711 in 1953, the car was slated to be willys answer to the sports car, until its ultimate acquisition by kaiserfrazer corporation, which has. Robert woody woodill, it wore a relatively familiar looking glasspar fiberglass shell that was laid over a custom frame, a willys straightsix and various other willys bits. Due to the rarity of this unique automobile, vehicles that have sold fluctuate greatly due to condition and originality. Our value guide is constantly growing with pricing information and. Aug, 2012 gas monkey garage meet the monkeys sue martin duration. In addition to north american brands we now have values for many british.
Tustin, ca 19521958 the woodill fiberglass body corp. The wildfire used a glasspar fiberglass body and is credited with being the first complete fiberglass car available with approximately 15 produced and another 285 sold as kits. The images shown are representations of the 1953 woodill wildfire and not necessarily vehicles that have been bought or sold at auction. Perhaps the most comprehensive value guide for older classic automobiles and their suggested currentmarket values. Find new and used woodill wildfire classics for sale by classic car dealers and private sellers near you. The woodill wildfire became a pioneer in the fiberglass bodied car setting high standards and becoming a true american sports car.
Original ownerbuilder 1954 woodill wildfire 283 fuel injection out of 300 fiberglass bodied wildfires built from 1953 through 1956 approximately 25 survive today. The creator, robert woodill, like many other sports car enthusiasts of his day, desired a better sports car. Classics on autotrader has listings for new and used 1955 woodill wildfire classics for sale near you. His other new york times bestsellers include the charm school, word of honor, the gold coast, spencerville, the lions game, up country, wild fire, and. This 1956 woodill wildfire was assembled by the original owner in stockton, california and remained with him for the following 50 years. There were a number of american specials built during the 1950s, but few were as handsome and unique as the woodill wildfire. And by mid to late 1953 woody started offering the woodill wildfire as a kit to buyers interested in building their own american sports car. This was a woodill wildfire drag racer won class in detroit nationals 1961. Auction results and sales data for 1953 woodill wildfire. Woodill became one of the most sucessful dodge and willys dealer in the u. Glaspar the fiberglass boat company built the cars. Produced in the early to mid 1950s, the wildfire was a fiberglass sports car that could be purchased assembled or in kit form. Find out how much a 1953 woodill wildfire is worth and woodill wildfire used car prices.
The hagerty classic car valuation tool is designed to help you learn how to value your 1952 woodill wildfire. Stored in garage for 50 years, owner started in 2012 restoring for street. Woodill wildfire classic cars for sale classics on autotrader. I wanted the doors, decklid, and hood to open and shut like those on a quality steel automobile, woodill said. The woodill wildfire was an american sports car built by dodge and willys dealer blanchard robert woody woodill from 1952 to 1958 in downey, california. May 05, 2015 1955 woodill wildfire roadster posted by nsm insurance group on tuesday, may 5, 2015 in 1950s, articles, event recap, news, vehicle spotlight, wildfire, woodill postwar america saw a number of attempts by wouldbe automakers to produce new, and often novel, sports cars. Shown images are of much lower quality, due to resizing. Trend book 8 comments mitchell philip on december 4, 2011 at 12. Arguably the first production fiberglass bodied sports car. Woodill wildfire classic cars for sale autotrader classics. One of the first true kit cars to be available, the wildfire used a glasspar fiberglass body, and. Fiberglass find 1953 woodill wildfire scd motors the. Classics on autotrader has listings for new and used woodill wildfire classics for sale near you.
We have featured a couple of woodill wildfires over the years, but havent seen any on the market recently. For stopping power, the wildfire series i braking system includes drums at the front and drums at the rear. Com is believed to be the only classic automobile value guide providing classic auto values for u. Johnny dark is an automobile engineer who designs a radical new car. Apr 16, 2014 1950s america produced what seems like an endless number of different low production, fiberglassbodied sports cars. The wildfire id plate on this car shows w216b it does not match the cornell record books. Mary lowry writes with an insiders precision about the raucous camaraderie and dangerous work of wildland firefighting, but also with an artists insight into a lonely young womans determination to test herself, to belong to something, and to. Interest ran high, so woody set about getting his sports car into production, both fully assembled and as a. Woody woodills father was an early american automobile dealer, handling maxwell, overland, willys. The worlds greatest collector car auctions the names barrettjackson, and all associated graphics, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts, and service names are trademarks, registered trademarks or trade dress of the barrettjackson auction company, llc or its affiliates. What killed woodill s dream car was the buyout of willys by kaiserfrazer. The worlds greatest collector car auctions the names barrettjackson, barrettjackson. Woody woodill introduced the woodwill wildfire as one of the first fiberglass bodied sports cars available in the world.
Woody woodills father was an early american automobile dealer, handling maxwell, overland, willysknight and dodge. Service members returning from duty overseas had experienced the. Interest ran high, so woody set about getting his sports car into production, both fully assembled and as a highquality kit car. The wildfire model is a cabriolet car manufactured by woodill, with 2 doors and seats, sold new from year 1952 to 1958, and available after that as a used car. We will in time, try and cover all brands sourced in the united states, canada, and mexico. The images shown are representations of the 1953 woodill wildfire and not necessarily vehicles that have been bought or.
Woodill wildfire roadster 1952 woodill wildfire roadster 1952 download image. It was originally sold in california in and titled in 1958 with a ca pink slip as a 1958 spcns special construct with the proper woodill vin of 9931. Someone like wayne carrini of chasing classic cars. Its worth taking the time to read each of the captions on the photos above. Dec, 2014 we have featured a couple of woodill wildfires over the years, but havent seen any on the market recently. The hagerty classic car valuation tool is designed to help you learn how to value your 1954 woodill wildfire and assess the current state of the classic car market. Are you trying to find 1952 woodill wildfire values. Woodill wildfire series i technical specs, dimensions.
Woody woodill, is considered, by most enthusiasts, to be the genesis of production american fiberglass sports cars. Here is the 1954 woodill wildfire, promoted by a downey, california, dealer named b. The car you see here is one of the betterknown woodill survivors, it was originally built by larry frank in california in the 1950s larry kept the car until his passing in 20. Feb 22, 2011 as i remember, woody woodill was a dodgewillys dealer in calif. The hagerty classic car valuation tool is designed to help you learn how to value your 1953 woodill wildfire. The truth, however, is that a boat builder had a lot to do with all this.
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