My Maiden Voyage Driving a 1941 Woody

By Gary Osborne

Most of you know that I own a 1932 Cabriolet.  This car has been in various states of restoration for the past 27 years.  Well, last year I decided that I would make a concerted effort to complete it for the Grand National Meet held this year in Dearborn, Michigan.  Most of you also know that I didn’t make it.  I have had parts from a vendor on back order since last December and as of this writing I still don’t have them all.  So, I had to resort to plan B for the GNM, which meant that I would drive my Mustang.  It was going to be a very enjoyable ride with all the comforts of a modern car.  Plan B didn’t happen either!

Ron Steck heard that I wasn’t going to be taking my Cabriolet to the GNM, so he insisted that I drive his 1941 Woody.  This would allow him to drive his 1940 Pickup and have both vehicles on the Concourse.  This was something that I didn’t want to do because of the responsibility I felt about driving someone else’s car.  Ron was very persistent and would not take “no” for an answer.  I finally agreed to drive the car, and Dawn would follow in my Mustang.  Now mind you, I have never driven an early Ford V-8 and now I was being asked to drive one over 600 miles.  This was going to be really exciting!

Originally, due to my lack of experience, I was to drive the Woody a few weeks in advance to become accustomed to it.  Not to sound like a broken record, but that didn’t happen either!  The day that we were to leave for Dearborn I drove it around the block and declared that I was ready  (Ron was very trusting).  There was a heavy rain storm going through the area that morning so we waited until noon when it cleared. 

Very quickly I was about to get a few lessons in driving an old Ford.  With the outside temperature a little warm I had the windows rolled down so that I could use hand signals when turning.  That worked OK until I got on the expressway, then it was pointless.  No sooner had I accelerated to 60 mph, when up ahead the traffic was stopping very fast due to construction.  Lesson #2 was about braking.  I hit the brake pedal hard and thought I would never stop in time to avoid hitting the car in front of me.  I was even getting ready to go on the shoulder to stop!  Whew!  That was a close one.  Now that I had a feel for the brakes, the rest of the trip I planned my braking better.

I kept my speed to around 60 mph and lesson #3 was learned.  Since I was at that speed I couldn’t use hand signals to make a pass, you just had to go.  The problem with that was that this car has lots of windows that have a tendency to reflect the other side of the car.  And a right side mirror that was useless.  When I looked over to my left all that I saw in the windows was me driving or the cars to my left.  Needless to say, I had to spend a little extra time when switching lanes. 

The rest of the trip to Dearborn only had a few more things happen that helped me learn about these cars.  After our food stop I went to start the car and it would not.  It just cranked and I panicked.  The cranking speed was getting slower and I’m thinking oh, no!  Then I got the brilliant idea of flipping on the power switch and the car started right up.  Duh!   Then as we got going the rain came down hard again.  Now I began to learn about wipers and water in the car.  Since the wipers are vacuum operated you have to find a happy medium in their speed across the window.  And of course, these old cars sometimes have a few little leaks in them.  Once you figure them out, you just kind of ignore them and keep driving. 

Arriving at the hotel, I was relieved to park the car and check in.  These cars are a little more work to drive than our modern ones.  We brought in our bags and began our week in Dearborn.  And what a week it was. 

We attended the Welcome Reception and had a wonderful time with those at our table.  I think that we were all looking forward to the next few days with our fellow V-8ers.  Tuesday, we took the tour to the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant.  This was Ford’s new plant built in 1904 where the Model T would eventually be developed.  There were several models of early Fords displayed on two floors that showed much of the early history of Ford cars.  Wednesday, we went to Greenfield Village for the picnic.  This is where I got to show my Woody driving skills again.  We were asked to take four people who didn’t have cars.  We took off on the long one mile trip from the hotel and promptly made a wrong turn even though the directions were very clear.  Our improper turn took us right back to the hotel where we started all over again.  We had never been to the Village so we knew it would be a long day.  There is much to see there concerning historical buildings and artifacts.  Concourse Day on Thursday was a very busy day for all.  I washed the Woody for Ron, brought it out to the designated spot and then ate at the Judges Breakfast.  During the judging on the Concourse I learned much about the process and really enjoyed it.  Friday, we visited the Henry Ford Museum with the Stecks.  There is something for everyone to see there.  The evening was spent at the Awards Dinner where most of those who came to the GNM from our group received awards for their cars.  Saturday, I drove the Woody again to Greenfield Village with some from our club to attend the Motor Muster.  This also was a great event for anyone who has an interest in automobiles to see a huge variety of brands and types. 

Sunday, it was time to head back in the Woody.  Ron drove his pickup, and our wives rode in my air conditioned Mustang.  We started early because it was going to be 95 degrees that day.  The Woody did fine as long as I kept the speed around 60 mph.  Being that it was so hot outside, I learned another lesson about old cars; you can’t keep your drink cool in the cupholder!  I thought I would be smart and stop for a Coke for the drive.  Within 20 minutes of driving with the windows open in that heat my Coke was warm.  Oh well, next time keep the AC on. 

The final lesson I learned about these cars is that they can have vapor lock at any time in the hot weather.  The entire drive the Woody performed flawlessly, but when I tried to get off I-355 to merge onto I-55 the car stalled.  It was totally unexpected as I was trying to get up to speed to avoid oncoming traffic.  My mind went into panic mode to try and figure out how to get this car through 3 lanes of fast moving traffic and over to the side of the road.  Once I got it over I remembered that Ron had an electric fuel pump installed on the car.  I switched it on and the engine started but still stumbled a little.  Ron didn’t know that I had stalled because he was ahead of me by a couple of miles.  With a quick phone call about where to meet him, I drove the car slowly back to his home which was only a few miles away. 

When all is said and done, it was a great road trip in the Stecks’ 1941 Woody to the GNM in Dearborn.  I learned a lot about driving these wonderful old cars, and look forward to the day that mine is completed and ready to drive.