The great carrozzerias get the glory — but America’s woodies were bodied by carriage makers, furniture shops, and lumber mills: Cantrell on Long Island, Hercules in Evansville, Ionia in Michigan, Ford’s own forest at Iron Mountain. Craftsmen whose ash frames and mahogany panels are disappearing to time. Here they are, with the cars they built, the craftspeople keeping the wood alive today, and the celebrated names a forgery likes to borrow.
33 builders
America's first depot-wagon builder — birch panels, and custom one-offs on Packard and Rolls-Royce
Ash frame with MAHOGANY panels — the premium finish that distinguishes a Hercules body from a competitor's birch
GM's primary post-war wagon-body supplier — birch panels; later built Continental Mark II and Shelby Mustang bodies as Mitchell-Bentley / A.O. Smith
Ford's own 400,000-acre lumber operation — kiln-dried its own timber, assembled wagon bodies in-house, and turned the wood scraps into Kingsford Charcoal
Heavy-duty wood bodies for trucks and utility vehicles — the Dodge Power Wagon specialist
Turinese coachbuilt giardinetta / woodie estates on Fiat and Lancia chassis
Designed the original Ford Model A station-wagon body — one of the largest independent body builders in the US
Applied-wood / dealer-package supplier — carries FES authentication markers (the boundary between a structural woody and a wood-look package)
Built Ford Model A and Model B station-wagon bodies — sole Ford wagon assembler in 1932
Hollywood-era custom coachwork — including one-off woody estates such as the rebodied Rolls-Royce Phantom II photographic car
Mid-century commercial / utility wood bodywork
Commercial / professional-car wood bodywork
Farm-wagon maker that bodied the 1923 Star Station Wagon — the first factory-offered station wagon from any manufacturer
Supplied bodies for the 1923 Star Station Wagon — the first factory-offered station wagon
Commercial and utility-vehicle wood bodies
The historic body builders are gone, but the craft is not. These are the firms and craftspeople restoring and rebuilding wood bodies today — where an owner turns to keep a woody alive.
Full-service restoration with a Wood & Coach Trim department
Woodie woodwork — 1936–47 Ford & Mercury wagons
60+ years; a dedicated timber-coachwork department
Furniture firm with an award-winning woodie wood-body service
Woody wood removal, new panels and varnish (Mark Fry)
100+ woodies since 1972; rebuilding after a 2021 fire
New wood for 1949–51 Ford & Mercury wagons
Woodie wood-body restoration specialist
Ash frames for the Morris Minor Traveller (UK woodie)
Official site ↗Woodie wood restoration and replacement
Woodie wood restoration (Alex Guerrero, ex-Wood 'N Carr)
Largest US supplier of automotive wood; the Doug Carr shop
These are real, respected coachbuilders. They appear here because woodies attributed to them in the market can’t be confirmed against the registry — and a celebrated name is exactly what a forgery borrows. The caution is about the unverified claim, never the maker: confirm the attribution before you trust it.
Milanese coachbuilt giardinetta estates and specials
Milanese coachbuilt estates and lightweight specials
Hand-bodied Ferrari and Maserati specials — occasional coachbuilt estate
California custom coachwork, including one-off woody estates
Philadelphia's premier coachbuilder — formal bodies and estate wagons on the finest chassis
White ash framing and Honduras mahogany panels for the Chrysler Town & Country