1937 Dodge Woodie- Would You Believe?

Though there are many phrases that might be used to describe the look of Dodge vehicles through the years, "cutting edge" probably isn't one of them. And, when it came to the woodie type of vehicle, those utilitarian boxes typically made from old trees, "stylish" isn't the word you would normally find in the same sentence as "Dodge."

That all might change because of Mike Bach. Based in Belleville, Illinois, Mike had built a handful of "regular" hot rods over the past couple of decades, but he began to think about owning a woodie about five years ago. And, since his interest has always been in the '34-36 range of Plymouths and Dodges, then why not a Dodge woodie from that time frame?

While there weren't a lot of them made, Mike was able to locate a '37 Dodge woodie in, of all places, Dana Point, California. A surfing Mecca in the early days of the sport, you might expect to find a woodie or two in the area. But, according to one source, less than 500 of these cars were ever produced in 1937, so finding one today in decent shape would be something of a chore.

The one Mike bought out of SoCal in 2004 looked pretty good to him, and he and his buddy, Jim Shively, checked it out when it arrived at his house. As it turns out, Jim is a finish carpenter by trade, so he knows his way around the forest pretty well, and once the pair started really looking into what Mike had bought, the car was a little further gone than they had first realized.

They had originally thought all that was needed was to replace the tailgate and a few door parts, but reality set in and the job became a full-time R&R (restoration and resurrection) job. Because of his job, Jim didn't have much time to help Mike with his project, but by devoting weekends and spare time to it, they, along with Mike's son, Jeremy, were able to pull the body off the chassis in December 2004. Soon, the chassis was off to get sandblasted and painted.

But, rather than reassemble the car with stock parts, Mike chose the street rod path and added a Mustang II type of independent front suspension, while the rear suspension changed to incorporate Chassis Engineering components and a Ford 9-inch rear. American Racing 15- and 17-inch wheels wrapped in Dunlop rubber were added to each corner, and after Jeremy made the custom gas tank for it, the chassis, set up with a 115-inch wheelbase, was soon a roller.

For most hot rodders, regardless of the make of their vehicle, a Chevy powerplant always seems to make its way into the engine compartment. But, Mike wanted this to be an all-Chrysler endeavor (Dodge became a division of Chrysler in 1928) and went with a 300-horse, 360 Chrysler V-8. Mostly stock, there were a few additions to make it work better in this application, including headers from Southern Air, a Zirgo cooling fan, and an AFCO radiator. The V-8 is backed to a Chrysler 727 transmission, which is shifted via a floor-mounted Gennie Shifter.

Mike, who runs an autobody repair business, went after the remaining sheetmetal and had Richard Monte spray the Spies-Hecker Go Mango orange paint over everything that wasn't made of wood. Jim Shively helped recreate what wood pieces were missing and got it all to fit right before 12 coats of Marine Spar Varnish were used to protect the wood from the elements.

Not a lot of material is needed to cover the interior of a woodie, but tan leather was stretched by Bruce Haege of Haege's Upholstery over a Glide Engineering split-back bench seat, which offsets the orange exterior color nicely. The same material was used on the rear seat, too.

The original twin-gauge dash design was left alone, though new gauges from Beede give Mike all the vehicle's vital info he needs. A stereo was added, too, and the car's electrical requirements were addressed with a wiring kit from EZ Wiring. As an ode to the car's possible surfing roots, a small surfboard-shaped rearview mirror was mounted off the header.

When you walk around the corner and first spy Mike's woodie, there is an avalanche of impressions you have to deal with. First, it's a big car, and there is a lot of wood. Second is the paint color, which complements the three types of wood used in the project (maple, Honduran mahogany, and silver/Russian birch). But, once you get used to having a non-Ford or Chevy in front of you, you realize there are a lot more options out there in the world of street rodding, and you can thank Mike Bach for it when you see him.