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UPDATE: Roger Martin bought this rare color Sturdee brochure and shared some pics with us. This is a cool item!
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Originally published March 26, 2018: This is the only information I could find on this rare hardtop.
I wish there were blueprints for this. -Merlin
Interesting design. Did this pre-date Willys making their own wagon?
Bring your own varnish.
How cool.
Craig, I don’t know. The document is not dated. It came from an early 1950s equipment book of brochures. It is interesting that the wagon has the same rear door design as shown above. Was that a common door design?
The clamshell rear door design was around for decades before Willy’s put it on their wagon. The differentiation for Willy’s was that theirs was all steel, whereas earlier manufacturers made theirs from various species of hardwoods (ash being the predominant one). It looks like the Sturdee hard top is more a copy of something from the 1930’s than what Willy’s was putting out.
Mahogany Veneer pannels. If you made it today you would use solid mahogany. Or at least I would. Not a lot of lumber on the whole top. Top grade hardwood frame. Today I would use white oak. Not sure what they used. Maybe hard maple.
since i’m in redwood country , i would use 1st growth burl redwood panels and sitka spruce for the frame , build it like a martin guitar ..
How on earth did they keep the wt at 235lbs???
Speaking of Martin guitars, they have a great factory tour in Pennsylvania!
A couple of questions from a new guy…
Judging from the back view, it looks like the original tailgate and seat is still in place. Correct?
Does it simply fit over/around the metal body?
Do any of these survive?