I recently got to see the innards of a 1926 Ford Model T pickup truck. Under restoration, the vehicle had been stripped down to the wishbone, and its inner structure revealed wood. In those days, metal and hardwood together defined sturdiness in cars, even pickups. The floorboard in the restored section displays the unmistakable grain and texture of teak, a tropical hardwood.

“Here, teakwood is our best bet for sturdiness while rebuilding bodies of vintage cars, the shapes of which are partly or greatly defined by hardwood. In many cars of the early vintage era, even panels were made with hardwood planks,” says vintage car restorer CS Ananth, who is currently working on this Ford Model T pickup.

A 1926 Ford Model T pickup truck that is under restoration. Also known as Ford Model TT, it shared its engine and mechanical features with the iconic Ford Model T. Photo: Prince Frederick   | Photo Credit: Prince Frederick

When this vehicle rolled off the Ford assembly line, it would have had a body partly built with locally-sourced timber, which likely came from oak, an indisputable source for durable hardwood. Hard maple and hard elm are other possibilities. Towards the end of its long and remarkable run, Ford Model T came out in many body styles, with some of the models being offered the option of attaching a pickup box to them. These had hardwood contributing to their structural stability.

Then there were the more remarkable ones that had a lot more to do with wood: a variety of timber went into their making, because the woodwork in them had to go beyond structural stability, and offer a visual treat.

In the Model T pickup that Ananth is currently restoring, the wood would remain hidden, in a cladding of metal, under a coat of paint or under rubber mats. “The teak floorboard in the pickup box will be painted and covered with a rubber mat,” explains Ananth.

Among the more wooden models of the Ford Model T, there are a few that can be categorised as woodies, which are station wagons with the wooden section of the body standing out as the most prominent feature. “For the woodies that came from the stables of American automobile majors, birchwood and maplewood would have been used for building the rear wooden sections because they are fine-grained and have light texture and they lend themselves to the construction of wooden bodies that are uniform in look,” says Ananth. In contrast, teak, with its uneven texture and heavy grains, can present a rear wooden body where one part may look different from another. To avoid this, the teak used on all sides has to be carefully matched, he adds.

Birchwood and maplewood are distributed across North America and were, therefore, one of the ready choices for coachbuilders contracted for making woodwork for woodies. They are found in Europe too, but one of the most popular woodies to have come from there has to do with ash wood. The wooden rear of the Morris Minor ‘Woodie’ Station Wagon was made with ash wood, again preferred for strength, fine grains and even texture.

The wooden floorboard in the pickup section of a 1926 Ford Model T pickup truck has been rebuilt with teakwood, a tropical hardwood that is popular in India.   | Photo Credit: Prince Frederick

While the wooden body sections of vehicles of that era are rebuilt with the best of the hardwoods that can be sourced locally, hickory seems to be a standard when it comes to making wooden spokes for artillery wheels. Ananth says, “Hickory wood has been associated with the making of wooden spokes for their high impact-resistance, flexibility, and shock absorption. So, we have made hickory wooden spokes for this pickup.”

A Forest Service circular issued by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1911, waxes eloquent about the utilitarian value of hickory. In what reads almost like an apology for hickory, the account briefly dwells on how it combines strength with flexibility and therefore scores over other woods used in automobiles.

There are quite a number of tree species that are types of hickory, with the majority of them native to North America, especially the United States. A few species have Chinese and Indian addresses.