Woody's Cars, Through The Years

I became really interested in custom cars and hot rods by

1958, the year I bought my first Custom Cars magazine.

Around that time, I started seeing a particular car that

caught my attention as I walked down 129th Street,

in my neighborhood of Richmond Hill (borough of Queens,

New York). It was a '49 Mercury coupe, always parked in

front of the same house. Every time I saw it, however, it

had new and different modifications done to it but I never

saw anyone working on it.

One day, I finally lucked out and met the guy who

was customizing the car: Paul Wood.

It seems he was in the Navy but married to a girl

(Carol) who lived in the nearby house with her parents.

He only worked on the car while he was home on leave

and, because I was still in high school,

I kept missing him... until that day. 

We eventually became close friends and Woody

(as he was called) helped me with some projects

on my own car after he got out of the Navy

and lived with Carol in the area.

Back in the 1950s, I had created a photo album

featuring pictures of many of my friends cars so Woody

gave me some of his old photos seen now on this blog.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

Woody's first car was a '41 Chevy coupe which he mildly

customized with a partial dechroming, adding fender

skirts and a two tone black and red paint job.

The engine was a modified 6-cylinder.

(Original photo from Woody's personal collection.)

Next came a '50 Chevy convertible

which was basically stock.

(Original photo from Woody's personal collection;

photo restored by Ken.)

The '49 Merc Woody owned when I met him is seen

here outside a motel in New Jersey, while

Woody and Carol were on their honeymoon.

Although no other photos of the car exist – and

some modifications can't be seen here – the

car had extensive work done to it.

The headlights were tunneled, hood and deck

were shaved, the outside door handles were

removed and replaced by electric solenoids,

cruiser skirts were installed, and the car lowered.

The most impressive thing was that the coupe

was made into a hardtop by removing the

vertical posts on the doors and in front of the

rear side windows, and new glass cut to fit. 

A '51 Cadillac engine and 4-speed automatic transmission

were installed in place of the old flathead Merc.

The Caddy mill ran with trips or dual-quads at various times.

(Original photo from Woody's personal collection.)

Woody's next project involved this '53 Ford convertible.

(Original photo from Woody's personal collection.)

The headlights were tunneled, scoops were moulded

into the rear quarter panels, skirts were added,

and the usual dechroming performed and doors shaved.

The rear fenders were extended and flanked the

Continental kit in the rear. A Carson top was

installed and the hood had louvers punched into it.

(Original photo from Woody's personal collection.)

Back in the day, Woody had no garage and often

worked on the car in the street; this was shot on

116th Street, just north of Liberty Avenue,

in Richmond Hill, around 1961.

Mutual friend Sal Consiglio (standing) and Woody.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

A 1955 Buick engine was installed (sorry, but no photo).

The hood was pancaked and Woody revamped the

front end by added canted quad headlights flowing

into a new grille cavity over a rolled front splash pan.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

After I got married, Woody and I lost contact with each

other for about 10 or 15 years before getting back in

touch again. By that time, he and Carol were living

in Farmingville, (Suffolk County, Long Island) and

Woody was still building cars in his shop at their home.

Below was his "family" van.

 This 1965 Chevy G10 van originally had a "6" under the hood

but Woody replaced it with a late model

Chevy 350/350 engine & tranny combination.

A straight bar grille and custom parking lights were added.

(Note the scoop on the roof; it may have been functional.)

 Front and rear pans were rolled, the rear doors were

eliminated, and custom glass installed in the rear and sides.

Tail lights were reworked 1970 T-Bird units and an "L-shaped"

seating arrangement was fabricated for the rear compartment.

The biggest structural changes are evident in the side view:

the body was shortened ten-inches by clipping that much
off the nose, and the front doors reworked to fit.
The two side doors behind the right front door

were eliminated in favor of one new one.

Woody performed all modifications and the custom paint;

chrome wheels, side pipes and a roof rack finish it off.
This was Woody's every day transportation which he used
to commute at least 50 miles a day, during rush hour traffic,
from Farmingville to Jamaica, Queens, to work. 

After several years, Woody's stable of vehicles changed.

The '33 Ford Pick-up (above) became his

"every day run-around" vehicle.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

The channeled body featured full-fenders.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

Under the hood was a 350 Chevy with a B+M air-induction

mini-blower, and a 350 Turbo-Hydramatic transmission.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

(All Photos © Ken Bausert.)

Woody's show-car was this beautiful chopped

and channelled '32 Ford 3-window coupe.

As with all of his cars, Woody performed all

his own body, interior, and mechanical modifications;

all cars seen here were original steel

production models – not fiberglass reproductions!

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

The engine was a Chevy 383 cubic-inch stroker

with a B+M 671 Blower at one point;

transmission was a beefed-up 350 Turbo-Hydro.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

(Photo © Ken Bausert.)

The idea behind Woody's '39 Ford coupe was

to build a one-of-a-kind car that was also dependable

enough to take on a road trip and fairly easy

to repair, if necessary, during the trip.

Woody started by taking a 1979 Chevy Monte Carlo

chassis and drive train. He then grafted the

center section of the Ford chassis to the

front and rear sections of the Monte Carlo chassis.

The top was chopped two inches and extended

six inches to provide more room in the back seat area.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

Note the louvered hood and frenched headlight treatment.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

The custom grille was fabricated by Woody's son, Michael,

using 3/8-inch stainless steel

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

Once again, Woody created a hardtop out of a coupe

by removing the door and rear window pillars;

custom-made skirts were added.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

The radio antenna was mounted in a recessed cavity by the rear deck.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

Ever-popular '59 Caddy tail-light lenses were

tunnelled into the rear fenders. Of course,

all fender seams were filled and front and rear pans rolled.

Note the notches in the rear pan for the dual exhausts. 

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

By utilizing the stock Monte Carlo 350 engine and driveline,

Woody was assured that parts to service the car

would be easy to obtain if needed during a road trip.

Likewise, the standard driveline and running gear,

including power-disc brakes, provided fine handling

and stopping power, while also being easy

to service with readily-available parts.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

Perhaps the only impractical aspect of the car

was its extremely low ground clearance;

not a problem on the highway but

certainly a concern on steep driveways.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

Before retiring to Florida in the late 1990s,

Woody sold the '33 pick-up and the '32 coupe.

The '39 coupe was driven for a while in Florida

before Woody built a customized golf cart to replace it

and the '39 was sold.

(Photo © Ken Bausert.) 

Billy Squires (2/27/41 - 3/27/97) Memorial

I have been trying to reconnect with some old friends over the past 10 to 20 years and, with the internet making the job so much easier, I've succeeded in many cases. However, one of the people I had been looking for, for a long time, was William H. Squires–known to everyone as Billy Squires–from Glendale, Queens. I always remember him as being a really great guy, very personable, always fun to be around, and always willing to help you when you needed it, especially when it came to cars–our common passion.

After all the years of searching for Billy, hoping to reconnect and relive some of the good times we had, I finally learned he had died. I usually don't make a habit of creating memorials to people on my blog, but I'm making an exception this time around. Maybe this tribute will serve as some kind of closure and keep Billy's memory alive a little longer.

I don't know how I acquired this photo

(from about 1961) but it was probably given

to me by one of the guys in the photo.

Left to right: Billy and his '34 Ford coupe;

Eugene "Gene" Ormandy; and Mike Conlon,

with his '53 Ford.

The '34 coupe was powered by a '53 Olds

engine with four carbs;

the '53 Ford had a '59 Buick engine.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

The first time I remember seeing Billy, I was getting out of Richmond Hill High School one afternoon around 1960 and he was driving his '34 Ford coupe down 114th Street, stopping to pick up a girl who was also attending my school. Billy was a couple years older than us and already had his senior driver's license by that time. Of course, I admired his car and eventually found out from some other friends who he was. Some time later– probably through Phil and Andy Turano–I met Billy and we all became close friends.

Billy stopped by my house in Richmond Hill one day,

in late 1963, driving this '55 Chevy two-door sedan.

(My red '54 Ford with a white racing stripe

is parked in front of it.)

In the 1960s, Billy had quite a few cars;

this early '60s photo of his '54 Merc was from

my friend Ken Szekretar. The car was

purchased as a wreck from a junk yard

and in the process of being rebuilt by Billy.

This color photo from my personal collection

shows the in-process paint job;

the car was lowered all around,

had traction bars, and 14-inch wheels

with '57 Plymouth wheel covers.

The 312 cubic inch engine had a Ford Interceptor

cam, three carbs, and dual exhausts.

Billy's dark green '55 Chevy, from May, 1964;

it is described in detail in my June 23, 2011

blog entry regarding '55-'57 Chevy's.

(This may have been the same '55 Chevy as in

the 1963 photo, shown in a finished state.)

These June, 1965, photos show Billy's '34 Ford

Roadster during its construction. The body was

channeled 11 inches and the frame "Z'd".

The engine was a '53 Olds, bored out to 324 cubes,

had a roller tappet cam, and six carbs.

The transmission was a '37 Caddy and

the rear end was from a '64 Ford.

When Ro and I got married in 1965,

Billy was in our wedding party.

(Guys: me, with Ro; next to me, Tony Nocerino;

Billy Squires; Andy Turano; Ken Szekretar.)

Billy is at far right in the above photo.

After getting married in '65, I moved to Elmont but still worked a regular job in Forest Hills, Queens, and a part time job in Richmond Hill. This had me back in the old neighborhood quite a bit so I kept in touch with many old friends. By 1973, we had two children and moved further east; I got a job closer to home and gave up the part-time job in Queens. As a result, I didn't have the time to get back to the old neighborhood much and slowly drifted apart from many friends–including Billy.

After posting the photos of '55-'57 Chevy's (including Billy's) in an earlier blog entry, I got a message from Carol Froreno, the daughter of one of my cousins, in North Carolina. It seems she and husband Steve had been enjoying my Nostalgic blogs for some time. She wrote to tell me that Steve was originally from Glendale and had once bought a motorcycle from Billy. They gave me the names of some other folks who were from Glendale and knew Billy quite well.

Tommy and Mickey Dillworth, and Mickey's sister, Terry, told me that Billy had gotten heavily into airplanes and moved to Florida. He even owned an airfield in Rockledge, Florida, and had been married and divorced. Sadly, I also learned that he had passed away in 1997. They also sent me some photos of Billy from the early years in Glendale as well as the later years in Florida (many thanks, guys!).

At Vinny Littman's house, late 1960s:

Mickey Dillworth with cigarette (left);

Mickey's sister, Terry (center);

and Vinny's girlfriend, Gayle.

Billy is at far right, behind the bar.

(Photo courtesy of Tommy & Mickey Dillworth.)

Billy and then-wife, Marcia, at the Dillworth's

home, in the 1980s.

(Photo courtesy of the Dillworths.)

Billy, with Tommy Dillworth, at

Tommy's house in Mastic, Long Island,

in the 1980s.

(Photo courtesy of the Dillworths.)

Billy moved to Florida and owned the

Rockledge Airpark, (also known as

Shawnee Airpark, or Rockledge Flypark),

located near the east coast, about

50 miles east/southeast of Orlando.

(Maps downloaded off the internet.)

The formal address of the airpark

–and that of Billy, while alive–

is/was 500 Barnes B'lvd. (Cty Rd. 502).

The entrance to the airpark is through

Flypark Drive.

Billy, talking with a woman in a car at the airpark,

late 1980s/early 1990s (?)

(Photo courtesy of the Dillworths.)

Billy, with some of the planes at his airpark

in the background.

(Photo courtesy of the Dillworths.)

According to FAA listings of registered aircraft

in Rockledge, Billy was the owner and pilot of a

1959 Piper PA-25, similar to the one above.

(Photo downloaded from an online site.)

Also according to the FAA, Billy owned and

piloted a 1963 Cessna 172E, similar to the one above.

(Photo downloaded from an online site.)

A friend of ours, John Rensing, currently living

in Rockledge, drove over to the airpark

recently and took a few photos

of the way the place looks in 2011.

Some of the buildings on the airpark property

that Billy used to own.

One of the current businesses operating out of

the airpark grounds; Aero Adventure builds

aircraft kits that people can buy

and assemble at home.

If anyone would like to post corrections about information contained within this blog, offer feedback, or contribute additional data and stories relating to Billy, I look forward to hearing from you. –Ken