1954 Woodill Woodfire

By Jay Hirsch

The 1950s United States economy was booming with WWII and the Koran War being over. The Big Three — GM, Ford and  Chrysler — had  exciting  new models  and most had the new OHV V-8 engines.  

There were also several people who thought they had the car for the person who wanted to stand out on the road. One of those was Blanchard Robert Woodill, known as “Woody.” Woody’s father owned several car dealerships in the Los Angeles area. In 1948, Woody bought a few of his father’s dealerships, one being Dodge and  the other Willys.

The growing popularity of European sports cars and the  interest in car publications, such as Motor Trend, Road & Track, Motorsport, and Speed Age, exposed   many car buffs in America to individuals and companies that offered exciting transportation alternatives. These small automakers didn’t need expensive tooling to produce metal body parts. There was a new “plastic” type material called “fiberglass” that could be set up by hand and produced cheaply and quickly.

In 1951, Woody wanted to buy a Jaguar XK 120. His service manager recommended against it, saying the parts would be hard to get when needed and many of the tools needed had to be metric. Woody came up with a better idea. He would build his own car using Willys components since there was a Willys factory in nearby Maywood, Calif.

The Wildfire became a reality with fiberglass pioneer and boat-builder Bill Tritt.  Tritt built a one-off fiberglass body that led to his making the Glasspar G2 in 1952.   Woody, seeking to build a glass car of his own, contacted Tritt to supply the bodies for the Woodill Wildfire sports car.

Woody visited Tritt in May 1952 and agreed to purchase a pair of new Glasspar bodies for what would become the Series 1 Woodill Wildfire. For the chassis, Woody contracted with “Shorty” Harold Post, from Orange, Calif., to supply the simple-but-sturdy angle-iron frame he was already building for Glasspar. The front suspension came from a Willys Jeepster, and the rear axle was from a Willys Aero. The engine was the rugged Willys inline six cylinder.  The first two Series 1 Wildfires used basic Glasspar bodies.

Subsequently Woody ordered changes to differentiate his Series 2 Wildfire from the Glasspar G2. The hood was raised, a hood scoop was added, the cowl was altered with two humps (similar to  the  MG T-Series), and the windshield was changed. The rear fenders got Willys Aero taillights, and Jeepster bumpers were added. Woody planned to build just two examples, selling one to a customer to help pay for his own car.

The decision by Woody to have bodies  made from the fiberglass industry’s most experienced builder was a very good one.  Woody wanted the doors, trunk decklid, and hood to open and shut like those on a quality steel automobile.

“On Glasspar bodies, the doors close solidly, reminding you of the door on your refrigerator at home,” Woody would tell  people.

Howard Miller was a skilled mechanic who worked for Woody and helped build the first two Wildfires. Howard did the building of the Wildfires and Woody did the promoting  and selling.

Woody displayed his first completed car at the Third Annual Petersen Motorama in November 1952 at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium. A photo of a Glasspar G2 appeared in the show program from a two-page article titled “Fabulous Fiberglas” in Motor Trend magazine. The sub title was  “Sports car builders turn to new wonder material.”  The word “fiberglass” did not get the second “S” until late 1954. 

Woody, being the promoter that he was, managed to get Time magazine in February 1953 to have an article with a photo of the Wildfire, saying that the car would be  available  through Willys dealers  throughout the U.S. This was “premature,” to use a word by Woody. A month after the article appeared, a letter by Gerry Lyons of  Willys Motors was published by Time officially disclaiming any association with  Woodill and his Wildfire. 

In August 1952, Kaiser-Frazer had  bought the entire Willys company. Henry Kaiser was working with car designer Howard “Dutch” Darrin on making a unique, sporty car out of fiberglass with sliding doors. It was the Kaiser-Darrin.  

With Willys Motors no longer being  an outlet for the Wildfire, if it ever was, Woody turned to selling kits for people to make their own Wildfire or hire someone to that for them. In 1953, the Wildfire frame was $228. The body kit was $995.  Woody promoted the fact that the Wildfire could be “built at home for $2,000 in parts, not counting the builder’s labor cost.” A “factory” Wildfire in 1953 was $3,300. In 1954 the frame and body was $1,617.

There were 15 factory-produced cars between 1952 and 1954 (with prices from $3,200 to $4,500) and 276 kit cars sold in 1954. The  introduction of the fiberglassed body Corvette in mid-1953 at $3,500 did not help sales of the Wildfire. Chevrolet  was a known car company and at the time was part of the largest car company in the world, General Motors. People in 1953  were not rushing to buy a kit and build their own car.  

As for the Wildfire itself, given a weight of 1,650 lbs. and that 161.1 cid engine with a 3-1-bbls, the Wildfire was quite the car. Being an open car, the wind on your head seemed to have the sensation the car was going faster than it really was, and the noise in the passenger compartment added to the thrill of driving. On narrow country roads where American cars had to be nursed on curves, the nimble and light Wildfire was at home. The car was also  smooth as silk on the new super highways, if a bit noisy. The Wildfire was everything it was built to be in the mid-1950s U.S. car  world. The Wildfire’s problem? It was not made by a major automobile company. Even the  Corvette had a less than stellar  beginning.  

The Wildfire had a wheelbase of 101 inches, was 162 inches long, 65 inches  wide and 52 inches high, with a top speed or 115 mph and a 0-to-60 time of ten seconds. It rode on 6.40 x 15 inch tires.

The 1954 Wildfire seen here was bought  as a kit in 1955 by Ted Griffin of Houston, Texas. Ted still owns the car. In 2015 he was invited to have his car at the Amelia Island Concours, held every year in March. His car was part of the “Obscure and Stylish Orphan Concept Cars.”  Ted took his entire family to Amelia where he took second in his class, which thrilled his grandchildren. In 2007 Ted had the car restored.

“Not that it needed a lot,” he said, “as I  never drove it much, It was always a third car to drive on the weekend. Being in the  Houston area where we have mild winters,  there is no salt on the roads, which besides creating rust also brings with the spring thaw…potholes, which are not great for the chassis and suspension.”

The 1952 Woodill Wildfire was the world’s first  production car to use a fiberglass body.  •