36 Woodie tailgate

mrtexas

mrtexas

Well-known member
Didn't realize until today that the 36 Woodie tailgate won't go down all the way with the spare tire installed on it. I had my new stainless steel chain sized to go down all the way as I sized it without the spare on!

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I looked in "The V8 Affair" and found a similar picture.
 
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The spare would hit the sheet metal and the bumper about the same time.

The 35 on the link doesn't have slots in the sheet metal for bumpers. Didn't come with one?

Both the 35 and 36 show evidence of gasoline dripping down the fender. I've modified my filler neck to avoid that problem:
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The 36 was the first year with a rear bumper on a Woodie Wagon. Are you sure the spare tire is mounted in the correct location on the tailgate? The other 36 and 35 appear to have the spare mounted a bit higher on the tailgate. Is your rear bumper made for a 36 Wagon? Other 36 model bumpers will not work. Just some thoughts.
 
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If you look in the book "Famous Ford Woodies" by Lorin Sorensen you will see on page 68 that the tailgate on your '36 is not designed to lay "flat", it tilts up at a slight angle. The tailgate on my '46 also sits up at an angle to allow the hubcap to not hit the bumper. Are you sure the '36 came with a rear bumper, on page 35 of the same book it shows the '36 with no bumper?
 
Did some further reading and found that an optional rear bumper was available in June for the '36. I think all you need to do is shorten your chain and you will be OK. The clearance between the hubcap on my spare and the bumper is about 1/2".
 
It came with a rear bumper as the sheet metal below the tailgate has slots built in for a bumper. Mine is a late 36 with the wood grained dash. The bumpers that came on it were too rusty to re-plate so I have both a repro and an original bumper not specific to a woodie for the rear.
 
I actually had this same issue on my '36. I tried to lower the tailgate with the spare on it and could get pretty close to all the way down, but not flat. It got worse when I installed the bumper, and even worse when I tried bumper guards. I like the look of the bumper guards and was hoping that they were far enough apart that they wouldn't cause interference with the spare, but that wasn't the case. Ultimately there really isn't any room for storage when you have all three rows of seats in the car, so I guess I didn't really care how far it goes down.
 
The fact that you have a passenger car bumper could also be an issue. The rear bumper on my '46 gets narrow in the center to help clear the hubcap. Perhaps you can advertise in the "Woodie Times" for an original but it sounds like a rare piece.
 
I know the bumper irons are unique, but didn't think there was a woodie specific bumper for '36. Does anyone have pictures or know the difference between a passenger car and woodie bumper?
 
When I inquired about buying replacement bumpers for my '37 woodie I was told by Richmond Bell on Cape Cod that on the woodie both bumpers were actually front bumpers. So I bought two front bumpers and the spare tire just cleared the bumper. Howard.
 
hfh is probably correct. In the book by Rich Bloechl, "Woodies and Wagons" page 38 shows a '36 with a droop in the center, just like the fronts.
 
my 40 wagon isnt supposed to lay flat.. but a minispare hidden under a fabric cover makes it possible. even with the shorter bumper irons..
 
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