Ford was the first U.S. automaker to resume production at the end of World War II. The assembly lines commenced operation on 3 July 1945, before hostilities had ceased completely in the Pacific. The company had the advantage of being authorized to restart civilian truck manufacture in April 1944. The Iron Mountain plant had produced glider parts during the war, but had kept a stock of 1942 wagon parts on hand for the day that assembly could resume.

Because conversion of wartime materiel production back to automobiles took priority, and because development work had been curtailed during the war, 1946 cars had few changes from 1942. Fords had new, bolder grilles, but no other external differences other than red accents added to the brightwork and interior. DeLuxe Station Wagons were discontinued, all wagons now being built as Super DeLuxe models. Most significant was the fact that all V-8 Fords now used the Mercury-derived 239-cu. in., 100-bhp unit. Slight changes from 1942 involved the ignition system and a new casting for the cylinder block, the latter taking its “59A” designation from the Ford project code.

This ’46 Ford Super DeLuxe station wagon was purchased from Thomas Cavanaugh of York Beach, Maine, in August 2007. An older restoration when acquired, it was sent to Lowrey’s Auto Restoration for a complete rebuild, completed early in 2011. This involved new wood, as well as a complete mechanical and cosmetic restoration. It was sold at the 2012 sale from Mr. Dingman’s collection, and then, after being much missed, was reacquired from Peter McLaughlin of Lyme, New Hampshire, in July 2014.

As presented, it has luscious black paint, excellent contours, and rich, finely varnished wood, much of the maple framing exhibiting the coveted birds-eye pattern. The roof is covered in authentic black artificial leather. Seats are brown leather in the correct pattern, floor mats are correct black rubber, and the dashboard has exquisite plastic moldings with correct red accents. A Ford radio, with windshield header antenna, is installed in the dashboard.

The engine compartment is properly detailed, with the engine in Mercury blue. All of it is fastidiously clean, with correct hardware and carefully not overdone. Underneath, the car is similarly sanitary, having been driven so little that the exhaust system looks almost unused. It runs on Firestone 6.50 × 16-in. wide whitewall tires. Mileage shown is 84,260, believed to be accurate.

Ford set a new record for station wagons in 1946, with 16,920 built, all of them in the Super DeLuxe line. This car, surely, sets a new standard for desirability.