The 1951 Country Squire was a vehicle of firsts and lasts for Ford. It marked, in many ways, the transition of the station wagon from a utilitarian pre-war hauler to a comfortable post-war family car. It was the final Ford “woodie” to be decorated with genuine wood, although it no longer served a structural purpose and was used only on the flanks, with the tailgate being wood-grained metal. The name itself, Country Squire, was applied to the outside of the car for the first time, beginning what would become a 41-year tradition for the company that came to be known as “America’s Wagonmaster.”

The Country Squire offered here is a very rare Canadian-delivery example, with minor differences from U.S. specifications, including a different engine color, no metal cover for the rear-mounted spare, and a single taillight. It is equipped with several options, including an AM radio, heater, dashboard clock, and third-row seating. Kept by its first owners until the mid-1970s, it was then acquired by a well-known Ontario Ford collector, who found it to be remarkably solid and well preserved, thanks to factory undercoating that it received when new.

Renowned restorer Harry Sherry of Sherry Custom Autos in Warsaw, Ontario, repainted the car in its original Hawthorne Green and refinished the exterior woodwork, all of which remains the original timber from 1951; the body has never been off the frame. The interior is still the original and in fine, nearly flawless condition, as is much of the exterior chrome, which has never required re-plating, and the dashboard wood-graining, a testament to the car’s excellent care. The wagon was then campaigned on the show circuit, receiving several 1st Place awards, including a Dearborn Grand National Award from the Early Ford V-8 Club of America in 1977. Afterward it was meticulously preserved in the owner’s climate-controlled private collection for nearly four decades.

The Country Squire is offered with an owner’s manual, a selection of related literature, the original jack in its factory bag, and, amazingly, even the original four wheels with their blackwall tires that were on the car when the second owner purchased it! It is without doubt one of the finest examples offered in recent memory, and certainly among the best cared for and most loved – a testament to the passion for Ford V-8s that drove Michael Dingman, and making it an ideal addition to this sale.