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Special car gets special care Medford man sells wagon for $40,000 � but keeps memories By Mark Freeman Jack Lynch�s passion for his 1940 Ford Woodie wagon won�t die after all. It simply will be transplanted south. Lynch, of Medford, considered caring for his old Woodie wagon as one of life�s true joys, but he needed to sell because, at 82, he�s too old to enjoy the car. Then along came Dave Rusher, a Southern California car buff who has bought Lynch�s Woodie for a whopping $40,000 � and feels lucky to have done it. "I�ll never sell it," says Rusher, 57, of Manhattan Beach. "I�ll keep it forever, then pass it on to my family. It�s that special. "I feel honored to have this car," Rusher says. That�s just what Lynch wants to hear. When Lynch put the vintage car up for sale three weeks ago at a Medford car lot, he hoped that whoever came in with a $40,000 check also had the heart to treat the old car well. And Lynch believes he got that in Rusher, to whom Lynch also passed on a thick file of the Woodie�s mechanical history �complete with the original owner�s manual and bill of sale. "My cars were all like members of my family, which is why I treated them so well," Lynch says. "I wanted it to go to someone who is really interested in it and who would take care of it." Blind and unable to drive, Lynch decided last month to sell the wagon as well as a 1965 Ford Mustang. The Woodie, which cost $1,100 new when bought by Lynch�s stepfather, has just 51,000 miles and is in pristine shape. A story about the cars appeared in the June 26 Mail Tribune and was seen by one of Rusher�s friends who was visiting friends in Ashland. The friend told Rusher, who owns a heating and air-conditioning company, and Rusher tracked down the car. He flew to Medford last week and bought the car without quibbling about price, Rusher says. The 1940 Woodie wagon is rare, with only 8,000 made and 130 registered among Woodie-o-philes across the country. "I�ve always wanted one of these, but I never believed I�d be able to find one, let alone one in such great shape with one owner and 51,000 miles," Rusher says. The Mustang, which had a listed price of $18,500, also sold this week. Rusher says he plans to write a story about his find for the Woodie Times, a magazine devoted to Woodie-wagon owners. The car will remain in Medford until the end of July, when Rusher will return to Medford to haul the car home. But first he plans to take Lynch on one more ride through Medford. "It�s a way for Jack to say goodbye," Rusher says, "and for me to say, thank you." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA