• This vintage wagon features a gorgeous wood body and 4x4 capability.
• It's a pretty rare beast, but perfectly functional for summertime expeditions.
• Recent work done this year means it should be ready to go.

Ford's Mercury division has been dead for more than 15 years now, but it's not hard to imagine what kind of vehicles it would be building if it were still around. You'd have some kind of crossover called the Marquis, maybe an upscale version of the Mach-E called a Cougar, perhaps a V-8-powered sedan concept called the Marauder. At the top of the range, of course, you'd have a full-size body-on-frame SUV to sit between the Lincoln Navigator and the Ford Expedition.

Here is that imaginary Mercury SUV's stately ancestor, rolling into view over at Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). It's a gorgeous 1948 Mercury Eight Wagon with a factory-approved Marmon-Herrington 4x4 drivetrain fitted, flathead V-8 power on tap, and a three-speed manual gearbox. Look at all that wood! There was less timber on Noah's Ark.

This '48 Mercury, with its three rows of bench seats and plenty of cargo capacity, would have been just the thing for getting the high school baseball team to an away game. You could get a big family pretty much anywhere in a Mercury wagon like this, but for real exploration, you were going to want a little extra traction. Four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles were nowhere near as common in the 1940s as they are now, except for surplus Willys Jeeps bought on the cheap, but some manufacturers tapped specialists to convert vehicles that would then be sold new at the dealership.

Ford's pick was Indianapolis-based Marmon-Herrington, which, almost unbelievably, is still around today and still in the axle and transfer case game. If the name is not particularly familiar, it should be, as the Marmon in the double-barreled name is the Marmon Car Company, responsible for the yellow Wasp racing car that won the first Indy 500.

A Mercury woody of this vintage is pretty rare, and having the Marmon-Herrington conversion makes it even rarer. This example has been refurbished and stored in a couple of collections, but it's not a static museum piece. It runs and drives, though speeds above 40 mph are probably a bit too lively for an old horse like this. It's built for rambles down country roads and random picnics, taking things easy.

Under the hood, the 255-cubic-inch flathead V-8 is a faithful workhorse of an engine, good for around 100 horsepower or so. The three-speed manual has synchromesh to make shifting a little smoother through the gears.

There are some fun details hidden away in the interior, which is easily the most impressive part of the car. The wood construction is breathtaking, like that of a Napoleonic-era sailing ship. But the AM radio hides Bluetooth capability, and the clock on the dash has a quartz movement, so it'll keep on ticking.

Recent servicing included a full engine and transmission removal and inspection, some brake work, and axle repairs. All sorted, it's ready for some summertime adventures, sure to draw a crowd wherever it goes. Ford probably doesn't miss having Mercury around, trying to figure out how it slots into the range and keeping the brand relevant. Cars like this, though, make you think Mercury should never have gone away.

The auction ends on July 22.

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