Anyone interested in making a wooden car?

Anyone interested in making a wooden car?

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singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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Here's the thing- I make kitchens and I make the cabinets out of birch plywood. For anyone who doesn't know about this stuff, it could be called the carbon fibre of wooden panel products. It's made of many thin laminations of birch (a hardwood), each lamination is about 1.4mm thick and the glue is high strength and waterproof. It comes in many different thicknesses between 4mm and 25mm (there are others, these are the main ones).

This stuff is very strong, though somewhat bendy until it's formed into a box when it also becomes very stiff. It the box is closed and filled with polyurethane foam is stronger and stiffer still, with a high strength to weight ratio.

It strikes me that it would be ideal for use in making a one off or small run car of the sort associated with kit cars. I particularly fancy a buggy style vehicle, not high performance but lots of fun. I would also like to make a car that was designed from the outset to comfortably accommodate people of the tall persuasion.

I've got a workshop and I can cut plywood accurately in straight lines, and will shortly have an 8' x 4' CNC router when I will then be able to cut it accurately in curves. I can also do a bit of Sketchup (a CAD program). What I don't have is the time to get involved in the mechanical side of such a project, although I do have most of the necessary knowledge, and I do have a passing familiarity with the IVA test.

So I thought I would post here and ask if anyone fancied being involved in a project to build such a car? I would make the wooden parts and assemble them into a body tub style chassis and they would fit the mechanical parts and assemble it. Not sure what would be the best way to attach suspension components/subframes but I know there are solutions to this problem and research/experiment should yield an answer.

I'm near Aylesbury but a lot of such a project could be done at a distance.

FlossyThePig

4,083 posts

242 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
quotequote all
Are you thinking along the lines of the original Marcos?

To go further down the wooden car route there is the Tryane II made by Friend Wood

singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
quotequote all
FlossyThePig said:
Are you thinking along the lines of the original Marcos?

To go further down the wooden car route there is the Tryane II made by Friend Wood
No, something along the lines of a buggy type car is what I'm thinking at the moment.

Chassis and body in one, limited curves and what there are single plane.


Edited by singlecoil on Sunday 2nd August 19:20

downsman

1,099 posts

155 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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Sounds like fun. I've often thought a wooden chassis could work well.
The foam fill boxes would create a good crash structure as well I should think. Make sure you post pictures. Unfortunately, I haven't got space for another kit.

vx220

2,689 posts

233 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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Contact the dehavilland car Co, build something and call it a Mosquito!?

gtmdriver

333 posts

172 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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In my opinion one of the best wooden cars ever.


spyder dryver

1,329 posts

215 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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Remember the ill-fated AFRICAR?



singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
quotequote all
gtmdriver said:
In my opinion one of the best wooden cars ever.

I second that emotion.

I liked his other cars too, especially the first DBS.

singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
quotequote all
spyder dryver said:
Remember the ill-fated AFRICAR?
I missed that the first time round, but it looks like a good idea and I get the impression from a quick read that the failure of the project wasn't necessarily due to the car itself.

PaulKemp

979 posts

144 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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Morgan did some
There was a Lotus 7 replica but it is considered pretty unsafe in a crash
The Morris Traveler had a wood rear structure that could be an MOT failure as it was structural.
Not convinced a wood car could be crash friendly with good crush zones.

down sides
You could get a nasty splinter
You couldn't smoke in it
You'd be petrified of woodworm and woodpeckers Oh and beavers

Upsides
Crossing a deep ford would only require paddles
You can change the colour with a tin of wood stain
It's easily recycled if you have a wood stove

singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
quotequote all
PaulKemp said:
Not convinced a wood car could be crash friendly with good crush zones.
Any thoughts as to which current kit cars do have good crush zones?

qdos

825 posts

209 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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Midas Gold Copue was tested at MIRA



I too really liked the Hustler of William Towns. There was a wood kit that sold on ebay a couple of years ago that was still to be assembled. I wonder if they buyer has managed to complete it and get it on the road yet.

Wood is indeed a very good naturally made 'composite' type material and has been used for a long time in cars. It still is in Morgans and it's well worth going along to Malvern to see them building them today.

singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
quotequote all
qdos said:
Midas Gold Copue was tested at MIRA
Is that actually in production at the moment? Website is unclear.

qdos

825 posts

209 months

Wednesday 5th August 2015
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Yes it is still available though these days it's mostly people getting spare parts. Being as the cars are GRP monocoque they tend to last forever. There's one that is nigh on 30 years old that's currently being restored with Galvanised subframes front and rear. Complete Kit Car had a write up on the marque in the last issue.



Edited by qdos on Wednesday 5th August 06:19

fuoriserie

4,560 posts

268 months

Wednesday 5th August 2015
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http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39...

More info on wooden monocoque chassis and cars .

slomax

6,646 posts

191 months

Wednesday 19th August 2015
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I love the sound of this project!

Something like the kubelwagen can't be too difficult to replicate.

I always liked the proportions personally.

I might have to get my pens out!

singlecoil

Original Poster:

33,307 posts

245 months

Wednesday 19th August 2015
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slomax said:
Something like the kubelwagen can't be too difficult to replicate.
Using a VW air cooled engine would make it easier to design, but more modern engine and gearbox combinations pose a problem in that most of the engine is ahead of the axle. Still doable I'm sure, just need a decent sized engine compartment and provision for airflow to the radiator (unless that's at the front).

slomax

6,646 posts

191 months

Wednesday 19th August 2015
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Heres a slightly left field thought.

To keep things simple you could have a front exposed air cooled engine from a bike (like a Pembleton/triking) bike gearbox, going to a diff (chain or shaft) at the rear.

A BMW boxer, moto guzzi or Honda CX would do nicely. I always thought the liege kit was a pretty little thing which is almost buggy-esque.


Gemaeden

289 posts

114 months

Thursday 20th August 2015
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blitzracing

6,387 posts

219 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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The Centaur mk1 (Based on the Adams probe 15 ) had a large amount of marine ply built into is monocoque body in the form of massive box section sills that connected the front and rear subframes- its was like a boat really, but the ply was held within the glass fibre, and it was really super rigid and light. Best of all worlds.