Anyone interested in making a wooden car?
Discussion
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.
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 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.To go further down the wooden car route there is the Tryane II made by Friend Wood
Chassis and body in one, limited curves and what there are single plane.
Edited by singlecoil on Sunday 2nd August 19:20
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
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
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.
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.
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
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39...
More info on wooden monocoque chassis and cars .
More info on wooden monocoque chassis and cars .
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).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.
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.
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.
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