talk me out of this

i teach vocational rehab. mostly carpentry, but a little mechanics as well.

over on the GRM board, we were discussing the splinter wooden sports car, and the topic of old wooden homebuilt sports cars came up, with a link to an article with plans from 1956.

hers the link
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/16/build-your-own-mahogany-sports-car/

the more i re-read this, the better of an idea it sounds. my wife is asleep, and usually she talks me out of my really bad ideas. so I'm bouncing it off of you guys. the other forums I'm a member of just wouldn't understand this kind of thing.

I'm thinking of re-designing the body significantly to give a look similar to an elongated 29 roadster pickup. use a cheap VW beetle for the engine and rear suspension, and possibly the front if i can figure out how to mount it to the frame rails. i was thinking solid model a axle, but i think it would be some scary and unsafe handling characteristics coupling rear engine, independent rear, and solid front axle.

id keep all the construction ethos from the 1956 article, but with a little newer stuff, like epoxy resin over the laid up body, bloodwood and ebony instead of the mahogany, juice brakes on all 4 corners, and a real electrical system.

my wood shop mostly runs restored vintage tools, so i think this would be a neat project to do with them. turn all the knobs and other round bits on my 1946 delta-Milwaukee lathe, cut all my boards with my 54 dewalt-black and decker radial arm, etc.

so, other than it being wooden and Volkswagen powered, why would this be a bad idea?

(I'm really trying to justify it, as Ive been wanting another roadster for a while, ever since i sold my 31, and scrapped what was left of my 31 truck.

Michael

 

dont do it! run it by the wife quick!

 

Don't do it!...... Make a wood buck, and make the body out of aluminum. Stick to the modernmechanix style sports car body.

 

While this sounds pretty creative ... Um ... Ok in all fairness there is a so-cal bettle kit (soild front axle ) so I suppose It handles ok but . VW engines and suspension are best suited to dune buggies and stock VWs . I don't even like the trikes made from VWs .... SO IF YOU WANT TALKED OUT OF IT consider it done Just sayin

 

Look at this thread then think about the strength of a wooden car.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=599006

Doc.

 

Wood has been used for Race Car Chassis.

One good example is the Costin Nathan.

http://www.imps4ever.info/specials/costin.html

Frank Costin was used to using wood for load carrying structures, because he came out of the aircraft industry.

I figured you'd know about that...



Other than the VW engine, I dont think its a bad idea at all.

 

Go for it! Build it, but watch out for the splinters.

 

Yeah I know about it but there is a reason that only small sport aircraft use wood in construction these days. It was used as metallurgy back when aviation was young was not nearly as advanced as it is today and strength for weight, wood was stronger.
Same thing in early automotive structure, there are some things that they did back then that is cool to replicate these days. then there are things that can potentially get you killed.
Why take any chances with the idiots you share the roads with and the Lexus throttle mechanism.

Doc.

 

Yeah, you are right...

Screw all that Traditional stuff.

Lets all buy Lexus and Prius'...

 

Not what I meant at all.
I give up, do whatever you want.
Just don't think about the emergency service people who have to retrieve your twisted body from the wooden wreckage. We don't mind.

Doc.

 

You talk as if I am going to build one.

I wont.

I dont like wood, its hard to weld...

But it has decent strength to weight properties.

Good, strong things have been built with it.

 

I think it's a great idea, especially the VW drivetrain and suspension, which basically all mounts off of the tunnel down the center of the car... I don't know why people knock on VW engines, they're the automotive equivalent of an AK-47, tough, dependable, and nearly indestructible with basic maintenance. Granted, there's always that one guy that can screw up a wet dream and he's never had luck with them, but if this idiot (meaning ME) can build one, well, anybody can!

 

Prior to building three hot rods I built two boats. One all wood and one aluminum and wood. I'd never build a car with wood. That's what steel is for. Think about all the time you'd spend to end up with something unique but not worth a damn.

 

That's all the argument needed right there

 

A friend who builds and designs kit cars uses the wood strip method to build bucks for his glassfibre bodies. He has plywood profiles/bulkheads every foot or so then connects them with the strips. The whole thing is then bondoed over and the fine detail is put in.

 

I remember reading that article when it came out -- what a great car! (I was 11 years old...) -- always loved Mechanix Illustrated -- didn't care much for Popular Mechanics...

 

Have you looked at the cyclecar thread? Lots of wooden construction there.

 

they aren't cheap anymore....

I'd build it! If the wife catches you, just tell her you're repairing the garage cabinets...
__________________

 

I'd look into canning the rear torsion bars in favour of a Z-bar as the only rear suspension. That'll eliminate all rear roll stiffness, and then there's no reason not to run a Model A axle in front.

 

Termites,wake up the wife and listen to her .

 

Not to get into the wood versus steel dispute, here's a thought:
If you run the VW engine, trans axle, and front end, why not get a VW pan, trim it down to the central tube/back bone, shorten to suit, and build on that? Many a dune rail was built like that. So the way I see it you'd have your rolling chassis pretty damned easy and everything else could be done in the wood shop.

 

i like that idea. i really like that idea.

my boss at work has even approved this idea. still havent talked it over with my wife, though.

i do thing that i may put a medium duty cage in it before i build the body, because the guys talking about the morons we share the road with are right. it IS a safety thing. same goes for a true firewall between passengers compartmnet and motor/gas tank

still debating on body as it was in the article, or something of my own creation.

good discussion, though guys. and i hadnt rememberd the wood as a structural element in aircraft. i have helped build wooden boats before (think kriscraft, but knock offs)

feel free to keep chiming in. im still on the fence on this one.

 

You really must check out this thread. You won't even be thinking of a Mahogany sports car after seeing it.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201625&highlight=wooden+frame