Car made out of wood, have you heard?

[BNSF5767]

My grandpa showed me this tool magazine and it had an article about some recently grad students of college/university, currently building a car made out of wood not metal (there is a couple metal parts though) kind of cool, and i asked my pa is metal stronger than wood, and he said "no" wierd :) Wonder how much that car would cost if it went into production haha 100,000+

[bktrains]

Better get Termite Insurance..

[kilchisriver]

:) Why not cars from wood? Some of the early US fighters (planes - that other form of transportation) used great amounts of wood - Spruce. It was important enough that the Army got involved with the cutting of the material and considered it a "statagic war material". Also, if memory serves me correctly and it seldom does, wood has played a not so minor role in railroading. Make mine from Oak with a large V8! Mike :D

[Paul1953]

How about a Ferrari with sea-going capability?

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Paul1953/car1.jpg

Heres the matching interior

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Paul1953/car2.jpg

or how about something a little easier on gas?

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Paul1953/car3.jpg

or a classic that has best of both worlds?

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Paul1953/car4.jpg

[SD50]

Wood has been used in cars quite a bit. The British Morgan car used a wooden frame. I even got up close to a vintage Mack truck that had a wooden frame. Many earlier cars had wooden bodies and were built by coach makers. And who can forget the old "woody" wagons? Not with the stick-on simulated wood grain (like my first car), but real wood.

As for which is stronger, wood or steel- first, the caveat is that there are many different types of wood and many grades of steel. But one of my professors back in college (Materials Science, Strength of Materials, et al) told us for a given size, a wood structure is stronger than steel.

[Jim Prower]

Trouble is, Wood's not as dense as steel is, thus can crush much more easily: also not practical to cut down an entire forest to build a skyscraper or build a bunch of cars. Not sure if it's as strong in torsion or not, and definitely wears out faster.

Carbon fiber is my current favorite, but, being largely made by hand, it's expensive.

[rd4man]

Ahh.....reminds me of a story:
-----------------------------

CAMOUFLAGE

The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II -

During WWII, an enemy decoy, built in occupied Holland,
led to a tale that has been told and retold ever since by veteran
Allied pilots.

The Germans, wishing to decieve Allied pilots, constructed
a "German Airfield". The Airfield was constructed with meticulous
care almost entirely of wood. There were wooden hangars, oil tanks,
gun emplacements, trucks, and aircraft. The day finally came when
the decoy was finished down to the last plank.

Early the following morning, a lone RAF plane crossed the
Channel, came in low, circled the field once, and dropped a large
wooden bomb.

[shadowr434]

Now thats a funny story.

[Baldwinbob]

Yes it is! :)

[Keystoneaholic]

Wood has been used in cars quite a bit. The British Morgan car used a wooden frame. I even got up close to a vintage Mack truck that had a wooden frame. Many earlier cars had wooden bodies and were built by coach makers. And who can forget the old "woody" wagons? Not with the stick-on simulated wood grain (like my first car), but real wood.

As for which is stronger, wood or steel- first, the caveat is that there are many different types of wood and many grades of steel. But one of my professors back in college (Materials Science, Strength of Materials, et al) told us for a given size, a wood structure is stronger than steel.

It was actually the Marcos which used a laminated plywood frame for many years, the torsional rigidity was better than most steel framed cars. As far as I know, Morgan has always had a steel frame.

Rob.

[rdamurphy]

I don't know what the big deal is. Just about every railcar in America prior to the 20th Century was made out of wood.

Robert

[Jim Prower]

This is what I was looking for earlier: a beautiful 1924 Hispano-Suiza Tulipwood Torpoedo Roadster.

http://www.shorey.net/Auto/Miscellaneous%20Pictures/Hispano%20Suiza/1924%20Hispano-Suiza%20H6%20Tulip%20Wood%20%28rebuilt%29%20=LF=y0 196=2.jpg

That...is class.

[Paul1953]

Kicks the hell outa that pic of the floating Volkswagon!

Excellent find.

[SD50]

It was actually the Marcos which used a laminated plywood frame for many years, the torsional rigidity was better than most steel framed cars. As far as I know, Morgan has always had a steel frame.

Rob.

I stand corrected on that.