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Lugnut wrote:How do we think this would stack up against a similarly equipped steel frame locost?
There are too many variations on what constitutes a locost (options for drivetrain and suspension, for example) to give a valid answer.
It's mostly an apples to oranges comparison, though.....a minimalist open roadster without doors is a poor comparison to an enclosed cockpit car with A/C and other creature comforts
Allow me to rephrase:
How would car with a chassis similar to the one in the MI plans, but with some other suspension, compare to a book chassis of similar size on the same suspension? No doors, closures, AC, creature comforts. I am purely looking for differences in the chassis construction materials.
My bad.....I thought you were comparing a locost to the woven-wood-and-epoxy-caddy-powered creation that started the thread.
What you say now is definitely apples to apples. Now I'm interested in what others have to say.
If you promise to keep your car in the same county- there's plenty of Ash in SE MI. So much of it got cut down to do infestation- which only really affected the bark- the core wood is quite good.
engineered laminated ash lotus.
hmm- it's lotus a flower? 
Geez- I remember giving Spangler a hard time about grassroots stuff this weekend- Tom- this car is for you!
and some more wood car insanity. ive been doing a bit of digging since last night. (by the way, my wife didnt technically say "no, you cant build it" so i guess she informally said yes)
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201625&highlight=wooden+frame
be careful going to this link. it leads to a very slippery slope of other links that make you spend hours looking and listening, ultimately skipping dinner and church choir rehersal.
Michael
The car in that thread is berkeleying awesome. And there is a line in one of those posts that I would love to be about me: "He drove it like a bastard, opposite lock at every corner."
So berkeleying awesome I'm going to hotlink some of them to here.
Lovely details
..."like a bastard"
Here's some more from within the HAMB thread:
The "Thunderbug":
"It's a 4.2 litre V twin crafted by Potts [owner/driver] - two cylinders from a turn of the [last!] century radial aeroplane engine grafted to a Riley crank case."
Same car on track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZTnsvg_s4&feature=player_embedded
Nuts driving...'dude comes barreling out the straight and neatly drifts two corners. Awesome 
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All of this is fueling my desire to build some archaic, pre-war-style "special" from bits and pieces.
Luke wrote:All of this is fueling my desire to build some archaic, pre-war-style "special" from bits and pieces.
+1
both cars are sick in a very good way.
Then there's this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LATwSlHdiPY&feature=related
I think my creation would have a completely non-period correct roll bar.
..Now back to the wood discussion 
Luke wrote:All of this is fueling my desire to build some archaic, pre-war-style "special" from bits and pieces.
Yes!! This thread is giving me impure thoughts. I want mpre of these!
JamesMcD wrote:Plans for this were published in an issue of Mechanix Illustrated (I forget the year, but can find out if someone is interested).
I really want to build one. My friend has a bunch of wood laying around.
I really want to build one. My friend has a bunch of wood laying around.
I would like to see someone re-jigger the plans to run a Goldwing motor up front, with the valve covers sticking out the sides. And the rear would have more of a boat-tail feel. The whole thing should have the vibe of an antique wooden speed-boat.
Why not an Evinrude then (seriously!) Trim it with polished deck cleats. Although I think the V-12 sound shares more of a kinship with legacy boats (PT boats, racing hyrdoplanes, Packard powered rum-runners, etc.). Might be a bit harder to shoehorn one in (though 'loosecannon' might make you a deal on the Jag V-12 in his MGB ;) (just kidding! it belongs in the MGB)
Well if we're going to really reimagine wood, it's hard to beat Michael Cooper
