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That is cool. When I saw the title of this post I figured it would be one with links to pictures of another Beetle that mario (aka Small Time) had "restored."
buy it and baja it shag...would make a good vehicle for those mountain camping trips you enjoy...
I considered building something similar out of my 66 Baja at one time. I've seen the plans for this conversion and one thing I can say for sure is there's no way in hell I would drive one. The entire body shell is cut away and replaced with a wood frame nailed together.
There's a RV dealer in Aloha, Oregon that's had one on the lot as a display unit if someone in this area wants to see one.
Tony
Hmmm... funny you should mention that part about the wood frame. I was talking to my wife just yesterday and running an idea I had by her. I was thinking it would be very possible to get some pressure- treated 4X4... then put 3-4 coats of black paint on it to seal it up really good... cut it to length and drill some holes through it where needed and use it as a body lift kit for my Beetle. I'll bet it would be plenty sturdy enough and that it would last several years before needing to be replaced. Sure would be a cheap way to go for a body lift. Probably wouldn't be any heavier than if I used a steel kit and I could probably do the lift for under $100 including the wood, new nuts and bolts, and paint. Hmmm.... :-)
So Way Cool! Look at that sink! You can wash dishes no matter how wasted you are!
Get Small!
You know wood well enough to make it work, so go for it! Some WWII Jeeps had partial wooden frames. Black paint won't seal any better than marine clear sealer, and it lets the wood show. Let 'em see it's wood!
Hey, and this time for the steering wheel you can use a rudder wheel.
Hideously slow. I rebuilt an engine for one of those back in 1980 or so. Poor thing could barely move and ran hot. As much as i don't like putting the wrong engines in vehicles, this one could really use water-cooled engine
LOL...tony, a nailed wooden body may be stronger/safer than many of the rusted out bugs out there running around... it's definitely stronger than the mudded up rust holed restorations one of our board members puts out on the street....
Hmmm... funny you should mention that part about the wood frame. I was talking to my wife just yesterday and running an idea I had by her. I was thinking it would be very possible to get some pressure- treated 4X4... then put 3-4 coats of black paint on it to seal it up really good... cut it to length and drill some holes through it where needed and use it as a body lift kit for my Beetle. I'll bet it would be plenty sturdy enough and that it would last several years before needing to be replaced. Sure would be a cheap way to go for a body lift. Probably wouldn't be any heavier than if I used a steel kit and I could probably do the lift for under $100 including the wood, new nuts and bolts, and paint. Hmmm.... :-)
I don't see why it wouldn't work but I'd use something harder, oak maybe? (no jokes about hard wood =^) Didn't the Trabant have a wooden frame?
I don't know about the Trabant but the Morgan used to.
Nails pull out. Use screws or through bolts with large washers and locknuts.
For something like that, Wood should work just fine. It will be supported on both sides by steel and the wood is only acting as a spacer. Who know it might even work as a sound dampener.
Tony
I don't know about Jeeps but the Franklin car of the 1930's had a hard wood frame. The joke was that you could date an old Franklin with a core sample. ;o)
Tony
overkill!!! screws will pull out too... the through bolts would work... but overkill!!
At the time I considered building such a thing, I had a 1.8L type 4 914 Porsche engine just sitting around but these days, I tend to agree with you and a 2.2L Subaru engine would be needed to push one of these beasts around.
Tony
You have valid point there.
There used to be a log cabin bug that belonged to the owner of the Stein Haus tavern in Portland, OR. As I recall it was built around a 40 horse
1200cc bug. The only time I saw it driving was in a parade...Tony
Holy Crap those are awesome! I've seen them before but didn't know wood was used in the construction. The Trabant or "Trabi" is the East German equivelant of the Bug
Speaking of frankencars. Blew the motor in my old kawasaki mule a year ago. Been sitting and looking lately trying to figure out if I can squeeze a bug motor in it. Now that would be a fun atv.
Randy
Wood frames were unusual, but wood framed bodies were common until the mid
30s when Budd improved sheet metal stamping machines. Here are shots of a 1925 Studebaker school bus that we recently recovered from a barn. The cross-bars were added to stabilize the body during transportMotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.