Check this out

Cperry

Cperry

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Location
Durham, NC
This guy lives down the road from me, some guys were talking about it at the shop today. http://joeharmondesign.com/

In case your to lazy to go, here is a brief synopsis, northstar motor, twin superchargers, porshe tranny..................oh ya and its made out of wood.

read the about part on the website and then check it out. Maybe not the best idea but there is some nice fab work going into it.
 
cool, I should show this to my Product Design teacher...

State used to be THE top design school in the south, often referred to as the Bauhaus of the South
 
I'd think that all that wood will be very heavy, epecially ssince it will have to be treated etc.

I'd liek to know where all the goodies are coming from. This is the kind of project that gets very expensive, very fast.
 
wonder how much it'll end up costing his/his parents :)

i think that's awesome. i'd love ot see it in person..... i wouldn't trust wood wheels with anything more than about 50 hp but then again all bets are off on that thing....
 
Cperry said:
I think wood is alot lighter than say, um, steel.
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Per unit mass, definitely steel is heavier.
However, while 3/16 steel is nice and strong and rigid, you probbaly need 3x the mass in wood for similar rigidity and strength. Imagine body panels made of wood that were the same thickness as normal metal panels (what, 1/8th or less?). Or even laminate. It'd flex all over the place, not to mention safety.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's got a plan for this. I'm just really curious to how how he pulls it off. Maybe a good hardener finish would do the trick.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Per unit mass, definitely steel is heavier.
However, while 3/16 steel is nice and strong and rigid, you probbaly need 3x the mass in wood for similar rigidity and strength. Imagine body panels made of wood that were the same thickness as normal metal panels (what, 1/8th or less?). Or even laminate. It'd flex all over the place, not to mention safety.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's got a plan for this. I'm just really curious to how how he pulls it off. Maybe a good hardener finish would do the trick.
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Steel is roughly 8X heavier than wood, meaning that you can make a part 8X thicker and still have the same weight part, meaning you have whole bunch more rigidity for the same weight.
 
light compact and caddy has updated or revised every part in that motor every year they have been built and they still suck can you say piston slap and high oil consumption with less than 30k on the clock they leak like an old hog nothing is cheap to replace and they are a pain to work on. we have 10 or so shops here and none of them will work on a northcrap mine included.
 
Splinter said:
Steel is roughly 8X heavier than wood,
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With the HUGE desparity in both weight and density of various woods, this is an impossible statement to make. Balsawood and Mahogany come to mind pretty quickly. that 8 would probably vary from around 25 - 1.5
 
I should have been more specific. Maple, which represents the majority of the wood we are using in the chassis of the car, is one of the denser North American woods. It weighs about 950kg/cubic meter once you factor in moisture content and glue in a laminate. Steel weighs 7849 kg/cubic meter. Thats about 8.25X more. Maple is denser than most species of mahogany, and about 3X denser than balsa, although those numbers can vary somewhat depending on the individual wood sample, the moisture content of the wood at the time, and the amount of glue in the laminate.
 
Splinter said:
I should have been more specific. Maple, which represents the majority of the wood we are using in the chassis of the car, is one of the denser North American woods. It weighs about 950kg/cubic meter once you factor in moisture content and glue in a laminate. Steel weighs 7849 kg/cubic meter. Thats about 8.25X more. Maple is denser than most species of mahogany, and about 3X denser than balsa, although those numbers can vary somewhat depending on the individual wood sample, the moisture content of the wood at the time, and the amount of glue in the laminate.
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True dat..
I take it you are the one building the car?
Welcome, and nice work. I'll keep m eyes on the build. Being a forestry grad I tend to be tree/wood geek.
 
I really appreciate you guys checking it out and am enjoying your comments. I never expected a car like this to be picked up by an offroad forum. With 4" of ground clearance and 2" of suspension travel, I don't think she will be much competition for you guys over rocks or in the mud. If anyone ever feels like coming to check it out in person, you are more than welcome. Just shoot me an email or show up unannounced. 4228 E Geer St, Durham, NC, 27704 is the location.
 
Just thought I'd revisit this post incase anyone forgot. Spent the afternoon helping out around the shop and checking out the progress. Chasis is built and they're currently building a fullsize mold for the body panels. It's worth your time to check out the link at top of page.
 
I am highly impressed. I hope it works out. I do have my concerns with it being wood and how well it will be able to handle long periods of sitting and moisture change and how often sealent is going to be needed. besides that cool deal. I think a nice stained and polished exteior would make for a nice new age woody :driver:
 
Holy sawdust!! Whats the story? Is it for yourself, someone, or what. Cost? Reason? Time? Weight? Damn watch out for termits. I never have worked with wood much--Damn. That thing is a amazing peice of art and needs to be in a showcase somewhere. Nice work.
 
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