Wooden Cars of the Future
While we’re on an automobile kick, here’s something awesome from Make Magazine:
“Artist, traveller, & inventor Joost Conijn spent the better part of a year building his own very custom automobile – almost entirely from wood. And what more fitting way to power such a vehicle, than with an onboard wood-burning stove! You might assume such a novel machine wasn’t intended for any lengthy excursions, but in fact that was Conijn’s aim from the project’s onset.”
Mr. Conijn has been traveling around Europe in his very steampunk-able car. After Dylan’s post on the evils of the auto industry, a custom wooden car definitely sounds like a good idea to me!
One wonders if he has encountered any difficulties with such a finely crafted vehicle?
While the article doesn’t say if he’s run into any trouble, there is included a very amusing video of some cute old ladies helping him push it when it got stuck.
This was a Citroen DS. The most extravagant Citroen with wooden body was built by Rodney Burwell of West Haven, Connecticut, and is a boatbuilder’s dream. Very punk, and on a 2CV chassis.
My steam Citroen DS is actually a DJF since it is a wagon/break style and runs on “green” liquid fuels of nearly any type with low emissions. Not so punky, but a custom handbuilt body and definitely not a Detroit clone either. Though there have been many “modern” steam powered one-offs, the last production was eighty years ago with antique technology.
Lots of the steampunk fabrications could actually use new adaptations of old technology, and I am delighted to contribute and work out the interfaces.
thats cool
wow, that is awesome. wonder if you can do that to a go-kart? my eyesight is pretty terrible, and i can’t drive, so i was thinking maybe do it to a go-kart and drive around on my friend’s farm. if i hit a cow there, well, it’s better then hitting a human!
There are more cars with onboard wood-burning stoves:
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/01/wood-gas-cars.html