 
     |
| one of the first 'plastic' cars (Page 1/2) |
|
maryjane
|
NOV 07, 04:31 PM
|
|
1941 I believe. Not actually 'plastic' like we think of today and not really a spaceframe either but the caricature of one.
WW2 came along and that put a stop to any production of it.
I know who both the men in the picture are. The one in the dark coat is Robert Boyer, a chemist.
The man on the right is his boss ..you can guess.[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 11-07-2021).]
|
|
|
|
williegoat
|
NOV 07, 05:56 PM
|
|
I guessed and was right, but it was because of your hint and the second picture.
I imagine crash survivability was not a consideration.
|
|
|
|
maryjane
|
NOV 07, 06:02 PM
|
|
If you read about the strength of the body that was added, survivability was perhaps enhanced significantly by the body. They would bend or flex under stress or impact but not break. (sound familiar?)
But, in those days, crash proof worthiness wasn't as big of an issue as it is today...[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 11-07-2021).]
|
|
|
|
cvxjet
|
NOV 07, 06:41 PM
|
|
I'm not sure which company that is nor who....But I remember seeing Henry Ford whacking a plastic trunk lid with an axe way back when.
The 2nd car I was really intrigued with (After the Pantera) was the Bricklin SV-1 which had plastic body- sadly, the car was not well designed nor did it perform well.....
 [This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 11-07-2021).]
|
|
|
|
maryjane
|
NOV 07, 08:50 PM
|
|
That is Henry Ford standing beside the soybean/plastic car and his chief chemist Robert Boyer, The vehicle was originally planned to be made from hemp products but the govt banned hemp a few years previous.
There is a lot of discussion regarding the car, what happened to it and what it was really made from and who actually made it but it was pretty revolutionary for it's time.
The vehicle Ford is hitting with the ax was actually his personal car that had been fitted with a trunk lid made of the same material.
|
|
|
|
TheDigitalAlchemist
|
NOV 07, 09:53 PM
|
|
Interesting thread. I have seen a few decent examples of the Bricklin, and had hoped that the whole “high-end” 3D printing revolution of 2015- would allow us to print our own cars… hasn’t really happened, sadly enough…
|
|
|
|
TheDigitalAlchemist
|
NOV 07, 09:56 PM
|
|
But then again.. if I Google a little…
|
|
|
|
williegoat
|
NOV 07, 10:55 PM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
That is Henry Ford standing beside the soybean/plastic car ...
|
|
The Ford flathead V8 was the tip off. I have always loved those motors, though the only one I ever actually drove was in a Gerlinger forklift.
|
|
|
|
maryjane
|
NOV 08, 12:29 AM
|
|
I grew up working on flatheads, as my father had an auto shop and there were still plenty of them around in the early to mid 60s.
I hated the in lines, as setting the valves was a pain in the butt way down there thru those side covers and they were forever over heating and blowing head gaskets due to thin castings. 24 head bolts on each side, and the earlier ones had 21 studs. The only thing easy to get to on the v8 Ford was the generator and carb. and of course, that big old bypass oil filter that was always sludgy as hades.The water pumps on those old things was HUGE!
I'm probably one of the very few here on PFF that ever worked on a Pontiac straight 8, or a Packard straight 8.[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 11-08-2021).]
|
|
|
|
OldsFiero
|
NOV 08, 11:29 AM
|
|
Yes, I spotted the flatty in your picture. I also worked on a Pontiac straight 8 and a Packard straight 8. Both were in the shop that I worked in in the early 70's. The guy with Pontiac convertible planned on restoring it. We were hired to rewire it and rebuild the engine. I yanked the motor and tore it down. While the block and crank were at the machine shop, I rewired the car. We later were told that the crank cracked when they tried to straighten it due to being bent. We never found a crank while I was there. The 1954 Packard belonged to a regular customer who used it as a daily driver. I got to tune it up once. When I was finishing up the tune, I lowered the idle just to see how low it would go with out stalling. I had it down to 350 RPM and you still could have put a full glass of water on the head without spilling it. It was so smooth!
marc
|
|
|
