TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:20 am

I love the vw woodie and I am interested in building one anyone with any information would be appreciated such as who makes them how they are assemeld whatever thanks.
Tony

Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:47 am

Try this site for plans.

http://www.stevproj.com/PAPRolStk.html

Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:59 pm

Just a thought you might want to consider - Like you, I think the woody looks great and wanted one. Found one on ebay and sent seller a question about its condition and possibility of driving it 1000 miles from purchase point to home, particularly on the freeways. He told me it was a bit unstable over 65mph. Got me to thinking - a woody conversion adds a lot of additional weight to the rear of the car (more than one would initially think), and what about aerodynamic air flow?. So, if it is to be a locally driven car or a beach car (or to be owned by a vw bus driver?) it would be neat. For high speed highway driving maybe not. Sure points out the need for some research from present or previous owners experience. Feedback, anyone? Please.

Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:56 am

Can't be worse than a buggy's aerodynamics.

Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:06 pm

Quote: He told me it was a bit unstable over 65mph. Got me to thinking - a woody conversion adds a lot of additional weight to the rear of the car (more than one would initially think), and what about aerodynamic air flow?.

Instability has nothing to do with woodie conversion. Weight is not an issue - woodie conversion may add 100 lbs (if that).

#1 scrutinize the car itself - don't even think about the woodie stuff.

#2 now look at the wood and quality of work - some are done great and some are total trash. If plywood and the wood is in bad shape, you pretty much need to completely rebuild it.........

#3 make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

This comes from someone who blew #1, #2 and #3. I am still moving forward, but after paying waaaaay more than I should have for the car, I ended up scrapping at least 80% of the car....

Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:32 pm

Also - check these out. Not a lot of activity, but a nice bunch and more information available than you can imagine....

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vwoodies2/

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vwoodies/

Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:22 am

I'd be curious if anyone has had a look at the plans. Is this something for general wood shop toold or are there complicated curves and bends?

Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:00 pm

The Stevenson plans were designed for someone with basic woodworking skills and tools to pull it off (hand circular saw & jig saw - table saw is real helpful.) They were initially sold through Popular Mechanics many years ago. I have a set and I think they are still available for about $30.

If built as the plans say, your side panels are cut from a single piece of plywood (this creates the rails and stiles). Then a piece os 1/4" plywood was used for the recessed panels mounted from inside. Look at some pics of one and you will see what I mean.

The doors are just skinned with plywood panels.

The roof itself was a bit more involved, but basically you are using 2x8s and such to cut out the top beams. Where a lot of folks blow it is the transition from the top of the windshield to the roof. Mine looked like a freakin school bus.

Anyway, if you take your time and have reasonable wood skills, they can come out pretty well. But, I am not doing this at all - mine is being built more like a traditional woodie and I have enlisted the help of a cabinet maker. But get a set of plans and take a look. Good luck and it can be cool....

Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:38 am

andk5591 wrote:
But, I am not doing this at all - mine is being built more like a traditional woodie and I have enlisted the help of a cabinet maker. But get a set of plans and take a look. Good luck and it can be cool....

Do you have any "in process" shots you want to share?
I think a "non-kit" style woody based on a VW (with it's stock nose as opposed to the '37 or '40 Ford nose) in a street rod style would be something else!

I've seen some of these from the plans available and they are definitely "alright", but even the most slab sided (coachbuilt) woody has a little curvature involved. Your project sounds a little more along these lines.

Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:41 pm

No usuable in progress photos yet - the drawback with doing this from scratch is that you do a LOT of drawings before you start cutting wood.

In a nutshell, this is what I am doing. After wasting a lot of money on a car that was already done and was garbage. I started over. The finished car will be along the lines of a late 50's/early 60's mild custom of a 40 Ford Woodie. Partially dechromed, "Briz" style bumpers, Wide whites (but still up in the air on wheels - may do red rims with moons)

First steps were basic car construction. Working with a 69 pan. Got the pan in shape, rebuilt tranny, rebuilt beam. Had a fresh stock 1600DP, but decided I wanted more power, so have everything for a 1915 ready to assemble. That should be happened as soon as I get a couple things done on the dune buggy before I park her for the winter.

Now - on to body - join the VW Woodie yahoo groups posted earlier and take a long look at John Slussar's car. I flew out to Milwaukee a year 1/2 ago to pick his brain and study his car in person.

Here's the big points - he started with a vert because the A pillars do not taper in as much as a sedan. He used a type 3 engine for more space. His car body is all wood from the A pillars back.

Based on what he did, I went with a vert donor body as well. But I decided to stay with a type 1 engine. 95% of the body remains intact. This gives me the advantages of the extra reinforcements in a vert body. This will also help reduce flex in the roof, which is somewhat of a problem for tradtional woodies. Basically, I am fabricating the wood stiles and rail, but tying them to the metal body for strength. The doors are skinned with wood, but the top of the doors (surrounding the windows) is all wood, but a laminate of solid wood and plywood for strength. The roof is slats like the Stevenson and traditional. The other thing that makes the vert a nice choice is the wooden header for the cloth top works well as the header for the woodie roof.

There are still a ton of details that I need to sort out. Once we nail down some of the major panels, it is possible that the cabinetmaker that I am working with may offer them for sale or we may have drawings that could be used. Once again, I am building what I want and how I want it. As I get more "final" parts done, I will posty them on the VW Woodie sites.

Sun Sep 28, 2008 11:33 pm

Cool, keep us posted!