The use of wood in cars!

[Steve Wilkinson]

As well as Marcos there were the Protos F2 cars which had wooden chassis (i.e. that is the chassis were made of plywood).

The floors on Morgan Plus 8s were plywood as I remember looking at one for sale which had a ruddy great hole in the floor near the pedals!

Then there were all the vintage cars that had bodies made by boat-builders!

[simon drabble]

Originally Posted by terence bower

You are quite right,apart from the engine was a twink.

sorry to correct you but I think neither of you are correct. I had lunch with Roger Nahtan the other day and he gave me a copy of his book which dtails the history of the Costin Nathan. It is bonded plywood but never ran a twink (which is probably why that replica for sale up North wont sell!) they ran Imp engines and then I think BMW. Certainly pre 66 it was only 1 litre engines and I think he said that he thought a customer in late 60's might have run one with a twink engine but not in an internationl race which is why its so curious that the Japanese replica has FIA papers......

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

sorry to correct you but I think neither of you are correct. I had lunch with Roger Nahtan the other day and he gave me a copy of his book which dtails the history of the Costin Nathan.

The car we're talking about is the Costin Amigo - a totally different animal to the Nathan!

[simon drabble]

having just googled this I have to say its no looker! Unlike the Costin Nathan I dont think that this had any competitive success did it?

[terence]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

having just googled this I have to say its no looker! Unlike the Costin Nathan I dont think that this had any competitive success did it?

Unlikely,I think there were only three built,the last one I saw/drove was bloody awful,could not get in nor out of it.It was for sale last year at £55k.

[simon drabble]

fool and their money given a Costin Nathan isn't a great deal more and with a BMW engine you have something that could give a B8 a run for its money which raced at Le Mans!

[Al Weyman]

Did it (Costin Amigo) have a Maxi gearbox in it or am I thinking of something else, if it did then that was the kiss of death from day one.

[terence]

No Al,that would make it transverse,it was the same box as the Lotus Sunbeam RWD.

[Al Weyman]

What am I thinking of then? It was a mid engined thing may have even had the Maxi or a Princess engine, Yuk!

[socram]

The Maxi engined car was probably the Diablo, forerunner to the AC ME3000.

AC used the Ford V6 (it was a long gestation period though) but I am pretty sure the original was designed with the Maxi engine by Peter Bohanna (?). Some bright spark will no doubt soon correct me if I'm wrong.

Always liked the look of them...

Incidentally, my first race (as opposed to sprint or hillclimb) was in an Allegro Equipe, which was as you will all know, fitted with the 1750cc Hi Line Maxi engine.

It was one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned, and had better torque figures than almost all other 4 cylinder cars of the era.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Did it (Costin Amigo) have a Maxi gearbox in it or am I thinking of something else, if it did then that was the kiss of death from day one.

Didn't the + 2 Elans run a Maxi box ?

[GORDON STREETER]

Still off topic I can remember rebuilding a +2 Elan 5 speed box years back and I used parts from the local BL agent. It was definitely a Maxi box in another case.

[GBRM]

Did the Costin Amigo not have a 4 speed Vauxhall box?

[terence]

Originally Posted by GBRM

Did the Costin Amigo not have a 4 speed Vauxhall box?

Quite possibly Gregor,the car I drove was a five speed ,thats not to say the car hadn't been buggered around with though.Oh,and another regarding my comments about the being awfull to drive,over a size 8 shoe size,forget it cos youre feet would'nt fit in!!!

[GBRM]

Originally Posted by terence bower

Quite possibly Gregor,the car I drove was a five speed ,thats not to say the car hadn't been buggered around with though.Oh,and another regarding my comments about the being awfull to drive,over a size 8 shoe size,forget it cos youre feet would'nt fit in!!!

I'll check with the guy who bought the car Dad raced (he has a couple and a certain convertible close to my heart!!); I'm sure it was Vauxhall engine and gearbox.

That's funny Terry, I'd forgotten about it but Dad said the same thing about the pedals, thanks for reminding me!!

[terence]

Another thing about them was the sexy looking side mirrors,looked great but were totally useless!.

[DaveGT6]

Originally Posted by terence bower

Another thing about them was the sexy looking side mirrors,

I know racing is pretty exciting but I've never got wood whilst I've been driving

[john ruston]

Lots of real wood in the Pre War cars and with no seat belts.
Less than 6 mins lap of Le Mans.Makes you think!
H&S not involved

[GBRM]

Originally Posted by DaveGT6

I know racing is pretty exciting but I've never got wood whilst I've been driving

That reminds me of a certain MG driver who took a little blue pill whilst he was away on a race weekend and the Viagra he took on the Saturday had no effect but the couldn't get his crotch/lpa belts done up on the Sunday morning for the race.

[terence]

Hmmm,best not to mention his name Gregor. By the way,How is Colin doing these day's?

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by GBRM

I'm sure it was Vauxhall engine and gearbox.

This source:

http://www.carfolio.com/specificatio...car/?car=28149

quotes a 1,975cc SOHC Vauxhall engine - my hazy memory is that it used most of the mechanical bits, including suspension, of the contemporary VX4/90, which would have been the FD. However, Georgano states 2.3 litre OHC engine, which could have been the FD unit or the Lotus DOHC engine. If I remember the first FEs were 1973 models, so the last few Amigos built would possibly have been built after the FE was introduced.

[klaus]

the marcos gullwing and the fastback were the only cars ever built, even in marcos production, which had a chassis completly made of plywood, even at the front-section, where suspension and engine were not fixed at a metal front subframe, but directly to the strenghtened , thicker laminated plywood.
if anyone doubts the durability of this construction, i must tell him, that i own a gullwing and several fastback marcos, which still have their first (!!!) chassis (glued in 1961 and 1963), never restored , still absolutly reliable and much more stiffer than any spaceframe construction. after more than 40 years racing, no cracks or weak points, only minor scratching from some little excursions into savetry gravel-zones.
on the other hand i had often cracks at the rear and front metal made suspension links, especially after endurance events on the northern loop of
nurburgring. this costin inspired construction of dennis adams is really a sensational work, and even a former owner and racer of a costin nathan, mr. harm lagaay,a still well known man at bmw and porsche design and engineering, told me, when he inspected the chassis of my fastback some 10 years ago after race at spa: never fear your wooden chassis, it will never crack, but always keep an eye on all metal parts, they do brake , bend and get weak.
an he was completly right.