Fabric car?

[Arminius]

There is a car still being driven around Eastern Europe that was made of canvas. Can't rememeber the name of it, but the Germans were really ticked when the wall came down between Germany and East Germany and the cars started showing up on the autobahn.

[Arminius]

Those doors are fantastic. Here's my second choice (used to be my first):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AAtkoje4-eM

The weight of the contraption is the problem.

[Peter7307]

Fabric car...I can see it now sitting in the showroom demonstrator and she asks
"Hon , does my butt look big in this?"

So what are YOU going to do then huh?

By the way fabric was the material of choice for the boy racers of the 1920's and was used by Bentley , Austin and others.

Pete.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I think this is the first Bangle design that hasn't made me wretch.

That would make two of us, Frank.

[johnpr]

i like the fabric idea, but over time it could become quite expensive, for instance convertible tops are pretty much water proof but they have to be replaced every few years, they stretch out and even though you dont see it they can cause quite a bit of drag, also it would be verry loud inside the vehicle.

i would still sport a cloth car though, it would be verry unique, and i could change the color on whim - how neat

the rotary door is neat but what happens if it gets stuck?

[jamesqf]

Here's a link to a FAQ on aircraft fabric coverings: http://www.sacskyranch.com/polyfiber.htm They say 20-30 years lifetime.

Just a thought: suppose you took your Geo Metro, CRX, or whatever you're ecomodding, and went over the bodywork with a hole cutter, so as to give you just a mesh framework, then covered that with doped fabric? (Of course making any aerodynamic shape mods.) How much weight might you drop?

[johnpr]

thanks for the link, i would be interested in seeing something like that used, it is a much better option than the material that is used for convertible tops, and its probably lighter. so does doping it make it water proof?

[Tango Charlie]

I've always wondered why the sandrail guys don't cover their frames with doped fabric to keep the sand out. And yes, it's waterproof.

[johnpr]

thats cool

[jamesqf]

From memory of the few fabric-covered airplanes I've been around, the doping process actually makes the fabric quite stiff, more like a thin sheet of plastic than the conventional notion of cloth. I suppose it's really more of a composite, similar to fiberglass cloth with a resin binder.

Should give pretty light construction, though, since even with all the wing area, the covering for a Piper Cub weighs ~40 lbs out of IIRC about 800 total.