Thread: Timber for a Vintage car

Originally Posted by prd

Morning All,

I've bought a Willys Whippet as a doer-upper which needs all the timber framing renewed.

Question is: which timber?

Suggestions I've had include Tas oak/mountain ash, mahogany, coachwood, American red oak, Gympie messmate and spotted gum.

what you you folks recommend for general workability and availability. One of my concerns with Spotted Gum is glue-ability?

Any suggestions on suppliers?

All advice greatfully received.

Cheers,

What was the original timber used?
There might be yes answer or as close as you can find to it.

There in lies the problem. I've only got two original pieces of timber left and I can't figure out what type of timber it is. The car has previously had all the old timber removed and some clown has attempted to replace it with pine that looks like it was cut and shaped with an axe! It all needs to be replaced.

I'll see if I can get a photo of the grain on one piece cleaned up and post a photo. Maybe someone can identify it.

Would still like like to hear thoughts on acceptable timber types to use.

cheers,

Asking here might get an answer but there are not a lot out there....Kaiser, Frazer, Darrin, Henry J, Willys - Antique Automobile Club of America - Discussion Forums

Ash was probably the most commonly used in Europe and America in original construction.
It is certainly strong enough,flexible and glues well Plus takes nails ok.
Main problem is it doesn’t like getting wet, stains then rots.
There is a listing on the Morgan owners site with recommendations for local species.
H.

What clear out said.

I don't know about the whippet specifically but I believe the later rileys used what they call ash in britain/europe. Any eucalypt will be more than strong enough but may add some weight.

Any of the medium strength australian timbers should work, look for rot resistance workability etc.

I would not use western red cedar, the light weight pines (like radiata), but hoop might be ok.

Cost probably won't be a huge concern as you won't need a truckload of it. Maybe blackwood ? anything they build boats out of that will take glue ?

Hi prd, It;s a long time now since I restored a Dodge 1923 Tourer which had timber framing ,and a !932 Austin single seater with a dicky seat also
had timber framing, and I used only Kiln dried Ash ,most of all the people I met who were restoring a wooden framed car used Ash ,as you say you have
only two pieces to get a pattern for the type of wood use,but in 19 26,if it was a import ,chassis ,and the body made in Australia it was probably ash, but it is the way I would go , good luck with the restoration.

I assume you found these documents:

http://morganownersclub.com.au/Coach...0Selection.pdf

https://sites.google.com/site/morgan...sis/body-frame

Evening All,

Thanks to you all for your replys.

im not overly concerned about using the timber that was originally used, just want one that will perform well, is fairly rot resistant and ideally easy to work.

i read the article from the Morgan group with interest. Thanks for that one Damian. Spotted Gum keeps coming up as top contender. My only concern is it's workability and its glue-ability. Would mahogany be a good alternative?

Coachwood also looks interesting but it's hard to get?

if I can work out how I'll post a photo of the couple of bits of the existing timber that I have in the hope someone might be able to identify it. If fact it looks like it might be two different species?

Thanks again for the replys.

Cheers,

P.S. I'd love to own a three wheel Morgan. Shame it's no longer legal to import them.

Top one looks like coachwood and the bottom one looks like hoop pine, not positive but a guess.

Three wheel Morgan’s are being sold here in Oz.
Thanks to our stupid rules they cost over $100k

H.

My apologies, I read something in late 2017 that said that the three wheeler no longer complied with the ADR's and that they would no longer be available. Seems that Morgan, to their credit, have stepped up to the plate. Now I can get one when I win the lotto!

Cheers Len, I'm becoming increasingly interested in investigating the coachwood option. Just not sure about price and availability

thanks again for All the replys.

cheers,

If you don't want a morgan specifically and if you don't need it to be new there are a few three wheelers in aus. I know a chap who has had a triton I think it is for decades. Guzzi powered so it won't break down. They are all very good at giving you pneumonia in winter, melanoma in summer, wrecking your ribs before killing you in a rollover.

Hi prd

I have a friend who built and repaired wooden boats for 40 years and then progressed/regressed to repairing wooden frames of classic cars. He has worked almost exclusively on cars for the last 20+ years.

He says that initially he always matched repairs with the original timber, but now it is too difficult to source good ash, maple, etc. And most clients were not interested in the type of wood - just the quality of the workmanship.

He says he now never raises the issue of wood species unless the client initiates it, but includes it in his written quotes and contracts.

His preferred species for all framing work (not bright work) is Tasmanian myrtle - nothofagus cunninghamii - as it has the right combination of workability, strength, and availability. Price is relatively low but is irrelevant as materials is a very small part of the overall cost.


Cheers

Graeme

G'day Graeme,

Many thanks for the reply. I'm now looking at this timber with interest! Tasmanian Myrtle is not a species that has come up before in my research but I've started looking it up. Looks promising!

The top contender 'til now has been spotted Gum but I've always been a bit apprehensive about its workability.

Your friend has decades of experience under his belt. This gives me huge confidence.

Thanks again.

Cheers,