I question the impact resistance of the plywood:

SO MANY amusing things about that video. Announcer must be cussing up a storm though, I can't even count how many times he was bleeped out... and every time, it was after saying the word "mini".

Build it out of sheetmetal, put the engine in the front, make it street legal, and get rid of the handlebar steering ... thing and I'd be all over this. Even built out of plywood, this is almost more Jeep than a real Jeep.

Edited April 28, 201213 yr by black-knight

say WUT!?

say WUT!?

Does the Wrangler double as a boat? Nope. If you put a trolling motor on your $30,000 grand Wrangler Unlimited and drive it into a lake, you'll just sink the same as any other overpriced Wrangler.

Okay ... I'll take my tongue out of my cheek for a minute and admit that there is honestly only one Jeep. But I think there could be a big market for a (steel) kit version of the classic Army Jeep that could also float on water as long as its cheap. Something you could build yourself in a shed over the course a weekend and immediately start bashing it out on some trails. And in all seriousness, the Wrangler has become too expensive these days to be anything more than something you buy for its image and the other Jeeps currently in the line-up, as much as I like them, seriously do lack the off-road prowess of their ancestors.

Edited April 28, 201213 yr by black-knight

say WUT!?

Does the Wrangler double as a boat? Nope. If you put a trolling motor on your $30,000 grand Wrangler Unlimited and drive it into a lake, you'll just sink the same as any other overpriced Wrangler.

Okay ... I'll take my tongue out of my cheek for a minute and admit that there is honestly only one Jeep. But I think there could be a big market for a (steel) kit version of the classic Army Jeep that could also float on water as long as its cheap. Something you could build yourself in a shed over the course a weekend and immediately start bashing it out on some trails. And in all seriousness, the Wrangler has become too expensive these days to be anything more than something you buy for its image and the other Jeeps currently in the line-up, as much as I like them, seriously do lack the off-road prowess of their ancestors.

Closest you're going to get pricewise would be something like an old M38:

http://www.midwestmilitary.net/51m38salep1.html

$4,900

Or a GPW:

http://www.midwestmilitary.net/WallysGPWsale.html

$5,500

Closest you're going to get pricewise would be something like an old M38:

http://www.midwestmi...1m38salep1.html

$4,900

Or a GPW:

http://www.midwestmi...lysGPWsale.html

$5,500

That GPW ... yikes.

Again, if someone could build a brand new version of either one of those classic Jeeps from a kit for maybe a grand more than what it could cost to buy an original version before restoring it, then I'd say it would be hard to a company to keep up with demand. It would also provide a nice, cheaper alternative to those annoying all-terrain side-by-sides that cost as much as a nice used car.

It think could certainly be done. There wasn't much to the original WWII Jeep other than four seats bolted to a few axles powered by a random engine.

Edited April 29, 201213 yr by black-knight

That GPW ... yikes.

Again, if someone could build a brand new version of either one of those classic Jeeps from a kit for maybe a grand more than what it could cost to buy an original version before restoring it, then I'd say it would be hard to a company to keep up with demand. It would also provide a nice, cheaper alternative to those annoying all-terrain side-by-sides that cost as much as a nice used car.

It think could certainly be done. There wasn't much to the original WWII Jeep other than four seats bolted to a few axles powered by a random engine.

Icon is doing that, but it costs $80,000 a vehicle, base price:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/automobiles/collectibles/27ICON.html

If I ever get the money, I'd like to design an open source Jeep knockoff that could be built with cheap and commonly available parts. A wood body would be easy enough to design, but I'd have to find a suitable power train and steering assembly. I've though about a GM one, but I'm not a fan of the vacuum actuated four wheel drive, I've though about a Ford one, but I'm not a fan of twin traction beam; I've thought about a Jeep one, but the axles are always either expensive or trashed. I'm sure there's a solution we're both looking for, I just haven't thought of it yet.

make a FrankenJeep

OUCH Purist does not rate $80,000