History Henry Ford's 1941 Soybean Car

Here's a story on Henry Ford's soybean car from 1941, of a piece with his abiding passion in farming and the adaptation of soybeans to industry. The car's body panels were constructed from a soybean-derived plastic, or so it was claimed. Hmmm. Anyway, interesting story about an interesting car from a number of angles. Also, I would be interested to hear from you early Ford experts about the styling and where it might fit Ford design lineage.


Henry Ford's Soybean Car | Mac's Motor City Garage

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmm Tofu!

 

I think it's pretty cool and at the least a interesting side bar to automotive history.

 

During WWII some states used soybean-based fiberboard license plates. It's said farm animals would eat them off the vehicles.

 

Bill, That is True about the Lic Tags, I have one from Va. that the cows never got.........Ha !

_____________________________________________________

I.m sure we've seen the Photo of Henry slamming
away on the Trunk Lid ( with a Sledhammer) of a '47 Ford...........Made from Soybean combination.
___________________________________________________

Alot of dash knobs and gearshift knobs made from Soybeans.

Good Post
Smokey

 

Illinois used fiberboard license plated from '43-'48. I've also heard stories of goats eating them off of cars. I have a set of matching number IL plates from '40-'91 I bought in '91 at an auction while the '91 plates where still active for 3 months.

 

Wonder if it had a tube axle? I see an 85 HP V8 there, and typical '40 springs' locations...

(tube axles were used in 4-cyl. pickups and V860 passenger cars 'til 1940)

 

I think Ford had an abiding passion for farmers, not farming. Most biographies indicate Ford got into mechanics to avoid farm work.

 

only been about 3 months since the last thread on the beaner car...

 

Wow, that set has to be one-of-a-kind.

 

I'm digging the muffler moly frame and temporary spare tires. Looks like something Gyro Gearloose whipped up in the back yard.

 

JEZ! I didn't see the first one so I'm glad this was reposted.

 

looking forward to next months...

 

I guess it depends how you parse the terms. It's quite true he despised the drudgery of farm labor, and yet he never lost his fascination for farming itself. He owned and operated huge farms in Michigan (several), Georgia, Mass., England, and Brazil--soybeans being his major crop. So I would say he had a deep passion for farming as long as he wasn't performing the manual labor personally.

Ford also had a special interest in farmers and tailored his products to them. For example, according to Ford chief stylist Bob Gregorie, the high deck line on '36 to '40 Ford coupes was due to HF I's insistence that trunks could hold two full bushel baskets.

 

I'd agree with that. I'm sure he'd be horrified by what has happened to all the farmland around Detroit in order to accommodate the lifestyle brought by his creation. I think he always envisioned city folk visiting the empty countryside in their car, not turning it into subdivisions so they could commute back to the city.

 

Looks British.

 

I.m sure we've seen the Photo of Henry slamming
away on the Trunk Lid ( with a Sledhammer) of a '47 Ford...........Made from Soybean combination.



"Sled hammer head. Has chisel like ends attached to head by metal pins. This hammer was used for sharpening large meal or grist mill stones."

Never to old to learn something new. Ron

 

I'm sure as that car got older it would have smelled just as horrid as my old screwdriver handles and old steering wheels!!!

 

As I recall,the Ford farm was located northwest of Port Huron, Michigan. An area known as Beard's Hills. He used to test Ford tractors/ farm implements there.

 

People also say French, as in postwar Ford Vedette.

 

From what I can make out in the photos, the plastic car appears to be powered by a V8-60.

Not to sharpshoot you whatsoever, took it as gospel for a long time myself, but Ford experts agree that the '37-'40 tube axle was installed in apparently random production but never, oddly enough, in V8-60 cars. I currently have axles of both styles in the shop and just as an aside, they weigh virtually the same.

The plastic car has a beam front axle. One interesting note; the patent drawing shows the front wishbone facing forward, while the actual car uses the conventional setup.

To which four cyl-pickups are you referring?

Thanks for your interest and in raising all these great questions!

 

Weren't '41 pickups available with the 9N tractor engine as a budget option? A replacement for the discontinued V8/60.

 

Short answer YES ! scrubba

 

Yes, but the tube axle was discontinued in 1940.

 

I never knew about Ford's investments in farming. Maybe he was expecting the Diesel engine to take off quicker?

 

That rumor has been around for my whole life and I'm sure before that. There is a very large farm with a mansion located northwest of Port Huron, in Beards Hills, on the Black River known as the Ford Estate. It is an extremely private place and I've only ever seen the mansion while canoeing on Black River. They even built a dam to raise the river so there'd be water behind the mansion. This place has no connection at all to the Henry Ford family. It is a different Ford family, but the the erroneous link is often made to Henry's family.

 

Chemical Fords?

 

I toured that estate a few years back. It was the Ford's associated with Libbey Owens Ford the glass supplier. If I remember correctly they were out of Toledo or northern Ohio and used the estate for a getaway.-Jim

 

Great topic. Always find the history of the Ford family fascinating.

 

Boss: george, why weren't you at work on time today!?!

George: Well you see sir, the dog ate my fender!