on this date in 1942

Ford patents the plastic car body. was it scrapped or melted down, still around? http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7161

 

That's cool, I didn't realize they were making plastic bodies that long ago.

 

Was that the one made out of soy beans? I remember seeing film of Henry whacking it with an axe handle or somehing.

 

Yes, according to the photo caption, first I've heard of this!

 

Part of that (the Patent) may have been response to Pontiac. In 1940 Pontiac made a Clear Lucite bodied 4 Door Sedan (Maybe a Worlds Fair?). It was take around the country for display a created a big stir.
Ol' Henery Put a patent on every thing he thought of or stole.

 

There is a quote in one of the advanced engineering centers at Ford in Dearborn that goes on about power vs weight and ends with the info on the soy bean pattent.

 

That would cut down on back seat activities!

 

Ford liked to show off the strength of the plastic body by hitting it with an axe handle...until one day, in sub-zero Michigan weather, he was demonstrating it to some visitors and the deck lid shattered on impact, embarassing Ford. He stopped development of the plastic-bodied car (soybean and hemp were among the ingredients used, and Ford was also convinced that upholstery fabric could be made from soybeans). They used formaldehyde in the manufacturing process, so the plastic smelled like a mortuary, and it took a long time to cure.

 

Some state in the MidWest made license plates out of Soybeans, during WWII I believe. Rare collectable today, animals liked them and ate them.

 

Heck, I was hoping we sunk a Jap battleship or aircraft carrier .

 

kinda like the chevy work truck back in the early 90s that had the black plastic grill that they hit with a ball bat .

 

Several new cars have plastic doors, fenders, quarters, bumpers. About the only large exposed piece not made out of plastic is the roof.

 

Or make you money by charging to watch.

 

i'd like to see that clear plastic Pontiac!

 

Made of Soy beans? Perhaps someone ate it.

 

Perfect car for vegans. Bust off a chunk when hungry. Tofu, anyone?

 

Henry Ford was definitely into soy beans and experimented heavily with the product. Mant things on the cars we salivate over came with trim items made from soy beans for example, I believe that the ash tray knobs and instrument bezel on '40 Fords were made from them. Remember, Henry was a farmer and loved to experiment with what he knew.

 

Wow... Talk about forsight. I wonder if ford ever pursued legally companies like Mercedes Benz/ Smart for their Smart cars, who's body panels are all plastic, or Gm for the polymer body panels in saturns (Thats plastic right?) I remember always seeing a couple saturns every winter who's body panels would freeze in exrteme tempuratues then shatter when hit hard enough.

 

The plastic Pontiac resides in Terre Haute In. It still looks good but the plastic is slightly crazed.
deChrome

 

http://www.shorey.net/Auto/American/GM/Pontiac/htmltree.html

 

Wow! Those are some photos! Like a drivable cut-away!

 

Henry Ford owned Soybean farms! Yes the dash Knobs on many early Fords were soybean concoctions,Henry tried to use Soy for everything,just think if HE was the one to make hamburger pattys out of it........Fords Burger Rama,,,,McHenrys?....BurgerHenry?...WhiteHenry?....shit this is to mind boggling....

 

I believe many of the accessory steering wheels made by Ford and other manufacturers were made of a soy-based plastic material. That's why a lot of the accessory wheels have basically crumbled to pieces while the standard wheels held up better.

The Russian Trabant had a plastic body already in the 60's, and it was ALL plastic, not necessarily just a skin of plastic.

 

Thanks for the link! That saves me going through my books for a photo, there is a good feature on the car in Automobile Quarterly, if I had my index I'll let you what issue it is. One of the great things about the HAMB is amount of automobile history knowledge, and the quick post of photos & info to get everyone else up to speed on things.

 

How did that not ever come up before? You'll have to tell me who has it some time.

 

I've got a '58 Delaware plate thats made of soybeans, and a cardboard '42 Illinois plate. Yea, they are hard to come across.

 

A Dr. customer of mine had a 47 ford convertible with a soy bean plastic hood. factory installed. the only one I've ever seen or heard of. was in good condition.........Jim

 

hellow there My name is Don Pate and a friend of mine wants to know if he can post the photo on your site on his web site? ( the picture and artical on the plastic trundk) if you will please go to www.oldcarandtruckpictures.com and get his address to let him know if it's ok or not. Thank you D.E.P.