# Looking to buy wood gas powered car
**URL:** http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [March 10, 2016, 6:09am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358 "2016-03-10T06:09:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aleksandrc](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/aleksandrc)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 6:09am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/1 "2016-03-10T06:09:04Z")
Hello everyone š
My wife and I are opening up a Sustainability Museum, and we want to
feature a wood gas powered car in the transportation exhibit.
Iām looking to buy or borrow (loan) a wood gas powered car, preferable something relatively compact and funky, like this :
Let me know if you have some small / mid-size wood gas powered car you would like to sell.
Alternatively, I have a classic VW Beetle, and Iād love to find somebody to help me retrofit it with a wood gasifier. While I have decent understanding of the wood gasification process,
modifying this car on my own is not an option due to the time limitation -
weāre looking to open the doors in early 2017.
I will appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Alex C
Vermont
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### Author:  [@Handy\_Andy](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Handy_Andy)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 11:27am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/2 "2016-03-10T11:27:31Z")
Hello Alex,
Welcome to the dark side.
You will not likely be able to buy a compact car on woodgas. there are only a couple on the site, and they are highly prized. You can occasionally find a woodgas truck for sale in the for sale section over here, [http://forum.driveonwood.com/c/for-sale](http://forum.driveonwood.com/c/for-sale)
If you want to go the build route, buy the book,Here [http://www.driveonwood.com/store/](http://www.driveonwood.com/store/) study it, watch the video tutorials, and we will be more than happy to help you with any questions or difficulties here on the forum.
Be advised that it will take you a few hundred hours to build, and then learn to operate well, If that doesnāt scare you off, then proceed!! and happy building.
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### Author:  [@MikeR](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/MikeR)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/3 "2016-03-10T15:19:37Z")
If you want to turn your VW Beetle into a wood-gas powered vehicle, you have come to the right forum!
There is much to learn here! š
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### Author:  [@aleksandrc](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/aleksandrc)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/4 "2016-03-10T15:31:56Z")
Thank you for the feedback and the welcome!
What I have not written in my original post (that is what happens when working late at night) is that buying is not an only option iām open to.
My wife and I are opening up a Sustainability Museum, and we want to feature a wood gas powered car in the transportation exhibit. So getting someoneās woodgas car on the loan would work for too.
While I have decent understanding of the wood gasification process, modifying my car on my own is not an option due to the time limitation - weāre looking to open the doors in early 2017.
---
### Author:  [@Handy\_Andy](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Handy_Andy)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/5 "2016-03-10T15:39:05Z")
Well, if you are only looking for a display, you could save a lot of time just doing a mockup of the external parts.
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### Author:  [@aleksandrc](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/aleksandrc)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/6 "2016-03-10T15:42:26Z")
Iāve thought about it, and I may do it if all else fails. Still keeping my hopes up š
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### Author:  [@TomC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/TomC)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/7 "2016-03-10T19:36:45Z")
Take your VW and mount a Gary Gilmore Simplifier on the back. That would be a 20 gal grease barrel with a intake in the bottom and an out port in the top. You load the barrel with charcoal and your are good to go. You can make it more sophisticated by running the exhaust to the intake port for a controlled burn and a simple filter for longevity of life on the engine. Done deal. TomC
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### Author:  [@Chris](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/8 "2016-03-10T19:42:37Z")
Something like this?
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### Author:  [@aleksandrc](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/aleksandrc)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/9 "2016-03-10T20:16:16Z")
yes, this is a picture i had in my mind! š
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### Author:  [@aleksandrc](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/aleksandrc)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/10 "2016-03-10T20:20:06Z")
It isnāt that i canāt build it - just getting a museum started in one year doesnāt give me the luxury of time to build things like this. Hence my interest in buying/loaning.
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### Author:  [@BrianHWA](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/BrianHWA)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/11 "2016-03-10T20:53:43Z")
It should be noted that one needs REALLY high quality charcoal for engine applications. Stuff out of a bag, even the ācowboyā/lump stuff might have some residual tars/unburned wood in it that can gum up an engine.
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### Author:  [@pepe2000](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/pepe2000)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/12 "2016-03-10T22:38:17Z")
Gordon Ooghe ran a VW engine with his wood gasifier. Yes, itās a big unit for a VW car, especially when the engine is in the rear. The possibility of powering machinery with this engine setup is there, however and would be a good demonstration to spark the enthusiasm for gasification. Check out his run here:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=degliUSLCBQ)
Pepe
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### Author:  [@aleksandrc](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/aleksandrc)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/13 "2016-03-11T17:10:04Z")
> [@BrianHWA](#):
>
> It should be noted that one needs REALLY high quality charcoal for engine applications. Stuff out of a bag, even the ācowboyā/lump stuff might have some residual tars/unburned wood in it that can gum up an engine.
This was my initial thought too when I first read about the āsimplifiedā method. Iām sure it has its appropriate place, but I wouldnāt dare use it especially as a first build.
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### Author:  [@BrianHWA](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/BrianHWA)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/14 "2016-03-11T17:26:08Z")
Building both a āSimpleFireā and a quality charcoal kiln are both far easier and less complicated than building a single raw-wood gasifier that makes appropriate clean gas.
For this reason, charcoal gasifiers ARE generally the first step one takes.
The main catch is that one loses a fair amount of BTUs of energy converting wood to charcoal. One either makes a way to make use of that ālostā heat (hot water, pizza ovens, etc.), or counts the loss.
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### Author:  [@Wallace](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Wallace)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2016, 3:15am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/15 "2016-03-12T03:15:17Z")
Alex:
Do you do you know where you found that picture?
Looks like an Opel from the 70s.
An early version of the Chevette " world car ".
I am going to rule out a Chevette/Acadian, Vauxhall or Holden because of the bumper/trim kit, and the steering wheel.
But there are a lot of versions of this car and I would like to know who owned it, where and when.
That is a very small and under powered car on gasoline to be running a gasifier.
My gut tells me this was from Germany or other Eu country where a Opel badge body of this type was soldā¦
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### Author:  [@Wallace](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Wallace)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2016, 3:22am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/16 "2016-03-12T03:22:28Z")
Pepe2000
There was a factory made version of the bug that used wood gas.
Before FahrvergnĆ¼gen Volkswagen came with wood burning Faszyzm.
Is that bad taste?
I hope no one is offended.
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### Author:  [@TomC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/TomC)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2016, 4:16am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/17 "2016-03-12T04:16:44Z")
Alex. The car in question is an Opel. The owner is from Germany and he is some kind of farm equipment sales person. That is a WWII gasifier that he refurbished and then built a rack on the Opel to hold it. Some where many years ago I saw the whole story with pictures of the construction. Iām not sure if I could find the information again. TomC
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### Author:  [@Wallace](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Wallace)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2016, 4:24am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/18 "2016-03-12T04:24:25Z")
Thank you Tom:
If you find more post it I would like to know more.
Is this a car converted in the 70s and is it still operational for example.
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### Author:  [@Chris](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2016, 4:42am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/19 "2016-03-12T04:42:29Z")
Here it is. [http://www.holzgas.ch/opel-kadett.shtml](http://www.holzgas.ch/opel-kadett.shtml)
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### Author:  [@TomC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/TomC)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2016, 5:02am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/looking-to-buy-wood-gas-powered-car/2358/20 "2016-03-12T05:02:51Z")
Thank you Chris. I donāt know how you find all that stuff so fast. I have a hard time remembering something and BANG you bring up the post. Amazing.TomC
Sorry I missed the āHnangoutā tonight. from 5;00 to 7.30 I was trying to get my tablet to work. It says I have to change toe ādesk top modeā but it sure as hell doesnāt tell me how. Maybe I just come in with my mic. and no picture next time on my big computer. You donāt need to look at my face anyway. "
š
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