Yes, that's the car!
Below is the blurb with the story about the building of this car.
There is no hint as to why it looks almost identical to the David Ross wooden car posted by RayTheRat a couple of posts up with a link a bit further down to that car when it was puzzled here, posted by pnegyesi. That car was built 1962-7 so one can only assume that Mr Bruce used it as a template and copied the design for his own car, but this is not acknowledged at all and he claims it to be all his own design. It's far too similar to be that; it's a copy!
QUOTE
John Bruce loves unusual cars. In the spring, summer and fall he and his wife Marg can be seen around Scugog driving a wooden car. Yes, you read that right – it’s made out of wood! John had always liked the lines of the open sports cars that he had seen around during his youth, so he decided to build his own - out of wood !
In 1969 while working as a woodworking teacher at Fairmont Park School in Toronto, he bought an old 1960 Volkswagen Beetle for twenty dollars! The car was not running so he and his father towed it home from Etobicoke, stripped the body off and began working on a car of his own design.
“The VW is a great car for this kind of project as it has a flat platform.” says John. “There have been many replicas and dune buggies built on this chassis but I wanted to build my own unique vehicle,” he adds.
Using ribbon grain mahogany, for the fenders and other curved sections and birds eye maple for the more solid sections, he spent a year designing and building the body for the car.
Volkswagen electrics and mechanicals were used throughout the vehicle. It had its first test run in 1970. The car is equipped with all the safety features, brakes, turn signals, brake lights, seat belts, windshield wiper etc. After ironing out all the problems it passed licensing and certification with flying colours and was licensed as a Volkswagen.
“Over the years it has been extremely reliable and continues to pass the safety tests,” John states with pride.
He calls it a “Brucemobile,” explaining he was out driving one day when I saw a car from Nova Scotia with a license plate holder from Bruce Chevrolet and Oldsmobile, of Middleton Nova Scotia. “Obviously a GM dealership, I wrote to them, explained my project and asked if I could have one of their license plate frames. They sent me several,” he smiles.
“I took the word ‘Bruce’ and the last half of Oldsmobile to enable me to have the nameplate Brucemobile.” John then pointed with pride to the emblem at the front of the car.
The car is not without some challenges.
“The car is never driven in rain,” John declares. “I got caught once in the rain. Afterwards I checked it out carefully but several weeks later I noticed a small blemish from the moisture which had seeped underneath the varnish and into some of the wood.”
“On one occasion he had parked the car at a mall parking lot and came out, just as some teenagers were trying to pry off a headlight. “I yelled and they ran away. If I been a few moments later, they would have taken it off,” he says.
John had laboriously turned the maple headlight buckets on a lathe.
When their children, Melanie, Stewart and Colleen were students at Port Perry High School, John would occasionally drive them to school, one at a time of course since it is only a two seater. The car never failed to attract a group of admiring teenagers.
John and his wife Marg have taken a keen interest in many kinds of antiques. Their home just north west of Port Perry has many items of an antique nature. They also have a small collection of unusual and interesting antique cars including a 1928 Model A Ford Touring. But his pride of choice is his wooden Brucemobile.
No matter where they go it always draws a crowd of curious onlookers. Marg added, “it’s a great way to meet interesting people.”
Both John and Marg have retired from their teaching careers and are frequently seen driving around enjoying the countryside in their unique vehicle, “Just on the pleasant dry days,” John adds.
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