Sheila taught herself how to drive a stick, in Boston traffic, in a clapped-out 1971(ish) Fiat 124 Sport Coupé. That is just one of many outstanding accomplishments that made her supremely attractive.
We married and close to 45 years later we're still together. Without her Co-Hog would never have been successful. I'm finally making her a Co-Hog version of ‘paisano' for her memories shelf.
Currently, the major creative steps have been completed. Drawings have been developed. The main blocks have been glued up. Wheel wells and bumper slots have been cut. The overall side body profile is close and the end view surfaces have been cut and rough sanded.
To start a piece, I find suitable reference photos and drawings, thank you internet. The standard Co-Hog Special Edition tire size, 1 1/8" (28.6 mm), is used to scale the rest of the car. Multiple tissue overlays were used to section and modify the body to my liking.
The three basic construction blocks could then be sized. They were cut, planed, and sanded to thickness from jelutong wood. Note the measurements near the nose in the drawing used for rough sizing.
The lower two blocks were temporarily held together with 8-32 socket head cap screws. That allowed separation later for cutting the bumper openings.
Proper marking out and 3D checking was done next. Clear acrylic templates with axle center locations were used to mark the wheel well shapes.
A sacrificial block was used to cleanly bore out the tire clearances and start the wheel well arches.
Using the drill press allowed minute adjustments to manage the depth. Then careful sanding finished the wheel well outlines.
The main blocks were separated in order to cut the front and rear bumper openings. Using a dado blade, a small cut width (~3/8" - ~9.5 mm), and multiple passes kept the dado flat enough for accurate flattening afterwards.
Next was a quick reality check with the two lower blocks screwed back together.
The front grill and bumper area were a bit more complicated to dado. It will take some time to create the plan view curves and headlights.
Prototype wheels have been turned from maple to start stance adjustments. I always blather on about stance, but without proper attention, the car will look just plain wrong. Even worse is to abdicate doing wheels and tires all together to end up with a curvaceous lump. (We’ll see if that lighted match in the petrol will ignite any discussion!)
As progress is made, you’ll see it here first!
To see more Co-Hog Special Editions just click the link.