BIG Hotrod Toy

I had seen various "Hotrod" inspired wooden models on the internet and decided I would quite like to make one.

Is this a BIG TOY or a small truck? You decide for the Big or Small contest

I hunted around an found some pictures that I liked an based my sizes and parts on them, obviously you can make this as simple or detailed as you wish, I was going more for "in the style of" rather than mechanical accuracy.

This is going to be a 2nd birthday present for a coworkers son.

Various Offcuts of timber Rimu, Totara, Kauri, Teak, Kwila etc, these were mainly rescued from roadside council inorganic dumps, bits of broken furniture etc. I will try and detail what came from where in the narrative.

Bamboo skewers and chopsticks

Dowels

Drill

Bits including Forstner bits and spade bits

Hole saws

Tablesaw

Bandsaw

Table sander

Using a paper template and a piece of Kwila from a broken garden chair I cut out 2 chassis rails using my bandsaw.

These were then thoroughly sanded and drilled for the axles.

From a discarded drying rack I cut 2 lengths of dowel as axles, at the time I didn't have a large enough drill bit for them to fit in the chassis rails so I sanded the ends down to the largest that I had (I have since bought a large set of Forstner bits (0.25 to 3.5 inches) so I won't have to do that again!)

The axles were fitted in the chassis and a bamboo skewer was also used at each end as a "fender".

The whole thing was checked as square and parallel and glued up, the ends of the skewers were then cut off flush with the chassis rails. The distance between the rails is 70mm.

Four discs were cut from a piece of Rimu (from a broken cupboard door) then bolted together on a long M6 bolt, mounted in a battery drill and then smoothed out on the table sander.

Once they were sanded (and all the same size) they were glued to the axles, when dry the protruding axle ends were cut off flush.

Now a Hotrod needs a V8

I cut a block of Totara (from a joist donated by a friend after his house renovation, over 100 years old!) and then cut 2 x 45 degree angles on the block.

This was then sanded.

I cut 2 short pieces of Kwila as cylinder heads and using a Fostner bit drilled recesses to represent the cylinders, these were then glued and dowelled with Bamboo to the block.

I also made an airbox/inlet and dowelled that in the "Vee" of the engine.

I measured carefully and drilled 4 holes each side for the exhausts, the drilled corresponding holes in 2 pieces of dowel.

these were then joined to the block using short lengths of bamboo skewer.

A short piece of bamboo skewer was also inserted in the manifold end as an exhaust tip (this may get modified later)

A circle was cut out using a hole saw then shaped on the bandsaw, sanded and dowelled to the front of the block to represent a radiator fan.

I also added a block to the rear to represent a transmission, a sump block and a small plug to represent an oil filter.

The engine was then installed in the chassis. Initially I was just going to drill through the chassis and block and join the engine using bamboo dowels, however I wasn't happy with it, so instead made 4 small squares as engine mounts, glued them to the block then drilled and dowelled through them.

It looks much neater.

I cut another slice of Totara and marked out a radiator shape, I then routed out the centre and sanded to give the impression of a surround and grille.

TBH if I were to do this again I would make it in 2 pieces (cut out a surround first on a scroll saw, and then make a grille backplate and glue together)

I then shaped the outside and made a bonnet ornament from a chopstick square end.

I also made to support brackets to fit from chassis to radiator

I gave it all a couple of coats of polyurethane varnish and left to dry.

Using the Totara once again, I first ran it through the tablesaw to get the right width.

I then marked off the wheel size I wanted with a compass and using a forstner bit cut a recess for the inside of the wheel

Then I used the pillar drill and cut the outside diameter (which coincidentally corresponded with the size of my largest holesaw)

I then mounted the wheel on a long M6 bolt and put in the drill chuck to allow me to sand the outside.

I also drilled from the outside with 2 different diameter forstner bits to simulate the wheel and hub.

Using a sharp chisel I cut slots to represent tread. I then offered them up to the chassis to see if they looked ok.

The rear wheels were made in a similar fashion from a piece of 4x2, main differences are they are larger diameter and wider, I didn't have a larger holesaw, so I cut the basic shape out on the bandsaw and then finished on the woodlathe.

Once all sanded I gave them a coat of varnish, I may stain the rear wheels as they are lighter than the fronts.

I Placed the wheels on the body (not fixed on at this point) to see if I was happy with how they looked.

I am satisfied with the stance

I drew out the body shape I wanted on some paper, I had a choice, Roadster, Saloon (Sedan), Pickup, but decided to go for a Truck.

I cut out the 2 sides together by taping the 2 pieces of Rimu (from an old chest of drawers) together, There was a bit of "fettling" required to get them to fit especially around the exhaust area.

Once happy I cut the "firewall" from another piece of Rimu, sanded everything then glued and dowelled the 3 pieces together.

When they were all glued and clamped I measured and cut a roof and after sanding I glued and dowelled the roof to the sides. Once the glue has dried I will cut off all the excess dowel and sand the body as a complete unit.

I sanded the body and once again loosely fitted the wheels to again check that I was still on track with my original idea.

Time to fit the wheels!

I cut 4 Rimu circles with a holesaw and glued a 6mm dowel in each, then set aside to dry.

Once the glue had dried I put them in the pillar drill chuck and sanded them to a dome (hubcap) shape.

I drilled each hub on the chassis and then attached the wheels to the frame, to make sure that the wheels turn freely I used candlewax on the hub, axle shaft running through the wheel and the underside of the "hubcap"

I cut a rear door and glued and pegged it into position

I cut 2 pieces, one for the drivers floor and one for the truck bed.

I also cut 2 seat backs and squabs, these were then sanded and dowelled together.

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The seats were glued to the floor, Initially I thought glue would be sufficient for both the floors and seats, however later they came loose so I dowelled the seats to the floor and the floor to the chassis.

In a similar fashion to the wheel hubs, I cut a circle with a holesaw, glued it onto a dowel and sanded in the pillar drill to make a steering wheel and column. I drilled an angled hole in the floor to mount the assembly

I varnished the floors, seats and steering column and the inside of the truck body prior to fitting the body. Once the body was fitted I varnished all the outside.

Varnish dry, time for pictures, Banana for scale :-)