For more than a decade STREET RODDER has built one car a year to drive on our 25,000-mile Road Tour. Tour leader Jerry Dixey takes a pack of hot rodders across America and back, traveling to various car shows while taking in sights along the way (world's biggest ball of yarn, etc.).
Over the years, Dixey has driven coupes, roadsters, '50s-era Chevys, and '30s-era Fords, and in 2010 he's driving a Shadow Rods XL27 roadster. When discussions between STREET RODDER, Shadow Rods, and the car's builder, Zane Cullen (Cotati Speed Shop in Santa Rosa, California), turned to customizing the roadster beyond its stock state, the decision was made to give the car a historic look by adding a track nose. That facet of the build-the building of the nose and hood-was turned over to Clay Cook of C. Cook Enterprises in Erlanger, Kentucky, who are not only metal-shaping craftsmen but also sell a line of metal fabrication tools and machines.
In last month's issue of STREET RODDER, we examined how Cook created a wooden buck to help form both the hood and nose and, in this month's installment, the attention turns to the actual fabrication of the steel hood and nose, which was done in two locations cross country from each other at Cotati Speed Shop and C. Cook Enterprises.
Look for the finished, painted car in the November issue of STREET RODDER or at any of the events Jerry Dixey will be attending this year (a list of those shows can be found at www.streetrodderweb.com).
