then the wood needs some sawing as well. Ron built the car rib by rib. The photos doesn’t do the car justice. All “scratches” and spots works as reflexes in the shiny epoxy varnish. There is not a mark on the car. The deapth is amazing.
180 clamps where in the shop and most of them were put to work duting the project. The dash is made by “curly maples”. He also wanted the chairs to be by another tree and so he chose cypress.
He builds the entire vehicle without blueprints or images, the man that built boats
and canoes for years. The bottle hanging in the work shop in a huge format wasn’t just an ad sign. Dan painted it as a school project.
The rod has double fuel tanks enbeded in-between the frame beams in the rear.
– For these ones I went with soutern yellow pine, Ron simply says.
– B-but it’s supposed to hold tight against gasoline and pine isn’t exactly the most massive of woods, I said trying to sound intelligent.
– It’s not necessary either, he said. The tanks were easy to make. The grill was more difficult. It has 67 separate wooden pieces.
A gas tank in pine?! Almost getting crazy mad of how crazy good people are.
67 parts. Furniture wood work in birch and mahogny. And then wood that always moves around, expand and is very dynamic. It isn’t weld-able either. Awesome.
We walk down to the boat pier. He has his own sailboat vinched. The construction is of course self made. It’s fully possible to buy one but Don Koontz created a design of his own. He built the boat himself too.
– Our family have had some good times in this one, he says and I can’t keep from staring at the placement of the huge boat.
– What, oh that, well, but it felt natural to put it there and it’s working for us, Don says, simply.
We take a ride in the woody and I’m expecting some rattle and noise but I hear nothing. The frame is short and stiff and the body solid. A strange feeling. It’s like doing 60 mph in drawer. The finish is incredible after 12 years.
– Well, the Expxy didn’t do so well in the sun. It got milky so I had to grind it all down after a year or two and remix it but now its pretty solid.
The guy in shorts is 68. The wind is blowing through his hair. He’s late on the breaks as he turns on to a small road with the wheels seeking grip and he smiles.
-I’ve worked with cars for 60 years and with boats in 30. This is my life, he says with the sun shining in his face.
Killen i kortbyxor är 68. Vinden blåser i håret. Han bromsar sent och svänger av från huvudvägen med hjulen kämpande efter fäste och ler. -Jag har hållit på med bilar i 60 år och med båtar i 30. Det här är mitt liv, säger han med solen i ansiktet.