17-YEAR '56 CHEVY (ZRODZ AND CUSTOMS)
Client:
ZRodz and Customs
Date:
Mid 2020-present
Designer(s)
Eric Brockmeyer
Shane Rienks
Like the 2024 Mercury Cougar project and others, I have been involved in several major steps of this project - including metal fabrication and sheet metal shaping. The design render shown above is by Eric Brockmeyer.
My roles thus far on this project:
Working from Brockmeyer's initial design rendering, I am developing the entire interior and choosing all of the components, along with laying out the various ergonomics for the customer. This includes finding the most comfortable height/angle for the gauges, dashboard, arm rests, shifter handle, seats, etc. as well as laying out the ideal in-cabin speaker locations, screen placements, and all other details pertaining to the interior of a car.
Modeling the front grill that was cut out of billet aluminum (below pictures)
Designing and modeling the door handles (not shown - will update when completed)
Modeling the billet aluminum trim pieces that span the entire length of the car on either side (will add pictures)
Modeling the hood scoop and inner-hood air intake system (not shown - will update).
Modeling all under hood closeout panels
Sheet metal shaping, fabricating, TIG welding. I built the entire firewall, kick panels, and sections of the floor board on this car from scratch - some of this process is shown in the below pictures. I also did a lot of fabricating in the door jam areas, rear trunk jam, and other smaller sections to accommodate new OEM components from modern cars, such as electronic latches.
I am currently CAD modeling the entire interior. The interior will be made by ZRodz and Fiber Forged Composites using a combination of carbon fiber, billet aluminum CNC machining, 3D printing, and CNC routing. Some of the rough surfaces you see in the pictures are the 3D scan data of the car and it's components (such as the shiny silver surfaces), while the other objects are my designs/models in-progress.