Craftsman of the Decade: Louis Chenot

Craftsman of the Decade: Louis Chenot

Anyone of us who builds a really nice period-correct traditional hot rod or custom is a craftsman. Hours of fabricating, assembling and painting go into a quality build and the result is something that the average man on the street could never do, and sadly, has no clue how much work went into it to achieve that result. There are craftsman, and then there are guys like Louis Chenot who was named “Craftsman of the Decade” for his amazing work like this scratch built 1/6th scale 1932 Duesenberg SJ that actually runs.

Ponder these numbers: It took Louis six years to build, with over 15,000 hours invested to make every single hand-built detail 100% accurate and completely functional. The car has over 6,000 parts (966 just in the wheels and over 300 in the head, for example), and almost every part was built from raw materials like brass, wood and stainless steel. The supercharged motor runs on propane from it’s fuel tank, through the fuel pumps, and into it’s twin carburetor set up, turning 4100 rpm. Event the starter motor works. The clutch operates and the transmission shifts through all 3 gears and reverse. It’s all just mind-boggling to me that someone had the years-long patience and the exacting precision to see a ‘car project’ like this completely through… Your title is well deserved, Mr. Chenot.

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/chenot.htm

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