SEMA

I made a run into Minneapolis the other day to visit Jon Kosmoski, the man who founded House of Kolor paint. I’ve talked about Jon before, how after he sold the company to Valspar he refused to even consider a conventional retirement. Preferring instead to convert what were the paint manufacturing buildings into a very nice personal shop.

Jon always seems to keep about three projects going at one time. How he manages this I’m not sure. You might say it’s easy because he’s retired, but he continues to do so many paint seminars each year that the word retired just doesn’t fit. At any rate, when I stopped by he was happy to show me two of his current projects, one with two wheels and one with four.

The two wheeler is a “softail” frame with an interesting gas tank, and all the pieces you need to build a very nice hot rod. The motor is a 121 inch V-twin from TP, there’s a six-speed transmission, two billet wheels, and a Cerriani fork assembly.

Big motor, fat rear tire, interesting sheet metal, just the ingredients needed to cook up a sexy pro street bike.

Jon’s other project, the one that is finished (in theory at least) is a much bigger project. At first glance it’s a ’33 or ’34 Ford Cabrio, but on further inspection, it’s much more than that. There aren’t very many ’34 Ford convertibles with a chopped top that tucks away under a hinged steel toneau cover.

The simplest way to explain the Ford is to explain that the body and frame were manufactured by American Speed Company. They call it the American Speed 33, but Jon put in a ’34 grille so he calls it a ’34 Ford. Needless to say the body is all steel, all new and features a host of features that Henry never dreamed of. Like curved side windows that go up and down at the press of a button, and an interior that’s been tweaked to give the driver and passenger more room than in a stock ’33 or ’34 Ford.

Crop tight to eliminate the yellow shit on the right side. Caption: Manufactured by American Speed Company and Assembled by Jon Kosmoski, this is one very special ’34 Ford. Note the chopped top and leaned-back windshield frame.

"It’s a nice package," explains Jon. "But it’s still a hell of a lot of work to assemble and paint. I built this car in seven months, in order to get it done in time for SEMA. I think that’s pretty good for me and just one helper. We had to fit everything, do all the wiring, installed the drivetrain, the air conditioning, and do the paint of course. The only thing I didn’t do is the interior, and some of the exhaust work.”

Jon showing off his very neat stainless exhaust system.

When I stopped by, Jon was fixing a few little issues that showed up after the car was assembled. Once that’s done, then it’s on to the motorcycle, and at least one more complete car project. And unlike some of us, Jon doesn’t just start projects, he always finishes them.

Even Edsel didn’t think up anything quite this trick for stowing the convertible top.

If the SEMA show isn't the biggest trade show in the country, it's certainly the best, at least from a motorhead's perspective. SEMA includes everything that's even remotely automotive, from A to Z, enough to fill the three halls at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Though a lot of people predicted a poorly attended show, the motorheads of the world turned out in force for this year's SEMA show.

If you don't like Tuner cars, that's OK because there are plenty of good old American hot rods – some with a twist. Like the old Chrysler wagon that's hardly recognizable as a Mopar. The more typical hot rods are there in force as well. Early Fords line the aisles. Some in raw steel, some in glass, some finished and painted. If you want a steel roadster body, there are at least two manufacturers at SEMA who can hook you up.

This old Mopar was just too cool.

There are just as many stories as there are cars and motorcycles. Like James Levey, who built the bike with the radial engine. If you ask why, he laughs and explains that he's trained as an airplane mechanic. "I had this bike planned out in my head for years and years," says James. "I built the first one, and thought that would be the last, but then I got this phone call so we built another and then another. Now we're up to bike number four." The airplane theme is carried over to the paint.

The radial engine bike, with builder/designer James Levey, and painter JoAnn Bortels.

JoAnn Bortels painted the "panels" and the rivets that hold them together. She also added the requisite WWII fighter painted on the back fender and pin-up on the gas tank.

As you can see here, JoAnn is a very talented airbrush artist.

The other young man living his dream is Scott Chenoweth, designer of the one-off exotic you see here.

Scott did the all-American thing, went to college like Mom and Dad wanted, earned good grades, qualified for scholarships, and graduated. After graduation he got the good job in Corporate America. Was he happy? No. Did he quit the good job? Yes! "My mom cried when I called and said I'd given my notice," explains Scott.

After quitting the good job Scott and his wife moved to California so he could attend the College of Art and Design. After that, it was back to the Midwest where Scott landed the job of designing the Caccia, seen in a nearby photo. Building the body started with a 1/5th scale clay model. Those dimensions were transferred to foam so a full size body from glass could be crafted. "If there's enough interest James Hunt, the owner, will have a mold manufactured so we can build four or five cars," explains Scott. "But at this point it's a one-off creation."

 
At SEMA, there's a story behind every new carburetor, cylinder head or brake caliper. They say the hot rod business is fueled by gasoline, but I think in truth it's fueled by dreams and passion.

This is Scott’s first full design job, though likely not his last. Everything except the Chevy engine and some borrowed components like the light assemblies, is hand crafted.