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25 Ford Model-T Tow Truck - update: 05/11/13


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I've been trying to concentrate on cleaning my basement lately, but have managed a bit of bench time. Most of this has been concentrated on the engine & tranny.

These shafts will support the pedals; low-neutral-high, reverse & brake. I drilled out the mounting holes on the tranny cover plate as well for some added detail.

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Pedals are made from brass; 3/64" round tube and 1/64" by 1/32" flat bar soldered together.

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Here's how they mount on the side of the transmission. You can see that the center shaft needs some trimming. Actually, all three need trimming to help narrow down the whole assembly.

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Each one is bent differently to line up correctly as they extend up through the floor. I had originally planned on making the foot pads on each pedal out of brass, but have since decided to use styrene. This will eliminate the need for more soldering heat that could affect the existing joints.

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Here's some work on the manifold. The exhaust and intake manifolds don't bolt directly to the side of the block. They are held in place by a series of "T" clamps which are not molded into the AMT part. I added these using some Evergreen half-round rod and miniature hex bolts. There should be a fourth one in the rear, but there's no section of exhaust manifold in that area to support it. The upper and lower (exhaust/intake) sections of the manifold had to be cut into pieces and reassembled closer together to accommodate these clamps.

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You can also see some work done to the head. The top radiator hose and outlet are grossly unrealistic. It reminded me of the turkey neck from our Thanksgiving dinner. It,was cut off, and a flange was glued in its place. This will be followed by a new radiator hose. There's not much room for this with the engine and radiator mounted in place, but I'll come up with something. The red putty is covering up a pin mark. AMT could not have found a worse place to put it. Very difficult to get to with all the surrounding bolt detail.

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Alyn, your work is just amazing, I wouldn't even consider going that far, but you do it regularly. Keep at it, I'll be over here drooling and mumbling in the corner some more...

Thanks, Mike.

I think you hit upon it; "going that far". I think a good job is dependent on the willingness to spend the time. Every bit as important as talent or skill.

You sir, have the same affliction :)

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Thank you all for the great comments. How fun would this be if we weren't able to share with each other on the forum. Being part of the community is an important and very satisfying part of this hobby.

Here's the tiniest thing I've ever attempted with the soldering iron. This is the starting switch. It consists of four parts. The outer ring is a slice of aluminum tube that has been rounded over and polished. The black section is styrene painted in black primer. The switch part consists of the brass lever soldered to the head of a brass brad. this is then inserted into the black styrene.

The other bezel will be an amp gauge, and the red knob operates a rod to the carburetor to adjust mixture. I still need to find a decal small enough for the amp gauge. This might even force me to try home made decals.

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A few posts back I remarked about a lousy location Revell used for an ejector pin; the top of the motor amongst the head bolts. Well, I found one even worse. My scratch built radiator tank was too close to the engine to allow room for an upper radiator hose, so I had to strip the radiator and cut down the tank. While doing so, I noticed the ejector pin mark on the front of the radiator shell. It surrounds the Ford emblem, and cuts across some of the lettering and some of the bead rolls in the radiator shell. Who's idea was this !

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That was my idea Alyn, sorry! B)

It does make ya wonder if they're even paying attention when they tool these things up, doesn't it?

Between this and the sprue attachment points for chrome parts, it really does make you wonder.

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yea Alyn they do what ever is the easiest I think!! if you could just stretch that out onto an oval around the letters ;) beautiful work brother!!

That's a good idea, Bill, but couldn't AMT use oval shaped ejector pins???

Here's what I've been up to the last few days.

Old style ground strap. This started out as the ground shield on some old headphone cable. The newer stuff doesn't use this any more. Too bad. I pulled the wire apart and crushed the braided shield flat in some non-serrated pliers. The end is some .003" aluminum with a Grandt Line bolt to fasten it down. It will end up attached to the bell housing.

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Here's the live side. A small section of brass tubing with the end flattened and drilled makes up the cable lug. Grandt Line again on the bolt. This one will attach to the starter motor.

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and ...

The paint is starting to flow.

I mixed up a combination of green, dark blue and flat white from the little 1/4 oz. Testors enamel bottles and airbrushed the engine block and head. The head isn't glued on yet, so the gasket isn't seated. It should look better once it's clamped and glued in place. The lower radiator tube and hose is brass and heat shrink tubing with .003" bright aluminum used for hose clamps. You can see the small hole in the side of the bell housing where the ground strap will connect. I'll have to scrape the paint away to get a good electrical connection.

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Thanks for the great encouragement, y'all :)

James, glad to hear you like the yellow 29. I've gotten a lot of good feedback on that one. There's a half dozen pics in my gallery if you haven't seen them yet.

Mike, you're too kind my friend. The lug is pretty simple. It's a short length of 1/32" brass tube with 1/2 flattened and drilled. The only thing special I did was to insert a brass rod half-way in the tube prior to squshing the flat side. This helped to force a sharp transition between the round end and the flat side. Then it was just a matter of filing off the corners of the flat side and drilling the hole. The cable is the ever popular 30g wire-wrap wire. I'm not sure it was such a good choice. The plug wires will be a similar diameter (.020"). In reality, this cable should be larger than the plug wires. I'm trying to decide if or what I should do about it. I don't want to make another lug for larger wire because I think the lug looks just right.

Back to the bench

You too, Bill. You've got some soldering to attend to.

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Thanks for the idea, Joe. I do have some pretty small diameter heatshrink tubing, but I think it would add too much thickness to the wire. I may just build it up with a few coats of Future and then dull it down.

Your enthusiasm is contagious, Richard. Thanks for checking in.

Here's an update from the past few days work.

First off, I hate doors and hoods that don't stay closed, or don't set right. To make sure that isn't a problem, I imbedded a small rare earth magnet in the door. The magnet is only 1/16" in diameter so it was easy enough to drill a shallow hole and press it in with a dab of glue. There will be a corresponding strip of ferrous metal on the front edge of the seat frame to attract the magnet.

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My research pics have shown additional running board bracing that isn't included in the AMT kit. The bracing was duplicated using some 1mm square and flat Evergreen rod.

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Here's the frame mocked up with the fenders and running boards. On the rear brace, the center section of the longest rod (the top one when viewing upside down) will be cut out later. It is only there now for strength during the construction phase.

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Just like the rear axle, AMT's offering for a front axle could be improved. You can clearly see the metal axle that crosses behind the plastic axle and leaf spring. I dipped the axle in Blacken It to see if that would hide it, but finally decided that was only marginally better. Considering the detail the rest of this little truck is getting, I decided to take on the front axle as well.

The ends of the axle were modified to accept a steering knuckle/spindle. This part was made up from some 1/16" brass rod and tube, soldered together and filed to shape.

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Here's the knuckles fitted to the axle

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Finally, here's a mock-up shot of the truck up on it's wheels. The modifications to the front axle were only meant to get rid of the full width metal axle. The steering capability is a plus. A tie-rod and pitman arm will need to be constructed to finish it off.

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Edited by Alyn
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That's a good idea, Bill, but couldn't AMT use oval shaped ejector pins???

Here's what I've been up to the last few days.

Old style ground strap. This started out as the ground shield on some old headphone cable. The newer stuff doesn't use this any more. Too bad. I pulled the wire apart and crushed the braided shield flat in some non-serrated pliers. The end is some .003" aluminum with a Grandt Line bolt to fasten it down. It will end up attached to the bell housing.

Picture%20230b.jpg?psid=1

Here's the live side. A small section of brass tubing with the end flattened and drilled makes up the cable lug. Grandt Line again on the bolt. This one will attach to the starter motor.

Picture%20231b.jpg?psid=1

and ...

The paint is starting to flow.

I mixed up a combination of green, dark blue and flat white from the little 1/4 oz. Testors enamel bottles and airbrushed the engine block and head. The head isn't glued on yet, so the gasket isn't seated. It should look better once it's clamped and glued in place. The lower radiator tube and hose is brass and heat shrink tubing with .003" bright aluminum used for hose clamps. You can see the small hole in the side of the bell housing where the ground strap will connect. I'll have to scrape the paint away to get a good electrical connection.

Picture%20234b.jpg?psid=1

i love how you replicated the grounding strap real inventive, your work is outstanding, true artist...........

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