Drake69 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) I may have posted this before but I can't seem to find the topic. My wife's father owned his own local Texaco shop here in Richmond and raced this Ford all along the eastern seaboard. The only reference points I have to build this car are historical pictures from the net (whatever I can find, anyway...), some sketchy memories from his kids who were really young (ages 2~5), and this only pic of his actual car: From my brother-in-law's recollection, the fenders and wheels were black, the body panels are burgundy, and the roof line is white all the way back to the rear bumper (CORRECTION: white to the bottom of the rear window, burgundy all the way down to the bumper...). The bumpers themselves were metal girders attached to the chassis by the frame rails, and very little, if any, logos were on the car save for his name, the "number 9" on the door panels, and MAYBE a Texaco label somewhere in the back. Since he ran his own Texaco shop, he wasn't much in the way of advertising for anybody else, so he didn't decorate his car like all the others. What I'd like to know is info and pointers from those of you who have built these old racers. Specifically, I picked out this kit to build the car off of... From the looks of the image on the box I suspect the car is lowered somewhat so I'll have to actually beef up the suspension some to make it more natural looking. Any thoughts on this, or am I using the wrong kit for this project? Edited January 16, 2015 by Drake69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigkenny Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The body is great,but the chassis will not work for this application.For starters,the kit is in 1/24th scale,and almost everything else you're gon na find,is in 1/25th.If my 74 year old memory serves me right,the pic looks to be from the early to mid 50s. Monogram had 1/24th '36 coupe,that you might be able to use for some parts.Grab a Revell '40 Coupe for its frame and other running gear.Don't get the one with the Columbia O.D.rear,and don't worry about it being 1/25th,it will work.The next thing you must do,is get your hands on a Replicas&MiniaturesCo.of Maryland catalog.They have just about anything else you'll need,wheels,shocks and a ton of flathead stuff.If at all possible,try to find a REAL car at a museum or collector.Y ou'll need to be creative,nobody from the past is going to critique your work.Hope I,ve been somewhar helpful.Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) You'll have to source wheels for the car too. The photo shows the '37-'39 "wide 5" style wheel, and there were several variations in width, from 3.5" on the V8-60 powered cars to 5" on some trucks. AMT '36 Fords have kinda pretty good stockers, but they lack the scalloped centers your photo shows. The Revell '37 Ford trucks have the scalloped centers, but unfortunately, part of the hubcap assembly is molded on to the wheel, and it completely obscures the signature "wide-5" bolt pattern. I know I've seen the correct wheels somewhere, either in a kit or in resin, but I can't recall where. Bigkenny is right about the chassis. All '35-'40 Fords are on essentially the same chassis, but the street-rod version with independent suspension that's under the kit you have isn't appropriate for a period stock-car racer. The frame and running gear from the Revell '40 coupe (the stock one) comes with the 2-speed Columbia rear end, which is also wrong for a race-car, but otherwise, with a few slight adjustments, should work fine. You'll need a non-overdrive rear end, and any of them from the Revell '48 Fords should be adaptable to the '40 chassis. Edited December 29, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigkenny Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The Wide-5 wheels that Ace is referring to is part # P-9 from Replicas&Miniatures Co.of Maryland. You'll still have to tweak them a bit,but they are a good start.Have fun and Happy New Year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Thanks a lot, guys! But due to money constraints I may stick with the kit's original chassis. I haven't completely decided on this yet, as I'm still going to search for the proper wheels and tires, but I don't think her family is going to notice the suspension ain't factory. Yes, everyone HERE will notice it though, and that's why I'm planning to build a more authentic racer sometime later this year when I have all my parts lined up (I've also got the '37 sedan Ford kit which has the same identical chassis...). BUT, one of my modelling friends pointed out that I don't need to run through all that when most of her family hasn't seen a '37 Ford racer since the early '50s anyway. Still, it never hurts to have knowledge from those that have invested their time and money into projects like these. Keep 'em coming! Edited December 29, 2014 by Drake69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigkenny Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 You could build it with what you have,the most important issue would be the stance and the wheel and tire combination,and the paint and lettering.As I understand it,you,re building it to go on a shelf,so it doesn't need to be as complicated as Ace and I are trying to make it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 You could build it with what you have,the most important issue would be the stance and the wheel and tire combination,and the paint and lettering.As I understand it,you,re building it to go on a shelf,so it doesn't need to be as complicated as Ace and I are trying to make it! Definitely, but it does help to know where to source the right parts for that authentic build. That's why I'm copying the text to Word doc so I can have a detailed reference point for my next one! And it doesn't hurt that I've found some great vintage pics online of these racecars, either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Great photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 (edited) Where I am now... Ford engine with flattop air cleaner and Stromberg carbs (what he ran)... Two-tone body... burgundy/white... I was already told by my brother-in-law that the paintjob on the body is "too pretty", even with a few flaws here and there. It seems Henry Sr. only cared about 2 things for his car... 1: Did the engine run right? And 2: Was his name on the car? Everything else was left alone. The car started life as a rusty burgundy coupe, so once he had the engine the way he wanted it he just slapped paint on it. So I'm going to spray the body with Dullcoat to bring down the shine of the paint before building, then plan to weather the chassis up with earth tones to simulate mud. Also, the chassis was black but I haven't got to it yet, Edited January 8, 2015 by Drake69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 More of the completed body, this time with the firewall. Will need to remember to paint that lower lip on the bottom of the body in the back.... From the front, showing the covered holes and firewall... Hopefully these skinny tires and bare rims will look relatively close to the real thing.... Better shot of the engine with the "floating" alternator. Will need to build a functional bracket for it soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Now I see why this model's suspension is all wrong. It seriously droops the front and makes the back look raked. So I decided to add blocks to the frame rail in the front to lift the body up some... Now it's not as low as it was before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Now the chassis doesn't look like it's dug in.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Engine mounted in... And seats thoroughly trashed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Interior completed with rollcage... Good shot with rollcage and dirty interior... Test shots with partially assembled chassis... To me, that front bumper rail looks too low, pretty sure it's due to the jacked up front end. I'll probably end up clipping and relocating the bumper support farther up so it looks more natural. Almost looks like an offroader in that shot. Edited January 15, 2015 by Drake69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Now, can anyone tell me EXACTLY what this piece is? It came with the kit but the instructions make no mention of what it's for. I believe it supports the hood to the engine bay (which is what I'm using it for, anyway...), but I want to be sure. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I believe that's part of the front suspension when using the stock transverse leaf spring, not sure what it's called? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Awesome. I'm going to fiddle with it and see if I can use it for some type of hood support, of which I have none. Car fenders are now on the body and are nice and level.... And a shot of the engine bay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Radiator screen from styrene strips and metal mesh... Stock 0.080 half round styrene rod shaped into support rod for mesh screen Hood supports will be next.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Radiator screen in place... . After some adjustments I made it look more natural fitting, so I'll get pix of that tomorrow. I also finished the hood support rods and am finally painting the hood, so the Ford will be completely assembled by tomorrow as well. And thanks to a member on here, I will have some nice "9" decals (they won't be exact but should look good anyway) as well as a vintage Texaco decal for the rear fender. Once those decals are in place I'll hand paint the "zoom stripes" behind the 9 decal in red and find out from my brother-in-law where his dad had his name on the car. One last detail. If you take a magnifying glass to the original pic you can see writing above the windshield. I initially thought that was where Henry's name would go, but it actually says "SPARROW" on it, hand-painted and everything. I will need to research that to see if it was a nickname he gave his car, and why he did that. It also looks like I'll be using a thin point Sharpie to write his name and anything else on the white roof, as I don't trust my hands to not be shaky with black paint on that white rooftop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Enhanced pic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Still doing a little touchup but it's almost complete... And the hood support rails came out pretty cool. I'm touching up the white spots now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemopar70 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Yoor '37 Ford looks really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thanks! Hood painted and done, waiting for the decals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 "SPARROW" on the car... Written by hand. Definitely made me nervous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Very cool project! There's a lot of interest in 1:1 vintage race cars now. Did the real car have the passenger seat? I would imagine some did. On my first race car, the guy that helped me build it painted "Rides 10 cents" on the door....he said we'd probably make more money that way than we would racin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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