147 replies to this topic

[bryan_m]

Will, i love how youve got the exhaust coming out of the engine side covers! very nice touch, and that quick change rear diff looks great as well.

one question: where did you get the duvall windshield? i love those, they look all mean and laid back........like theyre goin fast just standing still!
lemme know, thanks will!

cheers
bryan

[Ace-Garageguy]

Thanks Bryan.

The DuVall is from the AMT '32 Phantom Vickie.

[doggie427]

Beautiful work !

[vintagedragfan]

great work William!, keep at it buddy

[Ace-Garageguy]

First off, please pardon the fuzzy pix. Seems I'm a camera doofus today. Had to rebuild my Dremel and dropped some little parts too. Doofus all around today.

Painted the engine about the right green for a 303 Olds after drilling the spark plug holes and the oil filler tube.



.....Started making up a Carson-style top from a '55 T-Bird unit.....



Chopped it to get the profile...



Narrowed it, shaped it to match the Vee of the DuVall, and will have to make corner extensions to match.....



And will set in an oval back glass from another parts-bin top....

[aksarben]

That top is looking cool Bill, nice mod.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Thanks. I promise the top will look WAY mo' cooler in a bit. It looks pretty not-so-hot at the moment, but it's progressing well......have to build the front corners up and add a little material back to the bottom, but there's a plan in action.

Again, sorry about the blurry pix. A good reminder to not get in a hurry.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Rear rolled pan with the rigid-foam corner-fillers filled with epoxy/cotton flock slurry, as well as the corners of the Carson-style top. This stuff is WAY stronger than bondo or any other conglomeration of baking soda / superglue or whatever...I don't like to have my work break and fall off. Or shrink excessively.

I've also reinforced the inside of the pan-to-body joint with fine glass cloth, as I want to deeply scribe the joint line on the outside.



.....the result, just about ready for primer....

Edited by Ace-Garageguy, 30 September 2012 - 10:58 AM.

[Bernard Kron]

Hi Bill. Looks very nice. The proportion and depth on that pan looks just right!

Since I can't use CA at all I am always on the lookout for alternatives. And I have not exactly been in love with most hobby-level fillers, so this approach has caught my eye. Can you give us more detail on the epoxy/cotton thing and maybe the rigid foam thing, too... Oh, and the fine glass cloth, which I have seen you use before but have neglected to ask about... Presumably all this is held together with your epoxy weapon of choice. Thanx!

[MachinistMark]

This looks fantastic. Really really fantastic

[Ace-Garageguy]

Again, thatks for the interest. Bernard, I'm going to do a how-to on some of the epoxy stuff shortly.

Only recent progress is the fitting of the stock 303 Olds valve covers I've been waiting for ever since the Revell '50 Olds kit was announced. In truth, their announced pending-availability was a large part of the inspiration for this bilid. Years ago. Alloy adapter and top-shift LaSalle almost done too, so the shifter hole can go in the right place in the trans hump now.



FYI: For anybody who didn't see my post in the '50 Olds kit review thread, the new Revell Olds engine is in the background for reference. It comes with a 3-speed manual Olds-Cad-LaSalle side-shift gearbox, appropriate for many hot-rod applications. ALL the speed equipment from prior AMT and Revell Olds 303-324-371-394 ('49-'63) engines will fit the new engine in the new Revell '50 Olds kit. The finned valve covers on it are small block Chevy (later Olds valve covers would have 3 bolt-holes on the bottom rail, not two) but the Olds parts fit just as well.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy, 03 October 2012 - 01:44 PM.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Frame rail reveals about done....



....as is the rear rolled-pan.

[bryan_m]

very nice! the frame and the roll pan look excellent

cheers
bryan

[Ace-Garageguy]

The inspiration for the Carson-style top idea came from the Bill Cox '32 cabriolet, a February 1961 Rod and Custom feature car, currently nearing completion in the shop here. It's being restored to its '61 condition, after having been through a sucession of owners and modifications. It's slated to be re-introduced at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, Ca., in January.

Anyway, I liked the lines of this custom top so much that I decided to do something similar for this build. Though the 1:1 Cox car doesn't have the laid-back DuVall windshield, this is the look I'm going for, with the curved side-window opening, etc.



The rear 3/4 view works very nicely with the rear line of the '32 body.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy, 21 October 2012 - 05:51 AM.

[Joker]

Keeping an eye on your engine build Bill.
I've got a '50 Olds in the works and I'm looking
to "hot rod" the engine even tho it's going
into a Kustom.Waiting to see what kind of intake
manifold you install as well as the carbs (number of).

[Joker]

Forgot to say that the Carson Top is another feature
I'm keeping an eye on too.

Thanks for sharing the body work pics Bill

[crazyrichard]

very very cool build !!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Getting real close to paint, and I've never been 100% happy about the way the decklid fit the opening. So, now's the time to fix it. Added a little styrene strip to the bottom edge of the lid, and a little to the right side. Then started squaring up the hole. I just can't bear wonky.

The deck will be hinged from the front as a decklid, not from the rear as a rumble seat.

[MachinistMark]

Amazing work bill. Simply amazing. I love it.

[Road Runner 79]

Looking good !