Eric Macleod Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I have been playing around with this one for awhile. Lots of work still to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) Here is a bit of background on this one. My dad's first car was a 1926 Ford Model T Fordor (yes, that is the correct spelling) Sedan. He bought the car in pieces in 1953 for $50.00. He sold the car when he went to college but was able to buy back the car in 1970. We have had the car ever since. The 1:1 car has a mostly original interior and undercarriage. I rebuilt the engine 20 years ago and have used the car ever since.A holy grail has been to create a model of this car. What I have done so far is to take a Revell '26 Ford Tudor, ground off the door moldings and cut the body off from the beltline up. I retained the top. Then I took a front body section of a AMT '25 T coupe and used it for the front door tops. I used another front half of a '25 T coupe and used the front of the rear windows. For the rear part of the rear windows and aft pillars I used more '25 Coupe parts. Finally, I used the back of another Revell '26 T Tudor body for the backlight and the upper portion of the rear body.I glued these pieces to the retained top and then wedded the assembly to the Tudor lower body. Lots of filler and sanding later and you have the product you see above.Showing my hand just a little, this is going to be the centerpiece of a complete set of all six of the bodystyles of the car Ford marketed as the "Improved Ford" for 1926. This will include the easy one, the '26 Touring, a model I have already finished, a '26 Runabout (unequipped), '26 Coupe, '27 Tudor, and the '27 Roadster Pickup.More to come soon. Edited October 8, 2015 by Eric Macleod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Ambitious. It'll be interesting to see where this ends up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 It helps to have the 1:1 car in the garage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Tonight I worked on wheels and some chassis details. Sharp eyes will notice that the tires don't match and there is a non-matching wheel in the mix also. That is the way dad's car is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Very interesting project... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Eric, I did this conversion almost 16 years ago. If you need any help on it, please ask--I've got some in progress pics still. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Engine and firewall details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 While my father was teaching a history class at our local university he used the Model T as a prop for his class. On the way back home the car started to knock badly. While he made it home he was worried about the condition of the engine. We agreed the problem was the rear main bearing which necessitates a complete removal of the engine and transmission to repair.In truth, a rear main bearing replacement is not a bad job and I have done it on other Model T’s in a day. In this case, however, we were able to remove the entire engine inside about 2-3 hours and then we put the engine on the floor as we had to return the engine hoist. We went inside for lunch, washed our hands and never touched the car again for the next 12 years. In 2000 I was discussing my desire to get the car back on the road with a close friend. His father, a benevolent sort, had been kind enough to break the crankshaft of another engine the previous summer. Having a spare, they replaced the engine on the tour and continued on. The damaged engine subsequently was completely repaired and was ready for installation in a T. Being a spare my friend was looking to sell it to recoup some of the cost of the repair from the previous summer. I bought the engine and arranged to install it the following weekend. We went ahead and rebuilt the transmission that morning and by day’s end, after being dormant for over 12 years the car was once again drivable. For this model there are a few changes I have had to do to the engine compartment. The firewall in the 1927 T Touring by AMT is wrong, with molded in coil and spark plug leads. These were removed and the firewall was sanded and then painted green (dad’s car was originally green and he later painted it with black rubber based paint, using a brush). The engine is the correct late ’25-27 dark green which matches the car. I plan to “dirty it up” a bit as it definitely is in need of some weathering. Then I will add correct wiring and will probably make and install a small oil can to replicate the one dad has hung on the firewall of the real car with a piece of coat-hanger. I have not decided if I am going to go ahead and paint the car by hand with a brush, though to be really authentic I probably should. At best the paint should be no more shiny than statin as a full gloss paint job would really be too much for this car. Model T sedan progress.docx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 This will give you an idea of what I am ultimately shooting for with this project. I have also mocked up the chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Another update. I am working on engine details. This is a little difficult because it is a dark green engine with black accessories. It is correct for the way Ford did things but not terribly visually exciting. Some dirt and grease will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGIC MUFFLER Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have a real weak spot for these stock. Love 'em all and wanting to see more!! Keep going ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) I have a real weak spot for these stock. Love 'em all and wanting to see more!! Keep going ... Edited October 14, 2015 by Eric Macleod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 I made some significant progress this evening. I have the chassis pretty well done. While I planned to use Buttera fenders it became very obvious during this mock up that AMT fenders will work better. I have a lot of fitting to do and significant body work as well but it is starting to look like a car. Clearly this is a work of compromise but I will be proud to display this one . Thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 So here we have the roughest of rough mock-ups but one can clearly see there will be a car here when I'm done. There's a lot of sanding ahead of me. I am seriously considering hand painting the cat with a brush. That is the way dad's car was done in the 1950s and though it may not be the best way to finish the model it would be the most authentic. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Wow looking at the car through the camera there is more work than I thought. I'm going to keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne swayze Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 I think you're doing a fine job with this. Looks good to me. Cool to see different body styles also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDO Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 I'd go for spray can or air brush. Brush strokes will be roughly 25 times too big on this model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 LDO that was exactly the feedback I was looking for. Thanks. Wayne thanks for the kind words. The car seems to be fighting me every step of the way, just likethe real car did when I brought it back to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 While it probably doesn't look like I got much done tonight I made a lot more progress. The entire body was sanded and I added the headliner. There are a few more details like interior door panels and a little more work on the windshield header. Otherwise I an ready for some primer. Speaking of which have a look at what happens when you grab the wIrong can of paint. If it's a job worth doing it's worth doing twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Here are my freshly primed fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CometMan Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Just a thought, feel free to correct me if I'm completely wrong, but assuming the 1:1 car was painted with a 3" house brush, then wouldn't painting the 1:25 car with a 1/8" artist's or modeler's brush produce brush strokes that are 25 times smaller? Again, just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted October 17, 2015 Author Share Posted October 17, 2015 You are probably right. I've been thinking about that idea. I'm also thinking if I thinned the paint a lot or decanted it from a spray can I might get just the right effect. Plus, there's going to be quite a bit of weathering done before I am finished. Thanks for the thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Wow nice stuff you have going on, you should show use a picture of you fathers Model T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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