'37 ford panel delivery

[paolo76]

this is my latest project, since I have photographed all the steps and i'm very satisfied with the result I decided to open a wip; tell me what do you think, because even after 25 years of inactivity I have to take back a little confidence ...
comments and criticisms are welcome.

the starter kit is this:

of course, because I do not like to build the original kit box, the project is to turn it into a rat rod.
This is the first mock-up right out of the box:

I began by eliminating the central part of the frame, which will be replaced by two new crossmembers I made from plastic chopsticks and I glued in place.

Meanwhile, I drew a line for cutting the body (my first top chop ... i was a little afraid ...) and made the first cut.
It comes better than expected, very accurate, so I continued with the second cut ...
in the picture you can see the strip that I deleted, about 5 millimeters, not much but I hope will see  the difference at the end.

for now I'll stop here, the next step is to cut the frame to lower the suspension, using a method that I learned from a tutorial by a user of this forum of which I can not remember the name, but I was able to first try and it's very simple.

I do not remember how you call this technique, however, it is to obliquely cut the beams of the frame and glue them overlapping.

See you soon

 

Edited October 11, 2016 by paolo76

[paolo76]

as mentioned, the next step is to modify the frame:

I then marked the lines for cutting and, not without a little fear, I sectioned.

I then built a template to make sure that was all in line, and I glued with two-component glue.

while the glue dried I built a piece of plasticard for joining the two parts of the roof that I had to cut on the length to ensure that pillars match

and I have also glued the top of the roof, adding a strip on each side inside the junction of the two parts.

once the glue dried on the frame, this was the result:

as I said, the system for me is really simple and not difficult, just make sure that the pieces are properly positioned.

I think I got a good result, I was not convinced to do it, but I was satisfied at the end.

regarding the bodywork, I i then glued the front of the roof in position.
in the picture you can see the left pillar that does not fit at all well, luckily I noticed and I was able to fix it before the glue dry.

 

 

 

[Intmd8r]

I like where this build is going!  Have a soft spot for the Revell/Monogram  '37 Ford pick ups and delivery trucks. They're surprisingly good kits.

I too tried to chop the delivery body - and failed.  Almost pulled it off, but threw out the body after some frustration and unnecessary stress.  The subtle curves and lines on this body are more challenging to get right after a chop than what it appears.  Looks like you know what you're doing.

Keep up the good work.

SC

[paolo76]

So probably I had beginner's luck, because I think I've got a good result ... I'd love to know what you think when I'll post the photos of the finished work

See you soon

[Dave Ambrose]

I think you're doing extremely well. Keep going!

[Intmd8r]

So probably I had beginner's luck, because I think I've got a good result ... I'd love to know what you think when I'll post the photos of the finished work

See you soon

I got as far as applying styrene + filler to the gaps in the body work.  My patience ran out when I tried to sand the body and it kept falling apart on me.  Even went as far as to reinforce the material on the back side with pins and epoxy to add structural strength.  My advise is to take your time and be gentle!

Seeing your build makes me wish that I had boxed the project instead of throwing it away.  All was not lost tho, was able to use the chassis for a Rat Rod build. 

Best of luck! 

[paolo76]

I think you're doing extremely well. Keep going!

thanks sir!

 

[gatorincebu]

 

Paolo,

        That is one of my favorite kits. And even though I wouldn't chop it. I like what you are doing here. And it appears that you are doing it well ! One question however.
Are you going to section the body as well?

 

 

  Be Well

  Gator

 

[paolo76]

 

Paolo,

        That is one of my favorite kits. And even though I wouldn't chop it. I like what you are doing here. And it appears that you are doing it well ! One question however.
Are you going to section the body as well?

 

 

  Be Well

  Gator

 

sorry but I do not quite understand what you mean with "section the body ".
I'm Italian and my English is a little poor ...
thank you for your appreciation!

[paolo76]

I then given a thin coat of primer to the frame to show the faults:

oh, and you can see that I have added reinforcements inside the frame at the four points where it was glued, I was afraid that only the glue was not enough.
I then made a set-up test with the original suspension to see how ground clearance was

definitely too high, I want it much lower!

so I started from the rear to further decrease the height from the ground; I removed the rear crossmember and I rebuilt one in order to move further up the attack of the crossbow

in the new crossmember I replicated the original fitting of the Crossbow

new height test , much better this way,this is the ground clearence that i want!

 

 

 

[paolo76]

in the next photo you can see how I've changed, rebuilding them from scratch, the tie rods (I think ...) of the rear suspension; now, I know that maybe is one not too realistic scheme, I probably would have had to add two more arms or something else, but ... boh , I did so, I do not know why!

i then redone the tie rods and brackets attack _ because I was not satisfy with  them, but unfortunately I did not make photos of new ones, perhaps you can see them in the following photos.

 

Edited October 12, 2016 by paolo76

[gatorincebu]

 

 

Paolo,

       To section the body is like chopping the top. You cut the body and remove a section .This also lowers the profile of the body. So that the top chop doesn't look quite as drastic.

On this truck it would involve a lot of work. And admittedly .I have never done it. Maybe someone can help explain  what sectioning the body is ?.

  You are doing a really nice job on your model.

 

 

   Be Well

   Gator.

[paolo76]

at the front, I moved the suspension to the front of the frame, creating, I think, a suicide front end.
I built a bracket and a support for pinch the leaf in the middle and I built from scratch the tie rods.
I then drilled the frame for fixing.
here too, i don't know whether it is a realistic scheme, I copied from some pictures found on the net.

sorry for the pictures with flash, I realize now seeing on the computer screen that really sucks, I hope the next are best.

Control heights with new front setup: OK

[paolo76]

 

 

Paolo,

       To section the body is like chopping the top. You cut the body and remove a section .This also lowers the profile of the body. So that the top chop doesn't look quite as drastic.

On this truck it would involve a lot of work. And admittedly .I have never done it. Maybe someone can help explain  what sectioning the body is ?.

  You are doing a really nice job on your model.

 

 

   Be Well

   Gator.

ok,now i understand what you mean;at the beginning the idea was to cut a section in the lower part of the body,but at the end i didn't do that because i see from the various mock up that i liked it with the original shape of the body.

I don't know if I said it, but this project is already completed, I am making a summary of the various stages.

 

cheers

[paolo76]

chassis and suspension with a coat of primer

in the meantime I built the seats

... And Obviously I did not took pictures of the finished seats ... oops ... ok, you will see later in interior pictures anyway...

 

[paolo76]

Now is the time to find the positioning of the engine and build the supports.
i used the engine of this kit :

I built two simple lower supports (with a lot of effort to find the right positioning) and the gearbox rests on the crossmember properly shaped

and in any case it is not straight! later I will try to straighten it, now she came to me the unhealthy idea of building a supercharger from scratch ...
unfortunately I have no photos of the construction, however, I used round tube, some plasticard leftovers, washers and various other pieces that I had on the bench ...
this is the result, perhaps not realistic, but I was satisfied with it:

the pulley comes from an old radio that I disassembled, from which I have removed two plus the belt that I will use to operate the supercharger

 

 

[David G.]

Excellent work Paolo. Thank you for sharing this. It's a very good tutorial.

David G.

[paolo76]

thank to you! I'm trying to put into practice what I have learned here from you on this great forum.

[gatorincebu]

Paolo,

        You have done some really great work on this project. You have learned well ! You are doing things I won't even consider trying. lol

 

 

 

   Be Well

     Gator

[paolo76]

at this point a quick mock up show me that theren't were enough room for positioning correctly the body,due to the new position of the motor;half of it remains in the cabin:

then, what to do? oh well, cutting... more cutting ... so

I built two extensions of 2 cm and I glued in place

Meanwhile continues the filling of the  body

[paolo76]

started the interior,i've build a dividing panel for the cabin,to which I applied some vertical ribs because it appears too flat to me,

and I assembled the interior and the firewall

the firewall was shaped to accept the part of the gearbox that remains under it.

with plasticard slip aluminum I shaped the cab floor

in the meantime I got the kit from which to steal the wheels; the '25 T fruitwagon.
I immediately made a mock-up to see if the heights remained right even with these rims:

oh yes,it's just like I had in mind!

Edited October 15, 2016 by paolo76

[paolo76]

meanwhile i've partially assembled the motor and the turbocharger and mocked up on the frame with also the interior and the rear floor 

and with the body

looks cool to me! what do you think? 

[David G.]

Excellent progress!

David G.

[paolo76]

on the body, I continued to fill and smooth the joints and I deleted the place for the spare wheel on the right side, I first made a plastic round to size and glued it in place, then I leveled with the liquid plastic and once dry, I started with the various filling steps.

and finally it was time to give some color!

the motor:

i don't remember if i told that this will be a rat-hearse,so the colors will be black and purple with rust and wheathering on the body but not on the mechanichal parts,that i prefer leave clean and shine.

so the purple on the frame:

and when dry a mock up with the black suspensions:

then i installed the motor:

colors also on the interiors,i've applied some thick fabric colored of purple on the backside of the dividing panel,later the loading floor will be covered with a non-slip plate like the floor of the cabin.

here you can see the finished custom seats that i've scratchbuilded:

and finally some shots with the body still in  primer:

and some details of the motor and the front suspension:

all for now;see you soon!

 

 

 

 

[David G.]

Excellent progress, looks great!

David G.