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Monograms 29 Ford P/U Rat Rod Done


Johnt671

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I started his yesterday. Planning to do my first rat rod with it but it will be in a transition to a nice truck. I was thinking about using a Caddy parts pack motor, or the hot rod flathead motor from the 50 Ford P/Ub but i'm going to use the hot rod version flathead four that came with the kit. It sits to high and needs to be lowered. I can handle the front but I'm at a loos how to lower the rear so far. I'd welcome any ideas about this.

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Edited by Johnt671
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Thanks for the reply. I thought it would be lower too, and the pictures on the box show it lower. I double checked the instruction sheet and it was assembled correct according to them and checked the on the part and found the spring was right on top of the axle, so that was also good. I also found that most of the spring wouldn't show if I cut it down, so that's what I did. it looks better now.

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Eric, it looks like the kit has almost all of the parts to do a stock version. It has parts to make a stock or beefed up four cylinder motor. I don't think the steel wheels are stock, I think that a wire wheel ans skinnier tires tires would be correct, but I'm not an expert on these older cars.

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That is a good kit, I like the banger you are using.

Doesn't that kit have a dropped front axle? I have to admit I'm surprised it doesn't sit lower considering it is a "rat-rod".

I hate the term "rat rod" when applied to a vehicle like that. A rat rod would have a Z'd frame fore and aft making speed bumps impassable, bubble gum stick welded of course, a mail box air cleaner atop a single 2 bbl carb and a PBR beer can puke tube catcher on the radiator, a 135 h.p. V8 of some orphan make - just like the 50's bro - with an automatic, zoomies welded by Ray Charles. The cab would have to have a fake speed shop name with said name special (Fake Name Spl.) on the door, 16" chop, bullet holes, spikes festooned everywhere, and my personal favorite - spider webs made from wire on every open 90* angle, at least one skull somewhere. The bed would have a Mexican blanket for the owner's orca-betty girlfriend cuz' she can't fit in the cab, a six pack of PBR pounders, and a case of Aqua Net for her hair. Inside would have a pomade inspired wet dream bomber-style seat made of stolen road signs riveted together, something on the steering wheel hub that would impale upon the slightest accident, at least one Betty Page sticker and a Coop devil girl, beer tap shifter, no transmission tunnel with a whirling open driveshaft that would (hopefully) catch on the driver's perfectly cuffed Dickies jeans, suck him in, and turn him into strawberry jam.

It may be an understatement that I don't like rat rods.

Edited by El Caballo
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On 12/15/2017 at 6:33 AM, El Caballo said:

 

It may be an understatement that I don't like rat .

I can certainly understand not liking a style or genre,  but I do not understand the need to belittle it's fans,  or generalize the build quality to the point of caricature. What's the point?

Edited by Modelbuilder Mark
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Maybe El Caballo generalizes the build quality and style to the point of caricature simply because that is what the entire modern rat rod scene IS ALL ABOUT...Caricature! Rat rods were a real thing back in the 30,40s 50s and 60s. But not joke cars. They were simply what most young men who were into fast cars could afford. The term Rat Rod used to mean simply a hot rod that was not nice and shiny.

Hot rods were all about going fast with little money to spend on fancy. So a great many hot rods were not real pretty overly smoothed out and polished enclosed trailer show cars. Many hot rods were built out of wrecking yard parts. That's why Model T, Model A, etc. were the popular bodies and chassis. They weren't the Lamborghinis of their day. Primer or original no-longer glossy paint was the norm among real hot rodders in the day. Occasional minor body rust was common. Minor scratches and dusty and otherwise dirty were also common. Mexican blankets on seats were common in places like LA, San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso Texas, etc. because they were a cheap way to cover your worn out upholstery for a guy making a buck an hour who still wanted the go-fast stuff. Guys who could afford shiny, bright paint jobs and could afford to build really sharp hot rods were around, but not the common thing. Look at the old pics from El Mirage at how grubby the cars were in the 40s.

Show cars and Kustom Kemps and even low-riders were a different matter that spun off from the hot rod movement.  In the 80s and 90s, all the rage among the "Hot Rod" set then was the way too smooth high dollar creations of Boyd Coddington, et al. I publicly bemoaned the loss of the entire concept of hot rods. They were making cars that were BEAUTIFUL, but NOT hot rods.  Apparently a LOT of people agreed with me.

Then started the backlash to Rat Rods. And that very quickly devolved into exactly what El Caballo described above. Caricature. Again...Really very little relation to real hot rods.

The term Rat Rod has come in recent years to connote just the things El Caballo cited above. Open headers pointed in stupid directions, intake systems that make no sense, chopped roofs and channeled bodies to stupid extents, fake rust, and all sorts of things that have absolutely NOTHING to do with making the car fast.

But I see a great many who are still devoted to the real thing (and I don't mean Coca Cola). I see many magazines like Hot Rod Deluxe and web sites like H.A.M.B. that demonstrate a huge following for real hot rods.

El Caballo got it right. This '29 Ford pickup build by JohnT is looking more like a REAL rat rod than the modern caricature of a rat rod. Keep on John!

Edited by DustyMojave
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5 hours ago, El Caballo said:

Perfect interpretation Dusty.

I love John's rendition. 

I understand Dusty's point, and agree on many aspect. Hot rod deluxe is one of my favorites, but I think he missed my point.

What I do not understand was El Caballo's need to belittle its fans, and make sweeping generalizations such as "Mexican blanket for the owner's orca-betty girlfriend cuz' she can't fit in the cab".  Or wish ill will towards another person for their preference of automotive design  "open driveshaft that would (hopefully) catch on the driver's perfectly cuffed Dickies jeans, suck him in, and turn him into strawberry jam."

I TOTALLY support someone saying they so not like a style,  or genre, but why make it a personal slam? Why wish death on someone? That is really justified? 

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The Revell 29 PU is a goldmine for traditional ford parts. You're doing a good job with this one. I was going to suggest sanding down the rear spring for a lower stance, but it looks like you figured that out. 

My 2¢ regarding rats: It pains me to see early iron constructed poorly. It seems to be a waste of a very limited resource. My tastes clearly do not align with the current rat rod set. However, there are lots of folks building traditional hot rods and customs and keeping the traditional stuff alive. (HAMB, Hop Up, TROG, Hot Rod Hill Climb, etc.) In short, to each his own, find your niche and build something cool…whatever your version of cool may be. 

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Guys...If we can't enjoy a little lite banter once in a while, we all become very dull boys. El Caballo made a joke Mark. And it's not your job to reprimand other forum members for their sense of humor. You think he's being  insensitive. Most humor IS insensitive. You are being even more insensitive jumping on his case.

This forum is about model cars. NOT political correctness. Lets all get over it!

The best Polish jokes I ever heard were told by a Pole.

Chill.

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On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 12:35 PM, Johnt671 said:

Thanks. It's good to know people are watching. new pictures.

 

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John, I enjoy where you're going with this and what ever you my choose to call it. I have this kit but never got around to building it. Now that I see what you are doing with your build, and especially with the Hot Rod 4 Banger, I'm looking forward to watching this come together.  

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I haven't had much time to post anything, but I've been reading the posts. Some interesting comments, and I'll give my point of view along with some new pictures.

El Caballo, there were two front axles in the kit, and I guess I chose the wrong one for the front. With a little work I was able to lower the front enough that I could live with it. Your description of a rat rod is right on for the newer rats, but not for my when.  Mexican blankets were in style back then but not in north Jersey when I got interested in cars. Back then we didn't know what a Mexican was, and we used old seat covers and scraps to cover ratty seats.

Dusty Mojave is right on. the buck and a quarter and hour I made working after school at the car wash went into the motor first. Power and realiabillty was the goal. A good AM/FM radio after that. (eight tracks weren't out yet.)  Junkyard bucket seats, if they didn't fit just drill new holes and a floor shifter were for the interior, then Bondo and primer for the body, but no one could afford a full paint job. Maybe a nice pair of front wheels because who could afford a set of four? If you got a girl friend some new blankets to cover the seats, or if you were lucky and she was hot, a trip back to the junkyard to find a bench seat if you didn't keep the original ones.

I miss those days.

Back to the model. I did get some work done on it. Now I'm hoping I can unwarp the hardtops door so they fit better, but I also could go with the roadster body. I can't seem to post the pictures from my iphone 6 so I'll be back later.

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