CabDriver Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 A little progress today, but nothing too substantial either...turned out I didn’t need to do much sanding to make the kit glass fit - just had to run up to the Sharpie lines marked here: Fits in ALMOST as a snap fit - oughta fit real nice with a coat of paint on there! I’m still not totally sold on the idea of using the thick kit glass over just replacing it with acetate sheet..definitely needs some polishing either way. Scratchbuilt an interior mirror from a half-spherical bead from the scrapbooking section in Michael’s... And did the ol’ trim and door handle remove to get us from this: To this: Will need to re-scribe those doors (plus the windshield detail that has Bondo over it still)...couldn’t find my scriber since I moved but luckily Amazon will bring you one the same day ?? More soon, soon as they bring my tool ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 My tool came! Didn’t actually do any scribing with it, because by the time the courier came I’d started working on something else ? Just a couple of little bits today...had to fill this gap between the roof and the body, which I hadn’t been looking forward to handling: I taped the roof in place and laid some tape inside the body and marked the gap out so I could make an insert piece: those little dollar store clothes pins are super useful for clamping stuff like this to dry! I need to make a little piece to sit underneath this new ‘slither’ that I’ve made just to make sure it’s secure and won’t crack or move further down the line when paint’s on there and I’m polishing it. Next thing I wanted to tackle was making a start on filling this opening, which obviously would usually be hidden by the bumper: I like that subtle curve that the rear end has, where it bulges out in the center and then revolves left and right with a little flick outwards - so to preserve that I made a piece that can sit inside the body that matches the shape as close as possible and will allow me to glue the ‘outer’ filler panel nice and secure: More on this soon as the glue and Bondo dries ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I have a bag of those little clothes pins on my bench too, they do come in handy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Yeah, those clothes pins come in real handy for clamping stuff together while the glue sets up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 The trick with the clothes pins is to find the wooden ones without paint on so you don’t end up with little spots of colored paint all over what you’ve just glued ?. I had some plastic ones too, but guess what - plastic glue will stick them to the plastic they’re holding ??. Hey, no one ever said I was smart ?♂️? Got some putty on the back end of this thing: And whilst that was setting up I decided upon a frenched license plate...I kinda didn’t want to run one but it was an extra detail to add and I hadn’t done one before so what the heck: I’d like to try making a plate with actual raised lettering so that photo-printed one won’t stay but I think it looks ok there - just toget the edges nice with some filler and we’re set. Meanwhile, I decided that if this was going to be displayed with the hood open I wanted to have a little spot to hold the support rod up so that it’s always straight and true and can’t fall over, so I added a little styrene bar donut to the bracing I’d done earlier and whilst I was at it smoothed out the inside of the lip: Not super interesting stuff - but next step is getting this thing in primer so we can REALLY see what all is left to do. Pretty close on the body mods though! More soon, soon as I’ve done more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Found one more little job that I forgot before primer...added a little metal hood latch: Ignore the drill bit, that’s my temporary hood prop ? And added a little strip of, well, strip, just underneath the hood where it meets the body to fill a little gap that I’d been meaning to fix but forgot about Ok, NOW, we’re ready for primer! More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowlife ! ! Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Enjoying watching this come together Jim, lots of subtle mods but will look all the better for it ! Especially like the floating grill idea, i will be watching this come together now ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 I like the "shadow box" license plate mounting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 On 1/23/2020 at 11:46 AM, espo said: I like the "shadow box" license plate mounting. I can’t take any credit for that idea - someone came up with that about 30 years before I was born I think ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 Just a little progress - got some primer on this, this week! Wanted to see how much more sanding and filling was in my future...turns out some, but not too much! Nice to see the body all one color finally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
restoman Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Looking pretty cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 15 hours ago, CabDriver said: I can’t take any credit for that idea - someone came up with that about 30 years before I was born I think ? While that's true you did it in 1/25th plastic and it looks just like it was done long ago, so an ataboy on that. You mentioned wanting to have the letters and numbers raised on the license plate. I don't know if there is any photo etched lettering that would be in the proper scale, but it was just a thought. Will this stay in Black Primer or go glossy in some other color ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 On 1/25/2020 at 9:13 AM, espo said: You mentioned wanting to have the letters and numbers raised on the license plate. There were license plates that came in old kits that had raised letters. You would have to paint this. You could try something like those Studebaker floor mats you did on your cutter. Otherwise most people just use photo reduced plates on paper or decal. That gives you the most leeway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 1/25/2020 at 9:13 AM, espo said: While that's true you did it in 1/25th plastic and it looks just like it was done long ago, so an ataboy on that. You mentioned wanting to have the letters and numbers raised on the license plate. I don't know if there is any photo etched lettering that would be in the proper scale, but it was just a thought. Will this stay in Black Primer or go glossy in some other color ? I’ve kinda got a plan for the letters on the license plate...if it works ??. I’ve got a nice pearl blue here for the body - I wanted something in the darker blue tones but still with a little pop to it...I need to shoot a spoon and see how it looks when I lay some down. I should do that soon actually, so I can decide if I need to find another color or not ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 1/27/2020 at 7:16 PM, Tom Geiger said: There were license plates that came in old kits that had raised letters. You would have to paint this. You could try something like those Studebaker floor mats you did on your cutter. Otherwise most people just use photo reduced plates on paper or decal. That gives you the most leeway Yeah, I’m thinking I may be able to do something clever with the cutter! Fingers crossed it works...guess we’ll see ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 Just a little progress on this, as I’m replying anyway...started levelling out that primer to see how much work I’ve REALLY got to do to be ready for paint...there’s definitely plenty more work to go to get those big side panels level and smooth: And I started work on the kit frame - I want to approach this roughly how I did the body, keep it fairly traditional on PAPER, but smooth it all out and add some nice custom details and touches. The kit frame looks like this: I started by removing those flat angled inner arches and replacing them with some scratchbuilt ones with a slight curve, then I removed the moulded in exhaust detail and scribed out that trunk floor so that I can tidy up that area...will probably scratchbuild a fuel tank that fits nicely between the rails, delete the spare tire hump and find a nicely detailed rear axle to replace the stock one: More on that soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 A little update...found a Quickchange that I liked for the rear end. Not exactly a COMMON choice for a Shoebox Ford, but I really love how they look, and I found some 1:1s on The HAMB running them so that was good enough for me...sliced the kit axle off the springs and took a look: Definitely needed to c-notch the frame but couldn’t find a file the exact right size...made one out of a chopstick and 100 grit paper ? Worked pretty well! I wanted to use the kit springs ideally, so I moved them inside the frame rails and took a look at how the rear ride height would look if I set the axle to a height where it would still have travel in 1:1 but as low as I can get it at the same time... Not bad! No front suspension on the car yet, but I like how the rear sits anyway! Had to make some lowering blocks to help the axle meet the springs, but that aside just waiting for the glue to dry: More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I like your "McGiver" sanding sticks. Have you thought of an engine choice or is it to early yet ? The body is look'n good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 21 hours ago, espo said: I like your "McGiver" sanding sticks. Have you thought of an engine choice or is it to early yet ? The body is look'n good. I’m thinking I’d like to go Flathead - the kit engine has some pretty awkward-to-fill axle holes to contend with, but I’d like to use the one in the box anyway if I can! I’ll try and level it out and see how bad it looks ? Did a little on the suspension this weekend - I replaced the straight-thru axle with some aluminum tube and started drilling out all the moulded in bolts on the frame so I can replace them with some DIY metal ones...next job is to get this all smoothed out and then start thinking about the exhaust, and removing a section from that stock gas tank so it doesn’t crowd the axle as much More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Jim, may I ask where you found and what metal you used under the hood of your Ford! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 I have converted a few of the engines from older kits with the axel thru the engine setup. I have cut filler pieces out of sheet plastic to glue in the area I'm filling. There will be a curtain amount of body filler but by cutting the filler pieces as close to the size of the hole there is less chance of the filler cracking or shrinking at a later date. The Heads and Intake from this base kit is about the same as the old AMT '49 Mercury that also offered a Hot Rod version of the base Flat Head. So that gives you another source. Like you I also like the old Flat Head engines. I built a Chopped Custom Shoe Box years ago and that was the engine I used since it just looks correct in one of these Kustoms. Another source you could look at would be Replicas & Miniatures Co. They have a lot of great items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, slusher said: Jim, may I ask where you found and what metal you used under the hood of your Ford! That’s K&S brand aluminum sheet - I think I got that at Michael’s, but you can get a small amount of the same stuff if you buy a can of those nuts with the sealed lid that you open with a ring pull ?? 1 hour ago, espo said: I have converted a few of the engines from older kits with the axel thru the engine setup. I have cut filler pieces out of sheet plastic to glue in the area I'm filling. There will be a curtain amount of body filler but by cutting the filler pieces as close to the size of the hole there is less chance of the filler cracking or shrinking at a later date. The Heads and Intake from this base kit is about the same as the old AMT '49 Mercury that also offered a Hot Rod version of the base Flat Head. So that gives you another source. Like you I also like the old Flat Head engines. I built a Chopped Custom Shoe Box years ago and that was the engine I used since it just looks correct in one of these Kustoms. Another source you could look at would be Replicas & Miniatures Co. They have a lot of great items. I did basically what you recommended, yes! Laid some plastic sheet INSIDE the block halves so I had something to glue to then carefully cut and angled some filler pieces to fill the gaps. I just laid some Bondo on there, so I’ll give it a smooth-out when it dries and see how much more work I need to do ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Whilst I’m replying anyway...smoothed out the frame and gave it a little filler to help smooth all the surfaces out: ...and whilst that dries I’m starting to think about the interior. Found some custom seats in my spare box - I’m doing to have some fun removing that moulded-in rear seat and building all that back up but I had a particular idea of how I want the interior to look so I need to do some choppin’ here... More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 14 minutes ago, CabDriver said: Whilst I’m replying anyway...smoothed out the frame and gave it a little filler to help smooth all the surfaces out: ...and whilst that dries I’m starting to think about the interior. Found some custom seats in my spare box - I’m doing to have some fun removing that moulded-in rear seat and building all that back up but I had a particular idea of how I want the interior to look so I need to do some choppin’ here... More soon! More plastic sheets. Built a Gasser out of one of the short roof coupes and removed the back seat area. Just create a new floor and back wall. Maybe even a consol between the seats running all the way from front to the back wall also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedy5963 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Like the way this coming along, getting some great ideas for a pair of 49's I've been tinkering with, great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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