1929 Ford Pickup 80's Contemporary Street Rod - A Tim Boyd Tribute!

[Kit Karson]

While sourcing parts for the '29A Closed Cab Pickup Tribute Build, it was mentioned by @Dennis Lacy in one of our off-line conversations, that the Revell Deuce 10 bolt rear end with the disc brakes might be a good go-to rear axle for this PU!

Starting with the parts from the Revell Dan Fink's '32 Ford Speedwagon, Kit 85-7606, Parts #:

33 Rear Axle
34 Rear Cover
35-36 Stabilizer Bars
89 Rear Shocks

First to go... the air bags

Marked the upper shock mounting holes

Before drilling any hole, use a #11 blade to center punch the point of the hole to be drilled (btw the Stabilizer Bars, parts#:  35-36, turned out to be too long)

Pumpkin clearance concern surfaced during the first rear end mockup using the Radius Rods (2) from the Monogram '33 Ford Street Rod, Kit 2480 - 2702 ZZ Top Eliminator - AKA Kit 7647 Thom Taylor '34 Ford Cabriolet Street Rod (part #51)

Using a curved file, the Roadster frame crossmember was hogged out to allow the third-member to fit

Looks good to go!

Houston we have pumpkin clearance!

Measured a piece of stock to be used as a WIP crossmember for the Deuce 10 Bolt Rear End

Drilled the shock mounting holes in the WIP crossmember

Years ago, I picked up some Scale Railroad parts:

And, used a couple of the nuts & washers to bolt the upper shock mount to the WIP crossmember

Ready to set between the frame rails

Fits!

Even from underneath, ride height looks good!

Previously, in one of the first posts in this thread, the shock mount crossmember was removed from the Roadster frame

Picking up the cut-out crossmember and shortening it to match the WIP crossmember, the Roadster crossmember can be turned around to be mount the shocks

Using a little white glue to assemble the parts

Mocking up the rear end... we now have a second option for hanging the rear shocks

Noticing the two body/floor pan mounting pins on the top of the Roadster crossmember, a couple of things occurred to me: If the Roadster crossmember is going to be used, the pins can either be used to mount the PU bed; or cut off.

When scoping the posts out, the pin base turns out to be level with the bed rails

To make sure, I laid my 50+ year old scale across the rail plane to see where the bottom of the bed would hit the top of the pins

And, sure enough one could drill a couple of holes on the PU bed to solidly mount the bed to the frame

While discussing the facts of the Roadster shock crossmember with @Rocking Rodney Rat, he felt the WIP crossmember might fit this build better!  Any thoughts?

Measuring for the final location of the shock mount crossmember

 

Places the crossmember 5/16ths forward of the inner edge of the back of the frame.

To that end, here are the parts for the rear end for the '29A Closed Cab Pickup Tribute Build:

Including: the two Tranny crossmembers (140 & 141) and the Radius Rods (2) from the Monogram '33 Ford Street Rod, Kit 2480 (parts #51)

Taking a look at how the parts fit together

Sets the ride height right about where it needs to be!

Note to self: Just have to decide on which shock mount crossmember to use? -KK

Rear End Donor Parts List (& Parts included in the above pictures)

Revell '29 Ford Pickup
Kit 2085 Custom Rod 3'n1

Parts #:
 
51 Fenders
53 Pickup Bed
54 Tailgate

Revell '29 Ford Roadster
Kit 4463 Model A Roadster 2'n1

Parts #:

141 Crossmember

Revell '29 Ford Roadster
Kit 4322 Model A Roadster 2'n1

Parts #:

77 Fame/Chassis
140 Crossmember

Revell Dan Fink's '32 Ford Speedwagon
Kit 85-7606

Parts #:

33 Rear Axle
34 Rear Cover
35-36 Stabilizer Bars
89 Rear Shocks

Monogram '33 Ford Street Rod
Kit 2480 - 2702 ZZ Top Eliminator - AKA Kit 7647 Thom Taylor '34 Ford Cabriolet Street Rod

Part #:

51 Radius Rod (2)

Edited February 24, 2021 by Kit Karson
Text correction...

[Bullybeef]

@Kit Karson that rear setup is awesome and I can see it translating well to other applications, ie a 32 frame. One question about the geometry, will you be adding a rear stabilizer bar? 

[Kit Karson]

2 hours ago, Bullybeef said:

@Kit Karson that rear setup is awesome and I can see it translating well to other applications, ie a 32 frame. One question about the geometry, will you be adding a rear stabilizer bar? 

Panhard Bar, Yes! (If that is what you are calling "a rear stabilizer bar"?)

[alan barton]

Yeah, you've shamed me into it!  Won't be home til, next week but I have a few ideas that haven't been seen on this thread yet.  I'll just push a few older projects back a bit, it won't be the first time!

Cheers

Alan

[Bullybeef]

5 minutes ago, alan barton said:

Yeah, you've shamed me into it!  Won't be home til, next week but I have a few ideas that haven't been seen on this thread yet.  I'll just push a few older projects back a bit, it won't be the first time!

Cheers

Alan

Sweet

1 hour ago, Kit Karson said:

Panhard Bar, Yes! (If that is what you are calling "a rear stabilizer bar"?)

Yup that’s what I meant 🤘🏻

[Plowboy]

7 hours ago, Kit Karson said:

 

 

 

 

 

Personally, I would get rid of the cross member above the pumpkin. 

[tim boyd]

Needless to say, I've been pretty blown away by the interest and builds posted so far in this thread started by Dennis.   The idea that the 1980's era street rod themes would prompt so many talented builders to revisit the era surprises me. 

Concurrently, over the last few weeks I've been working through my entire collection of Street Rodder magazines....nearly 600 of them.  Including the Modeler's Corner columns that ran from 1978 to the very early 2000's. 

It has struck me that as much as I like the current "traditional hot rod" building - and I do, I've built a ton of models of 'em - we (both 1.1 and scale builders) may have once again painted ourselves into a corner.  There is only so much you can do with truly authentic traditional hot rod builds.   Now, compare them to some of the innovative work that was being done in the latter 1970's and 1980's.  I'm particularly thinking of John Buttera's two '29 A Roadsters, but more generally, the creativity that came from the Buttera, Coddington, Thom Taylor, Vern Luce school of design....and the 1/25th scale work of many modelers, with Dave Hill, Jack Davis, and (while lesser broadly known, just as creative) Chuck Helppie. among many others, front of mind at this moment. 

Bottom line, I salute all of you showing work in this thread for being confident enough to stretch beyond the current hot rod design idiom to build some really creative projects that harken back to,  yet provide a fresh perspective, on a very creative era from our past....

Best....TIM   

[alan barton]

Tim, you're stealing my thunder!  Have been working on the Buttera roadster (actually a Buttera/Corno combo to be precise) for about four years now and it got it's first coat of primer last week! It has been my "going away" model.  When I have to work at remote minesites, I take it with me to while away the evening hours but from here on will be finishing it at home.  Turns out to be a VERY complex model seeing as how it looks like such a simple car!

Meanwhile, started hunting through boxes last night and hope to have photos of the components up on this thread in the next day or so.  I have a few surprises.....

And you are absolutely right about building ourselves into a corner - if I see one more maroon or Washington Blue chopped 30 A coupe with black steel wheels and hubcaps ........

Kit, I will be unashamedly copying some of your tricks straight across to my project, especially using the roadster frame and the notching for the pickup rails.  Thanks for the tips!

Cheers

Alan

 

Cheers

[alan barton]

I'm not  sure how quickly this build will go but looks I've got the right parts to get there.  The vast majority of the body components will come from a Hot Rod series issue of the kit - the smooth hood sides and tailgate in this issue are made for the job. 

[alan barton]

In a pair of happy coincidences, I will have the right parts to complete a build that I first contemplated back in 1992 after photographing a real rod at Valla Park Rod Run on the east coast. They had used two rear cab pillars to make an extended cab to suit the owner's plus-size frame. I recall driving my roadster back to Western Australia and getting two pickup bodies out, cutting and joining them and for whatever reason, putting them away until last night!

I think this will add a nice, eighties appropriate twist to the rod -  after all, if I photographed it in the early nineties he probably built it in the eighties, right?  The second totally unexpected twist concerns the pickup bed.  This came in a box that a mate gave me and some painting had been done, and the pickup bed had been shortened AT THE FRONT!  Turns out it was cut  in exactly the right place to match up with my extended cab, as you can see in this bodgied up photo. Ya can't make this stuff up.  The original builder had used the most recent white plastic version and sprayed a so-so coat of red on the body panels but that was as far as he got.

[alan barton]

For running gear, I will forgo the Revell Model A pickup kit altogether and kit bash this combo.  Revell 29 roadster chassis as recommended by Kit, Buttera T series Jag IRS as well as the front seats, steering wheel and saddle tanks - what could be more eighties than saddle tanks? To fit with a Boyd style dare -to-be-different theme, I dug out a Ford V6 from the Revell ASA Thunderbird.  From what I have read this is really a Chevy V6 with Ford rocker covers but I will move the distributor to the front to keep Tim's blood pressure down!

I think the wheels might be from a Revell 69 Corvette only because of the colour of the plastic.  Unsure whether to keep the high polish chrome or go for billet aluminium - knowing me I will try two of each on opposite sides.  I used to be indecisive, but now, I'm not so sure!

Not shown but I will probably use the Superbell dropped tube front axle and four bars from the Revell 32 series. Tubes were more common  than I beams in this era.

No idea of colour just yet but I keep seeing red!

Cheers

Alan

[Dennis Lacy]

8 hours ago, tim boyd said:

It has struck me that as much as I like the current "traditional hot rod" building - and I do, I've built a ton of models of 'em - we (both 1.1 and scale builders) may have once again painted ourselves into a corner.  There is only so much you can do with truly authentic traditional hot rod builds.   Now, compare them to some of the innovative work that was being done in the latter 1970's and 1980's.  I'm particularly thinking of John Buttera's two '29 A Roadsters, but more generally, the creativity that came from the Buttera, Coddington, Thom Taylor, Vern Luce school of design....and the 1/25th scale work of many modelers, with Dave Hill, Jack Davis, and (while lesser broadly known, just as creative) Chuck Helppie. among many others, front of mind at this moment. 

Tim - I've gotta say, I love traditional and traditionally styled retro hot rods (as the models I built no doubt prove) but I am having an absolute blast building this 80's throwback billet rod. Partly because it's been refreshing to jump out of my well worn groove and also because deep down I still have a fondness for the style because it's what I was around as a kid. I've already got plans for several more billet-era rods and I haven't forgotten that I also started down the path of building a matching sister '29 RPU. I just didn't want the original closed-cab progress to get impeded because of a second model so I decided to focus on it and get it done. 

Those names you mentioned built some of the finest examples of the 80's and early 90's style back in real-time. Jack was masterful at creating bodies that were never offered in kits and Dave's transporter full of phantom roadster pickups was just EPIC! I also remember Pryor Passarino, Bud Lefevre and Fred Grumke to name a few more. I loved seeing their scale street rods in NNL and GSL coverage in Moderler's Corner. 

[Dennis Lacy]

@alan barton

Alan - I love everything about your project so far! Especially the extended cab. I can recall seeing several built this way on the pages of Street Rodder Magazine back in the day. Are you going to stretch the fender assembly? Seeing as the modern Revell Model A kit frame is a stretched wheelbase you could use that to advantage here. The Buttera kit sourced Jag IRS is a great choice and one that has yet to be put in use in this thread so far as Rodney and I used AMT '34 Coupe 'Vette IRS' and Kit is using  a solid 9". The dropped tube up front during the era was probably the axle of choice 49/50 times. 

I also love that you're going for a V6 because they were a fairly common choice in the 80's as GM and Ford were finally putting some out that had respectable performance. Some of the billet parts manufacturers got on board with dress up parts for them like valve covers and such.

Keep at it, looking forward to following along!

[alan barton]

Hadn't thought about the extended fender unit, to be honest.  The thing is, I have never been particularly adept at body work in the close confines of detail such as the diamond plate running boards of this little truck - then again, could be time to go for smoothy running boards, which would solve that problem!  When I trim away the extension of the pickup bed rail to let the cab drop down I will consider it but I must admit I have a fondness for the short length of a stock Model A.  Still, no harm looking, you just never know!   By using the Jag I can really put the rear end crossmember wherever I choose.

Will be going for a moulded in roof and stubby visor in body colour, body colour grille and headlights, and probably a straight headlight bar, although I am not sure if I still have the one that came with the kit.

Cheers

Alan

[tim boyd]

51 minutes ago, alan barton said:

Hadn't thought about the extended fender unit, to be honest.  The thing is, I have never been particularly adept at body work in the close confines of detail such as the diamond plate running boards of this little truck - then again, could be time to go for smoothy running boards, which would solve that problem!  When I trim away the extension of the pickup bed rail to let the cab drop down I will consider it but I must admit I have a fondness for the short length of a stock Model A.  Still, no harm looking, you just never know!   By using the Jag I can really put the rear end crossmember wherever I choose.

Will be going for a moulded in roof and stubby visor in body colour, body colour grille and headlights, and probably a straight headlight bar, although I am not sure if I still have the one that came with the kit.

Cheers

Alan

Oh wow....here we go again.  Great ideas all, Alan, and so very much in the thread of this theme.  You go, guy!!!!   - As for that Ford V6, I used that in one of my model projects....but I was not aware they did a shortcut on the engine.  So very Monogram, that, from that era.  I'll have to go back and check mine, but I think I may be guilty as charged.  Anyway, thanks in advance or fixing it on yours! 

Again, this entire thread is about you guys, but since there is now a discussion on extended wheelbases, I will briefly mention this one below that was a two-parter in Modeler's Corner, including the "Super Cab" body extension, an extended wheelbase, and widened rear fenders to cover the "Dually" tires back there.  And to top it off, the Brian Bordon era "heartbeat" squiggle graphics.....I guess this one is as much a part of the era as the pink one that inspired Dennis in the first place....TIM

  

Edited February 28, 2021 by tim boyd

[tim boyd]

2 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said:

 

Those names you mentioned built some of the finest examples of the 80's and early 90's style back in real-time. Jack was masterful at creating bodies that were never offered in kits and Dave's transporter full of phantom roadster pickups was just EPIC! I also remember Pryor Passarino, Bud Lefevre and Fred Grumke to name a few more. I loved seeing their scale street rods in NNL and GSL coverage in Moderler's Corner. 

Dennis.....you are spot-on here....many of these models i remembered but many others I had forgotten....especially how many phantom variants Jack did, some of Pryor's inspirations, and just how detailed some of Fred's and Bud's models were.  It was a magical time, for sure.  And as I've been re-reading all these old Modeler's Corners, I'm also discovering many other long-lost tidbits from the era, such as the inspiration for the SuperCab dually above was Street Rodder's editor Geoff Carter asking me to show our readers how Jack Davis did his Crew Cab pickup....

And while we are on this subject that Alan and Dennis have raised, ,I should also nod a hat to David Dale, who is still very active in the hobby but doesn't post here, who had one, or possibly the very earliest, crew cab street rod pickup models (around 1982 or so IIRC) and Gary Gollehon of San Diego, who also had a street rod stake truck with, if I am recalling,, was a SuperCab configuration, also dating from the very early 1980's.... TIM  

[alan barton]

O.K., guys, you are going to love this one!  i spent some time tonight gluing the Jag rear end together, sanding seams off the V6, basic stuff.  I then started trial fitting the extended cab to the Revell fenders and determined that it just wasn't going to fit - the lower corners of the cab were going to hit the fenders no matter what I did.  

I started digging through my Revell Model A PU box - there are roughly enough parts in there to build four of them.  I picked up another red fender unit and it suddenly dawned on me that it was not a Revell one, it was a Monogram Boss A Bone version. Must have got dropped in there by mistake.  Then a light bulb went off.  Maybe a 1/24th fender unit would have enough additional length to allow the cab to fit.  It did!

But would that make it out of scale with the rest of the cab?  Amazingly NO!  The Monogram and Revell fender units are within thousandths. of a mm to the same width. Who'da thunk?

But wait, there's more.  The Boss A Bone unit was in pretty good nick, a remnant from my younger brother's model building days and quite clean after I had stripped. it. I avoid chopping up "historical" parts if i can find something less precious.  I went back to my Monogram pickup box and found, of all things, the fender unit from a Bandai Blue Beetle. Yep, the Japanese company did a pretty good, pretty detailed knock off of the Monogram kit. It was originally powered by the ubiquitous Mabuchi can motor that the Japanese infected their kits with. The very dark blue plastic has a very thick coat of Testors Bright yellow on it, and serious glue burns from the step plates that I glued on in my teen years. And it DOESN'T have the exhaust holes in the top of the valance panels, so no need for filling

So now I'm going to sand off what remains of the running board detail for the smoothie one piece fender unit look and I will be one step closer to getting all these bits to work.  Only down side is that the Revell roadster frame wont fit at all but I am happy to rework a Monogram one, still retaining the running gear I had previously planned.

Check these pics out - what a fluke!

 

[alan barton]

Yep, it's going to work!  I used a sharp Xacto to scrape off the damaged ( and simplified) running board detail from the Bandai fenders and then sanded it as smooth as I can for now. Into the stripper tonight, primer tomorrow and we will see where this goes. 

[Kit Karson]

@tim boyd @alan barton @Dennis Lacy @Rocking Rodney Rat

Name Droppers! Back in the day these guys were trail blazers in the hobby and a great inspiration to the young and restless modelers of yesteryear!

GoodGuys had sponsored a Model Cars event along with their 1:1 Hot Rod & Custom Car Shows and while RRR & I were just starting our partnership, Pryor Passarino was the traveling host when GoodGuys came to Puyallup, Washington.  Pryor pulled me aside and presented me with an opportunity that I couldn't refuse!  That was the last time I saw him and from that point forward Gary Meadors, R.I.P., invited me to be the NW traveling host for the GoodGuys Model Car Show.  What an honor!  And, to have RRR as my wingman was absolutely the most fun we had early on in our life long friendship!  As it turned out, @Rocking Rodney Rat became my "Best Man" and still remains my BEST friend, ever! -KK

[Kit Karson]

22 hours ago, alan barton said:

Yep, it's going to work!  I used a sharp Xacto to scrape off the damaged ( and simplified) running board detail from the Bandai fenders and then sanded it as smooth as I can for now. Into the stripper tonight, primer tomorrow and we will see where this goes. 

Way Kool!  What a great addition to the @Dennis Lacy "Tribute" thread!!  Your thought process is making this thread more interesting with every stroke of the pen!  Young model builders are being exposed to a the art of creation and combining of parts from way different kits that contributed so much to our long-time love of model building.  Forgotten engines, fenders, running gear options and 1:1 contributions from awesome mentors in the hot rod and custom car building mecca.  Over the decades, building styles have evolved from the back-yard mechanic to the high-scale Hot Rod Shops across our great nation; and now car builders around the world!  @Rocking Rodney Rat is an avid follower of The Hokey Ass Message Board - spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to hoodlums worldwide: The H.A.M.B., thus giving us the MCM Forum.  This is our modeler's version of The H.A.M.B., IMHO.  To that end, these are the "good old days" of modeling and we are able to bring years of experience and dedication to the hobby and share it with our fellow modelers, both young and old!  My personal thanks to @tim boyd and his many years of bringing "Modeler's Corner" to us from the pages of "Street Rodder" and rekindling the fires for a modeling era of long ago!  @alan barton thank you for picking up the baton in this marathon "Tribute" thread, started by a real-life hot rodder and traditional model car and truck builder, @Dennis Lacy!  And, I really have to thank @Rocking Rodney Rat for encouraging me to get back to my bench and join this "Tribute" build!  Let's make this the most watched thread in the history of the MCM Forum!  With over 11,000 views, so far!  -KK

Edited March 1, 2021 by Kit Karson
Text correction...

[alan barton]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Kit.  I got the yellow fenders stripped back to dark blue plastic yesterday but an old crack re-split through the front splash apron so that is getting re-inforced at the moment.  Not much photo worthy stuff happening yet.

Now there's a bunch of hot rod modelling legends on here who haven't joined up yet.  Roger, Bernard, Claude, Phil, Jim, time to join the party.  Lets get at least twenty Boyderized closed cabs out of this thread!

Cheers

Alan

[Kit Karson]

1 hour ago, alan barton said:

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Kit.  I got the yellow fenders stripped back to dark blue plastic yesterday but an old crack re-split through the front splash apron so that is getting re-enforced at the moment.  Not much photo worthy stuff happening yet.

Now there's a bunch of hot rod modelling legends on here who haven't joined up yet.  Roger, Bernard, Claude, Phil, Jim, time to join the party.  Lets get at least twenty Boyderized closed cabs out of this thread!

Cheers

Alan

@alan barton

We may need to call them out by @Name to get their individual attention!

I want to call @Gregg's attention to this thread, @Dennis Lacy asked me last night if we could get some of the builds in this thread into the magazine...

Maybe we could get a couple of @tim boyd early builds included!?.

I think there are at least one other "Tribute" thread here on MCM Forum... maybe we can get a link over here, to it, too!

What do you think?

[Bullybeef]

@alan bartoni really like the extended cab and the v6, I’m excited to follow along and see how yours turns out as well. 

[alan barton]

Thanks Bill, I will try to keep it interesting!  I thought I was going to sit this one out but as every additional model was added to this thread, I just couldn't resist any longer.  It now makes W.I.P. number 137 on my desk, or was it W.I.P. number 246?  I pity the person who has to sort out my estate one day!!!!  "Hey, mate - I'll give you $100 for the lot!"  "Sold - thank goodness for that!"

Cheers

Alan

[Bullybeef]

5 hours ago, alan barton said:

Thanks Bill, I will try to keep it interesting!  I thought I was going to sit this one out but as every additional model was added to this thread, I just couldn't resist any longer.  It now makes W.I.P. number 137 on my desk, or was it W.I.P. number 246?  I pity the person who has to sort out my estate one day!!!!  "Hey, mate - I'll give you $100 for the lot!"  "Sold - thank goodness for that!"

Cheers

Alan

I’m about 4-5 days from having a hobby room set up, I just hope I can find all the parts I had mentally catalogued for my attempt at a Boyd ride.