CabDriver Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) I’ve been building this thing in my head for almost a year now, and decided I oughta start ACTUALLY building it….I’ve been saving pics of 32-34 trucks for about a year now for reference and I think I finally have enough ideas 🤪 Using the cab (and probably not a bunch else) from one of these: Scratchbuilding a frame around one of those nicely detailed old Revell Parts Pak engines, and I picked up some artillery wheels and some big meaty rear tires from (I think?) The Parts Box: Those front tires are the plastic kit tires that come with these 34 trucks - seeing as I’m painting the rear ones anyway I figure these will work just fine - and they pair nicely with the resin rears to make some decent bigs ‘n’ littles. Had to machine both sets of tires on my lathe to get them opened up enough to accept the wheels - seems like the wheels are about a scale 15” and the tires had a 14” or so ID. I’m thinking of a nice low over-engined little hot rod, scratchbuilt frame, super low and mean looking with some unusual little touches that you don’t see every day. I really like this fenderless 34, looks wise… …and I’ve been admiring the (admittedly not very functional) frame on Roth’s Mysterion lately: And a few years back I saw this old 30s Mack truck that the NYPD used to use: So, I’m taking my inspiration for the stance and overall look from the blue one (although I’m going a LITTLE more extreme with mine), some inspiration from the Mysterion for the frame coupled with a ‘what if the NYPD used 34 trucks back in the 30s’ colorscheme to make it look like someone hotrodded a museum-piece and ruined it 🤪 Just getting started on the frame here and stripping all the chrome off of that engine…more soon! Edited October 25, 2021 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Nice Jim. I think the instructions show some referrence to the fenderless version you spoke of. Still working on mine. I'll be following your build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kool Kat Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Favorite kit of all time.. I built one based on "The" Kats fenderless version, fun stuff, will be watching. Side note, Jim if your using the Revell 427, it's not a "cammer".. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 54 minutes ago, Kool Kat said: Side note, Jim if your using the Revell 427, it's not a "cammer".. Well darn it - I did some quick research on this engine and apparently didn't get it right...will do more research Thanks for the heads up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kool Kat Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 No problem. really like those bobber style trucks. whats the plan for those front tires and the lack of tread? A frame with all those holes will be super kool!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 7 hours ago, Kool Kat said: No problem. really like those bobber style trucks. whats the plan for those front tires and the lack of tread? A frame with all those holes will be super kool!! I’m thinking of cutting some treads into them with my lathe - haven’t totally figured out the best tool to achieve that yet…worst case it doesn’t work and I go with some others, but I’d like to make them work if I can! Other option is cut thin strips of styrene with a zig-zag tread pattern and lay them around the tire- make my own treads on my scrapbook cutter! Interesting thing with the Ed Roth Mysterion frame - the original was so flimsy and weak it cracked whilst the car was still on the show circuit. Someone built a replica in the last few years and hid a traditional steel tube frame behind the Swiss-cheesed chrome parts, so I’m building mine in a similar way so that it would actually be feasible in the real world, somewhat. Speaking of the frame, seeing as I’m replying anyway, I’m kinda sketching in some styrene tube to see how this thing would lay out…got a lot of zee in the rear to get the stance how I want it with those big rear tires! 🤪😂 Something unusual I want to try with this build is to not have a traditional bed as such, but have the frame form part of the bed sides somehow but have the floor partially open so the axle and suspension setup are easily visible. Maybe a little shelf just behind the cab with a gas tank and the battery. It’s a start anyway - more soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 this is looking very cool. Since you mentioned the frame/integrated bed idea I'll show you one I was working on awhile back. I cut my own frame from thick styrene sheet so it had the exact drop I wanted in the rear, while maintaining the swoopy feel of a stock 32 frame. if you notice the front of the frame loos like a 32, but is actual slightly longer and more arced to provide a heavy drop up front. So, out back you can see how i essentially made the rear frame rails taller to act as bed sides. And here you can see how I intended to finish out the bed. The gas tank is set on rails, to almost simulate a bed floor. Just for fun, here's the final mockup I did on this project. Can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I touched it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Mock up looks very cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Sweet looking ride so far. Fantastic mods dude. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 I’ve always loved the ‘34 Pickup kit. The possibilities are endless! Will be following along for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kool Kat Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 All that frame needs is the holes. Looks good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 On 10/26/2021 at 11:24 AM, Mr. Metallic said: this is looking very cool. Since you mentioned the frame/integrated bed idea I'll show you one I was working on awhile back. I cut my own frame from thick styrene sheet so it had the exact drop I wanted in the rear, while maintaining the swoopy feel of a stock 32 frame. if you notice the front of the frame loos like a 32, but is actual slightly longer and more arced to provide a heavy drop up front. So, out back you can see how i essentially made the rear frame rails taller to act as bed sides. And here you can see how I intended to finish out the bed. The gas tank is set on rails, to almost simulate a bed floor. Just for fun, here's the final mockup I did on this project. Can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I touched it. Is that a'36 Ford coupe roof section I see? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/26/2021 at 10:24 AM, Mr. Metallic said: this is looking very cool. Since you mentioned the frame/integrated bed idea I'll show you one I was working on awhile back. I cut my own frame from thick styrene sheet so it had the exact drop I wanted in the rear, while maintaining the swoopy feel of a stock 32 frame. if you notice the front of the frame loos like a 32, but is actual slightly longer and more arced to provide a heavy drop up front. So, out back you can see how i essentially made the rear frame rails taller to act as bed sides. And here you can see how I intended to finish out the bed. The gas tank is set on rails, to almost simulate a bed floor. Just for fun, here's the final mockup I did on this project. Can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I touched it. What a GREAT looking project! I love what you did with the frame (see - I knew I didn’t have an original idea there 🤪) and I like the roof treatment too. I wanted to try an Alumacoupe roof on one of these trucks and see how it would look - something like that I bet! Thanks for all the nice comments everyone! I got stalled out a little on this for a few days because I had the new Mooneyes dragster coming and I was really hoping it would have some useful parts for this project - turned out it does! For a front axle, I went with the Revell unit from the 29/30 Ford kits - it drops right under the AMT truck frame like it was meant to go there, it seems like. That said, I flipped the crossmember in the front to drop the ride height nice and low, separated the spring from the Revell axle and placed it behind the axle instead of above it like normal. That really got this thing low…might even need a spacer to bring it up a touch 😂 Those hairpins are from the Atlantis Mooneyes kit (actually, from the old Revell parts pack) and they didn’t need much modification to work with the 29/30 axle. Also found in my fun new box of Atlantis goodies was these cool reverse Halibrand (I think?) wheels: I had to machine out the centers of my rears to open them up some, and I curiously wondered if the front dirt-track tires from the Revell Model A kits would fit too…turns out they perfect for these wheels! May end up running those…. The wheels will need a little cleanup and detailing before paint but as my one buddy on Instagram pointed out, these are a better match to that big 427 than the artillery wheels were anyway. Next up, need to figure out what to do for a rear end…got a weird old parts-box Quickchange that I want to use, but didn’t figure out exactly what the rear suspension setup looks like yet…more soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Everything is looking nice Jim. Looks like its going to be nice and low. How do you get those good looking 45 degree cuts on the frame? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kool Kat Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Like the new wheel choice alot better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 This is going to be really cool build. LOW! I love it… awesome stuff as always Jim. Cheers, Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Really nice start to your build Jim. Great looking wheels tires… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) On 10/31/2021 at 6:07 AM, Zippi said: How do you get those good looking 45 degree cuts on the frame? Just one of these cheapo mitre boxes, nothing fancy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VRDG7VJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QRJAGW8EF1FX5Q4XKJNY Thanks everyone! A little more progress today - starting to piece together a rear end so I can mock this thing up on it’s wheels and see if I’m getting the nice low stance I was going for… I had a cool, but simplified, Quickchange center in my parts box and scratchbuilt an axle around that, suspended on a spare Boot Hill Express rear spring (which I think is meant to be a stock Model A spring maybe?) Ill do some more work on the rear end, and I need to fabricate some linkages next, but it’s starting to look like a frame now! Man that’s a lotta zee! 😂 Quick mock-up on the bench to see if it’s about where I’d like it to be: Plenty still to do, but now I know where the rear end needs to be I can figure out where the motor will live and make some motor mounts. More soon! Edited November 1, 2021 by CabDriver 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 On 10/29/2021 at 7:18 PM, misterNNL said: Is that a'36 Ford coupe roof section I see? No, that is the resin hardtop part from the Replicas and Miniatures of Md's Duvall windshield conversion body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 10:18 PM, CabDriver said: What a GREAT looking project! I love what you did with the frame (see - I knew I didn’t have an original idea there 🤪) and I like the roof treatment too. I wanted to try an Alumacoupe roof on one of these trucks and see how it would look - something like that I bet! Thank you. I don't think I can take credit for the box-as-part-of-frame idea, think I saw it on a 1:1 hot rod at some point. Seeing that it's been almost two years since i did much with it, I had forgotten how far along it actually was. i need to get back to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted November 6, 2021 Author Share Posted November 6, 2021 A little more progress on this one - been working on the ‘bed’ this week. As I mentioned before, the bed won’t really be a bed - just a couple of sides and a tailgate. Would’ve been simpler just to modify the kit bed and use that, but I wanted to do something that referenced the Roth Mysterion a little (no, I don’t know why either 🤪) Made a styrene sandwich with sheet, and styrene tube ‘holes’ for strength to get the approximate look I was going for: Quick mock-up to: The bed sides attach to the frame with pins, nothing too complex - and tonight I started messing with the tailgate, with some big ol’ receivers for some nice Mysterion-inspired taillights: Not sure if the bed will be chrome like the Roth frame that I’m taking as inspiration, but it’ll be bare metal at a minimum. Plenty to do still in the mock-up stages, but it’s the weekend so I should get a bunch of bench time to keep playing here. More soon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 Love everything about this build. I'm tuned in! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 14 hours ago, misterNNL said: Love everything about this build. I'm tuned in! Thanks Tom! Started work on the cab today - had a few ideas I wanted to go with on this one… First up, I wanted to open the roof up, and have an opening windshield…cutting a hole in the roof was easy enough but I had to scratchbuild the windshield frame. That windshield frame is made with styrene channel, except for the curved piece, so that I can install ‘glass’ into it and hide the edges - it was pretty delicate so I cut some thin brass strips to help hold it together. I also wanted to notch out the front of the cowl for those hairpins - I’ve seen that done on a few 1:1 builds and I figured it would be a fun little detail to add: Used some styrene bar to rough-in a new trim line - I’ll clean that up when I get to the cleaning-up stage. Next up, I wanted to open that cowl vent - like the windshield, this will be posed in a slightly-open position when finished: Then, final project for today was drilling out the sunvisor. A trick I like to use when I’m trying to layout equally spaced holes is to lay some Washi tape down on a steel ruler and use a pencil to transfer the markings to the tape: Then, you can lay the tape down and reposition it until you’re happy and use it as a guide for the holes…isn’t totally necessary for something flat like this, but it helps getting even measurements on curved surfaces for example: And this is about how it’s looking now - plenty to do but I’m having fun on the journey! More soon, soon as I’ve done more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Looking pretty slick there Jim. progress it looking killer. I like your little trick on transferring the steel rule markings to tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Beautiful work Jim! I like the “tape-on-ruler” trick too.👍 And having fun on the journey is what it’s all about!😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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