Traditional 1929 Ford Woody Wagon Hot Rod

[Dennis Lacy]

And now for yet another example of a hot rod project that I had no intention of starting but brainstorming a wheel and tire idea got the ball rolling and, well, here we are! I’ve actually had the desire to build a hot rod Woody, I just didn’t think it would be now. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

Here’s the initial mock up that got my juices flowing  The front wheels are AMT ‘32 Phaeton fit in the 2-piece Goodyear tires from Revell’s Lil John Buttera T Sedan / Touring kits from the 70’s and 80’s, The rear wheels are the fronts from Monogram’s ‘30 Woody fit into the Goodyear rear tires from Revell’s ‘40 Coupe/Convertible hot rod kits. The Flathead place holder is from Revell’s ‘48 Custom Coupe.

The MPC ‘29 Woody comes with a 1-piece fender / frame / floor unit that is a pain to work with.

I decided to use the AMT ‘29 Roadster fenders and frame. These fenders also have the floor molded in and it will need to have the raised areas removed so that the Woody floor will fit.

Here the raised areas have been removed from the gray fenders with the dark red fenders shown for reference.

The Woody floor now fits. The other benefit to using the roadster fenders is that they are wider at the crowns allowing more tire to fit under them.

And with the frame fit in place.

 

It wouldn’t be possible to get any kind of a decent rear stance with the stock A frame so after weighing my options I chose to graft on the already Z’d rear section from a Revell ‘29 Roadster / ‘30 Coupe frame. 

I strongly considered using the rear axle and suspension that goes with the Revell A frame but I really wanted a more traditional set up so I assembled a quick change axle and spring from the Atlantis (former Revell) Mooneyes dragster. The molded rear cross member will be removed in favor of the stock A cross member.

Material was added to the ends of the A cross member and some shallow slots were filed into the frame rails for it to slightly recess into just behind the axle supports.

The quick change axle assembly and Model T style spring fit nicely into place. The split wishbone trailing arms are also from the Atlantis Mooneyes dragster. Pins were inserted into front end and simple mount tabs made from .040” sheet. 

 

I didn’t care for the excess frame section remaining behind the cross member and it would serve no structural advantage so I decided to delete it.

The front axle is from Revell’s ‘32 5-Window. The spring was shaved way down to help get the front end low. A .060” pin was installed at the center which registers in a hole in the front cross member. A .020” strip of material was added to the front edge of the cross member to properly align the frame with the fenders.

Like for the rear, some mount tabs for the hairpin radius rods were made from .040” sheet. 

With the back end of the frame Z’d the floor will need to be modified to allow it to fit so a section was removed for the frame to fit up into. 

 

So here’s where the project ended up. Very pleased with the results so far. Lots more to come!

 

[NOBLNG]

Amazing! Your knowledge of what kit parts to meld and how to do it I think is awesome. I’m sure having a plethora of kits to bash helps a lot.🤪 And I for one appreciate your step by step photos and explanations too. Thanks!🙂

Edited February 20 by NOBLNG

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Neat and tidy work as always, ADL! -RRR 

P.S. Don't forget to chop it! 😜

[SpikeSchumacher]

This is soooo cool... 😉

[Phildaupho]

Going to be nice Woodie. Great work on the frame and suspension. 

[Dennis Lacy]

5 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Amazing! Your knowledge of what kit parts to meld and how to do it I think is awesome. I’m sure having a plethora of kits to bash helps a lot.🤪 And I for one appreciate your step by step photos and explanations too. Thanks!🙂

Thanks so much! Lucky for you guys I have chronic OCD! 🤣

[bobthehobbyguy]

Great project. I've have one of these as a stalled project. The molded frame has been an issue. Never thought about using the 29 roadster fenders. Definitely will be watching.

[Limeyglue]

Great start the stance is spot on.

[Dennis Lacy]

20 minutes ago, Limeyglue said:

Great start the stance is spot on.

Now let’s see how the stance looks when the wheels are actually mounted to the axles! 🤣 🤪

[Chris B]

awesome work very nice clean execution of the chassis modes

[Kit Karson]

Not your Father's Depot Hack, Brother! -KK

[Dennis Lacy]

No actual work to report this weekend but I have made the decision to change the wheels and tires as I want this model to be early 1960’s period correct. That means an engine change from the proposed flathead but more on that later. Trust me, it’ll be bitchin!

The Halibrand wheels and little front tires come from AMT’s “Gasser” wheels and tires Parts Pack and the printed narrow Firestone cheater slicks are from one of AMT’s Retro Deluxe kits of recent years. (Edit: The printed slicks are from the special flat box Retro Deluxe AMT ‘29 Roadster / Mod Rod double kit from a few years back.) 

That’s all for now. 

Edited March 6 by Dennis Lacy

[carnut]

Dennis,

Nice work on this project, inspiring as always.

Question, Out of which AMT kit did you get the Firestone cheater slicks ? I have a project that I need a pair.

Thank you and keep up the good work.

[Can-Con]

Don't know how I missed this last week. I also started one but I'm going a simpler route [??] and will be using  mostly the kit's suspension. 

Dennis, how is the fit on your kit between the cowl, hood and rad shell when using the original fender unit?

On mine, with the body on the fenders and the rad in it's slots, the hood seems about 1/16 too short. It seems the rad is too far forward as it looks like the headlight bar will be right up against it when installed. 

[Mike foster]

On 2/20/2023 at 1:53 AM, Dennis Lacy said:

And now for yet another example of a hot rod project that I had no intention of starting but brainstorming a wheel and tire idea got the ball rolling and, well, here we are! I’ve actually had the desire to build a hot rod Woody, I just didn’t think it would be now. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

Here’s the initial mock up that got my juices flowing  The front wheels are AMT ‘32 Phaeton fit in the 2-piece Goodyear tires from Revell’s Lil John Buttera T Sedan / Touring kits from the 70’s and 80’s, The rear wheels are the fronts from Monogram’s ‘30 Woody fit into the Goodyear rear tires from Revell’s ‘40 Coupe/Convertible hot rod kits. The Flathead place holder is from Revell’s ‘48 Custom Coupe.

The MPC ‘29 Woody comes with a 1-piece fender / frame / floor unit that is a pain to work with.

I decided to use the AMT ‘29 Roadster fenders and frame. These fenders also have the floor molded in and it will need to have the raised areas removed so that the Woody floor will fit.

Here the raised areas have been removed from the gray fenders with the dark red fenders shown for reference.

The Woody floor now fits. The other benefit to using the roadster fenders is that they are wider at the crowns allowing more tire to fit under them.

And with the frame fit in place.

 

It wouldn’t be possible to get any kind of a decent rear stance with the stock A frame so after weighing my options I chose to graft on the already Z’d rear section from a Revell ‘29 Roadster / ‘30 Coupe frame. 

I strongly considered using the rear axle and suspension that goes with the Revell A frame but I really wanted a more traditional set up so I assembled a quick change axle and spring from the Atlantis (former Revell) Mooneyes dragster. The molded rear cross member will be removed in favor of the stock A cross member.

Material was added to the ends of the A cross member and some shallow slots were filed into the frame rails for it to slightly recess into just behind the axle supports.

The quick change axle assembly and Model T style spring fit nicely into place. The split wishbone trailing arms are also from the Atlantis Mooneyes dragster. Pins were inserted into front end and simple mount tabs made from .040” sheet. 

 

I didn’t care for the excess frame section remaining behind the cross member and it would serve no structural advantage so I decided to delete it.

The front axle is from Revell’s ‘32 5-Window. The spring was shaved way down to help get the front end low. A .060” pin was installed at the center which registers in a hole in the front cross member. A .020” strip of material was added to the front edge of the cross member to properly align the frame with the fenders.

Like for the rear, some mount tabs for the hairpin radius rods were made from .040” sheet. 

With the back end of the frame Z’d the floor will need to be modified to allow it to fit so a section was removed for the frame to fit up into. 

 

So here’s where the project ended up. Very pleased with the results so far. Lots more to come!

 

Wow,I'm a big fan of kitbashing and using parts from multiple kits to achieve the dream car in your head. Amazing work...can't wait to see more

[Joe Nunes]

This is looking good!  Thanks for sharing the photos and build information with us. 👌

Joe

[Dennis Lacy]

18 hours ago, carnut said:

Dennis,

Nice work on this project, inspiring as always.

Question, Out of which AMT kit did you get the Firestone cheater slicks ? I have a project that I need a pair.

Thank you and keep up the good work.

Thanks a bunch!

I started typing a completely different message apologizing for not knowing the source and then it came to me, LOL. They are from the Retro Deluxe ‘29 Roadster / Mod Rod double kit. Now, the one I have is the pricier flat box version which is molded in white and it may be that these special tires are unique to it VS the standard shape box kit molded in yellow. The same tires in a  beautiful wide whitewall version are in the Retro Deluxe issue of the ‘49 Ford. 

18 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Don't know how I missed this last week. I also started one but I'm going a simpler route [??] and will be using  mostly the kit's suspension. 

Dennis, how is the fit on your kit between the cowl, hood and rad shell when using the original fender unit?

On mine, with the body on the fenders and the rad in it's slots, the hood seems about 1/16 too short. It seems the rad is too far forward as it looks like the headlight bar will be right up against it when installed. 

I have not tried fitting the hood so I can’t say. Also note I’m using AMT ‘29 Roadster fenders and grill so my results may vary. At this point I don’t think it’s gonna have a hood so it probably won’t matter. Do you get the same result if you try fitting the hood with the roadster pickup body?

17 hours ago, Mike foster said:

Wow,I'm a big fan of kitbashing and using parts from multiple kits to achieve the dream car in your head. Amazing work...can't wait to see more

Thanks so much, Mike! Thats all I do. To me, model kits are just boxes of parts. 😁

6 hours ago, Joe Nunes said:

This is looking good!  Thanks for sharing the photos and build information with us. 👌

Joe

Thanks, Joe! I enjoy sharing my work. 

[cobraman]

Your choice of wheels look perfect !

[Dan Hay]

I’ve had a 29 woody in mind to build for a while… this is looking good and had my ideas flowing… I love the wires and the slots! It’s a win either way. Looking forward to seeing it come together.

[carnut]

2 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said:

Thanks a bunch!

I started typing a completely different message apologizing for not knowing the source and then it came to me, LOL. They are from the Retro Deluxe ‘29 Roadster / Mod Rod double kit. Now, the one I have is the pricier flat box version which is molded in white and it may be that these special tires are unique to it VS the standard shape box kit molded in yellow. The same tires in a  beautiful wide whitewall version are in the Retro Deluxe issue of the ‘49 Ford. 

Thank you Dennis for getting back to me.

it just so happens that I have the kit you mentioned in my stash. I’ll have to double check it later.

Cheers.

 

[Can-Con]

3 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said:

I have not tried fitting the hood so I can’t say. Also note I’m using AMT ‘29 Roadster fenders and grill so my results may vary. At this point I don’t think it’s gonna have a hood so it probably won’t matter. Do you get the same result if you try fitting the hood with the roadster pickup body?

Didn't think to try it. I have it corrected now though. I filed some material from the bottom back of the rad shell where it goes into the notches and added some shims to the front of the notches so it's tight. Everything fits pretty good now but I should have checked it before I painted the fender unit.

[Kenmojr]

Cool looking rod...

[slusher]

Great work so far, I plan on building one of these you always have my internet..

[Kit Karson]

Waiting for the next installment, Brother!  Hats off on the change up in rolling stock!! -KK

[Dennis Lacy]

Annnnnnd… I’m back to the wire wheels. 🤪

I really liked them from the get-go so I’m not sure what compelled me to want to change to something different. When I made up the wires I also wasn’t thinking this would be a strictly traditional hot rod so I fit them to Goodyear radial tires. However, now I want a more vintage look so I went back to the tire bin. 

After trying many possibilities I landed on using the fronts from AMT’s modern tool Ala Kart and Modelhaus T180’s for the rear. In both cases I had trim out the centers of the tires to fit the larger wheels. 

 

With the tires figured out it was time to make the wheels fit the axles. Up front I trimmed the ends of the axle off then inserted .060” pins. The brake plates come in all of the Revell 1940 and 1948 Fords. To get the wheels under the fenders I had to significantly relieve the backsides so the centers are recessed compared to the rim. This was accomplished with tedious trimming and spot sanding. An unmodified wheel back is shown between the finished wheels for comparison.

For the rear I had to remove the raised sleeves on the wheel backs making the centers a flat disc. The end flanges were chopped off of the quick change axle and the end flanges from the Revell 1940 Coupe/Convertible street rods were grafted on as well as another pair of 1940/1948 brake plates. Finally the wheel backs were drilled to fit over the new axle ends. 

A look underneath with the wheels mounted to the axles. 

 

One of the most satisfying moments of a hot rod project in any scale is seeing it sitting on its wheels and tires for the first time. I’m pleased with the stance, not as slammed as the initial mock ups which is more period authentic. I also like how the slightly taller and narrower front tires look. Now that I know the aesthetic direction of the car it’s time to make a final decision on the engine. Stay tuned!