'32 Ford RPU

[Fletch]

I'm sure you have all figured out that Fletch is a fan of the '32 Ford, as long as it's a '32 it will peak my interest. Such is the case of the '32 Ford Roadster Pickup. A member on another forum started a '32 Roadster Pickup the other night, which in itself drew me in. As I looked over his build it didn't seem quite right to me. After about 30 minutes of investigation I found what was bothering me, he had a flat piece of styrene across the back of the RPU cab. That would be fantastic if he were building a pre '30 RPU but not a post '29. The post '29 RPUs had rounded corners at the rear of the cabs just like their enclosed cab cousins.

I have always thought that RPUs were about the coolest things going so with research in hand I ventured out to the garage to see what I could scare up in the way of parts to build an RPU.

I came up with a complete Revell 32 Chassis, a Revell '32 Roadster body(already modified), the bed from a Lindberg '34 Ford Pick-up, the tires and wheels from a Revell '32 Sedan, '50 Ford Flat Head, axles from a Revell '32 Ford and the Duvall Windshield from an AMT Phantom Vicki.

The Revell rear fenders are considerably wider then stock and will require either narrowing them or leaving them be and using them to tub the bed. I plan to build 2 of the fuel injection manifolds like in the photo below, one to complete another flat head project and the second for this flat head.

I'm hoping that when the RPU is completed it will have some of this flair, obviously with a different windshield.

Hosted on Fotki

Your comment and suggestions are always welcome.

Peace

[Lyle Willits]

Dave,

I'm sure you know this but as a reminder, don't forget to cut off the gas tank from the Revell frame.

All '32 Ford pickups had the gas tank behind the bench seat in the cab.

[george 53]

Dave, duhhhh.... you may have mentioned it, but since I wasn't takein notes, but HOW did you make the body? Could you graft the REAR of an AMT 32 Pheaton to the FRONT of Revelograms 32 roadster? This looks like a neat kit to try to build,as I've heard the Lindburg 32 RPU isn't all that hot. Plus, I jus like cuttin up stuff. Now that I think of it, couldn't you just mod the whole thing from the Pheaton? I know the lower front edges of ALL of AMT's 32's are wrong, so I guess you'd be in for just a little more work, but ya think it would fly? Jus an idea I had, BUT,since YOU brought it up, I thunked I might throw out a monkey wrench into the mix. Whaddaya thunk?????

[Rob Hall]

Very cool... a '32 RPU would be a neat choice for Revell's next '32 Ford variation...

[Chuck Most]

Very cool... a '32 RPU would be a neat choice for Revell's next '32 Ford variation...

Heck, Rob... even a closed cab Deuce pickup would be a nice thing to have. (Not saying the ancient AMT/Lindberg kit doesn't stack up anymore, though, not by a long shot! I can't believe how well that old girl has held up!)

Fletch- you never disappoint (well, not me anyway)! Can't wait to see how this one turns out...

[Fletch]

Lot of suggestions/questions about this one. so let's start from the top with the responses;

Lyle, you are correct, in stock form the '32 pickups do not use the same gas tank location as passenger car cousins. However, everything I found indicates that the tanks on the RPU were under the passenger side of the seat. That the seat on an RPU was a 60/40 split seat with the passenger side being just a cushion without any springs and that the filler was recessed so it wouldn't poke you in the backside. Most of the RPUs as they have gotten converted into rods have had the tanks moved to the passenger car location with an access hole cut in the floor or converted to a goose neck setup to bring the filler out to the side of the bodywork.

Dave, the chassis as it currently sits is box stock Revell with it extra wide rear fenders. I have not decided whether to leave them as Revell produced them and use them as tubs in the bed or reduce their width to fit outside the Lindberg '34 bed, which needs to be shortened 5 scale inches to be the correct length for a stock '32 pickup either Closed Cab or RPU.

George, my first thought was to use the Phantom Vicky from AMT for this build, as there are several out in the garage that were bought for parts when KB Toys had them on close out for $4.99. The problem with the Phantom Vicky and the AMT Phaeton is how the rear body work sits. The rear sheet metal if you will, curves from the top rear of the body back toward the rear fender-wells. The rear of the RPU cab is straight up and down (if we were building a '31 RPU that body shape of the rear of the Phantom Vicky or Phaeton would be more correct). I guess the whole thing is how prototypically correct do you want to be. The project could indeed be done using any number of different body combinations, just a matter of how accurate do you want it and how much time are you willing to invest for the accuracy. The other problem with using the AMT Phaeton is as you noted, the lack of accuracy with the lower body from the rear of the doors forward. For some odd reason AMT choose on all their '32 Fords to start the curve of the lower body line at the rear of the front doors instead of the front of the doors as on the 1:1.

The body as it sits in the photo is the Revell Roadster body that has had the cabin area reduced by aprox 8 scale inches to get the rear of the cab to proper length. The rest of the body behind the seating area was removed. The rear corners of the cab need to be rebuilt most likely with Evergreen tubing to get the correct profile. The rear corners of the cab on the RPU are not as straight up and down as their closed cab cousins. The one area of the cab that I may forgo making 100% correct is representing the reveals as seen in this photo:

Hosted on Fotki

Once you pllace the body on the chassis and install the bed the reveals are no longer visible., Who knows, being the rear of the cab will be built from the ground up the reveals may make it into the building process.

Rob, you never know what might be the next offering from Revell in the '32 Ford line. Personally, I'd raise my had if the ask 'Who wants a B400 as our next offering?' I know Lyle mastered a complete '32 Pickup which if offered by Replica and Miniatures Company of Maryland. You can't go wrong with a Lyle Willits master and Norm Veber's casting.

Chuck, any Pickup offering in the Revell '32 Ford line would be a welcome addition. The molds for the AMT/Lindberg '34 Pickup have been around for as long as I can remember (I've been building for 46 years now). The ol' girl is a little long in the tooth but a long ways from not being usable in the right hands. A very presentable '32 Closed Cab Pickup can be built using the AMT/Lindberg kit by removing the top of the 3 reveal lines on the rear of the cab (to be correct you need to add the rivets in it's place), shortening the bed 5" and putting it on a chassis with the correct wheel-base.

I posted the RPU on the Fellowship of Christian Modelers forum, it was suggested that when completed that it should be used as a master. If that is the case the progress to the version I plan to build will slow a bit as I plan to complete it with the Duvall windshield. It may end up being mastered twice, once for the "Stock" Revell windshield and once for the Duvall. I have a feeling this may turn into a long term build, who knows everything just might fall into place.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Fletch

[Dennis Lacy]

Fletch: This is a really neet project and not one I have seen done before?

I hate that my brain works like this but I can't help it! The 1:1 truck you posted pictures of would be considered a "phantom". A real '32 RPU cab shares nothing in common with a passenger car cab except for the inner door handles. You may already be aware of this? I'm not trying to be hostile in any way, just pointing it out.

Lyle, you are correct, in stock form the '32 pickups do not use the same gas tank location as passenger car cousins. However, everything I found indicates that the tanks on the RPU were under the passenger side of the seat. That the seat on an RPU was a 60/40 split seat with the passenger side being just a cushion without any springs and that the filler was recessed so it wouldn't poke you in the backside. Most of the RPUs as they have gotten converted into rods have had the tanks moved to the passenger car location with an access hole cut in the floor or converted to a goose neck setup to bring the filler out to the side of the bodywork.

The closed cab pickups and the roadster pickups used the same same gas tank under the seat, which doubled as the seat riser. The bottom seat cushoins were split 50/50 and removeable to access the filler cap under the passenger side. Both cushions are identicle and both have springs and padding attached to a square-shaped wood frame. The fuel tank has two raised square areas that fit into the center holes of the wooden cushion frames and hold them in place. I know this to be fact as I own a 1:1 '32 pickup and my Dad owned a real-deal 1:1 '32 roadster pickup for 25 years.

Dave, the chassis as it currently sits is box stock Revell with it extra wide rear fenders. I have not decided whether to leave them as Revell produced them and use them as tubs in the bed or reduce their width to fit outside the Lindberg '34 bed, which needs to be shortened 5 scale inches to be the correct length for a stock '32 pickup either Closed Cab or RPU.

If it were me I would leave the rear fenders alone and work them into the bed. One of the problems with the Lindberg '34 pickup kit is that the pickup rear fenders are too narrow to get a decent sized rear tire under.

Also, '32 and '33-'34 pickup beds are dimensionally the same and even share the same front panel, framework and tailgate. The bed floor was the same except that in '33 and '34 there was a rectangular plate that could be removed to access the fuel line fitting at the fuel pickup in the top of the gas tank as the '33 and '34 had the tank was mounted under the bed.

The difference in the bed sides lies in the beads to accomodate the different fender positions. The '32 pickup had a 106" wheelbase whereas the the '33-'34 had 112", so the fenders needed to be moved rearward in the latter two years.

[Lyle Willits]

The '32 closed cab pickup has been available from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Md. for about a year now.

It is NOT a '34 with a deuce grille. Each part is correct for a '32 pickup, right down to the modified fenders, the correct cab beltline and the stovebolt heads in the cab back wall and bed sides. Norm sells the kits with or without the fenders.

[Rob Hall]

The '32 closed cab pickup has been available from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Md. for about a year now.

That looks pretty cool... I'll have to get a current catalog from R&M...I think the one I have is from 2002.

[Lyle Willits]

That looks pretty cool... I'll have to get a current catalog from R&M...I think the one I have is from 2002.

Go here for the catalog;

http://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc...casminiatureof/

[Rob Hall]

Go here for the catalog;

http://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc...casminiatureof/

Cool...thanks. Looking at the catalog, I see you have mastered a '32 sedan delivery also. Don't recall seeing pics of one of those unbuilt or built up.

[Fletch]

Well, that'll teach me to trust those guys on the HAMB board for my 1:1 information. Thanks for the input Dennis, I don't consider the input and 1:1 information as hostile in any way. A lot of the information out there on '32 RPUs come from people who have either never seen or think they know about them. The fact the the '32 RPU is a pretty rare piece there is a lot of mystery and mystic behind them. I'm always hesitant to put historical data in a build posting. When you use the internet for research it can be like going to Wikipedia for medical advice. You're never 100% sure it's accurate.

Lyle thank you posting the photos of the '32 closed cab pickup, I had never seen one of them built or unbuilt but knew it would be beautiful, and I was not disappointed.

I hope when it's completed that will be worthy of being a master to add to Norm's vastly expanding catalog.

Edited July 24, 2009 by Fletch

[Dennis Lacy]

Well, that'll teach me to trust those guys on the HAMB board for my 1:1 information. Thanks for the input Dennis, I don't consider the input and 1:1 information as hostile in any way. A lot of the information out there on '32 RPUs come from people who have either never seen or think they know about them. The fact the the '32 RPU is a pretty rare piece there is a lot of mystery and mystic behind them. I'm always hesitant to put historical data in a build posting. When you use the internet for research it can be like going to Wikipedia for medical advice. You're never 100% sure it's accurate.

Mis-information on the HAMB? Never!

I'm glad what I wrote came across the way I intended. There is a lot of mis-information out there regarding these scarce trucks. I know that in '32 only 593 cabs were produced and ended up on everything from regular 1/2 ton chassis to big, 157" wheelbase dump trucks! The cab sheet-metal was the same in '33 and '34 and even less were made in those years.

The version your building is a pretty popular alternative (using passenger car styling) cause not only are the real ones hard to come by, but they're fairly unattractive to many people - especially the windshield. They were not one of the higher class models Ford offered and were basically slapped together. I think that the passenger car-based version is a good idea and can be very cool looking when done properly. From the traditional-influenced builds I've seen you do I'm sure this one will be no exception. And, using the finished cab as a resin plug is a good idea. I'm sure quite a few people would be interested in building they're own RPU.

[Fletch]

Dave - you're being a bad boy and you're not reading all the words.

The red model IS the buildup and the resin kit has been in Norms catalog since January, 2008 (1- 1/2 years).

He has sold quite a few, he tells me.

I guess I didn't use my words correctly or they didn't come across properly. I figured the photo of the Red '32 Closed Cab Pickup was from RMoM, which I know is one of the many pieces that you have mastered for Norm. I had neither seen a photo of it in Norm's Catalog or a build up of the kit and was glad to see you post a photo of the kit as well as your build-up.

The last statement of, "I hope when it's completed that will be worthy of being a master to add to Norm's vastly expanding catalog.", was in regards to the cab for the RPU that I am building as it has been suggested that it should go to Norm as a master when the body work is completed.

And as to my not reading all the words, that my friend would be nothing unusual at all, something about adult ADHD. If I read as fast as I chopped plastic I'd have 'War & Peace' read in a single day. :lol: :lol:

Edited July 24, 2009 by Fletch

[Chuck Most]

Chuck, any Pickup offering in the Revell '32 Ford line would be a welcome addition. The molds for the AMT/Lindberg '34 Pickup have been around for as long as I can remember (I've been building for 46 years now). The ol' girl is a little long in the tooth but a long ways from not being usable in the right hands. A very presentable '32 Closed Cab Pickup can be built using the AMT/Lindberg kit by removing the top of the 3 reveal lines on the rear of the cab (to be correct you need to add the rivets in it's place), shortening the bed 5" and putting it on a chassis with the correct wheel-base.

D'oh! Yep, it would require a bit more work than I realized to turn the '33/'34 Ford pickup into a '32! I've tried the '34 Pickup/Phantom Vicky kitbash- it turned out okay, but it wasn't quite as cool as I'd imagined it- even with a Lincoln 340 in place of the Mod motor! And not only would a pickup be a nice Revell kit, so would a panel... but then, you could fill in the quarter windows and cut a back door into the new Tudor kit to create the rare "Town Delivery" model, like I'm doing. (I've only gotten as far as blocking off the quarter widows... wish I had one of those 'attention spans' I hear so much about .)