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'48 Ford Coupe Street Rod


mrmike

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After seeing pictures of a '48 Ford Street Rod in a magazine, I had to build one myself. Since I haven't used enamel paint in a while, body work will come first so I can paint the body and let it dry while I work on the rest of the kit. I would like to thank Classic Plastic Model Club member John for selling me this kit.

Here is what I'm going to attempt...since I am using the lowered suspension on my '48 Woody, I will use the stock suspension on the Coupe and figure a way to lower it without having to alter the suspension too much. I scrounged a big block Ford from my parts box and will see if I can fit it into the engine bay of the '48 Coupe. If not, I'll get a small block Ford from an old model sitting on the shelf. I also have a dual exhaust system from the Revell '64 Fairlane.

Here is the kit I am using...

48Ford01.jpg

My paint is Testors Colors By Boyd Lime Pearl #52907.

48Ford02.jpg

48Ford03.jpg

I haven't been revved up like this for a build in quite a while!

More to come...

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I assembled the big block Ford motor this morning and found that it wouldn't fit the chassis unless I did a lot of hacking on the frame. Instead, I am going to use the kit Flathead which fits this chassis anyway. I can't justify doing major surgery on the frame.

I painted the '48 Ford this morning with several mist coats of Testors Colors By Boyd Lime Pearl. I'll let this paint sit for a while and add a wet coat later.

48Ford04.jpg

48Ford05.jpg

48Ford06.jpg

I thinking of a Dark Copper interior with white trim.

More to come...

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Thanks guys! I sanded and washed the body yesterday and painted it this morning. I did not prime or use a base coat of paint in another color. I know that some paint had puddled on the chassis, but believe it or not...most of that paint has dissipated from the corners. The paint on the roof has some trash in it so I'll be sanding that out soon when the paint has had some time to cure. I think that once I have sanded, painted again, and then cleared the paint, it will pop enough for me.

I've decided on the interior colors...Dark Copper with white trim.
48Ford07.jpg
48Ford08.jpg
I'll clean up the edges and smooth out the irregularities later.
The engine is painted and is awaiting additional pieces and detailing.
48Ford09.jpg
More to come...
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Thanks Carl!

I have finished the engine this morning. I painted the valve covers and exhaust manifolds with some semi-gloss clear to knock down the chrome plated shine.
48Ford11.jpg
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I painted the spokes of the wheels to resemble American Racing Torque Thrust wheels.
48Ford10.jpg
I've been working on lowering the stock suspension and I'm pretty happy with how it looks. I'll paint it up and assemble the chassis and suspension and post pictures later.
More to come...
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I have been picking away at this thing off and on for a few minutes at a time. I got the interior partially assembled with the side panels, bench seat, pedals, and a floor shifter.

48Ford13.jpg

48Ford14.jpg

The dash is in progress.

48Ford15.jpg

More to come...

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I have fine-tuned my lowered suspension for the 48 Ford.

48Ford16.jpg

I filed off the top spring and filed away at the spring mount on the front cross member. This lowered the front spring a bit.

48Ford17.jpg

On the rear suspension, I filed down the rear cross member a bit and filed off the top spring. This will lower the rear a little bit, but also give the car a bit off a rake.

48Ford18.jpg

More to come...

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I actually like that color on the bare plastic...it seems to add to the pearlescent characteristics of the green.

I do wish they had made that kit as a stock-roof model, I would gladly have bought one.

The copper/white interior looks really good with that color, Mike. Nice pick.

Another good build coming along out of this.

Charlie Larkin

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Thanks Derick, Charlie, and Ron! The color reminds me of a Granny Smith Apple and I may just call it that...or some variation of that.

The chassis is coming along. I have painted the front and rear axles the same color as the body, except with a silver undercoat.

48Ford19.jpg

The rear suspension is complete.

48Ford20.jpg

Since the front suspension has been lowered, the shocks needed to be modified.

48Ford21.jpg

More to come...

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I had originally painted the dash with Tamiya XF-28 Dark Copper and when I mocked up the interior, I didn't like it. I researched dashes for the '48 Fords and found that there were painted body color. I thought that the interior did need a splash of body color inside, but how do I strip the paint now that Purple Power is no longer as strong as it use to be? I bought myself some Easy-Off Fume Free Oven Cleaner and placed the dash into a small container and sprayed it with the oven cleaner covering the dash completely yesterday. This morning I rinsed off the dash...paint and all!
48Ford22.jpg
I painted the dash when it was dried.
48Ford23.jpg
The suspension has been completed, front and rear.
48Ford24.jpg
I'll install the engine and radiator next.
More to come...
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I have finished the dash.
48Ford25.jpg
And, installed it into the now completed interior.
48Ford26.jpg
I installed the engine and radiator into the chassis. The exhaust I have chosen will dump in front of the rear tires and will require some bending of the pipes to fit the chassis.
48Ford27.jpg
More to come...
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Thanks Bill!

I did a mockup of the Ford and I didn't like it. The nose sits too high.
48Ford28.jpg
I took apart the front suspension and cut off the spindles and mounted them higher on the front axle.
48Ford29.jpg
This should help lower the nose a bit.
48Ford31.jpg
More to come...
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