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Glue Bomb 1932 Ford


gwolf

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I'm thinking about building car kits again after almost 10 years. To get warmed up I started practicing on some glue bomb builtups I got from my buddy Pat.

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So first up is a 1932 Ford kit. I'm not sure who made it, probably AMT. It's painted, lots of glue, and misaligned in quite a few places where it was glued. Furthermore, the radiator grill had been painted then some decals applied to it. The underneath is one piece, with molded in rear axle and such, which is a pain. Preferably I'd like to just have the rails and update the rear axle and exhaust, but I'll just keep working for the time being.

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The first thing I did was to score the running boards and front fenders then cut them off using a razor knife. After that I trimmed, sanded and smoothed out where they had been removed.

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The firewall was heavily glued to the body, more so on the drivers side side. Since I knew this car would be lowered or channeled I began to clip out the firewall. I have firewalls in my parts box, so I could replace it.

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The firewall was a huge pain and a small chunk would not budge. About half an hour with nippers and a shaving with a razor knife removed it. I sanded it down level with fine grit sandpaper. On a side note, the paint and decals came off the radiator grill after being soaked in water for a night. Must have been tempera paint or something similar.

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Here you can see that the body is sanded smooth where the firewall was once heavily glued. The black spot makes it appear there's still a glob on there, but it is smooth.

As of yesterday I'm still trying to figure out a decent stance. It's tough with that one piece underneath.

I've seen aftermarket tires and even recently purchased a set of those AMT whitewalls, but do any of you have any tips on how to get four tires matched up with wheels that will connect to the axles?

Edited by gwolf
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Thanks guys! A little update...

I ended up ditching the entire part that sits over the rails that originally had the fenders on it (I don't know what to call it, but ditching it allowed me to channel the body over the rails).

I liked that idea but couldn't get it as low as I wanted it to be. I was close to starting something else until I read James2's post where he had flipped parts of the rail in order to lower the car.

( http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73539 )

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I flipped the entire underneath but it made little difference in lowering the rear (the underneath is a one piece deal). As you can see the front end is way too high.

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Now I'm getting the stance I want. The rails are right side up, but the front springs are going to be flipped. I've seen 1:1 cars that had worse setups than that, so I'm gonna go with it.

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I'll keep working on it and in the meantime try to find some nice whitewall big 'n littles.

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Thanks Jantrix and Ace-Garageguy. I'm getting into this resurrection business, it's kinda fun. I just need a bigger stash of old parts.

Any ideas on what to do about that big glob of glue on the drivers side of the windshield?

I'll keep you posted.

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So far so good! This is a 32 I've been working on. Although the chassis is that one-piece AMT deal from the frame rails mid engine to the back end, I channeled the body deeply to get the rear as low as I wanted. The work involved to get the back end very low is not worth it.

DSCN0711-vi.jpg

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Oooh I like it, Glenn. Nice job! That one piece chassis is such a pain, ain't it? I've seen some of these guys make their own, but I don't have the skill for it, so I'll do what you did and just make it work.

It'd make my life and this build so much simpler if I would set up the front wheels in front of the radiator like you did.

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Thanks Jantrix and Ace-Garageguy. I'm getting into this resurrection business, it's kinda fun. I just need a bigger stash of old parts.

Any ideas on what to do about that big glob of glue on the drivers side of the windshield?

I'll keep you posted.

Just as hack-n-whack said try and make your own windshield .You can always use a clear two liter pop bottle for your glass. It will flatten out once you cut it.

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Here's a quick update:

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Here's the flathead that came with the built kit. For whatever ridiculous reason, I'd like to use the engine that was originally used.

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But...there's a lot of glue and the engine halves, fan, belts and radiator pipes won't budge. However, the chrome parts popped right off. I could just paint the whole thing flat black then add the chrome back on or I could use another, unbuilt flathead from a different kit and that would require some surgery and adding engine mounts that the original engine block already had. Decisions, decisions...

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I got the new AMT Racemaster piecrust whitewall racing slicks for the back and the new AMT whitewall Firestones for the front in the mail over the weekend. I dug through my parts box and found some steelies to use.

It's not much, but it's progress...

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Try popping the engine in the freezer over night. The freezing usually makes it easier to break the glue bond.

Tony, I will try that and let you know how it works. If it doesn't I do have that other unbuilt flathead from an AMT kit I can use. The engine that came with this model ends about pretty close to the transmission and picks up where it's molded into the chassis. As luck would have it the unbuilt flathead has been damaged where the drive shaft connects so I could cut that off to match without worrying about it.

Hopefully I can get some real work done on it this weekend and move onto a new out of the box kit with less headaches.

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Looking good, and very vintage Greg! Um, please swap the wheels front to back. The ones with the nipples in the center are supposed to represent dust caps and go on the front. :D

I dont really mind that one piece chassis. I've finished 2 32's and have 3 on the bench using it. I dont pick up my models and look underneath much so it is no big deal to me. I cut away all of the offending bits on this chassis, and I am not quite sure all the work was worth it.

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Edited by Draggon
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Looking good so far, Greg! I really like your wheel/tire choice. FWIW, the wheels with the protruding center hub should go on the front, and the ones with the recessed center go on the back. This is a great old kit that you can have a lot of fun with.

Looking good, and very vintage Greg! Um, please swap the wheels front to back. The ones with the nipples in the center are supposed to represent dust caps and go on the front. :D

I dont really mind that one piece chassis. I've finished 2 32's and have 3 on the bench using it. I dont pick up my models and look underneath much so it is no big deal to me. I cut away all of the offending bits on this chassis, and I am not quite sure all the work was worth it.

drag32chassis-vi.jpg

Thanks guys! I honestly had no idea about the difference between front and rear. It's been ten years since I even made a car with steelies. You learn something new every day.

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A quick update on my progress:

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Got the steelies primed and painted. I went with a darker red than most rats use.

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The new firewall has been altered to allow the raisl to be channelled under the body.

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Using the Dremel and a microscopic bit, I got the spark plug holes drilled in both headers.

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I spent about 45 minutes Friday evening drilling out a hole in the block and creating a "gulley" for the distributor to sit in. It's not exactly how it should be on a 1:1, but once the fan belt assembly is installed, you won't be able to tell.

I used this photo for reference:

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A quick update

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Got a Mexican blanket cut from a piece of fabric from my buddy Pat (who I also go this original build from)

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Got the donated flathead engine mostly put together (again, from my buddy Pat.) He said the air filter is an "oil bath" air filter. That guy is a wealth of knowledge.

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Spark plug boots have been put on the wires. Might not sound like much, but I was dreading putting them on. First time using a prewired distributor.

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Painted the body the other night. It's Testors Flat Olive Drab Green.

I kinda dig the gray primer firewall...anyone have any other color suggestions for that?

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