Bernard Kron Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 (edited) Now that Round 2 has released what amounts to the definitive re-issue of the AMT 36 Ford 3-in-1 kit it’s time for me to use up all the parts and kits I’ve gathered up to try to duplicate the original issue. Besides, Ed Fluck at Drag City Castings has just released a hot new set of louvered pieces for the kit that I can’t resist using. So here’s my latest project, a pre-war style customized ’36 Ford Roadster made from various AMT ‘36’s in my stash. The pictures below are of the car with all the “basics” done but slapped together in pure mockup form using temporary adhesives. Lots of body cleanup and fitment to be done but it confirms the look I’m after. The main body is from an AMT 5-window coupe because the 5 windows have the shorter door found on the roadster. A flaw in the original AMT 3-window/roadster kit was that they engraved the longer 3-window door in the body to match the 3-window roof. Rather than fill and engrave a new door line it’s easier to use the 5-window body if you’ve got one. The chassis has been lowered front and rear to the maximum by shaving the front spring and crossmember and hogging out the rear crossmember to shove the rear spring up as far as it will go. I plan to use the kit flathead with some hop up parts from the AMT ’34 Ford 5-window. One set of parts I was never able to gather up from the original issue ’36 3-window was the rear fender skirts, so I made my own. I used the kit custom grill shell and filled it with a ’40 Ford Deluxe grill as suggested by George Barris himself in the original release. The windshield has been chopped 3 scale inches. The interior will be largely stock with two major changes. First of all I made large rolled bolsters which fit across the back and the front seating area of the stock seats. Secondly, I made a filler panel to cover the package tray. There is a comparison picture below showing the car with either the stock convertible boot or the fill panel viewed from different angles. I haven’t decided which to use, but the car will be shown as an open roadster. I won’t be making a Carson top. The flipper caps on the front are from the AMT ’40 Ford sedan delivery. The tires are from my parts box and are of unknown origin. The final major customizing touch is the louvered deck and hood as mastered by Plowboy (Roger Hayes) and re-popped by Drag City. In order to establish some continuity across the rear deck along with the louvers I made a recessed license plate area which will have a molded clear plastic cover. I haven’t decided on bumpers as yet. I’m thinking the ribbed DeSoto bumpers that come in the ’40 Sedan delivery kit to go with the prewar Kustom vibe of this thing, but I may go with post-war items with bumper guards, depending on what I decide for taillights. Color is up in the air but I’m thinking a lighter shade with a white or light tan interior. Even though the basic look is dialed in there’s still a lot left to do. Thanx for lookin’, B. Edited April 19, 2014 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Bernard, that is looking really great.... very "Deco" looking Have you considered using a PE piece, LaSalle style, for the grille instead of the '40 Ford piece? Are you going to use teardrop taillights? Sorry for all the questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel886 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Very NICE indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toner283 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Looking really good Bernard. With all of the swoopy lines on that thing to me it is just begging for a filled cowl vent and a DuVal style windshield. all of those nice lines and the straight up and down windshield kind of disrupts the flow. or maybe with the stock style windshield frame chopped and laid back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Looks great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) Thanx everyone! The suggestions you have made are both ones I considered. ...Have you considered using a PE piece, LaSalle style, for the grille instead of the '40 Ford piece? Are you going to use teardrop taillights?... I already have a 5-window going with a p/e LaSalle grill and I also plan to do a Jack-Calori style chopped 3-window which also will have a p/e LaSalle grille and take advantage of the newly introduced louvered pieces (Calori's coupe had louvered hood sides). I decided to keep the whole thing relatively simple and use it as a rehearsal for some of the details I've never done before. For example the sunken license plate is a first for me, as are the skirts, where, even though I've cut a few I've only completed them to full finished pieces once before, and then not as successfully as I would have liked. The kit AMT skirts, while quite handsome in their way, are fairly unique and recognizable and I may not want to use them on the Calori inspired car. Even taking Barris' suggestion, to be done properly, requires you to cut down the '40 shell so it fits into the AMT opening. That grill combo, by the way, is taken from Barris' own '36 3-window he had while he was working for Harry Westergard before the war. In fact the AMT kit coupe is a pretty heavily influenced by that car. I think if I add a small chrome strip between the '40 gill and the hood, the way George (or Westergard?) did, it will work. The Barris 3-window circa 1941 Looking really good Bernard. With all of the swoopy lines on that thing to me it is just begging for a filled cowl vent and a DuVal style windshield. all of those nice lines and the straight up and down windshield kind of disrupts the flow. or maybe with the stock style windshield frame chopped and laid back. Regarding the windscreen, I did consider a DuVall style windscreen. I have a very nice one from Herb Deeks which I test fit, but it would have required a full re-do of the cowl which is itself a bit short to accommodate a laid-over DuVall. I decided against it because introducing it would have led to a far more elaborate build than I wanted to take on. Had I used the DuVall 'screen then I would have had to think about a flush compound curve panel behind the seat and quite definitely a full-on LaSalle conversion as well as molded in headlights (both of which I'm doing on the 5-window). I have chopped the windshield very close to 3 scale inches already, and I've also glued a support strip to the cowl behind the windshield so I can lay it back. I agree that it's still not quite dramatic enough. I may take another 1/2 to 1 inch out and I certainly will work at getting it more laid back. But the '36 is a transitional car, not a full-on late Deco design, especially in the case of the Roadster. I think I'm right in remembering that this was the last year Ford offered the roadster, by then a pretty old fashioned concept. So I'm trying to stay focused on that side of the design, rather than achieving a modernizing makeover. Thanks for your interest in my build. Hopefully there will be more to come soon, B. Edited April 2, 2014 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I've always prefered the stock grill over the LaSalle style, but I will enjoy seeing this come together. Keep it going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Paint is completed. The main body color is Duplicolor Naples Gold Metallic over white primer. Interior colors are Duplicolor Wimbledon White with Testors Acryl Tan bolsters and trim. I’ve decided to go with the convertible top cover since it emphasizes the Deco era lines more. The cover and the running boards are also finished in Wimbledon White. In the front ¾ views you’ll notice a small strip of molding above the grill, something I referred to earlier as seen on George Barris' '36 3-window. This will be foiled. The car will have a stock hood ornament and the molding will continue the line between the ornament and the center strip in the grill. This will draw the eye downwards and help fill an otherwise vacant space. There’s still a motor to build and then foiling and final assembly. Thanx for lookin’, B. Edited April 3, 2014 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 That looks very nice in Gold Bernard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 That looks very nice in Gold Bernard. I do agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyrichard Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 whouw thats one cool ride !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel886 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Oh yeah, looking good Bernard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Very nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKerry Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 This is gonna be nice!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Laski Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Looking good, Bernard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) Thanx everyone! More progress has been made. The interior and motor have been completed and are shown below. Both are based on the AMT kit parts. The interior has a scratch built dashboard using a photo-etch Auburn instrument panel from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland. The motor uses finned heads and a twin-carb manifold from the AMT ’34 Ford 5-window kit. I have finished up other details which aren’t shown in the pictures. The bumpers will be ribbed 37 DeSoto pieces from the AMT Sedan Delivery kit. I also think I may have found a way to adapt the DuVall windshield from the AMT Phantom Vicky to the cowl without damaging the paint or doing any bodywork. I hope to have this done by early next week. Thanx for lookin’, B. Edited April 10, 2014 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmobie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 One of my favorite kits of all time. I can't remember how many of these I have built over the years. Yours is great, very nostalgic, very real. Great job. Thanks round 2. Walt O'Brien in snow on the mountains VT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsxse240 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I love what you've done here. Very inspiring. AMT makes some rather lack luster kits, but I love them so much because they're so easy to customize. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanx guys! All done. "Beauty Shots" in the Under Glass section! Thanx to all for following along. B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Love it, and the look. Will check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duntov Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I like the flat motor--- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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