Bernard Kron Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) I’ve been collecting parts and thinking about this build for more than a year. When the Revell 1/25 32 5-window was announced with its louvered rear deck I wondered if it could be made to fit a ’29 Ford Roadster. If it could then my mental picture would be complete and it would be time to start building. I bought the 5-window kit at my LHS last week and it turns out with a little cutting and plastic strip the louvered deck can be made to fit. This will be an early 50’s (circa ’53) drag car. The chassis is from the Revell ’32 series pinched and bobbed at the front and z’d and shortened at the rear, a resin hood and grill shell from the Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Md. A V-8 Roadster resin kit (Norm will sell you the hoods separately if you ask him nicely), the AMT ’29 A Roadster main body shell and the aforementioned Revell ’32 5-window louvered deck. The tonneau cover is scratch built. The motor will be period correct. I’m tempted to go with a Chevy Six but may run a flattie – I haven’t decided. Here’s a pic of the deck conversion. Material needs to be trimmed from the bottom and strips of .020 plastic added to the sides to add width And here’s a very rough mockup. Thanx for lookin’. B. Edited November 2, 2009 by gbk1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt raitz Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Bernard I'm liking it the ol blue tape mock up, heh...been there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 another cool period piece----aahhh, I's just gonna get comfy and watch fer a spell. With that tonneau cover not snugged down yet B, this here looks like a very, very severe choppin' job! Lookin' forward to seeing it take shape, and hopin' you decide on the Chevy 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 Bernard I'm liking it the ol blue tape mock up, heh...been there! Thanx Curt. It's amazing how many times my choice of masking tape has determined the final paint scheme... For some reason I look at this car and suddenly feel very patriotic... another cool period piece----aahhh, I's just gonna get comfy and watch fer a spell. With that tonneau cover not snugged down yet B, this here looks like a very, very severe choppin' job! Lookin' forward to seeing it take shape, and hopin' you decide on the Chevy 6 Thanx CB. I noticed the chopped top effect, too. Of course, that instantly triggered another "future build" in the old memory banks... The inline 6 is most likely the way I'll go, but it probably means scratch building the intake and exhaust which is a concern... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) hehehe .. I was about to make a red, white, and blue joke when you beat me to it, Bernard! I love the overall shape of the body and it all sounds cool. Edited August 1, 2009 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Helferich Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 This is just too cool! Even the mockup would be a draw at any contest! How about the '51 Bel Air 6 with the Fisher head and fuel injection as a starting point for motivation? Every time I read one of your posts here or at TRAK I have the urge to start another project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 ...How about the '51 Bel Air 6 with the Fisher head and fuel injection as a starting point for motivation? ... Thanx Dan! The Fisher setup from the '51 Bel Air is perfect! Fisher even bought the head patterns from Wayne Horning in late '51-early '52 so it fits my time period (no roll bar to keep the lines ultra clean). Now all I have to do is locate one without paying nose-bleed prices on flea-bay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 How about the front mounted blower off the 283 parts pack...would be wild with a 6 banger.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 How about the front mounted blower off the 283 parts pack...would be wild with a 6 banger.... I'm trying to keep it "in the pocket" early 50's so I don't "have" (after all we can do anything we want since these are just car models) to run a roll bar - I want to keep the lines very simple and clean. So the idea of running a date-correct mill just as it would have been at the time really appeals to me. Chuck Potvin started developing and marketing his iconic front drive systems sometime in the middle of '55. Targeting '53-'54 gets me off the hook roll-bar wise. Comparatively rare, front mounted blowers on GM six bangers seem to have been around as early as '56-'58 by which time roll bars began to be required at most strips. (Geez, I really sound like a rivet counter, don't I... ) I just got a PM from a very generous fellow MCM member who's sending me the Fisher-headed mill. I really thought going the six-banger route would turn out to be much more difficult! I am, of course, thoroughly delighted and utterly graterful... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 It looks like you're off to another GREAT start, Bernard!! I really like the idea of dropping the Chevy 6 in there!! I also have a spare 6 from the AMT '50 Chevy Street Machine pickup kit...but other than a chrome, finned valve cover and a chrome air filter, this one is pretty much stock. That being said, it's still the best looking early Chevy 6 I've seen. Let me know if you need any spare "bits". Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADmodelDOCTOR Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I just got a PM from a very generous fellow MCM member who's sending me the Fisher-headed mill. I really thought going the six-banger route would turn out to be much more difficult! I am, of course, thoroughly delighted and utterly graterful... This is great news! I'm looking forward to this build, should be awesome. later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt raitz Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Bernard looks as thou you're havin' a lot of fun with this model...count all the rivets ya want to, after all it's your model just one lil' question...what is an "Eatly 50's style"? never heard of a guy named Eatly in the 50's who had a style named after him... c'ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 We have Inliner Power thanks to the generosity of a fellow MCM-er. A big Thanx!!! goes out to CB for the Fisher 12-port. It came in the mail last week and I finished it up today. There was a surprising amount of revision required to make it over into a competition engine, despite the race parts that came in the kit. First off, some of the parts were a little vague in their details, in particular the fuel injection setup. And the front accessory drive was designed for a road car with a pretty complicated pulley belt system you wouldn’t see on a race engine. If you research these GMC and Chevy 12-ports you soon discover that there weren’t very many heads made, maybe just over 100 among the various Wayne Horning, Wayne, and Fisher variants. As a result virtually every setup is custom. One common hop-up was to take the fuel injection drive directly off the nose of the cam rather than using a belt drive. This was done either by modifying the housing for the cam chain or by casting a new housing. I thought this was particularly neat and tidy and eliminated a lot of the clutter on the front of the kit setup so I made a drive from a couple of pieces of styrene tubing. Also, the kit engine has the bottom of the front bearing housing cut off, as well as the bottom of the front pulley, presumably to clear the metal axle that most AMT kits of this vintage came with. I added back the missing plastic, again using some styrene. Here’s a pic of the modifications to the front of engine before installing the pulleys and injection pump, etc. I replaced the kit injectors with Hilborn units taken from the Tommy Ivo Showboat Buick engines, gluing them to a strip of styrene. I’ll install the injector stacks from the Ivo kit when I do the final installation. I didn’t want to do it now because they are fairly fragile and there will be a lot of handling of the motor as I develop the chassis. The injector pump is from the AMT ’53 Studebaker Hemi mill. The pulleys are modified from my parts box. The magneto is a machined aluminum piece from Pro-Tech. Unfortunately it’s largely hidden by the headers which are only temporarily tacked in place for photography purposes, again because of issues with more handling of the motor. They will be drastically shortened turning final fitting since they are designed to clear the bottom of the body of the ’51 Chevy. Wiring and plumbing will happen during final assembly. Now that I have the engine completed I can tackle the frame in earnest, since I now know the length and width of the motor and can determine the design of the center crossmember. That’s the next step in this build. Thanx for lookin’. B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 That's going to be one hot little Chevy powered Model "A", Bernard!! As usual, you've done your homework before you jumped into the build!! Keep up the GREAT work!! Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I'm trying to keep it "in the pocket" early 50's so I don't "have" (after all we can do anything we want since these are just car models) to run a roll bar - I want to keep the lines very simple and clean. So the idea of running a date-correct mill just as it would have been at the time really appeals to me. Chuck Potvin started developing and marketing his iconic front drive systems sometime in the middle of '55. Targeting '53-'54 gets me off the hook roll-bar wise. Comparatively rare, front mounted blowers on GM six bangers seem to have been around as early as '56-'58 by which time roll bars began to be required at most strips. (Geez, I really sound like a rivet counter, don't I... ) So you count....But you deal with the facts!! Thanx for your research Bernard!! as I was born in '53 I don't remember it too well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Colmer Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 This looks SOOOO right! Go Man, Go! Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 You sure that's the engine I sent you B? Boy...I don't know Bernard... it sure don't look like what I sent ya.... ...but it sure looks good!!! Can't wait to see it in dat ol' 29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 (edited) Thanx for the good words everyone. And thanx again for the Inliner John, it suits this build perfectly. It’s a big mill and the back half will just fit under the cowl with the setback I’ve got. I made some progress on the chassis which is complete now with the exception of any changes that might be required once I finalize the rear suspension. The rails are Revell ’32 Ford pieces. I removed the floor and all crossmembers and trimmed back the front of the rails so that they end behind the ’32 grille shell the car will run. The front is pinched to conform with the Model A hood and ’32 shell. The new floor will be on the bottom of the rails so that the frame is entirely inside the car. The floor will extend only to where the frame kicks up and the rear will be left open as it often was on these early drag cars. The rear of the rails were pie sectioned to create the kick up and a .100 styrene rod (2.5 scale inches) curved tubular crossmember with a suicide bracket installed. The rear spring will be a Model A unit hooked up to a quick change rear end. The lower rear crossmember where the frame kicks up is made from .100 styrene rod. It will be cut in the middle to clear the drive shaft. I blacked out the area I will remove for the photos. The tubular members reinforcing the rear of the chassis are made from .080 styrene rod (2.0 scale inches). The front cross member was fabricated from styrene U-channel to take a Revell ’32 Ford tubular dropped axle. I’m planning to use vane type hydraulic “friction†shocks from the Revell ’29 Ford RPU on all four corners. The front motor mount/crossmember and the center crossmember were fabricated from styrene T-section stock. They will be trimmed in the middle to lower the motor slightly. The setback on the long inliner is pretty extreme and I will have to build a firewall enclosure that will sit about 5-6 scale inches inside the cab. The hardest part is getting the rear suspension set up so the car will sit right. That’s next on the list. The body sits on the frame perfectly now so that’s a great relief. It was totally dependent on getting the center crossmember done right. Thanx for lookin’ B. Edited August 25, 2009 by gbk1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Nice engineering on the frame, Bernard. I always enjoy scratch building frames. Look like you might too. It's amazing how big that 6 looks when mounted in place. There's quite a following for the GMC 6's with the land speed crowd. Hope to see the body and motor mated up in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Nice engineering on the frame, Bernard. I always enjoy scratch building frames. Look like you might too. It's amazing how big that 6 looks when mounted in place. There's quite a following for the GMC 6's with the land speed crowd. Hope to see the body and motor mated up in the near future. Thanx Alyn. Fabrication is one of the great pleasures of modeling IMHO. My chops have a ways to go but there's hardly a build I do where I don't make something. And chassis work is my favorite of all. I don't do it often enough, though... The inliner 6's are huge, mainly because you're talking about two extra cylinders and 1930's foundry technology. And remember those '32 rails were designed to hold a four cylinder motor. But the setback on this one really compouinds the problem. It's why it'll be a while before I get the body back on. That firewall will take some work... B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 "But the setback on this one really compounds the problem. It's why it'll be a while before I get the body back on. That firewall will take some work..." I hear ya; every time you change something, you find out it forces you to change something else, and that forces you to change something else, and ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim boyd Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Bernard....just a quick note that I'm loving your build so far....great theme and that Fisher 6 was an inspired choice. Don't know if you are planning to go to the NNL Nats (Toledo) this year but if so, please bring along this project and display it in our special "Bonneville/Land Speed Record" cult theme display. Whether you are finished or not... Best regards....TIM BOYD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 ...But the setback on this one really compounds the problem. It's why it'll be a while before I get the body back on. That firewall will take some work... Bernard, That little Dremel Stylus you bought should help you make short work of that firewall! Keep up the GREAT work!! You're going to have quite a collection of pretty cool models to bring to the next NNL West!! Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 Thanx as always for all the kind encouragement. Sorry I won’t be making it to the NNL Nats in Toledo this year, Tim, but it’s a long way from Seattle. But thanx for the invite, I appreciate it. This is mainly a scratch built project so the going is slow since I have to “imagineer†stuff before I can start building something. It’s not quite a roller yet but it should be soon. The interior panels are now done as well as some work on the rear wheels and suspension, especially the driveshaft placement and clearances. That inliner is sure big and set well back. I had originally wanted to place the seat on the left hand side but now I’m wondering if it isn’t going to be a center seater to allow for more leg room. Here are some pics of the interior paneling. Thanx for lookin’ B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Bernard, It looks like you're having way too much fun on this one!! All of the fabricationeering is coming together nicely!! I need to get building if I plan on having at least half of what you and Curt will have on display at the next NNL West!! Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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