customline

Very cool, Jim, I enjoyed watching this build. ?

Sorry, Bil, but that's like saying "don't look at that pimple on Jennifer Lopez's butt. ?

Your assessment of my situation is correct. Your signature line says it all. This "kit" has been sitting on the shelf, calling my name, for a few years....my intention, at time of purchase, was to honor the Classic Auburn Speedster with an OOB build. The photos on Ebay were not adequate to describe fully what I would be receiving. I knew it was a "started" kit and I figured I just needed to finish it. How bad could it be, anyway? Right? I had been looking for a true "Classic" for a while, you know, a pre-war Caddy or a Lincoln.....an Imperial.....and the Speedster seemed perfect and the "cost-plus-shipping" was below my self-imposed limit. What could possibly go wrong? ? So, look....you can fix anything with some Evergreen and CA and Bondo. The question I had to answer was "what can I do with this box of excrement? " ?

OK, here's what I'm thinking....a blue tooth ear bud in the trunk. "Alexa! Play Blueberry Hill by Fats Domino!".....heh heh heh.....☺️....no....I'm kidding,

Ooooo .....look at that adorable little motor ?! Seriously? what does that puppy run on? Buttons? Ooo.......wait, no....solar? ?

Yep! Color is perfection. Chopped and channelled three window.....it don't get much better, Bill-e-boy!

Man, that frame sure is ugly ?. The flatty, she's a beauty now! ? The colors work beautifully.

Jes trying da hep?

that's easy for you to say!. No, really, I'm having a blast screwing with this pile of recycled plastic. Thanks for hangin!

Hey, Bil, don't forget to paint the battery next time you have the s.g. black open ? the flatty looks dynamite ?

If you are familiar with the Lindberg '35 Auburn Speedster, you can skip ahead. You can see from the Instructions the chassis is the major component onto which everything is attached. Without it, well.....I am discovering how insane my idea was to use a different chassis. ? In order to join the fuselage to the tail section, I needed to add some material to the inside of the "boat-tail" and to the the rear fender assembly, creating a structure that could serve as alignment and gluing surfaces. I glued E-green strips to the mating sections and added brass pins for alignment. It worked okay but the mating of these sections looks pretty bad. The reason for this extra work is to allow attachment of these assemblies after paint and finishing. The original assembly process is totally out the window. I think that painting this thing would have been tricky anyway, but ? now..... In order to remedy this issue I decided the easiest way for me was to add a skin to the bottom of the body so that it meets the tail. Not great, but better ?. Bondo to follow.

It's hard to wire those darn flathead distributors. I have not seen one from a kit that depicts it well. It looks like you did your homework, though. The whole project is moving ahead nicely, Bil. Thumbs up ? on the color.

EXCELLENT !!! ? I really love this build, Jim. I am going to steal all your ideas. Seriously, I love the concept and style and yes, the color is refreshingly cool. This is one great '40 coupe!

Thanks, Joe, I agree with that engine idea. I will very likely run normally routed exhaust. I eliminated the holes in the fender and have fabricated the flip front. A side exhaust is a possibility. I have a pair of Corvette side pipes, somewhere, that may work for this. I'm feeling my way along in the dark.

Me too, David. It's my next task. I need to make the necessary changes to the chassis. I don't have many choices in my junkyard and I hate to bust another kit. ?

I thought that seat looked familiar. Perfect! Re-upholstered original springs. A high school driver! It could work.

Greg, you are totally welcome to express your empassioned artistic opinion on my thread any time you want....PERIOD ! Seriously, you need to be careful if you have the old "laminate " flooring. Get the juice up very quickly ?

I have a vague childhood memory of a AMT Trophy kit with an Allison aircraft engine. it must have been a "drag" or "competition " option in a kit to build some mystery pre-war hot rod

The buckets are too cheap looking.. a re-upholstered original spring.. The bench looks a bit too narrow but a bench is the best choice for a tiny car like the '34. Is it a driver, a kid's car? And when? Go with a bench, mho.

What kit was the Allison from? By the way, I used the '34 ford sides for a templates because they had a curve in them and the side panels of the Auburn were flat. I made flat side panels from evgrn sheet.

More from today

I checked my engine stash....I have one Firepower hemi and one 409. But I'm thinking more like.....Allison ?. Gotta check Ebay for a 1:25 Spitfire or P-51 ?

Thanks, Paul, I hope to keep you interested. I hope to keep me interested ?

That's kinda what I need for this. Or something like maybe a Viper mill. Or a straight eight Hudson? I dunno, Bill. I don't have anything like that in the junkyard here. It's always Hemis with me. Or 409s. I'm in an engine rut.

The above pix are today's accomplishment. Hard work ahead. Gotta find an engine!