MGL

Weird and I like it, great job!

Thanks for all the kind words. My son plays so I have a pretty good selection of guitar string to choose from, maybe I'll take another look and see if I missed something. That's what I really like about this car is how subtle it is. I would have never gotten the chassis details figured out with out your advice, thank you. To stay true to the era I just polished the lacquer.

This one is done for now and posted Under Glass here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/124467-fran-hernandez-32-3-window-ford/

I just finished this up with help from and much appreciation to Dennis Lacey and Bernard Kron. I don't have any wire or styrene rod to do the radiator support rods and won't be placing any orders for several months so I will make those in the fall but for now I'm calling this done. The WIP is here with some background on Fran Hernandez: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/123934-fran-hernandez-32-3-window/ Thanks for looking!

Some really subtle but cool stuff going on here, thanks for sharing. I too am interested in the source for the wheels on the blue roadster.

I got a bit done this week although I would have gotten more done if I didn't have to fix the same photobucket issues everybody else is having. I forgot how much better Fotki is. The engine is mostly done. Along with the chassis. Most of the assembly is done. I still need to do the radiator supports and windshield wiper. I also need to dig through my parts and find some stock taillight. In keeping with the timeframe I did not clear coat the lacquer, just a polish with novus. I still need to clean it up some. The rear tires are the Herb Deeks tires that Bernard Kron recommended and the fronts are from the blue bandito kit.

Some progress, the intake arrived from Model Car Garage and it looks great. The suspension is ready to suspend. The exhaust is ready to exhaust, The carburetors are ready to carburete. And the distributor is ready to distribute. I won't get anything done for the next week, I will be flying to West Virginia for my Dads 80th birthday. Tomorrow I will be trying to figure out how to make a 40 Ford convertible survive in my carry on.

On the advice of Bernard Kron I relocated the rear spring mount and shaved a bit off the top of the front spring. I also took about 1/8 of an inch out of the center of the front spring, it looked a little too wide. Even with the small tires it sits a lot better now. I wonder if he would have put a bar between the frame to protect the gas tank. Today I may try to get some paint on the body and start fabricating all the steering components.

I am not an expert. Classic Industries shows reproduction original exhaust systems with an H pipe for the big block and HEMI cars but no photo for the small block cars, likewise Year One. I am likely mistaken but I think a 318 may have had a single exhaust. I did find this although it may not represent OEM. http://www.manciniracing.com/19b31coexsyf.html

Some progress and a couple of steps back. Under the assumption that he would have kept the interior mostly stock but may have recovered the 17 year old seat I removed the tuck and roll and went with the gray. These are the wheels from the AMT 40 Ford and tires from the parts stash. Its hard to tell in the picture but the two bottom tires are smaller than the ones on top. I need to bring move the front and rear axels up a bit and the tires seem too small. At this point I'm not sure where to go. I've check every possible kit in my stash and I have nothing bigger unless I use Tim Boyds trick with the front tires from the Revell 29 roadster and the fronts from the Black Widow kit but they aren't the correct Firestone tires. Maybe I will mock them up and see how they look.

Started today, nothing major, just the firewall and roof insert, and sorting and cleaning parts. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about the interior yet. Because the car was clean and well built and clearly Fran did nice work I imagine he redid the interior but I have no idea what he might have done. This is the interior that came with the kit but I have been having a hard time finding pictures of restored 32 3 window seats and door panels. I could just use these as is or I could fill the groove in the panels and remove the tuck & roll in the seat. I am leaning towards gray or tan, I believe either could be correct.

Here is the finished plaque with the SPSS mounted. For the painting I Painted a white background on the plaque and mod podged the picture over that, then painted it, then to bring out the details and sharpen it up I mod podged the picture over it again. I was trying for the look of a painting with out hiring a painter.

Thanks Dennis, I knew you would see the things I couldn't, this is why I started this WIP and why I started it in the planning stage. I know there is enough knowledge on this forum to help me do this right. I ordered the intake from MCG this morning and then went by the LHS but they did not have any version of the "29 pick up. I will order one online on payday. The double t kit came in today and I have the 32 3 window and 40 standard coupe kits so I can get started mocking up the chassis, rear, body, and shortblock. Good catch on the column shift, I would have put a floor shift in it if you hadn't pointed that out. I may just modify the belt drive from the 40 once I get the intake and carbs on. Apart from the coil it looks like the Lincoln distributer is close enough to the ford that at this scale I should be able to get away with scratching a coil together.

Two more pictures of Fran's car, the April 49 cover of Hot Rod, This next photo is cropped from the one with Fran next to the car, that's his leg at the edge. I increased the contrast, sharpened the image, and removed the noise. I may be mistaken but that looks like a friction shock from a 40 ford. If that's the case I may just use the complete front suspension from the monogram 40 ford street rod kit. I am going to run out to the LHS tomorrow and see if he has one on the shelf. I have the standard coupe in my stash but it doesn't have the intake I need.

I did not know this, thanks, I am now following the page also.

This is a model I've been thinking about for a while now. If you don't know the story of Fran Hernandez I urge you to check the following links: https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/mus/2008/11/Fran-Hernandez/1719420.html https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2011/05/24/fran-hernandez-a-life-in-pictures/ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hot-rod-legend-from-the-greatest-generation-fran-hernandez-rip.555417/ I have always thought his 32 was the perfect hot rod. I realize the classic hot rod is the roadster but to my eye Fran's 3 window defines the genre. It's subtle, well engineered, and fast. I've only been able to find a handful of pictures so I am going to have to make some assumptions. I don't do a lot of WIP posts as I would rather spend the time building but I am hoping as I move along with this that you guys will help me fill in the blanks. First, the car; From this picture it looks like the suspension is stock, stock ride height, stock body not chopped or channeled. I'm assuming the interior would be stock also. The heads are clearly Offenhauser, the intake is probably Edelbrock. Stock style fuel pump, offset generator, likely not running a fan. I can't be sure but I believe the wheels and possible the brakes are 40ish Ford. This is an early picture of Vic Edelbrocks roadster. I have this here because I believe Fran and Vic may have collaborated. The intake, carbs, fuel line, and ignition look similar. Also, Vic's engine was red and in these photo's they look close so I think red will be the correct color. I will also go with the style header on Vic's car. Here are those 40 ford style wheels again along with the headers dumping out at about the fire wall. In this picture the tread pattern on the rear tires match the 29 roadster kit but they would be too tall. I think I will just use the stock tires from the 40 ford kit. I need to get one for the flathead anyway and the street rod or convertible kit comes with the intake I need. I have ordered the heads and a photo etch kit for the grill from The Model Car Garage and the AMT double T kit for the quick change. I believe that will get me everything I need to build this. I also have a couple of Mod Rod kits and a 29 roadster along with the parts stash to fill in the holes. If any of you have any insight or observations that I've missed please fell free to post.

I've been using the Americana paints from Michaels http://www.michaels.com/americana-acrylic-paint-2-oz/M10132000.html They range from about $.50 to $2.00 for a 2 once bottle, I think the more expensive ones have finer pigments and flow a little better.

I've never adjusted the regulator on the compressor, it runs about 45 psi but I kind of go by feel on the air brush. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Bill, I thinned it with distilled water to about the consistency of milk, about 70 to 90 percent water. I've read about others using windshield washer fluid but the water works just fine for me, nothing else added. I have the cheap dual action airbrush that comes with the Harbor Freight compressor, I don't know what size the needle is but I think its fairly large. The nice thing about the dual action for this is it allows me to feed very little paint for the initial coats until I get some coverage and then I can feed more as needed. It won't flash off like lacquer or enamel, its either wet or its dry. I give as many coats as needed to get the consistency and color I want. Between coats I have held the part out at arms length and sprayed very low pressure air to speed up the drying time. I shoot the clear as soon as it is dry, usually no more than a few minutes. Don't try to wet sand the color coat, it will come right off. I have wiped the part done with a tack cloth with no problem. If you have an issue you can wash the paint off with warm soapy water and a stiff toothbrush. I have used Testers, Tamiya, and Duplicolor lacquer clears with no issues. Be warned when you wet sand or polish the clear if you burn through you will immediately go through the color coat. I probably don't need to mention it but a good smooth coat of primer is essential before painting. You know how with some paints if you wet sand through the primer and some bare styrene shows through it will be fine? Not with this, that spot will be lighter than the rest. This also works great for the hairspray method of weathering although I haven't tried the salt method with it yet.

Love it.

Wasn't expecting clean and rust free but I like it anyway!

Sweet!

Nice.

Really nice, that color looks right on that truck.