Dave Darby

Took me a minute to get past the no wheel opening look, but this is a seriously stylish build. Looks it could have come out the GM styling center.

Looking good. Your color change is a vast improvement!

Actually, Chevy would have had only to look at their Corvettes, by that logic. Corvettes had body exiting exhaust from 1953-55 (with the tips extended in 54 to keep the soot off the paint) and exhaust through the bumpers from 1956-60. So I doubt that was ever a consideration.

Thanks Tim! I'm hoping to eke out a little more time to work on this one soon.

Not a lot to report here, but I did get some white corduroy (can you say "old school"?) for the interior and running boards. I test sprayed a spoon the other day with some cheap purple pearl acrylic. I think it was A. Too cold out, and B. A bit too thinned. I'll shoot a spoon again on a warmer day, and bury it in clear. Also tried out some Tamiya transparent yellow on a center hub a la Ala Kart. I think I like it. Oh, and I got some gold on the engine.

That is true with one caveat. You have to cut away the rumble seat floor from the roadster fender unit. This works great for the Woody and the Roadster Pickup. For the sedan, you'll also need to trim the inner portions of the rear fenders to match that of the old ex-MPC units to all the body and interior tub to clear. Here's a Woody body on the Roadster fenders. Using these also allows you to use the much nicer Roadster hood, radiator shell and headlights. I really need to finish this thing!

You did that survivor proud. I'm glad you saved the decals.

Concept and execution are both exceptional. Very well done.

Love it! And the grail ram horn manifolds.

Looking gorgeous Gary! You gonna bring that to Spartanburg? I hope to make it there myself.

30 Sedan is Revell 1/25th scale. You could cross breed the phaeton with the stock parts from the Monogram Coupe easily though.

Actually, up until the 1970s, the Monogram 30 Model A Phaeton could be built stock, and is a pretty nice kit in its own right. I rebuilt a survivor a few years ago, and was amazed how nicely everything went together with a precision fit. The similarly designed Monogram 30 A Coupe has always had the capability to be built stock.

That's a thought. Or the Monogram 32.

Yep. I'm not a big fan of the kit windshield either, so I tried using the windshield from the Lindberg "32 Ford Hot Rod". Alas that didn't fit too well, and the cowl is too wide for an AMT windshield. So for now, it's the kit windshield. That is, however, very much subject to change. I may have to make a frame.

Verrrry Cool Tim! Like Dennis, I really like those black reveal lines. That color is the bomb! I noticed the tires getting a little chummy with the wheels too. I'd be tempted (if possible) to separate them, and some semi-gloss clear on the tires, and/or foil on the inside of rims to isolate them. Those wires have to be getting unobtainium these days too. That panel body would be a natural for Round 2 to clone. Thank you for sharing your talents with us Tim!

Just saw this one, Alan. Like Dennis said, you totally nailed it. You could have told me it was a Tim Boyd build from a 1980's SAE and I would have bought it. Very, very well done.

Looking good Craig!

I like that idea, but my wife nixed it because... This...

Moving around to the rear suspension, I'm utilizing an AMT 29 Model rear crossmember, and the rear suspension from the 25 T Rod version. The driveshaft is too short, so I cut it between the connection at the front of the quick-change housing and the front U-joint housing, and inserted the driveshaft from the Ala Kart rear suspension assembly. I drilled each joint with a #69 bit, and a small section of paper clip provides a nice interference fit, and a strong joint. The pin on the driveshaft locates into the hole I drilled in the center crossmember. I'll be drilling a couple of holes at the front of the radius rods, and using the ends from a pair of 25 T windshield braces as pivots. The rest of that old axle mount will be trimmed away. Let's get back on top of things... Those spotlight holes needed to go, so I used the same method as I used on the headlamp mounting holes. Much better. Here is an overall shot at this stage of progress. Here we see scribed door lines (the originals are raised - but incredibly easy to scribe, using two layers of 3/4" masking tape as a guide). I cut off the curved out ends of the side pipes, drilled them out, than sanded a beveled "baloney cut" into them. The raw plastic was finished off with some Molotow. You can also see the new tonneau cover, which is longer, and wraps around the cab, giving it a more finished appearance. In the current Vintage Workbench, I pointed out that the engine block, along with the intake/heads assembly in the Lindberg kit are straight from the AMT 32 Roadster kit. Great for restoration and cloning, but we can do better for a more up to date build. I drilled the Lindberg block to match up with the mounting pins for the newer post 1964 32 Roadster heads, with the intake from the Ala Kart Hemi, and rocker covers from the Monogram Predicta. (These are probably the best plated stock Chrysler Hemi rocker covers ever. This is before I trimmed the pins on the bottom and moved them higher on the heads. After this, I made a new full length firewall from a piece of disposable aluminum baking pan, and polished it up. I whittled the kit headlight mounts down a bit, and switched the lights from side to side, mounting them in the new holes I drilled lower on the fenders. Reflectors are the custom Lucas Flamethrowers from the 55 Nomad kit. I'm hoping with the kit bezels and the lenses, the headlights will come together as planned. This is where we are at currently, although the axle housings and engine have been painted gold, awaiting the rain to quit so they can get a second coat of clear, Paint for this one will likely be a light lavender pearl, with a white corduroy interior. But I still have a couple more ideas to try before that happens. Stay tuned.

You've all probably heard the adage "making a silk purse out of a sow's ear"... That is what I am going to do here. For those of you who have a copy of Model Cars number 217, there's a bit of a preview of this build in the Vintage Workbench column. The Lindberg Roadster Pickup is not most people's choice for a build, but not only is it a good source for restoration parts for older AMT kits, it also has a good bit of potential of its own. Here is an initial mockup, with some different rolling stock, and a sidepipe from an AMT 57 Ford... Not terribly bad. We'll trim those pipes a bit later... As mentioned in the article, the 392 Hemi in the Lindberg kit is very close copy of the one in the the AMT 32 Roadster kit. Just for fun.. Those quads are just for giggles. One thing pretty apparent is how the radiator shell looks rather over inflated. We could swap for an AMT shell, but I have another idea. With a little sanding around the edges, the custom grille from the AMT 34 Ford pickup fits pretty nicely. The kit headlights sit pretty high on the fenders, so we'll fill those gaping holes with some plastic rod and drill some new ones. Much better. Here is another glaring issue with this kit. Those huge gaps between the top and the body. I cut these sections out and borrowed some from an AMT 29 Model A Roadster. A little sanding and... Much better. You can also see my first draft of a bed tarp, which I later replaced with a more refined, better fitting one. Here I've narrowed the custom rear roll pan from an AMT 53 Ford Pickup. That tailgate area sure looks flat, doesn't it? We'll get to that. Note those trim lines on the back... With the marked section cut out, the tailgate from the AMT 34 Ford Pickup is a perfect fit. Probably about time to get some axles under this thing. I trimmed down a front axle from an AMT 32 Roadster, This may or may not be permanent. I cut a notch in the crossmember to move the axle forward a bit. It was also necessary to clearance the bottom of the radiator shell a little bit to allow the axle to move forward. More to come...

Accidently posted here. Check "On the Bench" for photos. Please delete.

Looking good! Great job on a kit that is not an easy build.

Looking good Jesse! BTW, you'd be surprized how well you can touch up that chrome with a Molotow marker.

That is too cool 6 ways from Thursday! Masterful job on an awesome subject.

Just the body dimensions. The running gear was carried over from the sedan kit. I got some good shots of John's 34 in 2013. I'll have to dig them up.