Rocking Rodney Rat

Ya gotta have the right tools for the job!!! A digital caliper is a must for accurate measurements. 'L' square and this little 1" square block is invaluable. The 'grabber' that holds parts. This is the tool I probably used the most, besides the trusty X-Acto knife. The bottom device is used to find the center of a circle, great to find the center of a wheel, etc... Then the usual assortment of the normal stuff, a box of 100 count #11 X-Acto blades and handles, files, rulers, saws and whatnot.... -RRR

You guys get some awesome paint jobs. I wish I had the patience to do all of that, but I don't.... -RRR

From one of the above-shown A/FX cars. They're all basically the same. -RRR

It's a fun little body to build around.... -RRR

I would hope not.... -RRR

I live the the sub-tropics and work in a garage that is usually around 90+ degrees once the wall A/C unit I have is turned off. I do believe the heat and humidity (and stupidity) of being in this environment causes the gloo to go bad quickly. I have started using the small tube of Krazy Glue: https://www.amazon.com/Krazy-Glue-KG58548R-Instant-0-07-Ounce/dp/B001CNZJA0/ref=asc_df_B001CNZJA0/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167121201241&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14516230393497811543&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011866&hvtargid=pla-305625056860&psc=1 These small tubes don't have a long enough shelf-life to go bad. I usually buy them by the dozen (on eBay)....I have found this stuff to work as well as any other CA gloo I have used... My $.02 and worth both pennies... -RRR

Steve- As a fellow hot rod builder, I totally agree. There are some wire wheel options available from non-hot rodded versions of older cars. Some of the more 'coach' style cars, the old Cadillacs, Rolls, Lincoln et. al. and others have some wire wheels that can be modified to work for a rod. Don't overlook the wire wheels in the Revell '32 sedan kit (too modern looking?) . Norm at Reps and Miniature s of MD had some options, I don't know what he has these days. In the meantime, we'll have to make do with what we have and get creative whit what's out there.... -RRR

No, I made the top from the old MPC '32 Chevy roadster. Pix here of the surgery: https://public.fotki.com/jferren/29-roadster-/ Some of the pix have gotten a little wonky somehow... -RRR

Cut the grille about this much?. Better to make a small cut and then sneak up on the correct amount rather than take a big hunk out first.... -RRR

I've built a few...not necessarily made to the exact box stock versions, some liberties taken.... -RRR

I have always loved this series of kits. I have fond memories of poring over the small b&w pix in the Auto World (Scranton, PA) catalog. The Edsel and the Mr. Speed (which I have replicated as an "adult") in particular. I remember ordering them and they were always out-of-stock..... -RRR

I build quite a few frames. A 'T' bucket frame is a good start for building your own frame. It's a very basic rectangle. I use Evergreen rectangle usually .080" by .156" (part #167) or .060" by .125" (part #156) are generally a good size. T frames are very small so don't go too big on the size as it wil look clunky. . Most T's us a 'suicide perch' for the front axle. ---------- Here's the finished product. The trick is to keep it all square, check your measurements frequently, a digital caliper https://www.ebay.com/itm/125538364598?hash=item1d3aab6cb6:g:14UAAOSwvx1bvgV0&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4EsYY44Omjjkkb%2FKGZCDA7qd3eazRMIn5Tjzx7NstwPKPBMsC%2Bi96IFgrbJ8xm7iCqKxrBbKKCGQ91VDavohv4EA6j0AOpLH%2Fo%2F8iLvpw9lv2FdTpnvPavGugU5sqfDR%2BS7bwjEV2aVfsFzpipv1dZ%2BDjz6SFQ1%2FGAPGc2H2MvV4VsN0rQUmcexCGyeBL02HXbuCbzlbNtyMs99uFAT41Gz34Pkd0ncMQgFR0UTOtVmKKQxQNbZcBfVcHHgyFdImhIloaGKqrC9lOH3tND4F3yvKiCh4HGcqlTyEhXdj6NjV|tkp%3ABFBM7pCt5_Fg is a good tool to quickly measure side to side and keep it all squared up. I hope this helps...-RRR

Some of the devastation on the west coast is almost unfathomable. The worst we had here in S. (east side) FL was on Tuesday night. This happened a few miles form me while I was driving in it! I've heard from most I know in the path, some I haven't heard from yet. A friend in Naples said he got his power back on yesterday, which is amazing... -RRR

A whole line of bucket trucks heading to SW Florida to rebuild the grid. Godspeed, folks... -RRR

That's awesome!!! -RRR

It's not a particularly good kit as far as detail and being representative of the real car. As stated above, it's based on very old and very basic tooling. It scales out to close to 1/20(?). I used lots of parts from the kit over the years, I don't think there are any problems with fitment building it. If you don't expect much, it can be a fun quick build, I suppose...have fun with it! -RRR

Thanks for all of the positive vibrations, folks! Next step is the ragtop. I decided to use the up-top from the Monogram Black Widow kit that was re-issued a few years ago. A very old and simple kit. I chose this top because it has a nice swoop between the bows. The downside is that it doesn't have a lot of detail. I'll fix that.... I cut in the tri-window piece form the Revell Ed Roth's Tweedie Pie. The original was a plain rectangle opening. Not a very slick job of cutting in, hey, I'm not KK!!! The ragtop is a skoshe too wide, so I made v-cut along both corners to tuck it in a little where the top meets the body. The cut on the passenger side is shown here. ---------- I also wanted more angle between the top and sides, so I V-cut that juncture as well. Sorry about the lousy pix. Maybe an iPhone 14 will help? Not likely... ----------- I cut the side apron upper corner so it has a sharper angle and then added a few pieces to the side curtain. I also added a piece all around the bottom edge to increase the height about 1/8" or so..... ----------- That side curtain was way too long....I cut it along the marked edge.... ---------------- I lengthened the top with a front edge piece from the AMT T ragtop. It's the same width... --------------------- A strip of Evergreen half round across the top corner and some 0.020" square pieces around the edges dress it up a tad. Next a schmear of two or putty, some sanding and off to some primer to check the progress.... More later.... -RRR

Thanks, Carl!! -RRR

I like it.... -RRR

I realized I was going to need a transmission tunnel in order to get the engine to sit properly.... A little creative slicing and dicing along with a schmear of putty did the trick. ----------------- A quick mock-up.... ----------- I got the frame squared away with some tube supports around the trans mount, driveshaft loop and got the front engine mounts dialed in... Next up, tackling the ragtop... Stay tuned... -RRR

LOL... I hope it won't be too outrageous!!! ? -RRR

Slicin' and dicin'! -RRR

The basis of a good hot rod (well, any car) is a solid foundation. I decided to build my own frame. I started with strips of Evergreen styrene rectangle for the rails... -------- Fabricating a suicide perch for the front axle... ------ Make the rails about this long with a Z in the rear.... ------ This should do.... ------- I added a transmission crossmember mount. I'm going with coil springs in the back, sourced from one of the Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth kits from Revell. I 'm using the 9" pumpkin from the Revell '32 series. I cut off the axle shafts, glued on some Evergreen round and then put the wheel mounts back on. From there I fabricated up some spring mounts on the axle and the frame. The springs will be cut to length once I figure out the desired ride height. The trailing arms are the 'thicker ones' from the front suspension on the Revell Model A kits, mounts on the axle end to be made. The pickup bed will be notched on each side so that the spring mounts on the frame will fit under. I still need to fab up engine mounts and I have added a driveshaft loop, not pictured here... Stay tuned, more later.... -RRR

Looking good, Steve. That's a great old kit. I based a build on that one, too. -RRR