Raul_Perez

Bernard, You sure got that right about leaving the "B" pillars alone on the classic Shoebox design unless you really want to wander down the "full-custom" path... I took the "B" pillars out of my custom '49, effectively making it a hardtop. In doing so, you then have to remove the window frame from each door. Once you've done that, the top edge of the quarter-glass looks too low with respect to the new window opening on the door because it stylistically "was" aligned with the large window frame that you just removed. OK...reshape the quarter window to re-align with the reshaped window opening on the door...but then the back window looks too small with respect to the side windows... When it's all said and done you'll probably wish that you had left well enough alone because you've completely changed the profile of the car by making the greenhouse look quite a bit larger. No, wait...now you can chop the top... I decided to stop there and ended up with a custom Shoebox that I never felt look quite "right". Oh well, I still have more of them in the garage to build!! Later,

Welcome, Tom!! We can't wait to see some of your builds!! Later,

I guess I build model cars because I never really outgrew being a professional bodyman and a custom car builder, even though I retired from the trades over 20 years ago. But, now I do it in the house, I don't get anywhere near as dirty and it doesn't cost anywhere near as much as it does in 1:1!! Later,

And that's all that really matters! Later,

Where did the wheels come from, Dave? They look pretty BIG!!

Bernard, Those downdraft Webers should look really cool under the hood!! From how you described their detail, I think that I need to get a set for some future builds, too!! The exhaust coming out the side of the body is a nice touch for something that's lowered as much as this build is, plus it SCREAMS hotrod - evil, wicked, mean and nasty!! Yes, sometimes the more aggressive, lacquer based primers will create a bit of ghosting where you've sanded through the outer finish of the plastic. This seems to be more predominant with the softer plastics like the type AMT uses and less so with the harder, more brittle blend that Revell used several years ago. As long as your top, color coats are less aggressive than your primer, a good prime coat and sanding will get rid of it. I typically color-sand all of my topcoats at least once just for this reason. The 40 Ford I'm building now is a good example of switching early in the process from primer to color coats. Once the rough bodywork was done and sanded with 220, I gave it a light color coat to find any remaining defects. The model was then painted again with a few color coats. This will dry for about a week before I color sand it with 400, apply a quick color coat, followed by a few coats of clear. While this approach is a bit more expensive and time consuming, I like the result. Later,

Bernard, If I didn't know better, I'd say that you did time like me as a professional bodyman! Yep, this is certainly a case where less is better. Later,

Bernard, The wheels and the stance look GREAT!! The reshaped rear wheel openings really show off those nice wheels!! It also looks like you did a pretty good job of removing the side trim without adding any extra work for yourself in the process...I see too many people really gouge their way through trim removal, then they need to add a lot of putty to fix all of the low spots. Yes, the small block Ford with either 2 four-barrels or 4 Webers would look awesome under the hood. Keep up the GREAT work and keep us posted on your progress!! I really like seeing your design thoughts imprinted on this era of car. Later,

WOW!! With that color, I think you can turn off the lights in the room and still find that one in the dark!! As usual, the detailing looks GREAT!! It looks like this one is quickly headed "Under Glass"!! Later,

Happy birthday, Dave!! I hope that you had a good time in whatever you did!! Later,

The detail work looks right on the money!! Thanks for sharing,

Thanks, Dave!! How are your 40 Fords coming along? I haven't seen an update in a while... You know, the pie-cut hood is really pretty easy to do, (MUCH easier than a chop), and it would look good on your builds, too. Later,

Thanks, guys!! Yes, I got a few raised eyebrows regarding the upside-down pics... Later,

Or, I could send you one of those Revell Parts-Pack 427 Ford engines!! (If you don't already have one.) As you may recall from my stash, I have "extras"... You can build it with either a blower or with dual quad carbs!! You'd have to come up with exhaust manifolds because the kit only comes with upswept headers. Later,

Dave, You certainly are another one of those builders who command a high level of expectation for the viewer whenever your name is associated with a post. As usual, you did not disappoint with this "straight up" build. This build looks flawless, as usual!! The color combination and all of the paint details/highlights look right on the money!! Thanks for sharing,

I finally got around to spraying the black base coat on the body. There's still a bit of color sanding to do before the final, black color coat is applied to the bottom and the light brown metallic to the top. Though the rake on these two models is relatively the same, (using the red and blue stripe in the background as a reference), this picture shows how much material was removed when I pie-cut the hood on this build. The slight chop and the slanted "B" pillars also stand out quite a bit when compared to the stock body lines and features. Looking at the stock body lines on the hood, this picture also shows how much material was removed when the hood was pie-cut. Since I'll be using the stock body molding to separate the upper and lower body colors, it was critical to this build that I save to original lines on the hood. This picture shows how the top of the hood at the nose was pulled back slightly to blend the curvature of the grille with the reshaped top of the hood. This angle also shows the reshaped drip-rail that was made from brass rod. Not much happening in the back until the stock taillight lenses and the license plate get installed. I think that between the big chrome wheels, the stock, chrome headlight rings and the chrome trim on the sides, the stock, chrome taillight bezels should offer a nice balance of chrome trim to the back end of the build. To keep this one grounded in a bit of the traditional look, I may also add the stock door handles and mirrors...but I'll worry about that once I get closer to finishing this one... Well, this one needs to dry a couple more days before I color sand it and spray the final color coats. Later,

Bernard, Since you're already using many parts from the Revell '32 Ford for this build, (AND, you want a more traditional carburetion system), I'd use the 302 Motorsport crate engine from the '32 for this build. That's what I used in my '50 Ford. It fits and looks GREAT with almost no trouble at all. Yes, the DOHC engine is pretty cool, but I'd save it for a roadster where you can actually see all of that great detail. You've seen my '49 Merc where I shoe-horned the DOHC engine into the engine bay. A lot of that detail is visually lost in the fact that the engine is such a tight fit, and that's after I move the battery back towards the firewall. And, these are the pics from before the body was attached. By the time you put the hood on, you see even less than what's in these pics. Either way you go, it'll look GREAT!! The stance is right on the money!! Later,

That's coming along very nicely, Bernard!! The BMF will really make that color pop!! Keep us posted on your progress!! Later,

Mike, Here's a picture of what I came up with. The red wire is .016", the black tubing is .034". The black tubing is actually wire with the conductor removed. I'm pretty sure that the red wire came from Radio Shack. The black wire came from Fry's Electronics. To keep the bend in the tubing, I inserted the red wire about 3/4 of the way through, then cut a small strain-relief notch in the back-side of the tubing to help it keep its bent form. I would trim down the inner posts on the cap a bit to make the center ones fit better together. Since this was just a mockup picture, I didn't slide the tubing down onto the cap all of the way. Let me know if this will work for you and I can drop some of the material in the mail Saturday. Later,

Mike, I'll take a look at what I've got when I get home this evening that'll fit the distributor. (I've got the kit, too). If I've got anything decent, I'll send you a picture and drop it in the mail Saturday morning. Later,

Mike, How's it going? The distributor used in the Revell '32 sedan is know as the crab or pancake type distributor. Here's where I found the pic: How to Build Ford Flathead V8 Horsepower I hope this helps!! Later,

Well, the last time I modified a shoebox I ended up with a painted body that I haven't bothered finishing... Maybe I'll follow your lead on my next one and leave the body pretty much stock. Hmmm...that sounds a lot like a salt flat racers to me!! Later,

Chris, I'm glad to see that you're back on the MCM forum!! The Cuda looks pretty good, but just three pics without showing the engine and chassis details just isn't getting it done..MORE PICS!! Later,

No problem, Dave!! Glad to help!! Is there a date/location set for the 2010 Pacific NW NNL? Have you already had one in '09? Later,

Bernard, Now you understand why I struggled so much when I customized my blue '49 Ford...when and where do you stop if you're trying to maintain the overall appearance of the original design? Oh well, it looks like you've got it all sorted out for now and you're on your way to finishing another really cool model for your collection!! Later,