Dennis Lacy

UPDATE! Today was finally the day… BMF! I put on one of my favorite podcasts, poured an ice cold drink, sat down at my work bench and took a deep breath. It did not turn out perfect but for my first time ever doing any significant foil work I’m certainly pleased with the results. And I did the whole job in one attempt! Next step will be to spray on the clear coat to seal everything. I finally detail painted the molded belts on the front seats then glued them in along with the roll bar. I also detail painted the dashboard and now need to seal it all in with clear as well. That’s all for now.

They have terrible headlights, too!

I’ve had the very same idea. My daily driver is a 1987 GT and I would love to build a model of it but the front end on this old AMT/MPC kit makes me want to vomit! ? Very interested in seeing how this turns out for you to get insights on my own upgrade. If it were me I’d also definitely be using the complete correct engine from the ‘90 LX kit. Probably the whole chassis, too! ?

Very cool! I’ve always loved the truck and felt it was a shame when they repainted it with the very abbreviated graphics. Is this kit a curbside or full detail? The real truck had a ‘96 Corvette LT4 330hp engine and independent rear suspension. Curious if it has those details?

Excellent idea!

What a great idea! For some reason I thought the Smoothster kit was 1:25 but I must be wrong because it looks like the wheelbase is perfect. I especially like how you integrated the rear filler pan and scalloped the body for the exhaust.

The original release of the ‘29 Roadster did have the Buick engine. Recent reissue of the Roadster has the small block Chevy that was in the original issue of the ‘30 Coupe. Upcoming reissue of the Coupe will get the Buick engine.

Thanks! And, absolutely not! ?

The pinstripe paint job is awesome!

Unless of course the driver gets apprehended for exhibition of speed on the way home! ?

Thanks! I do know just enough about these that they need a special front sump oil pan and do have one from the same ‘66 Nova Pro Street kit that I took the valve covers from but then I decided since it’s a curbside undercarriage that I don’t care and will just use a standard pan. ?

I’m not big into 1960’s cars but after following the lengthy thread here on MCM in the kit reviews section about AMT completely re tooling it’s ‘63 Nova Wagon kit back to its original, stock configuration I found myself oddly drawn to this kit and knew I had to get one. I actually started getting ideas for how I’d build it before the kit was out. Now that I have one and have played with it some my opinion is that it’s a great little kit even in its simplistic “curbside” form. The details are crisp and everything fits together excellent. It’s a terrific foundation for some fun kit bashing without having to sweat a bunch of details. Let’s get started! Even though it’s basically a “curbside” model AMT did provide it with a separate hood and simple engine bay. Evidently a version with a stock inline 6 cylinder engine will follow later on as there are motor mounts and spots for a radiator, battery and brake master cylinder. I have no desire to use a 6 so I immediately started offering up a few different small block V8’s to see what it would take to fit one in here. I know people put them in the full scale 63’s all the time but there are probably some architectural discrepancies with the model that make things an extremely tight fit. Also, the small block I’m putting in this thing is going to be supercharged so I need even more room for the blower drive which means setting the engine back. Bellow you can see that I trimmed out the middle of the firewall, trimmed away the floor pan and original transmission cross member around the auto trans and built up some basic front motor mounts. I also shortened the tail housing on the trans a bit. I had to do some additional clearance at the front of the frame to clear the blower belt and around the fuel pump boss at the right front of the engine. After all this I did a little bit more refinement trimming on the firewall and other spots just to make sure the engine fit nicely without any tight spots. The beauty of a curbside model! One of my favorite parts of any model project is kit bashing together an engine. I knew I wanted a supercharged small block so it was a matter of playing around with different parts until I landed on a happy combination. The engine block/auto trans, heads, front cover/water pump, belt drive, alternator and oil pan (not shown) are from Revell’s recently reissued ‘29 Roadster hot rod. The Weiand supercharger, intake, blower belt, carbs and air filters are from Revell’s Stacy David ‘32 Roadster. The matching Weiand valve covers are from AMT’s ‘66 Nova Pro Street with separate breathers added. The block hugger shorty headers are from Revell’s 1937 Ford street rod kits. I got lucky in that the blower drive belt was exactly the correct length from the center of the blower snout to the center of the crank pulley. It doesn’t always work out that way! The only thing I had to do was add some length to the blower snout. The kit has an open spot for a radiator but doesn’t provide one so I had to get creative. My resources for a late model radiator are a little thin but I ultimately came up with using one from Revell’s 1990 Mustang LX. I narrowed it almost .250” by cutting the tanks off, removing some core from each end then reattaching the tanks. After that I filled the two original hose holes and made new ones in the proper layout. I also realized the big flange on the front bumper intrudes on this area so I trimmed it to match the shape of the core support. Here’s a look at the engine mocked up in the bay with the radiator. I also fit a power brake booster/master cylinder from any of Revell’s ‘32 Ford’s. I plan to add a few more detail parts before all is said and done. Wheels and tires. The American 5-spokes are from Revell’s ‘32 Ford’s. The front inner rims are heavily thinned down from the same. The inner rear rims are thinned down fronts from Revell’s ‘32 HiBoy Roadster. The front tires are the skinny Moroso front runners from Revell’s ‘67 Malibu or Beretta Pro Street kits and the rears are from the street rod versions of Revell’s 1940 Ford’s. Lastly I started some basic interior mods by installing a shifter, Moon gas pedal and steering wheel. The original steering wheel and column are made as one piece so I cut the wheel away and fit this 80’s/90’s piece. Finally, some mock ups! This is about the stance the car is going to have. The rear for sure but the front may come up just a touch. You can also see that I cut an oval hole in the hood for the air filters to poke through which is a look I’ve always liked, especially as a kid. That’s it so far. Let me know what you think!

Thanks, Steve! A drink or two always loosens me up and allows me to shoot a game of pool better. It’s when I get into drink three, four and beyond that it becomes counterproductive really fast! ?

I’m really happy with the color. It will darken slightly after clear based on a couple of the smaller finished parts. I used it as the accent on the T Touring hot rod I just previously finished and thought at the time it would be a great color for a whole car. Probably not on an early rod, though.

Well, when you put it that way… ?

Thanks! That’s the approach I’m planning to take. I see some people cover the whole windshield area or back glass area with a blanket of foil and that seems like it would be a P.I.A. to deal with, not to mention wasteful.

Off to a really good start. Your fabricated tube axle looks great and it raised the front up into 70’s Street Freak territory. Are you going to change the engine? Probably by the 70’s the weapon of choice would be a Chevy big block. I’ll be following along!

UPDATE! I finally got this thing painted a few days ago. Keep in mind this is only the base coat and still needs clear followed by a polish so it will get way more shiny. Tamiya “Champagne Gold” Before I spray the clear the next task at hand is to do something I have very little experience with: Bare Metal Foil! Gonna need to find myself in just the right mood and probably make an adult beverage to take the edge off. ??

Really looking Tuff, indeed!

This is a rad idea! The larger GT wheels and tires reproportion the car very nicely and it’s looking even better with the flares. Looking forward to following along!

I’ve been back to look at this thread a few times now. The upside down headlight treatment is growing on me and I like the shape of the fins. Looking forward to seeing more.

This is gonna be good!!!

Thanks! The carbs are Model Master “Jet Exhaust” with Tamiya semi-gloss clear. It’s been my go-to carb color for years.

Nice work on the foil. That’s the part I’m dreading on my ‘57 as I have very little experience.

UPDATE! The last two weekends netted zero bench time so it felt really good to get a solid afternoon in today. At this point I’ve basically done everything I can without the body painted. Engine is fully assembled and detailed with a Parts By Parks wired distributor, Detail Master wire dividers and Detail Master #1 fuel line and fittings with a scratch built tee. The valve covers and fan chrome are Molotow pen. This is my first time using one and it worked pretty good! The simplified “curbside” chassis is finished and the finished engine glued in. The interior is finished in Tamiya “Dull Red” and their Semi Gloss and Matt blacks. I used Bare Metal Foil on the half round trim pieces I had added previously and installed the chrome handles and scratch built armrests. I still need to paint detail the seatbelts on the front seats but I included a picture with them anyway. I also detailed the little alligator from the kit which will go in the rear window. And lastly, I can never resist another mock up! I washed the wheels in thinned black to bring out the detail. The body is in final primer and ready to be painted this coming week. Getting closer!