Dennis Lacy

That looks bitchin’!

Sounds good to me. Come on in!

@NOBLNG Thank you!

That’s rad! The wheels look great. What’s your process for the color? Oh, and what’s a “dog house”???

I know I’ve already commented elsewhere but this is such a neat project I had to stop in and give you props here, too. Looking forward to following along!

Your latest mock up looks killer. This is a very refreshing take on a ‘49 Merc. Not that there hasn’t been contemporary versions done before but I think few get it right. This car is gonna be right-on. I think black headlight rings would look good but then you’ll need to carry the black trim theme throughout the exterior for continuity. Personally, I think the lights would be best molded-in.

Man, this truck is really coming together! I really like the colors you’ve chose. The chassis and engine look great and that red paint looks like you could dip a finger in it.

Thanks, man! Not too far off at all. One more afternoon to finish up some loose ends and it should be there. Paint has been ordered and should arrive in the next few days. I'll share the color scheme as soon as I have it on hand. ?

UPDATE! Work continues... I've had a set of photo-etched street rod plug wire looms since I was 16 (that would be 1996!) and never attempted to use them. This style of loom emerged in the Billet era so I felt no better time to give them a try. I successfully assembled them (5 pieces each side) without losing any parts or saying the "F" word so that was pretty good! In the full scale world these mounted to the valve cover bolts so I drilled some small holes in the sides of the valve cover for them to insert into. I added some breathers to the valve covers and built a base for the air filter to create a solid mounting area and eliminate the open void. I finished the radiator by filling all of the original holes and creating new hose locaters and fit a Revell '32 kit electric fan. I finished the dash by building a column drop and then installing a stereo head unit cut down from the little overhead console found in all of the Revell '37 Ford's. I don't like the backside of the firewall so I installed a false flat panel made from .040" sheet that will hide it. I also mounted the MSD style ignition box to the inside as there's not enough room on the engine side of the firewall to fit it. I wasn't feeling the previously test-fit '90 Mustang seats and they were a bit too wide anyhow. I don't have a lot of options for modern looking buckets that would fit well in this truck but then it occurred to me that I might be able to modify some to fit. After a sacrificial test seat I figured out what to do and was able to rework the seats from Revell's '26 T Sedan Delivery (same kit the door panels came from) and make the backs more vertical to tuck back in the cab nicely. I also cut away the seat riser platform from the floor in the '26 T. The fit and proportions are perfect! (At least I think they are.) And a zoomed-out parting shot. I'm thinking one more afternoon at the bench should have the fabrication wrapped and then the paint process can begin.

Very nice touches with the bead lines and the radius’d corners of the trunk jambs are legit!

@Earl Marischal @e30lover Thanks, guys! Good to see some fans of the color combo, LOL!! ?

@Kit Karson Thanks for the super kind words, Brother! I’m lucky to have friends like you and @Rocking Rodney Rat ?

Interesting approach to adding a firewall and removed hood to that body. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. And pretty neat that you’re friends with Iron Trap. That’s a really neat project he’s started!

The new wheel opening shape looks really good!

@larman I’m going to use an open driveshaft but a closed torque tube drive would work, too. If using a closed drive with split wishbones or trailing arms in the full scale world you need to be able to draw a straight line through all 3 front pivot points (viewed from above) and you would want the trailing arms to attach as close to the center of the chassis as possible or else a serious bind is created. Although, for a 1/4 mile car that will see very limited suspension travel and likely zero left/right articulation/roll you could probably get away with shorter arms but they should still attach as close to the center as possible.

@Dave72 @BeakDoc Thank you, guys!

Thanks a bunch. It’s been fun to break away from the very traditional hot rods I always build and tap in to my inner 80’s, LOL! I grew up in the era and went to plenty of rod shows so I remember the style well and admittedly have a soft spot for them.

Good eye! It was stated on the show by their guest builder Brian Bass that the 554 was his main inspiration.

Thank you! And glad you take something away from my projects.

It’s purely self defense from my 7 and 4 year olds and their sticky fingers! ?

Thanks, Tom! I always appreciate when other builders (both full and small scale) go into detail on their process and sources on their parts so I try to do the same for others. I basically pretend I’m writing a magazine how-to.

Thanks, Mike. And I agree. The Altered Coupes were truly the most bad of the bad ass. Stripped down to the bare necessities, raw and violent. I hope to do them justice with this project.

Thread resurrection alert! LOL!! Thanks for the newest comments, guys! This model has been finished for roughly a year and a half now and I still find myself stopping at the display case to stare at it. ?

UPDATE! Spent a productive afternoon at the bench today. I wanted to use the stock firewall but there was interference with the small block so I sanded down the kicked out portions until they were flat. That ended up breaking through so I had to install some filler pieces which I made from .020" sheet. I also filled the gigantic steering shaft slot. At the top of the firewall I grafted in a filler piece to complete the middle of the hood ledge. A stock firewall is shown on the bottom for comparison. Next, using the kit floor board as a pattern I made a new one from the floor pan in Revell's '32 Speedwagon woody which has just a transmission hump compared to all the other kits in the Revell '32 series which have a full length driveshaft tunnel. I added brake and gas pedals taken from the old Buttera '26 Sedan kits and a steering column lower mount made from a slice of 3/32" tube. I also filled the two rectangle holes in the cabs rear floor. I taped in the modified Revell '37 ford Convertible dashboard for a test fit and was then able to offer up the steering column and shorten it as necessary. Now I just need to make a new column mount off the bottom of the dash. I test fit these potential bucket seats taken from Revell's 1990 Mustang LX. Since that style of Mustang started in 1987 these seats would have been available in the late 80's. I don't know if they are going to stay but they are a good fit and I'm short on options for modern looking buckets that have an vertical enough back to fit a truck cab properly. I filled the headlight bar mounting holes in the front fenders and then mounted a pair of small hot rod lights from Revell's '29 Roadster directly to the fenders which was a popular modification starting in the 80's. I also filled and smoothed off the door handle holes. Here's a mock up with the newest work and with a door hung on for the first time.

This project started exactly 3 years ago and was originally going to be a close replica of the incredible '34 Coupe built jointly by Gas Monkey Garage and Brian Bass and featured on the Discovery show Fast & Loud. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and it's mine that it's one of the most bad ass '34 Coupes I've ever seen. Below is that car and my original mock up. Like the couple of other replica projects I've attempted in the past this one went no different in that it's very hard for me to not put my own creative spin on the project. So, early into the project it was decided to add the fenders but build it basically the same otherwise. Then, once it had the fenders it was a few small changes away from being a legal mid 60's Gas Class car so I decided to do that. The project then sat for 2 years as others stole my attention. About a month ago I decided to open up the box and have a look. Next thing you know I'm mocking up different wheels and tires, etc., and I got to thinking that the one detail that wouldn't fly in Gas Class is the heavy engine set back (which was needed to fit the blower drive on top of the regular belt drive.) What to do? Looks like the final plan for this project will be a '63-'64 Altered! The base kit is AMT's 1934 5-Window with a Drag City Casting chopped top resin body. All of the chassis work so far was done 2 years ago. I removed the entire floor, center and rear cross members. The new center "X" section is from Revell's 1940 Ford's with a Monogram '29 Pickup rear cross member. The front cross member was deepened to get the front end down and I added some scratch built front engine mounts. Ultimately the stock gas tank will be removed but I left it for strength while I was doing the cross members. The rear axle is the Halibrand quick change from AMT's '25 T double kits with an AMT '29 Roadster spring, Revell '40 Ford kit ladder bars and Revell '29 Roadster brake plates. The front axle and suspension will be from Revell's '29 Roadster. The engine is the blown Chrysler Hemi with LaSalle 3-speed trans from Revell's Miss Deal Studabaker Funny Car. Because this was originally going to be a street car and then a Gasser I had fit a water pump but now that it's an Altered and doesn't require a cooling system I'll be deleting that. Chassis up on all 4. The wheels are from AMT's '49 Ford with their parts pack printed M&H slicks and parts pack front runners. Moving on to body modifications performed 2 years ago. I cut out the trunk lid, built in a jam and then modified a Revell '32 5-Window louvered deck lid to fit. From the '32 5-Window louvered hood sides I cut out and grafted in more louvers to the tail pan and hood top for some extra heat extraction. I also cut a hole in the hood top the same shape as the Hilborn bug catcher scoop. And here are some mock ups of where the project is as of right now. I feel like this is a project that deserves to get worked on more and I'm hoping that by sharing it and getting some feedback it will help get and keep me motivated. Let me know what you all think!