Dennis Lacy

I dig it! This has a really well done “modern traditional” style with the mix of metallic paint, whitewalls and then old spindly wire wheels. I really, really like the engine both because of the Thickstun equipment and how it’s paint detailed. Can’t wait to see more when you’re able to share.

Looking good! Neat that you took my suggestion about the chop and rolled with it. I think that's just about the perfect way to chop one of these cabs. Now I would take the giant visor that comes with it and cut the front edge off of it just to make a little eyebrow across the top of the windshield. Also, I dig that your fitting that high tech Buttera chassis to it. That will be way cool!

Firewall looks awesome so far!

@mrm - Thanks man. I was really pleased with it. Still am. I feel like I got the stance and proportions right. Here's another I built about 10 years ago now. It's the AMT/Lindberg '34 Pickup cab, bed, hood, grill and interior parts on a Revell '32 Ford series chassis. Mild chop, shortened bed, lowered more, '32 kit 5-spoke American's in big Blue Streak slicks, '36 headlights, '37 taillights and gutless stock-ish flathead. Paint is Tamiya Light Gunmetal with Olive Drab #2 accents.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing, Tim. And thanks to Norm for doing the comparison. That's not just a couple of revisions, there's quite a bit of changes going on there to ease assembly. The other two Double Kits have just as many changes, no doubt.

This model is beyond BAD ASS! Just when I think I'm putting together some neat hot rods then a model like this pops up and slaps me in the face. Every detail is spot-on and true to full-scale accurate. The engine and chassis are killer. The interior and the shading on the wheels is superb! Good grief... ?

This turned out absolutely wicked-cool! We hardly ever see these Anglia's getting built, let alone a proper 90's pro-street version. I like everything about it, especially the interior both in parts selection and execution. ?

@mrm Can't wait to see your project! A general “build an 80’s billet car” thread inspired by this one was started in the Community Build section by @Mr. Metallicand has a decent amount of activity so far.

@mrm Not stalled in the least. Generally, Sunday afternoon is when I get my bench time so one day a week is as fast as It’s gonna go. My updates will usually post Sunday nights which has been consistent since I started this thread. But, I’ll respond to people’s comments all through the week to help keep the conversation flowing. Of course, I have a wife and 3 kids so there’s some weekends that are out completely due to other activities. The only exception to the Sunday rule is when I’m going through the paint process as I do it all at work on my lunch hour or before heading home.

I built this from an original issue AMT '34 Pickup about 6 years ago. Hard to tell but paint is actually very dark blue.

@Jordan White That's awesome! I've wanted one of these and the sister '34 Phaeton since I was a kid. I can't wait to follow along as it gets built. Lots of pictures please!

You must get in on this one! I’ve seen your older models. You got this!

@Spex84 I don’t see any mention of make/model restrictions in the opening post so if you’re feeling a billet-clad mini-truck I say go for it! Living in SoCal my whole life I saw plenty regularly back in the day. That, or billet VW bug would be awesome, too. Since you mentioned it in my ‘29 Truck thread...

Let me make it clear that for every successful model at that point in my life there were half a dozen that started out with big dreams and good intentions then went full FUBAR! ???

@Mr. Metallic Thanks, Craig. I can remember being very proud of myself about this model back in the day. It was my first successful all-out Street Rod. The flathead was just a weird choice, though. The new version will have a proper small block! And no worries, the pair of 29 Pickups won’t get the attention shaft, LOL!

The ‘40 Coupe has been issued a couple of times as a stand alone hot rod kit using the identical wheels, chassis and engine pieces as the Convertible. Also, the Convertible has been issued as a factory stock version a couple of times.

Those wheels would be perfect for billet-era VW Bug! I was never into Bugs but I don’t dislike them and can definitely dig an authentic 80’s and early 90’s style one. A good friend in high school got access to a savings account when he turned 18 and promptly went out and bought a 58 or 59 that had been customized in the 80’s. It was sea foam green with a dark and light gray tweed interior with polished solid Centerline wheels. It had billet accessories throughout. It had a built big CC motor in it too that was actually pretty quick. Would burn the tires off from a 1st gear roll and after hitting the 1-2 shift. I’m pretty sure it was featured in a magazine years before he got it. It’s amazing how many hot rodders that are now in their 40’s and 50’s cut their teeth on Bugs in high school. Like Aaron Kahan of the Burbank Choppers. He still has his and recently dug it out and went through it to put it back on the road.

UPDATE! Today was one of those days where I did a lot but most of it wasn't worth taking pictures of. A good amount of it was what i call "busy work" like cleaning up mold seam lines and other clean up work. Also, time was spent working with options on parts and trying to make the best choices while figuring out execution while also taking into consideration that everything I do has to be done twice! One of those subjects was what rear shocks to use and how to mount them because the shocks that go with this IRS unit are too long and therefor not really workable. After some time I settled on some shocks taken from AMT's modern-tool reboot of the Ala Kart show rod. I made some spacers to go on the mounting pins under the shocks and some simple brackets added to the frame that I shaped a little bit after getting them glued on. On the front axle I cut off the wheel mounts, drilled and installed new pins made from .060" Evergreen rod. Then, using 1/8" Evergreen tube (which the rod fits perfectly inside), I drilled the back centers of the wheels and inserted the tube. (The chrome axle is for reference how it comes.) I modified two pairs of Revell '32 series front shocks/mounts by trimming the mount uprights to clear the '29 fender profile. The chrome upper pair is how they started. I also built a pair of driveshafts using my go-to method: U-joints cut off the shafts in the Revell '32 kit series and Evergreen 1/8" tube. Progress is progress. One thing that screwed me up is that I needed to get all of the chrome chassis parts stripped for the Roadster Pickup and finally got around to picking up some new stripper just yesterday as i was totally out. The parts hadn't quite soaked long enough over night so that prevented me from being able to build up the 2nd IRS unit and get it fit to the frame. At least with the shocks figured out now on the 1st truck I can whip right through the 2nd next time.

I haven’t seen that yet but since I’m mentioned I should pick up a copy. Haha! I’ve known Eric for a while now, he’s a good guy and to put the period authenticity into perspective, he’s not even 40 yet by a couple years! That roadster is home built by basically him and another of our friends, Paul, who did the paint and body. It turned out like jewelry.

A little late to the party but this is bad ass! The 70’s epitomized. When I saw the air filters poking through the hood I knew it was gonna have a tunnel ram and the gold Moroso valve covers are a must. The Cragars. The yellow traction bars. Hell yeah! I also love the dark green. Definitely not a stereotypical Tri-5 color choice.

@foghorn62 That looks like a great pile of parts. The floor and firewall are killer! I’ve never seen anything like them. Too bad about the paint but now you have the perfect excuse to resurrect it.

Looks like you got the ball rolling, Craig! @Mr. Metallic I'm going to jump in the buildoff but it won't be with a 3rd '29 Pickup, LOL! My entry is going to be a current day interpretation of the '32 Roadster seen below. This is one of just two remaining models from my youth. I built this model when I was 13 years old which would have been in 1993. No surprise that it was partly influenced by one of Tim's projects from Modeler's Corner in Street Rodder Magazine (an orange and black two-tone '32 Roadster sitting on the same wheels.) I used Monogram's 1:24 scale kit, smoothed the whole body out including the reveal lines around the deck lid, ZZ Top kit wheels with the extra pair of skinny Moroso front tires Revell used to throw in their '67 Malibu Pro Street kit, Revell '37 Ford Convertible frame pieces - rear tires / Corvette IRS / air filter / ignition box / master cylinder / taillights / tilt column and I believe the Boyd Coddington steering wheel was from an updated reissue of Monogram's 1955 Ford Pickup. The kit dash was smoothed with S&S Specialties gauge panel. '32 Roadster kit front axle with Monogram '40 Pickup 4-links. Now for the bizarre part? Underneath that milled billet style air filter is the Monogram '40 Pickup flathead with horrendously under sized exhausts from the 'Lil John Buttera '26 T Sedan kits. Headlights are AMT/Lindberg '34 Pickup with the ends of the bar cut off to drop it down. The paint is Testors Colors by Boyd "Pacific Blue". I hope to get started in a few weeks or so. Need to get further on my pair of '29 Pickups first over in the Light Truck WIP section.

That’s Bitchin! Worth the effort to put those rear wheels and slicks together. Stance and proportions are just right, too.

No pictures but from the original issue in the 60’s all the way up to the early 90’s (I think the Hot Rod logo box was the last) the closed cab had an oversized rear window. When the kit finally got reissued in early 2000’s Revell finally corrected the back window and panel detail to stock. A google search should pull up plenty of examples. The back window is HUGE comparatively.

@mrm Sounds like a kick ass plan to me. I’ve been wanting to grab a BB2 for that neat looking ‘Vette engine. Can’t wait to see you get going! And regarding the chop, I’d like to chop one of these by leaving the windshield intact but remove the awkward header panel above it and bring the rest down to match. I’ve seen that done on a full scale ‘29 Pickup and it look killer. One of these days if I come up with a 90’s or older issue of the kit where the truck had an oversized rear window I’ll tackle it.