Dennis Lacy

UPDATE! Got the car mocked back together and decided to try a Revell '32 hood top on it. If I keep the hood I'll need to raise the grill shell a touch because there's a little too much slope as it is. Also, there's a couple of close up pics of the fully mocked up engine fit back in.

UPDATE! I didn't mention it last time but I am using a slightly trimmed Revell '32 series firewall to make room for the big Pontiac. I thought it looked kind of funky without any lip around the edge so I cut the lip away from the channeled option firewall in the '30 Coupe kit and attached it. From there I slightly modified the floor pan from a Revell '32 3-Window kit by removing material from the sides and removing the bulkhead at the back end. The bottom of the firewall needed to be trimmed 3/32" but mates up to the toe board portion of the floor perfectly. The interior panels and seat from the '30 Coupe kit were slightly tweaked to fit with the floor and I installed some alignment blocks on the floor so that the seat stays properly positioned. I also finalized the setup on the Pontiac engine. The block, heads, valve covers, intake/carburetors/air filters, Spalding dual coil distributor and Hydro auto trans are AMT Pontiac parts pack. The headers (factory cast iron style), front cover/water pump/fuel pump and fan are Revell Pontiac parts pack. The belt drive is from AMT's '36 Ford kits and I also installed actual, separate valve cover breathers from AMT's '34 Coupe (street rod version.) The heads were really plain looking so based on Pontiac 421 reference pictures so I added bolt heads from Grandt Line. Next up I need to choose a dash board and steering wheel, make a steering column and install details like pedals and shifter.

This one is coming back around in the rotation but heading down a completely different path. I’ll start a new thread when I get going.

That’s really neat, Curt! Model A sedans lend themselves so perfectly to rat rods and the tractor grill is an essential rat rod item. I really like the weathering, old Revell parts pack style Halibrand’s and the chain link “floor” and of course, the ARDUN.

Thanks! Windshield and top will stay as they are. I want it to look like a grown man could actually sit in the car! The car is going to be finished in a 50’s aesthetic and the taller windshield and top are part of the era, too.

Thanks, Alan! There were quite a few A hot rods out here back in the day with filled fender wells, too. I have noticed from pictures quite a few Aussie rods with the spring-ahead arrangement. It’s a hard look to pull off without having screwed up proportions. Thankfully these Revell A kit frames are stretched so doing the spring-ahead thing actually corrects the wheel base.

Thanks and I don’t mind at all.

Thanks for the kind words, as always, brother KK!

Thanks!

This is a project I first started messing with about a year ago but it never got much past the stage of propping up some wheels and tires next to it. I randomly got inspired yesterday to pull it out and put in some work. While there's things about these Revell "A" kits I surely would have done different, the only real gripe I have is their decision to render the bodies with raised wheel arches. They also made the wheel wells unnecessarily deep while they were at it. To solve both of those problems I cut the wheel wells away from the interior side panels and then mounted them into the body down lower. I then restored the bead around them with .040" half-round and then sanded it flat to match the existing beads on the body. With the wheel wells in place the body would no longer fit onto the Revell '32 series frame, they interfered with the molded in floor. I made some relief notches in both sides of the rear, raised floor area. The wheel well basically replaces the removed material visually. I also had to match the bottom edges of the wells to the shape of the frame. The '32 kit rear axle (Ford 9") was lowered by trimming the air bags to get the axle tubes up against the frame rails. I ditched the disc brakes in favor of drums by using a pair of modified plates from the AMT '29 Roadster and the finned drums from AMT's '32 Vicky. The top section of the body is from Drag City Casting and has a beautifully reworked top insert detail that he mastered. He makes the whole body but I elected to keep the plastic lower half because of all of the wheel well work. Here's the whole thing up on its wheels for the first time. The '32 series front axle had the spring trimmed to get the front end down. The rear frame horns were bobbed after cutting out the gas tank and a spreader bar installed tucking just under the back edge of the body. The wheels, tires and printed slicks are all a set from one of AMT's recent parts packs and the Pontiac engine is AMT parts pack as well. . That's it for now...

Got another traditional style hot rod going based on a Revell 1929 Roadster body, channeled frame option, floor pan and interior panels. And that's about where the kit provided parts end, LOL! Outwardly the wheels are Revell 1937 Ford Pickup / Panel Truck. The rears were modified to a slightly larger diameter to fit the big Monogram 1941 Lincoln tires. The front tires are AMT 1941 Woody. Normally the hubcaps have the V8 logo but the truck / panel kits includs a single "Ford" logo cap for the spare. Luckily I have enough truck / panel kits on hand to put together a set of 4 caps! The Model A engine with Riley 2-port performance head is from Revell's 1931 Sedan kits modified with a pair of carburetors from the Revell Tweedy Pie T, Vertex magneto from AMT's Ala Kart show rod and a Revell '48 Ford transmission. The stylized roadster top is a resin piece from Drag City Casting that I actually made the original master for. The Revell '32 grill was chopped 1/4" (6 scale inches) to be in better proportion with the channeled A body. These roadster bodies were rendered with over-sized wheel wells which I think look terrible. I employed an old traditional trick of completely filling them in making the body smooth sided. What's nice is that the filler panels don't interfere in any way with the kit floor and side panels. I just had to notch them for axle clearance. The frame was modified with scratch built engine brackets, a Revell '48 Ford rear cross member and axle. I installed the kits transmission cross member with the trans tab removed. A second trans cross member was installed (with the suspension brackets removed) to mount the front wishbone to. The front suspension is the dropped axle, spring, tie rod, brakes and shocks from Revell's 1940 Ford Coupe or Convertible hot rod versions with a Revell '29 Pickup wishbone. Also from the '29 Pickup is the steering gear box mated to a Revell '48 Ford column shift and '40 wheel. More to come... Comments, good or bad, welcome!

A few years back I back dated the chassis to a traditional 1940's era by installing the frame center "X" and rear cross member from a Revell 1940 Ford and the rear axle from one of their 1948 Fords. Well, a bit over-simplified but not difficult to accomplish.

Cut here, splice there... No problem! Looking good, brother!! ?

UPDATE! Sadly, I had completely forgot about this project sitting under my bench halfway to being finished. I had that feeling something was missing! Didn't finish it today but I'm a whole bunch closer. Had a little bit of bronze paint left so I flowed some into the valve cover fins and air filter depressions. Then I finished up the Y-Block by terminating the plug wires and building the fuel lines using Detail Master #4 line and fittings with a scratch built tee and modified '57 Ford kit fuel filter. Assembled the interior which is right out of the '32 5-Window kit except for the scratch built column, parts box Hurst shifter and AMT '41 Woody steering wheel. Glued the engine into the chassis and connected the front exhaust pipes. I added decals to the engines oil filter can and generator for a little more interest. I also added the headlights, rear nerf bars and gas cap. Couldn't resist another mock up with the engine in place. One more afternoon at the workbench should have this one finished. Left to do are install the windshield and window glass, then the interior and firewall can go in permanent. Also small details like the door handles, taillights and license plate.

They may have called it that on the box but the physical engine in this kit has never changed except for the induction and valve covers.

The engine in this kit is absolutely a first generation Cadillac 331 V8. It is NOT an Oldsmobile. The first few issues of the kit back in the 60’s featured a six 2-barrel intake and Cadillac script valve covers. In the 70’s those features were changed to reflect the popular (at the time) tunnel ram intake with dual 4-barrels. A few years ago Monogram reissued the kit restored entirely back to its original configuration except for the Cadillac name on the covers. They also altered the original issue Blue Beetle name to Blue Bandito. Both because of copyright conflicts. The ignition is a Magneto and does not use a coil.

A few (seven or eight) years ago I decided to see what I could make from some of my left overs. ?

Thanks!

UPDATE! I've done more to this over the last couple of weekends. I cut out the bulky front motor mount cross member (original kit add on piece for the flathead engine option) and scratch built new mounts. I also had to add some material to the front edges of the mounts on the engine so that the steering gear wouldn't get interfered with. I accessorized the ARDUN flathead with a Vertex magneto, carbs from the Ed Roth Tweedy Pie, rear breather tube/fuel log from Revell's '48 Ford Convertible and a modified oil pan from AMT's parts pack Chevy engine. I plan to use over the frame lakes style headers so to make room for them I had to build a new lower profile steering linkage. I made this linkage from a modified shaft piece found in Revell's '26 T Sedan Delivery. I mounted the lakes style headers from AMT's '32 Phantom Vicky and then made a full exhaust system using front "pipes" from Revell's '29 Roadster and rear pipes/mufflers from their '48 Custom Coupe. The down spouts on the headers had to be moved as far back as possible to get around the hairpin radius rods, the mufflers were shortened 1/4" and the tailpipes were shortened at both ends. The front pipes also had to be shortened at the muffler end and lengthened at the header end. The whole thing pins together. Right now it's just floating so I need to make some mounts to positively located it all. And some new mock ups. Still more to come...

Keep grinding! ?

My truck has a small block and I occasionally polish and wax it. It must be a Street Rod. ?

Thanks, Brother! Yes! Brandon Mead’s sedan is one of my favorite Mordors. Really good dude, been doing business with him for many years. The primer red one was actually his second. The first one was a black patina paint body that we sold and shipped to him. He set it on a chassis that he already had and chopped it oh so nicely. Sold it before it was driveable. ?

And don't forget Ed at Drag City Casting because without his impeccable molding and casting talents there would be no bodies to buy and build!

I just love the way this turned out! The perfect combination of aggressive and classy. I already told you this yesterday but it looks absolutely like something that could come out of Brizio's shop right now.

Here we go again!