Dennis Lacy

Totally bitchin! I especially like the rusty green one with the Rat Roaster wheels.

Another T Hot Rod? Make it so!

Thanks for nice words, Craig. You know, you and your recent Monogram 1:24 hot rod builds are largely responsible for my desire to build this one. I loved this Roadster kit as a kid / teen. It’s proving quite difficult to draw the line on modifications and not going all-out as I typically do. The evolution of the engine is a perfect example. The slot wheels from the ‘29 Pickup are actually pretty nicely done if a person likes 70’s Ansen Sprints. Before I switched to the wires the idea was to paint them aluminum. Although they didn’t make the cut this time I’d like to put them on something. And, while I haven’t commented yet I’ve been keeping an eye on your T project!

It sure does! I’m going to run the top but it will be getting smoothed out with a hole in the middle.

Found a little more bench time yesterday afternoon. I had left the Roadster mocked up and after sitting down I got to looking at it. I realized I wasn't totally feeling the engine setup. Part of it was that the 1:24 engine bay still looked a bit empty and after some trial and error I found a way to fill it up! I carved 1/16” off the back of the trans to move the engine back the same amount. I also carved the molded in timing cover / crank balancer off. To the engine I added the complete supercharger assembly, timing cover and belt drives from Revell’s ‘29 Roadster. I’m also back to the “Deuce” valve covers. Totally ridiculous with the fragile early driveline but it looks cool. So that’s it, final answer!

Hmm, I’ll have to give that some thought. I do plan on hood sides which have hot rod louvers like the tops. Smooth as well?

And, the winner is… The Kelsey Hayes wires! I was able to spend some time at the workbench this afternoon and decided to get the wheels adapted to the axles. The fronts were very easy only needing to slightly enlarge the holes in the wheels to fit over the axle stubs and sand the center area down, even with the edge of the rim. The rears, on the other hand, took a fair bit of work mixed with trial and error. The inner wheel halves ended requiring the whole raised center area be removed. The rear brake plates were replaced with front plates from the same kit because they are roughly half the thickness and don’t have a raised center area on the front which allowed them to suck in closer to the axle. Even then I needed all of the room I could get so I sanded the slight ridge down on the back sides of the plates. Because the plates are thinner it was necessary to notch them to clear the end of the spring. All of this to allow the rear wheels to suck in as much as possible to get the tires under the fenders. I mocked the Roadster back together and upon looking at it I just wasn’t feeling the engine dress. While a single 4-barrel is perfect for drive ability it’s kind of boring on a scale street rod. Digging through my small block Chevy parts I came across the dual 4-barrel cross-ram intake from Revell’s 1969 Camaro Z28, the only remaining piece I have since having the original issue back in the early 90’s. The carbs come from a couple of Monogram 1937 Ford Sedan original issues with air filters from a Revell ‘32 Roadster (Rat Roaster.) The Edelbrock valve covers come from AMT’s ‘34 Ford 5-Window Coupe. I’m liking this a lot better and it’s much more interesting to look at. And here’s the Roadster sitting properly on its axles with the updated engine dress. Very happy with the stance and wheel fit.

Last night I did a mock up with a different set of wheels, the Kelsey Hayes style wires from the Monogram ‘30 Woody. When I was first starting this project they were the first wheels I tried but I was not going to be able to modify them enough to tuck the under the front fenders using the kit dropped axle. Last night it occurred to me that I should try again since I changed the front axle and it’s quite a bit narrower. I haven’t started adapting the wheels yet so now I have to decide which way to go. I definitely like the wires and they will look much better with the chrome hubcaps. Thoughts?

Thanks! My friend Ed at Drag City Casting was reproducing the grill insert and he also had a kit for the Pontiac engine. He doesn’t have a website but if you email him he’ll take care of you. He’s a good guy. lowcab36@epix.net

That’s a nice solution you came up with. The consistent “pipe” size and fully enclosed mufflers look so much better. The thing about lowering this kit is that it also requires modifying (or changing) the wheels to tuck them in because the way the kit builds it puts the tires poked and under the fender edges. The front axle I changed to is a good bit narrower.

Like @Ace-Garageguy said, the proportions of the body in this kit look really right. I’ve always dug it. I did the same thing with one of mine back in the day, cutting all of the fenders off to make a hiboy. That model only survived a couple years but I can still picture it. I sprayed the body Testors Yellow with Light Green (like Apple Green) frame, suspension and engine, which was the Flathead from the ‘40 Pickup. Wheels were the chrome steelies from The Beach Boys 3-Window. I also remember it had a Full House cards decals on the cowl. That would have been around 1993 and I would have been 13. I’m actually tempted to do another but probably in a more tasteful color combo! ?

No surprise there, Phil! I imagine you’ve built your share over the years. Thanks, Jason. I hear ya on the wheels. IRL I don’t think I’d put them on anything but I thought some 70’s vibe might be cool in this case. I actually started with the same tires but the Kelsey Hayes style wires from the ‘30 Woody. Unfortunately the way they are made wouldn’t allow for tucking in under the fenders enough. Couldn’t modify for enough back-space. Hard to go wrong with Lil’ Deuce tribute. I’m sure it’ll be bitchin’ when you get to it.

HA! That’s because it can be a pain the ass! Most of the time my scale exhausts end up being made from a bunch of pieces cut, pasted and blended together, not to mention pinning every joint for strength. Then multiply x2 because most everything I build has dual exhaust. I tend to dread it. Not very different from scratch building full scale exhaust systems…

Thanks for the comments, everyone! Looks like there’s a few people that are fond of the old Monogram 32 Roadster. Very cool. Had some bench time this afternoon and decided to get moving on the engine. Below is the lump of a small block included in the kit. Minus the chrome dress parts it’s a whopping four pieces! Even though I’m on a mission to keep this model simple I’d really like a better detailed engine. Probably the best 1:24 hot rod kit Chevy small block of the 80’s & 90’s is from the Monogram 1937 Ford’s, this one being from the blue molded Convertible with Trailer. And while this engine comes with a very nice pair of Sanderson block-hugger headers I’m going to use the Roadster kit manifolds and head pipes. For dress up parts I’ve chosen the Edelbrock Elite-style air filter and valve covers with custom “Deuce” script taken from the maligned Monogram Beach Boys Lil’ Deuce Coupe kit of the late 80’s, which is actually the Roadster kit with a poorly rendered 3-Window body and some other updated parts (notably a Corvette IRS, 4-wheel disc brakes and the introduction of the chrome steel wheels & caps found in the last few reissues of the Roadster.) The blue engine has a big automatic transmission which obviously wouldn’t fit the Roadster without a bunch of surgery. The Roadster kits small block is rendered with an adapter to a 30’s Ford 3-speed trans so I chopped both transmissions off and mated the 3-speed to the blue small block The blue engine is a bit wider than the kit engine (more accurate) so the molded motor mounts needed some relief work to make room for it. With the new engine fit the kits exhaust manifolds and head pipes were adapted easily by drilling holes in the cylinder heads for the mounting studs on the manifolds. The improved small block in situ with induction and valve cover mocked up. The Roadster kits mufflers and tail pipes have always been my least favorite part of the kit. The mufflers are open to the inside and the tailpipes are dinky little things and look weird compared to the big head pipes. It’s like dropping from 2.5” to 1” pipes. Making exhaust systems can get tedious but sometimes you get lucky and find a set of pipes that are an easy fit. After digging through my Ziplock back of exhaust pipes I found a partial set of mufflers and pipes from an old Monogram ZZ Top Eliminator kit. Upon offering them up they were a great fit other than the tailpipes being a bit short. What I like so much is that they are thick like the head pipes. I trimmed the head pipes evenly then drilled and inserted .040” pins in the ends with matching holes in the mufflers. Happy with the look and fit I trimmed the tailpipe tips off and extended the pipes 1” using Evergreen tube of similar size. Still have some fine tuning to do but I’ll take it. Thats as far as I got today. So far, so good!

Funny, I had the same thought as I sat staring at the mock-up from all angles last Sunday. It looks right-on. The modern Revell 32 Roadsters are more technically accurate but the Monogram just has The Look. Perhaps that’s part of what drew me to it so strongly as a kid? As for this kit: I don’t think that many people are aware of the unique changes to it aside from the obvious severe chop and wheels. This kit post-dates the changes made to the old Monogram tool when it was modified in the early 80’s for the ZZ Top Eliminator. It shares the same interior and Pontiac engine with its attempted disguise as a Chevy small block as the ZZ Top kit but also features the front axle / suspension already shown above, molded stock exhaust pipes deleted and a 9” rear axle with coil overs and disc brakes, similar in appearance to the Revell ‘32 Ford’s. I was really hoping that when the ZZ Top Eliminator was reissued a few years ago that these updates would stay as they are actually a more accurate for the full-scale car but alas, the same old axles and suspension found it’s way back. The only of the Cabriolets upgrades that stuck was frame with molded exhaust deleted.

For the first time in forever I’ve found myself in a model building slump that’s gone on for about 6 months now. Not so much for lack of desire, mostly because life decided it hadn’t been busy enough and said, “Hold my beer!” While I have several good existing projects to choose from I thought it would be nice to do something simple to get the juices flowing again compared to my usual heavy kit-bashing, fabricating and detailing. As a kid and teen in the 80’s and 90’s some of my favorite kits to build were the Monogram 1:24 hot rods. They tend to be lower in parts count and softer on fine detail but with a little tweaking they always look good put together. For those reasons I shy away from them as an adult model builder but lately I’ve been feeling nostalgic about the good ol’ days. I am about to turn 44 so it must be a mid-life thing, hahaha. Of those Monogram 1:24 kits the ‘32 Roadster was my very favorite and I built 4 of them over the years with one still surviving. I pulled one from the pile and tore the wrap off it. While my fond memories are of the 80’s release molded in rock-hard yellow I opted to start with the most recent issue molded in softer, easier to work with white. Then I came up with a simple plan which was easier said than done, fighting my overwhelming usual tendency to reengineer the whole thing. What I’ve landed on is a stance and wheel adjustment along with some basic hot rod body mods such as shaving the bumpers, grill trim and door handles. The wheels are the aluminum slots from the Monogram Early Iron ‘29 Roadster Pickup. Front tires are from the kit but had to be relieved to fit the slightly larger diameter wheels. Rear tires are one size larger than the kit rears (found in many Monogram/Revell kits) and also had to be relieved to fit the wheels. The roadster top is not included in this issue but can be found older issues. The rear axle / suspension will be straight from the kit, representing a 1942-1948 Ford banjo axle, Model A spring and 1939-1948 brake plates. The front axle & suspension come from Revell’s Thom Taylor 1934 Cabriolet which was a 90’s styling update to Monogram’s original 1:24 1934 Coupe/Cabriolet kit from the 60’s. It represents a Super Bell dropped tube axle with Pete & Jakes 4-links, tube shocks and disc brakes and was only available in that issue. To lower the ride height I’ll be using the age-old trick for this kit which is to trim the cross members to sink the springs up into them. Out back the center of the rear “cross member” was cut out to allow the spring tab to sink in along with trimming down the 2 support studs circled in red. Up front the center of the front cross member was similarly trimmed and the back edge of the cross member filed down for tie rod clearance. The end results: Here are the wheels and tires fit together after relieving the inside diameter of the tires. As luck would have it, the kit inner wheel halves will work as is. Also, I’ve included a picture of the source kit for the wheels. Next steps are to fit the wheels to the axles and finalize the engine details. More to come…

Sometimes a simple, near out of the box project is what we need. Turned out awesome. Love the color choice!

I’ve seen quite a few Tweedy Pie’s built over the years and this one might be the nicest yet. Beautifully done!

I already gushed over this in my YouTube comment but I had to show it some love here, too! I absolutely LOVE it as Tim’s 29 Woody is one of my other all-time favorites of his magazine how-to hot rods. Not only did you nail it front to back but it’s also VERY cleanly built.

Nice job on this! With the black fenders, cream wire wheels and big headlights it looks like the quintessential Resto-Rod.

I think that’s everyone! It sure is awesome having them all together in one spot. @tim boyd Thanks for not only sharing all those great modern pictures of your truck but also some insight in how that issue of Street Rodder came to be. I think I failed to mention that aspect before. It’s funny that the extended model car coverage would light so many fires in people especially considering a large number of the subscribers no doubt grew up in the 60’s and 70’s heyday of model cars. @Rocking Rodney Rat Thanks for not only sharing your current day Boyd truck but also taking the time to take pictures and share your original Boyd inspired truck. I love the stereo equipment in the bed and overall color scheme. @Kit Karson and @Speedpro To say your collaboration turned out stellar would be an understatement. The truck itself came out next level nice and then there’s the killer matching trailer and cart. Absolutely killer! @alan barton I love your truck. Not only is it in keeping with Tim’s original, the extended cab and V6 engine are also very period correct. There were ton of guys doing both in the 80’s and I’m so glad you thought to go there. The Mullins trailer and street rod pedal car are a awesome, too! @bill-e-boy Awesome that you were able to get your truck done! The extended John Buttera chassis makes for a perfect modern foundation and I dig the Champ 500 wheels. They were incredibly popular back in the 80’s.

So cool to see the old AMT Willys done as a Street Rod. Nice work on the suspension and stance!

Back in September 2020 (yes, THAT 2020) I started a thread in the Light Truck workbench forum here on MCM to cover the process of building a 1929 Ford Pickup Street Rod in tribute to my model hero, Tim Boyd, and a 29 Pickup he built for a How-To article for his monthly Modelers Corner column in Street Rodder Magazine which was published in its entirety in the May 1990 issue. While I put my own spin on the truck I made sure to use a good number of the same parts and techniques as Tim so that the truck would be immediately recognizable to anyone who might remember his old article. As I progressed with my project it gained a decent size following and soon other modelers were commenting that they had become inspired to build their own version. Rather than everyone start their own threads I invited everyone to join in on mine in the hopes of creating one large tribute to Tim. I never anticipated it would grow to the size that it did, currently sitting at a staggering 714 posts and 66.3 thousand views! What’s more, Model Cars Magazine has recently expressed an interest in running an article covering the Tim Boyd Tribute phenomena and with that prospect on the horizon I thought it only proper to create a thread where everyone who built a 29 Pickup Street Rod in tribute to Tim can share them together. I also know that @tim boyd original 29 Pickup still exists in beautiful condition and that he has nice modern photos of it. Tim, would you please join in and share your truck and perhaps some comments about it? The following folks have finished trucks and I ask that you all please take some nice pictures and share them here. I hope I didn’t forget anyone. @Rocking Rodney Rat @Kit Karson @foghorn62 @alan barton @bill-e-boy

Looks awesome! Really cool to see you get it finished. I will be creating the Under Glass group thread by the end of this week. I will tag everyone who has a finished truck so you guys can add yours to it.

Thanks for chiming in, Tim! More than half the models I’ve built start with a wheel & tire combo then I come up with a car to put them on. And, I totally agree with you on wires & woodys going hand in hand. Sadly the work on the front shocks (July 12) is the last time I’ve been to the bench to date and it’s not for lack of interest. Downside to working in the garage. Plenty of days I could have but the weather made it downright uncomfortable. That said, I’ll be redoing the upper mounts and I have a plan. Stay tuned…